Layers

A layer is a set of features of one kind: points, lines or areas. Hydrants are a point layer, water mains a line layer, parcels an area layer. Each layer carries its own fields and its own style.

The Layer manager

Layers on the map's toolbar opens the Layer manager. Its tabs split your layers into Point layers, Line layers and Polygon layers. Each row is one layer.

• The colour swatch beside a layer's name opens its colour, its opacity and whether it shows. Hiding a layer there hides it on this device only. To hide it for everyone, edit the layer.
• Selectable sets whether clicking the map can pick the layer's features.
• Show above zoom and Show below zoom set the zoom range the layer draws in.
• Open layer opens the layer's record: its name, its fields and its style.
• The row's ⋯ holds Filter…, to draw only the features matching the conditions you set, then Delete layer, or Restore layer for a deleted one.

Add layer creates a layer. Restore defaults puts back any of the system's own layers, such as jobs, sites and annotations, that are missing, and leaves your existing layers and their styling untouched.

A layer's fields

A layer's record lists the fields every feature on it carries. Each field has a label, a type and a default, and its ⋯ holds its settings: whether it is required, the choices a list offers, and when the field shows. Changing a field's type never reorders the list.

A layer's style

The layer's style sets how its features draw: colour, size, line width and pattern, and the icon for points. A style can vary by a field's value, for example colouring pipes by material or sizing points by a number.

Layers connected to another system

A layer your organization keeps in step with an outside system names that system in its row's ⋯, with how many changes are waiting to go out and how many conflict. Sync to sends the waiting changes now.

The Overlays window

⋯ More › Overlays holds what the map draws beside your own layers.

• The basemap is the map underneath: streets, topography, satellite and others.
• The overlays list holds imported files, raster images, outside map services and the sources your modules add, such as project outlines. Each row switches its overlay on and off, styles it and zooms to it. An overlay keeps drawing after the window closes.
• Reference layers draw another organization's map service live, such as parcels, zoning or aerial imagery. Nothing is copied: their server stays the source. To work with that data, import it instead.
• Custom styling rules restyle features that match conditions you set, across layers.

The legend

The legend on the map lists what is drawn now and what each colour and symbol means. Drag its rows to change the order layers draw in.