How to use the Drawing Tools in Roam

The drawing tools in Roam allow you to add text, symbols and shapes to your maps.

• Help video
• How to open the Drawing Tools
• Drawing features on your map
• Modify tools
• Saving and opening drawings
• Import drawings
• Export drawings

Help video

How to open the Drawing Tools

Select Drawing Tools on the left panel.

Drawing features on your map

Create tools

These options allow you to select the sort of feature you want and then place or draw it on the map.

Symbol:

1. Select a symbol by clicking or tapping it. The button will highlight to show that it is active.
2. Now select the location on the map where you want to place the symbol.

Label:

1. Select the Place standalone label button.

1. The Text settings will activate.
2. Select an appropriate colour, size and whether you want a Bold typeface.
   
3. Now select the location on the map where you want your text to start from.
4. A Label box appears. Type your text and click OK.

Measurement Label:

This tool allows you to add a line or area value to lines or shapes you have drawn on the map.

1. Click on the add measurement button It will highlght to show it is active.
2. Click on a line, shape or polygon you have drawn on the map.
3. The measurement in metres or kilometres will be displayed at the point where you clicked.
4. If you modify a feature with a measurement label, the values in the label will not automatically update. You will need to add a new measurement label.

Lines:

1. Click the Draw Line button It will highlight to show it is active.
2. The Stroke Settings will activate.
3. Select the colour, width and style of the line you want to draw.

4. Click the point on the map where you want your line to start. Continue clicking wherever you want the line to change direction. Use a double click to finish the line.

Polygons/areas:

1. Select either Draw polygon (draw a sequence of points), or Draw freehand polygon (draw a freeform line).
2. Use the Stroke Settings to select the colour, thickness and Style of the outline of the polygon as above.
3. Use the Fill Settings to select the colour and opacity of the body of the polygon.
   Click on the map to start drawing your polygon:
4. • If you are using a sequence of points, click the location on the map where you want a start the polygon outline. Use a double click to close the polygon back to the first point.
   • If you are using a free form line, click and hold down the left mouse button and draw your outline. Release the mouse button to close the polygon. A line will automatically go back to the first point when you release.

Shapes:

1. Select a shape. It will highlight to show it is active.

1. Use the Stroke Settings to select the colour, thickness and Style of the outline of the shape as above.

2. Use the Fill Settings to select the colour and opacity of the body of the shape as above.
3. Click on the map where you want the centre of your shape to be (see note below about Ellipses).
4. Drag out the shape until it is the right size; you can also change the orientation of the shape by dragging the mouse pointer in different directions.

Show/hide features

This button at the top of the Create tab allows you to display or hide your drawings. If you hide your drawings you will not lose your work.

Note: Your annotations will only be deleted if you leave Roam or click on the Delete All button as explained in the next section.

Delete features

There are two options for deleting features you have drawn on the map.

1. Deleting all features using the Delete All button
2. Deleting selected features only using Delete Features tool You can delete features by clicking on them one by one, or by using the Select tools to create a group for deletion.

Select features

There are two options for selecting features you have drawn on the map.

1. Use the Select Features tool to pick individual features.
2. Use the Select Features by Box tool to drag a box and select multiple features at once. By holding down the shift key you can make multiple selections with both these tools. Selected features will turn yellow.

Once you have selected a feature you can then use one of the tools to modify it or you can delete it.  Selections of multiple features cannot be modified as a group, only deleted.

Modify tools

The modify tools allow you to change certain aspects of features you have added to the map.

Add Label:

This tool allows you to label a feature you have drawn on the map.

1. First use the Select features tool to select your feature.
2. The Modify area will activate.

3. Select the Add label to selected button.
4. A label box appears - type your text and select OK.
5. Text Settings are activated. Select a colour, size and whether you want a bold typeface.

Move Feature:

This tool allows you to move all the features you have added to the map.

1. Use the Select Features button to select the feature you want to move. Make sure the feature is highlighted in yellow.
2. Now select the Move feature button . It will highlight to show it is active.
3. Click and hold down the left mouse button on the feature to drag to its new location.
4. Measurement labels must be moved separately to their features.

Note: Features will remain in the same order as they were drawn, for example if you move a feature over another, the one that was drawn first will be placed at the back.

Modify Feature:

This tool allows you to change the position of all the points that make up the lines, polygons and shapes you have drawn.

1. Use the Select features button to select the feature for modification.

2. First click on the Modify selected feature button It will highlight to show it is active.

3. Hover over your shape - a blue circle appears at any point that can be modified.

4. Click and drag the blue circle(s) to change the shape.

5. Release when you are happy with the new shape.

Rotate Feature:

This tool allows you to rotate a line, polygon or shape you have drawn on the map.

