← All help

Getting started

Load your first layer and make a map in under a minute.

From an empty map to a shared link in a couple of minutes.

Launch the app

Head to app.dropmaps.net. DropMaps runs entirely in your browser — there’s nothing to install and your data stays on your machine until you choose to sync it to the cloud.

Sign up for a free account (100 MB of cloud storage, sync and public sharing included), continue without signing in, or subscribe for more room and password-protected links.

Add a layer

Drag a file straight onto the map, or use Add layer at the bottom of the Layers panel. Supported formats include:

  • Shapefile (.shp or a zipped shapefile)
  • KML / KMZ
  • GeoJSON and TopoJSON
  • CSV with latitude/longitude (or WKT) columns
  • GeoTIFF / Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF
  • PMTiles archives

…and many more: GeoPackage, File Geodatabase, GPX, FlatGeobuf, GeoParquet, MBTiles, geotagged photos, GeoPDF and 3D models. See Supported formats. Layers in other coordinate systems are reprojected to WGS84 automatically.

Add open data

No data yet, or want context around your own? Add layer ▸ External sources brings in public data with no files to find:

  • Open data: buildings, roads, places and more from Overture Maps, for anywhere on Earth.
  • Satellite: recent Sentinel-2 imagery, including NDVI vegetation views.
  • Servers and From URL: public GeoServer, ArcGIS and other map services, or any web link.

Drop your survey points over Overture buildings and fresh satellite imagery, and you have a working map in a minute. See Basemaps & external sources.

Go 3D

Tilt the map (right-drag) and extrude buildings by height, show points as 3D hexbins, or drop in a city model or point cloud. See 3D maps & layers.

Style and edit

Click a layer’s colour swatch in the Layers panel to open its settings — colour it by a field, add labels and build its popup (Styling layers). Table in the left nav opens the attribute table to view and edit feature properties, and the tool rail along the bottom of the map adds or reshapes geometry (Drawing & measuring). New to the layout? The interface names every part.

Name your map

Click the map’s name at the top of the map (or Settings in the left nav) to give it a name and summary, set its Home view and capture a thumbnail — the picture on its card in your maps list and on its share links.

Save & share

The editor is free forever and works without an account — import, edit and export every supported format straight from the browser. Sign in and a free account adds 100 MB of cloud storage: back your maps up, sync them across your devices, and share a map with anyone via a link — a branded, read-only viewer with optional expiry and view stats. Use the Share button at the top-right of the map. See Maps & cloud sync and Sharing & the viewer.

Pro is about room and privacy: 5 GB of storage (with extra +10 GB packs from $1/mo USD on top) and password-protected links for maps that aren’t meant for everyone. See Pricing for what each plan includes.