The Places tool is an interactive mapping tool that allows participants to contribute location information, comments, and images and answer attached survey questions. This is a great tool for investigating community views about locations and can be used in several different ways.
This is an extensive tool with several different configuration tabs:
Create a New Places Tool
To add Places to your project:
Select Add a tool on your project page and choose Map; you’ll find this tool in the All or Open environment tabs.
Add a title for your tool and select Create.
In the Details tab, you can use the text field to introduce the Places tool; this is a great place to include instructions on how to use the tool.
Use the Set Location tab to set the central point of your map and change your Map style.
Go to the Add Map Layer tab to upload or create your map’s layers.
Use the Add Pins tab to create pin categories for your participants.
Set survey questions in the Add Questions tab.
Use the Settings tab to change your settings, then select Save.
You can choose the pen icon next to the tool name in the tool tab to edit it. You can also select Edit to make further changes, Preview, or Delete it.
When you’re ready, use the drop-down menu to Publish the tool.
Select Add a Places map to start creating another interactive map.
Once the places tool is published, you can Unpublish it to move it back to Draft status and remove it from your live site. If the consultation or feedback period has concluded, you can Archive it so that pins and comments are still visible, but submissions are closed.
You can only Delete the tool if there are no submissions. If admins or users have added pins, you must contact Support for help with deletion.
Details
In the Details tab, you can edit the Title and add a Description to display on the project page and the About panel of the map. The Title has a maximum of 245 characters, and there is no limit to the Description text editor.
This is a great place to introduce the tool and add instructions for your participants. For example, you could include:
What the purpose of the map and project are
Step-by-step instructions on what participants can see on the map and how they can add pins
How comments or survey responses will display
What you’re planning to do with the contributions
Set Location
The Set Location tab lets you set the visible map area and your Map style.
The default map area will be your browser's location if you have your browser location settings on or your country's capital city if they’re not.
Use the Find address or place search field to find an exact location or select Use current location. You can also use the + or – icons to zoom in or out and click and drag the map to change the exact location. The minimum zoom level is set to 5, and the maximum is set to 20.
Use the Map style drop-down menu to choose from one of these seven styles: Topographic, Streets, Imagery, Imagery Hybrid, OpenStreetMap (Streets), Light Gray Canvas, or Dark Gray Canvas.
Add Map Layer
The Add Map Layer tab allows you to add extra layers of information or create boundaries for contributions. You can add multiple layers on each map with their own settings and colors.
You can add layers in the following formats:
To add a layer:
Use the Add a map layer drop-down menu to select the type of layer you want to create.
Add a Name for your layer, use the drawing options if you're using Custom, or upload the relevant file.
Select Done or Save layer. If you’re using a Custom layer, you cannot continue drawing once you select Done.
Select your options for the layer type you’ve chosen.
Use the eye icon to Hide your layer or the bin icon to Delete it. Save when you’re finished editing, or Cancel your changes and continue adding layers until you’re finished.
Drag and drop your layers in the list to reorder them.
Save when you’re finished.
Add Pins
In this tab, you can add the pin categories participants can use to contribute. You must add at least one category for participants to use and can add a maximum of 15; the more categories you add, the more complex your tool can become.
In the Add Pins tab, select Add Pin Category.
Add a Name and Color for the pin. You can use the color picker, provide a hex code, or use RGB; the icon will change to match your selected color. Using different colors will help participants distinguish between pin categories.
Select the existing pin to change the pin’s icon; you can use the search bar to look for a relevant icon or browse our alphabetic list.
If there are no submissions on the tool (with any pin), you can use the drop-down menu for each pin to Show or Delete it. Once submissions start, you can use the drop-down to Show or Hide the pin category. Hiding the category ensures that no participants can use it to contribute.
Select Add Pin Category again to add more pins. You cannot reorder your list of categories.
Save your pins when you’re finished.
Add Questions
You can add survey questions to the Places tool for participants to answer when they contribute a pin. Please note that you cannot specify questions for different pin categories; your questions should be general enough to apply to all pins.
The questions you add will become visible after the user has moved a pin into place. If any of them are mandatory, the participant must answer before submitting. To add questions:
Use the Add a question drop-down menu to select from the Single Line, Essay, Dropdown, Radio buttons, or Checkboxes question types.
Enter your question into the Question text field. If you chose Dropdown, Radio buttons, or Checkboxes you’ll also need to Add options.
Check the box for Mandatory if your question is required and you can add a short explanation into the Notes field.
When you’re finished, select Submit, and you can continue to Add a question if necessary.
Use the pen icon to Edit questions and the bin icon to Delete them.
Save when you’re finished.
Settings
In the Settings tab, you can adjust the following:
Allow unverified participation: Enable this setting to allow anyone with an email and screen name to participate. This removes the need for your community to register and log in.
Enable photo upload: Allow participants to upload an image with their contributions.
Display address on pins: Enable this setting to display the address when users drop a pin.
Make comment mandatory: Enable this setting to ensure that participants must leave a comment before they submit.
Permalink: Select Edit to change the URL of this tool.
Turn on acknowledgements to admin: Enable this to notify admins of new contributions. You can expand the Acknowledgement to admin to configure the Email subject, Email text, and Recipients.
Turn on acknowledgements to user: Enable this to notify participants when they submit a contribution. You can expand the Acknowledgement to user to configure the Email subject and Email text.
Always Save when you’re finished.