How to enable Sketch on a map

Add Sketch to a map so viewers can draw shapes, mark places, add text, and save the result. It has one on and off toggle.

Sketch lets viewers draw shapes, mark places, add text, and save the result. Use it when viewers need to mark up a map. Add it from the map’s Extensions page; it has one on/off toggle and no settings.

Before you start

You need edit access to the map.
Sketch has no settings — there’s nothing to configure.
Sketch works best on desktop with a mouse or trackpad. See Supported browsers and devices for mobile caveats.

Open the Extensions page

From the map’s admin sidebar, click Extensions. The Sketch card is near the bottom of the list, between Refresh map and Map Help.

Enable Sketch

Click the Add button on the Sketch card. The card now shows a Remove button (no Settings button — there are no settings).

(Optional) Open Sketch on load

Sketch supports Open on load: click the Open on load chip on the card to make the Sketch panel the one that opens automatically when a viewer first loads the map. The chip then reads Opens on load. Only one tool can be the default-open tool at a time — setting it here clears it from any other tool. Click the filled chip to turn it off.

Extensions page with the Sketch row showing its Open on load chip and Remove button, between Refresh map and Map Help

Verify the result

Open the map while you are signed in to your account. The Sketch tool should appear in the map’s controls. Open it, click Create, and confirm:

Sketch panel with the Create Sketch box open, the Shape tool picked, and the hint Click to add points. Click the first point, or double-click the last point, to finish., beside a half-drawn shape on the map

You can draw a shape or annotation on the map. When you pick a drawing tool, a hint below the tools tells you how to use it. For example, Rectangle and Radius take a click, a pointer move, and a second click, not a drag.
The drawing stays on the map as you pan and zoom.
You can save the sketch.
In the list of saved sketches, a click on a sketch shows it on the map and moves the map to it. A second click hides it again, and the map stays where it is.

If you set Open on load, the Sketch panel should open by itself when the map first loads.

Only people signed in as members of your account can create and save sketches. A visitor who is not signed in sees the Sketch panel, but has no Create button and cannot draw.

Removing Sketch

To turn it off, click Remove on the Sketch card. The tool is removed from the map for viewers.

What this doesn’t cover

Creator annotations baked into the map — Sketch is a viewer tool for marking up the map at view time. To add permanent annotations the map ships with, add them as a layer instead — see Managing layers and Editing features.
Reviewing or moderating viewer sketches — there’s no admin panel on the Extensions page for managing sketches viewers create.
Sharing a sketch — viewers share and bookmark their sketches through the Share and bookmark tool. Enable it too if you want that — see How to enable Share and bookmark.