Progress Map Ultimate uses Terra Draw for interactive geometry in the WordPress admin and for front-end Draw a Search (click-to-draw). It replaces Google’s legacy DrawingManager, which Ultimate no longer loads.
This page covers admin drawing. Visitor area search is documented under Draw a Search.
Why Terra Draw
- Compatible with modern Google Maps JavaScript API versions
- Same mental model: click to place vertices, finish the shape, edit or redraw
- Shared bridge scripts shipped in Ultimate core (
terra-draw, adapter, bridge)
If you follow old tutorials that mention enabling the Google drawing library or a DrawingManager toolbar, ignore them — they are obsolete for Ultimate.
Where drawing appears in admin
When you edit a map, several fields embed a small Google map with drawing active:
| Feature area | What you draw |
|---|---|
| Polygons | Closed shapes (zones, neighbourhoods) |
| Polylines | Lines and routes |
| Map holes | Cut-outs in a filled map mask |
| Ground overlays | Rectangle bounds for an image overlay |
On-screen field instructions explain the exact gestures for each tool.
General workflow
- Open the map settings section for polygons, polylines, holes, or overlays.
- Pan the preview map to the area you care about (use fullscreen if available for precision).
- The relevant drawing mode is active when the field map loads — you usually do not hunt for a separate toolbar.
- Draw the shape:
- Use Draw from scratch when you need to discard the current shape and start over.
- Save / update coordinates with the field’s update control if shown.
- Click Update on the map post to persist settings.
Coordinates order (lat,lng vs lng,lat)
Many external tools export longitude, latitude. Ultimate expects a consistent order for path fields.
If a shape appears in the wrong place after paste:
- Save the map once.
- Re-open the polygon/polyline path widget.
- Use Reverse coordinates if provided.
- Confirm the shape on the admin preview map.
- Update coordinates and save the map again.
Always verify on the admin preview before trusting the front end.
Relation to front-end Draw a Search
| Admin Terra Draw | Front-end Draw a Search |
|---|---|
| Defines static shapes, routes, overlays for a map | Lets visitors draw a temporary area to filter listings |
| Saved in map settings | Ephemeral search geometry (plus optional predefined areas you configure) |
| Always part of core | Requires the Draw a Search module enabled |
Both share Terra Draw technology; they solve different jobs.
Troubleshooting drawing fields
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Blank admin map in the field | API key / referrer / Maps JavaScript API — see API key |
| Clicks do nothing | Another script capturing map events; try disabling optimize/minify plugins |
| Shape wrong hemisphere | Coordinates reversed — use Reverse coordinates |
| Old docs mention DrawingManager toolbar | Outdated — Ultimate uses Terra Draw active-on-load |
| Front-end draw missing | Enable Draw a Search module |
Next steps
- Overlays — polygons, polylines, KML, images, heatmap
- Draw a Search — visitor drawing