The Draw tool adds custom geometry directly to a scene. Whether marking a location of interest, tracing a route, outlining a site boundary or creating 3D massing, drawn elements provide an additional layer of information and context to a project.

Four element types are available: Points, Lines, Areas and Mass. Each element is added to the Scenes panel, where it can be selected, renamed and styled like other items in the scene.

Draw options

Each element type serves a different purpose, depending on what needs to be represented in the scene.

Points

Points mark individual locations, such as a particular building feature or a point of interest. Before placing a point, choose whether to display a Coordinates label, an AOD label, or both. The selected labels appear next to the marker once it has been placed.

Lines

Lines trace routes, boundaries or distances across the scene. Draw a line by placing two or more points on the canvas. As you move the cursor, the distance and angle of the current segment appear alongside it. For more precise placement, press F2 to enter an exact value rather than positioning the next point manually. Once the line is complete, enable Dimensions to display its length.

Areas

Areas outline larger spaces, such as site boundaries, development zones or building footprints. An area is a closed, flat shape and always uses the Flat placement lock. Once drawn, it can be projected onto buildings, trees or terrain, following the shape of the model beneath it.

Mass

Mass creates simple 3D geometry from a footprint. This is useful for adding building volumes or other forms of massing to a scene. For the available drawing modes and how to use them, see Draw massing.

Placement settings

Placement settings control how points are positioned in relation to the canvas and the geometry within the scene. Placement lock determines the plane on which new points are placed:

• Unlocked allows points to be placed freely on the surface under the cursor.
• Flat keeps points at the same height. Areas always use this option.
• Vertical keeps points at the same horizontal position while allowing their height to vary, which is useful when drawing against a façade.
• Face aligns the placement plane with the angle of the surface where the first point was placed.

Surface snap controls how points align with existing geometry. When enabled, points snap to surfaces such as buildings and terrain, both while drawing and when editing an element. When disabled, points follow the active grid instead.

Using the Draw tool

Once the element type and placement settings have been selected, start drawing directly on the canvas.

1. Select the Draw icon in the left toolbar.
2. Choose the element type.
3. Configure the available options, such as labels for Points, placement lock and Surface snap.
4. Click on the canvas to place each point. Use the distance and angle readout as a guide, or press F2 to enter an exact value.
5. To close an area, click on its first point. At least three points are required to close the shape.

Once created, the element appears in the Scenes panel. A counter on the Scenes icon indicates how many items have been added.

The following shortcuts are available while drawing:

Hold Shift Snap to 5° increments relative to the previous segment.

Hold Ctrl (⌘ on Mac) Snap to 5° increments relative to north.

Ctrl+Z (⌘+Z on Mac) Remove the last point placed.

Backspace While drawing an area, remove the last point. While editing a finished shape, delete the selected point.

Esc Clear the unfinished drawing. Press Esc again to return to Select.

Editing drawn elements

After an element has been added to the scene, its position, appearance and other properties can be adjusted. Drawn elements appear in the Scenes panel under the current scene. Select an element from the list or directly on the canvas to open its properties panel.

To change the shape itself, press Enter to enter edit mode and adjust individual points. To reposition the entire element, drag the arrow displayed on the canvas.

The item’s menu in the Scenes panel also contains options to show or hide, rename, duplicate or delete an element. Each element has an annotation displaying its name, so renaming it also updates the label on the canvas.

The available properties depend on the element type:

• Position: Adjust the Eastings, Northings and AOD values directly.
• Labels: Display Above Ordnance Datum and Coordinates on the canvas. For Lines and Areas, these can appear at each vertex. Dimensions displays segment lengths, while Area Size is also available for Areas.
• Projection (Areas): Project on Buildings, Project on Trees and Project on Terrain drape the area over the model. Show 3D Polygons controls how the area is displayed in 3D.
• Appearance: Adjust Point size, Line size or Outline thickness between 0.1 m and 50 m. Fill, border and line colours can be configured using a hex code and opacity setting, depending on the element type. The colour picker also displays colours already in use in the scene.
• Annotation: Add a label to the element, choose what it displays, such as the in-app name, and configure how the anchor line appears.
• Details tab: Add custom details and view when the element was created and last updated.

For more information, see Properties panel.