Work Areas

The Work Areas is the “footprint” or boundary of your design. It is particularly helpful to give your design a defined space, and to inform other designers of your activity in the area. The symbology (fill, style, and outline) are configurable at the company level, so your Work Area likely appears different than the image below.

Work Area Toolset

The application provides a Work Area toolset on the Design tab.

Tool		Use
Work Area Auto-Generation		Click this tool to toggle the auto-generation functionality on or off.
	Work Area Auto-Generation is Running	When toggled on, the application draws the Work Area for you in real time. They are drawn as buffers around all design components. They are drawn whether they are visible or hidden.
	Work Area Auto-Generation is Stopped	When toggled off, the application stops drawing the Work Area around all design components. Typically, this would be toward the end of the design when you need to make small adjustments to the Work Area.
Work Area Visibility		Click this tool to toggle the Work Area visibility on or off for your current design. This tool does not affect the visibility of other designers’ Work Areas, which are toggled on or off in the Maps Pane > Reference Maps (this ability to view other designers’ Work Areas is an optional configuration at your company).
	Work Area is Visible	When toggled on, the Work Area for your current design is visible on the screen.
	Work Area is Hidden	When toggled off, the Work Area for your current design is not visible on the screen.
Edit Work Area Tools		Whether Work Areas are auto-generated or manually drawn, you can edit their shape using these tools.
	Add Work Area	In the map, click to sketch new Work Area. Each click adds a vertex of the Work Area. Double-click or press Enter to finish.
	Remove Work Area	In the map, click to sketch a shape over an existing Work Area. The overlap between your sketch and the existing Work Area is removed, akin to a cookie cutter cutting out a section of the Work Area. Each click adds a vertex of the remove area. Double-click or press Enter to finish.
	Edit Work Area	Click this tool to reveal the vertices and edges that compose the existing Work Area. Then, with the same tool, click and drag the vertices or edge midpoints into desired positions to modify the boundary of the Work Area. Double-click or press Enter to finish. With the same tool, you can also click and drag the entire Work Area into a new position.

Work Area Auto-Generation

Turn the Work Area auto-generation function on or off by clicking the auto-generation toggle.

Toggled On

When the Work Area auto-generation is toggled on , the application draws the Work Area for you in real time as you add and remove design components. They are drawn as buffers around all design components. The symbology (fill, style, and outline) are configurable at the company level, so your Work Area likely appears different than the image below.

The Work Area is drawn whether it is visible or hidden. In other words, if it is currently hidden, it is still being drawn “behind the scenes” and appears when you toggle its visibility back on.

Toggled Off

When the Work Area auto-generation is toggled off , the application no longer draws the Work Area around new design elements.

TIP: In a typical design, you would have the auto-generation toggled on throughout the design process to let the application do most of the work for you. Toward the very end of the design, you can then toggle it off and make modifications to the Work Area, if necessary.

Toggle Off then On to Reset Work Area to Default Buffer

It is important to understand that if you toggle the tool off, then back on, the application re-draws the Work Area back to the default buffer. It removes any manual modifications you made.

For example, let’s say you manually change the Work Area like the example image below:

Then, if you toggle the tool off and on, it resets the Work Area back to the default buffer:

TIP: If you did not mean to reset the Work Area back to the default buffer, click Undo. This returns your Work Area back to its modified form.

Work Area Visibility

Turn Work Areas on and off by clicking the Work Area visibility toggle. By default, the Work Area is hidden.

Click this tool to toggle the Work Area visibility on or off for your current design. This tool does not affect the visibility of other designers’ Work Areas, which are toggled on or off in the Maps Pane > Reference Maps (this ability to view other designers’ Work Areas is an optional configuration at your company).

Visibility has no effect on the functionality of the auto-generation tool. In other words, even if the Work Area is hidden, auto-generate still creates it “behind the scenes,” and it becomes visible when this tool is toggled on.

Work Area Modifications

Click the drop-down to reveal the Work Area modification tools: Add, Remove, and Edit.

