Quick start guide icon

Quick start guide

  • When the app is first opened (or you've logged out) you'll be presented with the start screen.
  • Follow the 'Get started' or 'Log in' links at the bottom of the page.
  • Log in is handled by Google. On successful log in you'll be taken to the home screen - the Garden List.
Screenshot of Start screen - Image

The home screen is the Garden List. Here you can see all of the gardens you can view, which are:

  • Gardens shared publicly, which all GardenMap users can see
  • Gardens that friends have shared with you
  • Gardens that you have created in GardenMap

Tap on a garden in the list to explore!

Screenshot of Garden List screen - Image
  • Details for the selected garden are shown
  • TIP: Swipe the header image to view the garden photo slideshow, tap the image to view the slideshow full screen
  • Switch to the garden map view from the bottom navigation bar
Screenshot of Garden Detail screen - Image
  • Note: It's not necessary to log out, it's fine to remain logged in between sessions
  • From the garden list home screen tap the settings button in the top right to open the settings screen
  • Select the log out option
Screenshot of Settings screen - Image
Editing the garden map icon

Editing the garden map

The garden map structure is constrained by some simple rules. The interface enforces the rules, but it helps to understand what they are:

  • The map starts with a boundary
  • The map is built up of a nested structure of objects, Objects can have child objects within them, they are contained within a parent object, and there may be other sibling objects within the parent
  • Objects must remain within their parent object
  • Objects may not overlap sibling objects

GardenMap splits plants into two groups, based on how they are displayed on the garden map:

  • 'Feature Plants': Plants that are plotted on the map individually, because of their importance (structural or emotional!)
  • 'Plants': Plants (that are still important), but would take too much time (and would clutter the map) if plotted individually.

The garden map is built up using the following types of objects:

  • 'Boundary': This is the first object in the map - it matches the real world outer boundary of the garden. Only 'Areas' can be placed inside the Boundary
  • 'Areas': Areas of the garden that contain plants. Areas can contain other Areas, Structures, Plants, and Feature Plants. So, Areas might be 'Front Garden', 'Back Garden', 'Lawn', 'Bed' etc.
  • 'Structure': Areas of the garden that don't contain plant, like paving, the shed, or the house
  • 'Feature Plants': Plants that are plotted on the map individually, because of their importance (structural or emotional!).
Garden Structure - Image
  • Enter edit mode: tap 'Edit' in the top right of the Garden Map view.
  • Exit edit mode: tap 'Done' in the top right to confirm changes, or tap 'Cancel' in the top left to discard all changes in the current edit session.

Editing with the Toolbar

Clear Selection Toolbar IconClear Selection
Deselects the currently selected garden object. Can be useful before selecting a new garden object
Edit Content Toolbar IconEdit Content
Shows the edit contents sub-menu. Contents are the object details, and any objects it contains
Details Toolbar IconDetails
Edit the details of the selected garden object. As well as details like name and description this is also where photos are added to the garden object
Add Toolbar IconAdd
Shows the add object sub-menu. To add new objects within the selected object
Feature Plant Toolbar IconFeature Plant
Drag this button onto the map to add a new Feature Plant within the selected object
Plant Toolbar IconPlant
Opens the plant list of the selected object for adding (non-feature) plants
Planting Area Toolbar IconPlanting Area
Drag this button onto the map to add a new Area within the selected object
Delete Toolbar IconDelete
Deletes the selected object, and all objects it contains
Edit Outline Toolbar IconEdit Outline
Shows the edit outline sub-menu. The outline is the position and the shape of the object on the map
Move Toolbar IconMove
Toggles object move mode. Turn on then drag the selected object to move around the map. All child-objects within the selected object will also move
Stretch Toolbar IconStretch
Toggles object stretch mode. Turn on then drag the side or corner 'stretch handles' of the selected object to stretch. Child-objects will not be stretched
Rotate Toolbar IconRotate
Toggles object rotate mode. Turn on then drag on the 'rotate handles' of the selected object to rotate. All child-objects within the selected object will also rotate
Point Edit Toolbar IconPoint Edit
Toggles object point-edit mode, and shows the point-edit sub-menu. Point-edit mode allows individual corner points of the object outline to be move, added, and deleted
Add Point Toolbar IconAdd Point
Drag this button onto an edge of the selected object to add a new corner point. Once added the new point can be dragged to position it
Delete Point Toolbar IconDelete Point
Toggles point-edit delete mode. Turn on then select a corner point on the selected object to delete it
Minimise Toolbar IconMinimise
Toggles minimizing the toolbar. The minimised toolbar shows icons only (no text) which can be helpful when working on devices with small screens
Close Toolbar IconClose
Closes the toolbar. Working without the toolbar may be helpful on devices with small screens - all the menu actions can also be performed using tap and long press gestures on the garden map. If the toolbar is closed it can be re-opened from the options menu, opened from the more icon (...) in the garden map screen top right
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