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User Guide

Open a map

Your administrator sends you a link. When you open the link, the map is ready to use. You do not install or configure anything.

Sign in

Some maps ask you to sign in first. To sign in, press Sign in with Dropbox or Sign in with Microsoft. Use the account that you use for shared files at work. You sign in only once. If you signed in with the wrong account, see Troubleshooting.

The "Sign in to open this map" window, offering a Sign in with Dropbox button and a Sign in with Microsoft button.

Start with your location

Some maps ask for your location before they show anything. To give your location, do one of these:

  • Type an address.
  • Click the map.
  • Use your device’s location.

On some of these maps, the list then shows the nearest features first. To skip the question, press Show the map anyway.

Find your way around

Groundwork shows the map canvas on the left and the Data panel on the right. The map shows where things are. The panel shows what they are. On a phone, the map fills the screen, and the panel is a sheet at the bottom. Drag the sheet up to see more of the panel.

  • Your layer. Your map’s data is in a layer, such as the trees in our example. The features of the layer are in the list in the panel. If the map has more than one layer, click the layer name at the top of the panel to choose a different layer.
  • The location box is at the top of the map. Use it to set a location from an address, a point that you click, or your device’s position. Nearby and routes measure from the pin at that location.
  • The basemap. To change between a street map and aerial imagery, use the picker in the bottom-right corner of the map.
  • The settings menu. To open it, press the settings button at the top of the panel. Use the menu to share, rename or delete the map, and to set preferences such as theme and units. Groundwork saves your preferences on your device.
  • Share a view. To show your current view to a colleague, press Share in the settings menu to make a link. To see what the link includes, read What the link includes.

View-only maps

On a view-only map, you can browse, search, filter and download. Groundwork does not show the editing tools. If you need to edit, ask the person who sent you the link.

Keep the link

If you open the link again later, Groundwork updates the map that you already have. You do not need a new link to see new data. Groundwork reads the map’s data source each time that you open the map. So the map already shows the additions and changes that other people made.

Groundwork needs an internet connection. Plan for this before you go to a place with no signal.

On a phone, you can give Groundwork its own window, with more space for the map. In Safari, use Add to Home Screen. In Chrome, use Install app.

Next: Explore features.

Try a demo mapExplore features