1. Use the Select features button to select the feature for modification.

2. Click on the Rotate feature button . It will highlight to show it is active.

3. Hover over your shape - a hand icon appears.

4. Click and drag to rotate your shape.

5. Release when you are happy with the modification.

Transform Feature:

This tool allows you to change the size of a line, polygon or shape without locking the aspect ratio. This allows you to stretch the feature vertically or horizontally.

1. Use the Select features button to select the feature for modification.

2. Select the transform feature button . It will highlight to show it is active.

3. Hover over your shape - an anchor point (blue circle) appears.

4. Click and drag the blue circle to increase or decrease its size and change its shape.

5. Release the mouse button when you are happy with its new size and shape.

Scale Feature:

This tool allows you to change the size of a line, polygon or shape with a locked aspect ratio. This allows you increase or decrease the size of a feature.

1. Use the Select features button to select the feature for modification.

2. Select the Scale Feature button . It will highlight to show it is active.

3. Hover over your shape - an anchor point (blue circle) appears.

4. Click and drag the blue circle to increase or decrease its shape.

5. Release the mouse button when you are happy with its new size.

Edit Styling:

You can edit the colour and other style properties of features after you add them.

1. First click on the Select Features tool or the Select Features by box tool.

2. Next, click on the feature(s) that you want to edit to select them. Selected features are highlighted in yellow.

3. To change the colour of text, lines or areas, select the new colour from the relevant colour options.  

4. To change the style or width of lines, select the feature and change the relevant styles.

5. To edit a label or other text select the text and type in the pop up box that appears.  You cannot edit the text of multiple labels.

6. When you have finished editing your feature(s), deselect by deactivating the relevant Select button.

Saving and opening drawings

• Select My Maps, then Save on the left panel.

• Give your map a name, click Save. Your drawings and map will be saved.  

• Select My Maps, then Open to view saved drawings.

Import drawings

If you have a dataset of spatial data, you can import it into Roam to view those features as annotations.

This can be a dataset you have created in a GIS or CAD, downloaded from Digimap or another data provider, tracks or points surveyed using a GPS unit or a geocoded table of survey results.  

Supported formats:

• Shapefile
• KML
• GPX
• CSV
• GeoJSON

To import your dataset:

1. Select Drawing Tools, then the Import tab.
2. Browse to the file you want to import and select it.
3. Click Import.  Your file will be checked and verified by Roam, this can take a minute or two especially if your dataset is large or complex.
4. If you are importing a CSV dataset, an additional pop-up will appear for you to select the X and Y coordinates from your file, and the relevant projection for the dataset.  Select the relevant fields from the drop down menus and click

Important note! -  Shapefiles must be zipped into a .zip archive.  The zip file must include at least the .shp, .dbf, .shx and .prj components of the shapefile.

Supported Coordinate Systems (projections)

All imported datasets must have a defined coordinate system (projection) so Roam knows where exactly on the map the features should be.  GPX and KML files have default projections that are always contained in the files, so they are straight forward.  Shapefiles, GeoJSON and geocoded CSV files can come in a variety of projections that can be used to locate data worldwide.  As Roam only contains maps for Great Britain, only coordinate systems relevant to GB are supported for imported annotation files.  

Supported projections are:

• British National Grid (EPSG:27700)

• WGS84 (EPSG:4326)

• Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

• ETRS89(EPSG:4258)

If your dataset's projection is not one of those listed above, Roam will not be able to import it.  If necessary, reproject your data into a supported projection using a GIS or relevant software.

Note: Supported projections can be defined in a variety of ways in spatial datasets.  So it may be possible that your dataset will be in (for example) British National Grid but is defined in a particular way that Roam has not been coded to support and therefore will fail to import.  

If you have such a dataset, please contact the EDINA Helpdesk (digimap@ed.ac.uk) and send a copy of your data.  

We can then add the relevant projection to those supported in Roam.

Export drawings

You can export drawings created in Roam for use in GIS/CAD.  

Export formats:

• Shapefile
• KML
• GeoJSON

To export a set of annotations you have created to a file suitable for use in a GIS:

1. Select Drawing Tools, then Export.
2. Select a file format, give your file a name and click Export.

Any geographic data you generate from a map is called "derived data" and is still copyright to the creators of the original map. If you create annotations by tracing features on a Roam map you will need to credit any maps you go on to make using the annotations with the appropriate copyright statement.

The copyright statement is added automatically when you print a map from Roam. You will need to add in the statement manually if you export annotations and use them in other software such as GIS or CAD. The copyright statement to include can be found in the Terms of Use for the service you are using. Just click the link on the lower right portion of the Roam interface.