Editing icon details
Every icon has a name, a picture and a short description that tells people what it means. It can also have questions that people answer when they add a site with that icon. All of these are edited with the Data tool.
To start, open the icon editor, select an icon in the grid, and pick the Data tool from the toolbar at the bottom.
Table of contents
Identity
- name is the title of the icon. It’s shown in the map legend and on the details of every site that uses the icon, so keep it short and clear.
- other names are related words that people might use for the same thing. For example, a Farmers market icon could also be called local market or food market. They help people find the icon when they search for it.
- icon is the picture. Press select file to replace it with a new SVG or PNG file. If is SDF is turned off for this icon (you can read about it in Styling icons), you can also pick a dark theme icon. It’s a second version of the picture, used when someone views the map in dark mode.
- description explains what the icon means and when it should be used.
The identity fields are shown only when one icon is selected, because every icon needs its own name and picture.
Classification
- category is the main group of the icon, like Nature, Culture or Food. The map legend groups the icons by category. A few broad categories work better than lots of small ones, because they keep the legend easy to use.
- subcategory is a smaller group inside a category, like Parks inside Nature. You can leave it empty.
- order is the position of the icon in the set. Icons with a smaller number come first. You don’t need to set it by hand, since dragging the icons around updates it for you.
When several icons are selected, only the classification fields are shown. Change a field, save, and all the selected icons get the new value. If the selected icons have different values in a field, the field shows that the values are mixed, until you change it.
Attributes
Attributes are the questions people answer about a site that uses this icon. For example, a Bike parking icon could ask “How many bikes fit here?” and “Is it covered?”. The answers are shown on the details of the site, and the questions are also asked in the surveys that use the icon.
Press the + attribute button to add a new question. To change the order of the questions, drag them around, and to remove one, press its remove button.
Here is an explanation of the attribute fields:
- name is the name under which the answers are stored.
- display name is the question the way people see it.
- help message is a short hint shown with the question, to help people answer it.
- type sets the kind of answer that is expected:
- short text and long text are for written answers
- integer is for whole numbers, like 3
- decimal is for numbers with decimals, like 2.5
- boolean is for yes or no answers
- date is for a day in the calendar
- options lets people pick one answer from a list
- options with other does the same, but people can also type their own answer
- multiple selection lets people pick several answers from a list
- multiple selection with other does the same, but people can also type their own answers
- options is the list of answers people can pick from, separated by commas, like
small, medium, large. It’s shown only for the options and multiple selection types. - is private hides the answers from people outside your team.
- is required means that people must answer the question before they can save the site.
The answers are stored under the attribute name. If you rename an attribute that already has answers, those answers won’t show up anymore. If you just want to reword the question, change its display name instead.
The attributes are shown only when one icon is selected.
Don’t forget to press the save button of each group! Unsaved edits disappear faster than volunteers when someone asks “who wants to do the spreadsheet?”