Add Work Area

By default, the Work Area Auto-Generation tool creates Work Area buffers around all design components. Use the Add Work Area tool to add to the Work Area in your design. To use this tool:

Ensure the Work Area can be seen by toggling the visibility tool to Work Area is Visible . You cannot sketch a Work Area if it is hidden.
Click the drop-down, then click the Add Work Area tool.
Bring the cursor into the map area.
Click to add vertices of the Work Area.
Double-click to finish.

Keep the following in mind while using this tool:

After finishing your first Work Area shape, the Work Area Auto-Generation tool turns off.
- In a typical design, you would have auto-generation toggled on throughout the design process to let the application do most of the work for you. Toward the very end of the design, you can then toggle it off and make modifications to the Work Area, if necessary.
You can add as many Work Area shapes as you need.
The tool respects Undo and Redo both during the sketch and after finishing the sketch.
If your Work Area shape touches or overlaps an existing section of the Work Area, the application merges them into one shape.
If you toggle Work Area Auto-Generation back on, your custom Work Area is removed, and the Work Area returns to the default buffer around design components.
- This is the fastest way to reset the Work Area.
- However, if that was not your intent and you need your custom work back, click Undo and your changes return.
During your sketch, the visibility toggle is disabled. Once you are finished sketching the Work Area, the visibility toggle becomes active.

Remove Work Area

The Remove Work Area tool is akin to a cookie cutter. You sketch a shape, and the overlap of your sketch and existing Work Area is removed. To use this tool:

Ensure the Work Area can be seen by toggling the visibility tool to Work Area is Visible . You cannot remove part of the Work Area if it is hidden.
Click the drop-down, then click the Remove Work Area tool.
Bring the cursor into the map area.
Click to add vertices of the Work Area you need to remove. Double-click to finish.

Keep the following in mind while using this tool:

After finishing your first sketch, the Work Area Auto-Generation tool turns off.
- In a typical design, you would have auto-generation toggled on throughout the design process to let the application do most of the work for you. Toward the very end of the design, you can then toggle it off and make modifications to the Work Area, if necessary.
You can remove as many portions of the Work Area as you need.
The tool respects Undo and Redo both during the sketch and after finishing the sketch.
If you toggle Work Area Auto-Generation back on, your custom work is removed, and the Work Area returns to the default buffer around design components.
- This is the fastest way to reset the Work Area.
- However, if that was not your intent and you need your custom work back, click Undo and your changes return.
During your sketch, the visibility toggle is disabled. Once you are finished modifying the Work Area, the visibility toggle becomes active.

Edit Work Area

The Edit Work Area tool is the most fine-grained way to manipulate the shape of the Work Area. It reveals the vertices and edges that compose the Work Area and allows you to move them discretely. To use this tool:

Ensure the Work Area can be seen by toggling the visibility tool to Work Area is Visible . You cannot edit the Work Area if it is hidden.
Click the drop-down, then click the Edit Work Area tool.
Notice, the vertices and edges of the Work Area become visible.
Click either a vertex or an edge midpoint. Notice it becomes selected.
Once the point is selected, click and drag it into the desired position. The Work Area edge “rubber bands” as your move your cursor.
Release your cursor to complete the movement. Continue to reposition points as needed.
Press Enter to finish.

Keep the following in mind while using this tool:

With this tool, you can also reposition the entire Work Area. Click once on the Work Area edge, then click and drag the entire Work Area into a desired position.

IMPORTANT: This kind of edit is best suited when your Work Area is a single shape. Because, this moves all Work Area shapes together, even those that might not be in the current map extent. Thus, be careful when repositioning a Work Area in this manner.
After finishing your first edit, the Work Area Auto-Generation tool turns off.
- In a typical design, you would have auto-generation toggled on throughout the design process to let the application do most of the work for you. Toward the very end of the design, you can then toggle it off and make modifications to the Work Area, if necessary.
You cannot remove vertices with this tool. Instead, use the Remove Work Area tool to remove portions of the existing Work Area.
The tool respects Undo and Redo both during the sketch and after finishing the sketch.
If you toggle Work Area Auto-Generation back on, your custom work is removed, and the Work Area returns to the default buffer around design components.
- This is the fastest way to reset the Work Area.
- However, if that was not your intent and you need your custom work back, click Undo and your changes return.
During your sketch, the visibility toggle is disabled. Once you are finished modifying Work Area, the visibility toggle becomes active.