Drawing Shapes on the Map

WFDSS provides a robust set of tools that allow Incident Owners (must be an Author to be an owner), Incident Editors (any WFDSS user can be assigned editing privileges), and analysts to draw shapes on the Situation and Analysis maps. Points, lines, rectangles and polygons can be drawn to represent fire perimeters, planning areas, M.A.P.s, incident obj. shapes, points of interest, analysis ignitions, barriers or landscape masks. The following rules apply:

• Incident owners and editors can draw all shape types.
• Users assigned the Dispatcher role can draw all shape types except for planning areas, M.A.P.s and objective shapes for incidents in their geographic area. If a Dispatcher is given incident editing privileges, that person can draw those shapes, too.
• Fire Behavior Specialists can draw all shape types except for M.A.P.s and incident obj. shapes in any geographic area. If an analyst is given incident editing privileges, that person can draw those shapes, too.

Users can draw multi-part shapes (such as a main fire and a spot fire), or you can merge existing shapes to create a new shape. Users cannot draw a polygon to represent a fire perimeter with pockets of unburned fuel, however, you can upload this type of shape, if needed. See About Maps for a detailed explanation about each drawing tool and About Shapes for additional information about managing shapes.

Figure 1: Map Tools

Note: If you want to be able to associate a shape you've created and saved on the Situation or Analysis map to an M.A.P., you must have your browser's popup blocker turned off.: If you want to be able to associate a shape you've created and saved on the Situation or Analysis map to an M.A.P., you must have your browser's popup blocker turned off.

To draw shapes on the map:

1. From the Incident List, select the incident you would like to draw a shape for.
2. Click Assess Situation. The map appears with the selected incident marked and centered on the map.
3. Select the map layers you want to view to help guide your drawing (click the + sign beside a category name to expand it, and then select/deselect the appropriate checkboxes for the map layers you want to view).
4. Select the map tool you want to use to create a shape on the map (point, line, rectangle, or polygon).
5. Place your cursor on the map where you want to start drawing, and then click once.
6. Draw the shape, left-clicking as you go to create vertices for lines and polygons. For rectangles, you must click and drag. Double-click, or press the shift key and click to release the tool. The shape turns yellow. (If you don't like the shape you drew, click the eraser tool  to erase your sketch and draw it again.)
7. If drawing a multi-part shape, place your cursor on the map where you want to start drawing the next shape. Draw the shape and double-click to release the tool when you are finished. Each shape you draw will turn yellow upon completion (draw multi-part shapes carefully, as clicking the erase tool at this point will erase all shapes you have drawn).
8. When you are finished drawing the shape(s), save the shape under the appropriate Incident or Analysis layer:
   1. To expand the Incident layer, click the + symbol. The Planning Area, Fire Perimeters, Management Action Points (M.A.P.), Incident Obj. Shapes and Points of Interest layers appear in the tree view.
   2. To expand the Analysis layer, click the + symbol. The Ignitions, Barriers, and Landscape Masks layers appear in the tree view.
   3. Click the green  icon beside the type of shape you want to add.
   4. Enter a Name for the shape. Be sure to use descriptive names (e.g., Aspen Grove Rd). For M.A.P.s, WFDSS adds the M.A.P. number to the front of the shape name once the shape is associated with an M.A.P. so it is best to assign an M.A.P. name that is not a number.
   5. Click Save. The shape appears in the map display with its name beside it and in the tree view with a checkbox beside it.
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   Last updated on 12/23/2021 3:28:42 PM.

In This Section Maps and Shapes To draw shapes on the map:

See Also About Maps Using the Map View About Shapes About Analysis Shape Files (STFB, NTFB, FSPro) Deleting Shapes About Planning Areas Subscribing to Planning Area Notifications Creating a Planning Area Drawing a Landscape Extent Querying the Landscape Data Creating a Barrier Creating an Analysis Ignition File Merging Two Shapes Uploading Shapes Creating a Landscape Mask About Images Uploading Images Capturing Map Images Downloading National Data Layers Downloading Incident Shapes Downloading Fire Perimeters Viewing Shapes Viewing Unit Shapes on a Map Viewing, Copying or Downloading Feature Information Copying Feature Information Downloading Feature Information Viewing Smoke Dispersion Information Viewing the Fire Danger Rating Graph Saving Fire Danger Rating Graphs to Incident Content Viewing Strategic Objectives

Reference Field Descriptions Glossary Resources Spatial Data Reference Landscape Data Source Reference Relative Risk Reference Organization Assessment Reference Fire Behavior Reference About the WFDSS Decision Editors