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Digitizer

The Digitizer is a drawing-assist tool that helps you capture facility geometry precisely. It provides snapping to existing references and angle/length constraints that apply while you draw or edit a feature's shape. Use it when the shape tools alone are not precise enough, or when the geometry has to follow specific dimensional rules.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

  • Open the Digitizer and control what it snaps to
  • Apply angle and length constraints while drawing
  • Recognize when imagery accuracy limits the Digitizer's effective precision

When to use the Digitizer​

Reach for the Digitizer when:

  • The facility's footprint must be drawn at exact dimensions (e.g., a 60 ft segment)
  • The new geometry needs to align with existing features (snap to a facility or measure)
  • You're capturing geometry where precise angles or lengths matter

For quick sketching or approximate placement, the simpler shape tools in Adding features are usually sufficient.

Open the Digitizer from the left sidebar's menu (sidebar chooser) → Digitizer.

Snapping​

The Snap To section controls what the cursor latches onto as you draw. Each target has its own checkbox (all on by default):

  • Facilities — snap to existing facility geometry
  • Measures — snap to markup measurements (distances, areas, buffers)
  • GPS Traces — snap to imported GPS trace geometry

Uncheck a target when you want to place a vertex free of that reference.

Constraints​

The Constraints section locks angle and length as you draw:

  • Baseline Angle — set a reference angle for the segment you're drawing
  • Interval Angle — constrain turns to a repeating angle increment (available once a baseline angle is set)
  • Length Constraint (ft) — lock the segment to a fixed length

Leave a field blank to leave that property unconstrained.

Try it​

In the Digitizer:

  1. Open the Digitizer sidebar and confirm Facilities snapping is on
  2. Start drawing a feature's geometry and snap a vertex to an existing facility
  3. Set a Length Constraint and place the next vertex at that fixed length
  4. Set a Baseline Angle, then use Interval Angle to step subsequent segments at a regular increment