Drawing and measuring

motion — street zoom measure away from route, hold labels, clear

Besides traffic signs, you sketch on the map, import a track, measure, and set overall drawing Scale:. These tools support detours, work areas, and notes. Sketches only appear on a PDF when they sit inside an export map. A line drawn outside the Detail or XL rectangle will not print.

Use this when you need lines, zones, GPX, or a distance check. Skip it for sign catalogues or Melvin.

You must be able to edit. Sketch tools are hidden when the plan is Plan is read-only, Plan is under review, or Plan is approved and locked.

Sketch tools

On the left of the editor (edit mode, not read-only), under Search address:

Click points to draw. Finish the line or shape as the map guides (double-click to end a line). Draw inside the area you will later frame with an export map if the sketch must print.

Add line and direction extras

Click Add line. While it is active (or after you select a line), three extra buttons appear to the right of the tool:

• Left arrow — the line points backwards
• Plain horizontal line — no arrow
• Right arrow — the line points forwards

Pick a direction before or while you draw. A detour usually wants one arrow. A work-area outline usually wants the plain line.

A ruler button next to those extras is Toggle measurement. It shows or hides that line’s own length on the map. The same Toggle measurement control appears for a selected Add rectangle, Add circle, or Add shape.

Add rectangle, Add circle, Add shape, Add text

Add rectangle — click two corners. Use it for a work compound or a closed street block.

Add circle — click the centre, then the radius. Use it for a buffer around a junction.

Add shape — click a freeform polygon; close it as the map guides. Use it for an irregular site.

Add text — click the map, then type. This is a map note, not a traffic-sign Label, and not a review Comments pin. Sign labels live on the stack. Review remarks live in Comments.

Click the same tool again to stop drawing.

Drawing colours

1. Open the sketch stack and click Select color (tooltip Select drawing color).
2. Pick a named colour. Hovering a swatch reads Select Red color (or whichever name the palette prints). The selected swatch tooltip is Selected color Red. Toggle color menu.
3. Draw the next line, shape, or text.
4. Change colour again for the following object.

Use a consistent colour for emergency versus public routes. Names come from the product colour list. Colour applies to new sketches; change the tool colour before you draw the next object.

Import a GPX route

1. Click Import GPX.
2. Choose a .gpx file from your computer.
3. Wait for Successfully imported GPX file, or Failed to import GPX file.
4. Find the route under Layers & Objects → GPX Imports. The row is GPX Route.
5. Save the plan (Auto-save or Save). Success toast: Saved traffic plan.

Use GPX for recorded detours, bike routes, or site perimeters. If import fails, try a simpler single-track file, or draw Add line instead. A failed import does not change the plan.

Layers & Objects for sketches

Open Layers & Objects on the left (above the sketch stack). Groups you will use here:

Traffic Signs and Bulk Placement live in the same panel; they are not sketches.

On a layer: Lock layer / Unlock layer. On a row: Lock object / Unlock object, and Zoom to object. Empty panel: No objects found. A locked object will not move until you Unlock object. Clicking a locked drawing can toast This layer is locked.

Use Zoom to object when a GPX track or a small text note is hard to find after you pan away.

Measurement tool

Measurements check distance and area on screen. They are not a permanent drawing. Zones that must export belong as Add rectangle, Add circle, or Add shape.

1. Open Measurement tool.
2. Choose Measure line or Measure area.
3. Click points on the map.
4. Read Total on the measurement.
5. Clear measurement when finished.

Zoom in for precise clicks at junctions. Measure line is a path; Measure area is a closed polygon. Neither appears on the PDF.

Drawn shapes can show their own size. After you select a line or shape, the ruler control is Toggle measurement. That does belong to the object. Still: only geometry inside an export map prints.

Scale

Scale: (bottom right) controls how large signs and drawings appear relative to the map. Default is 1.0. Lower values shrink objects so more can fit on Detail export pages. The slider runs from 0.1 to 1.0.

Address search, zoom, and this slider together: Search address, zoom, and Scale.

1. Click Scale: and move the slider.
2. If Confirm scale change appears, read it. Body: To ensure optimal results with the new scale (0.5), your detail export maps will be reset and need to be redefined. The scale function gives you more control over the size of objects like lines and traffic signs. (the number is the scale you picked).
3. Notes on that dialog: Scale 1.0 is the default. If you lower the scale (e.g., to 0.5), all objects will shrink, and detail export maps must be redrawn. This helps keep traffic signs readable when exported or printed. And: PDF preview and XL maps will be kept because their scale is based on the selected export map.
4. Confirm only if you accept redrawing those Detail rectangles. Cancel leaves the previous scale.
5. Scale cannot be changed while PDF preview is on. Turn PDF preview Off first. PDF preview.

Prefer setting scale before you finalise many Detail maps. After a change, re-check export framing and sign size on PDF.

Coordinates and address

Select a sign stack and open Details. Coordinates lists Latitude and Longitude. Address shows the reverse-geocoded street when the app has one.

Use Search address (Type to search address) to jump around. Use coordinates when someone asks for an exact point.

Sketches do not get an Address row. If you need a labelled point for a crew, place a sign or a traffic-controller post instead of only Add text.

What prints

Sketches, GPX, and text notes print only on map pages, and only where they sit inside an export rectangle (Detail or XL). A detour line that stops just outside Map 1 is missing from that page.

They do not appear on the Materials list. They do not appear on Post orders. A measurement Total never prints.

Draw the export map after the sketch, or redraw the rectangle so the sketch is inside it. Export and print traffic plans.

What good looks like

Detour lines sit on the carriageway, not in gardens. Colours are consistent. GPX matches the intended route. Scale: is set before you draw lots of Detail maps. Measurements you needed for a decision are cleared so they do not clutter the screen. Layers & Objects can Zoom to object for every sketch you care about.

If something blocks you

Related articles

• Tour of the traffic plan editor
• Search address, zoom, and Scale
• Map layers and Melvin
• Working with signs
• Export and print traffic plans