# Add an entry on the map

> Create an entry from a type, place it on the map by clicking or searching an address, fill in its fields and save it as a draft to mark ready later.

An entry is one place or item on your map, such as a store, a trail or an event. This page shows editors how to create an entry, put it on the map, fill in its elements (fields) and save it.

## Create a new entry

You create an entry from the **Entries** section, by picking the type it belongs to. Owners and Editors can create entries; Developers can only view them.

1. Open **Entries** in the project menu.
2. Above the list, click **New**. A small menu opens.
3. Under **What are you adding?**, pick a type, for example "Store". The editor opens next to the map.
4. Type a title in the **Title** box (it shows "Untitled entry" until you do).

The same **New** menu also has **New group** (see [Curate groups of entries](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/groups/)) and **Import data…** for bringing in many entries at once (see [Import your data](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/import/)).

The switch at the top of the list toggles between **Entries** and **Groups**: the Groups view lists your groups instead of the entries.

### The first entry of an empty project

A project with no types yet still opens **Entries** with the map, and the empty list says **Click the map to add your first place**. Click the map where the place is: the editor opens with a point there. You can also click **New** and choose **Place**. When the entry is saved, Spatibase creates its type, "Place", which allows points, lines and areas and doesn't require a location. Every later entry can use it too, and you can rename it or change it in the content model.

Under **Other ways to start**, the empty list also offers **Import your data**, **Use your coding agent** (opens a dialog with a prompt for Claude Code, Cursor or Codex and its progress) and, for Owners, **Set it up yourself**, which opens **What goes on your map?**: pick the closest fit (Place, Store, Event, Trail, Area or Something else), a **Name**, the **Shape on the map** and starter fields, then **Create type**. People who may not change the content model see a note that the project's owner sets it up first.

> **Note:** If a type is turned off in the content model, you cannot add new entries to it. An owner can switch it back on. See [Types](https://spatibase.com/docs/model/types/).

## Place the entry on the map

The **Location on the map** section sets the entry's main location: a point, a line or an area. Use the buttons in that section or the drawing tools at the top right of the map.

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Place a point** | Click once on the map to drop a pin. |
| **Draw a line** | Click along the route. Click the last point again to finish. |
| **Draw an area** | Click the corners of the shape. Click the first corner again to finish. |
| **Rectangle** | Drag a rectangle. It is saved as an area. |
| **Circle** | Drag a circle. It is saved as an area. |

Shortcut: right-click the map to get the same tools in a menu. **Place a point** there drops the pin exactly where you clicked; a line or an area starts drawing as usual. The small map of a **Map shapes** field has the same menu.

Which tools you see depends on the entry's type. The content model decides whether an entry needs a location, may have one, or has none, and which shapes are allowed. A red star next to **Location on the map** means the entry needs a location before it can be marked ready to publish.

Drawing a new shape replaces the current one. To change a shape you already drew:

- Drag the pin to move a point.
- Drag the round handles to reshape a line or an area. Drag a faded handle to add a corner, and click a handle to remove one.
- Click the trash icon (**Remove from map**) in the **Location on the map** section to clear the location.

Entries without a location show a small "Not on the map yet" mark in the list.

### Find a place by address

You can move the map to an address instead of searching for the spot by hand.

1. Type an address or a place name into **Find an address…** over the map.
2. Press <kbd>Enter</kbd> or click **Search**. Type at least three characters.
3. Pick a result from the list.

If the type allows points and the entry has no shape or only a point, choosing a result puts the entry's point there (an existing point moves). If the entry has a line or an area, the map just moves there and a message says to remove the shape first to use a point. Otherwise the map just moves. The address search uses OpenStreetMap.

### Load a shape from a file

If you already have the shape in a file, choose **Upload shape** in the **Location on the map** section and pick a GeoJSON, GPX or KML file, or drag the file onto that section and drop it. Spatibase uses the first shape in the file that fits the type and replaces the current one. It is saved with your other changes, like a shape you draw. Zipped formats (KMZ, shapefile) are not supported.

### Extra shapes on an entry

Some types have an element (field) for extra shapes, for example the parking areas and paths around a campsite. Each extra shape gets a map feature type, such as "Trail" or "Parking area", chosen from **Choose a type…** next to the shape. Every extra shape needs a map feature type before the entry can be published. See [Map feature types](https://spatibase.com/docs/model/map-feature-types/).

## Fill in the fields

The elements (fields) below the location come from the entry's type, so a "Store" might ask for opening hours and a phone number while a "Trail" asks for length and difficulty.

- A red star marks a field that must be filled in before the entry can be marked ready to publish. You can save a draft with it empty.
- Images and files fields let you upload new files or choose from the media library. See [Use the media library](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/media/).
- The **Groups** section adds the entry to groups once it has been saved. See [Curate groups of entries](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/groups/).
- If a value does not fit a field (for example letters in a number field), the editor tells you which field to fix.

The fields come from the content model. To change fields, an owner edits the type. See [Elements](https://spatibase.com/docs/model/elements/).

### Add a field from the entry

Owners can add a field without leaving the entry: click **Add field** below the fields. The menu, **Add to every …** (the type's name), lists starter fields the type doesn't have yet: **Description**, **Photos**, **Address**, **Website**, **Contact details**, **Opening hours**, **Date and time** and **Category**. **Custom field…** asks for a **Name** and a **Kind**, such as text, number, date, link or images (choice lists and references to other entries need settings, so you make those in the content model). The field is added to the type, so it appears on every entry of that type, and a short line says **Added to every …**. If the project already has a field of the same kind with that identifier (in the Elements library), that one is reused instead of making a second. While the entry has only a title and a location, a line under them points to **Add field** and the content model.

If your project has languages, pills at the top of the entry switch between them, and the title and text fields can be translated. See [Translate your content](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/translations/).

## Edit with more room

On a wide screen (1024 pixels or more), click **Focus on editing** at the top right of the entry, next to the close button, or press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>⇧</kbd> <kbd>F</kbd> on a Mac (<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>Shift</kbd> <kbd>F</kbd> on Windows and Linux). The map steps aside and the entry's fields get the space. The location, the groups, the fields and the history follow each other in one column.

- The entry list stays on the left, so you can open the next entry without leaving this view.
- The location shows as a small map. Click it, or a **Place a point** or **Draw** button, to open a large map with the same tools as the main map: move the pin, reshape a line or area, draw a new shape, right-click to place a point, or find an address. Your changes go into the entry and are saved like any other change. **Done** or <kbd>Esc</kbd> closes the large map.
- A Map shapes element keeps its own small map in the form. **Open a larger map** on it opens the same large map view.
- To bring the map back, click **Show the map**, press the shortcut again, or press <kbd>Esc</kbd>. The entry stays open.

Spatibase remembers your choice in this browser.

## Find your way around the entries map

The map beside the list shows every entry that is on the map and matches the filters. The buttons at its bottom left are, from the left, **Map style**, **Use view as thumbnail** (for owners and editors, see [Change the map style](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/map-style/)), **Zoom to all entries** and **Show my location**. **Zoom to all entries** fits the map to the entries in the list, so it follows the filters.

Spatibase remembers where you left the map for each project, in this browser. When you come back from another section or reload the page, the map opens on the same spot instead of fitting all entries again. Changing a filter fits the map to the new list.

## Save your work

Your changes save by themselves as a draft, without changing what your website or app shows. There is no Save button:

- **When:** a few seconds after you stop typing, a moment after you click out of a field, when you switch to another browser tab, and right away when you press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>S</kbd> on a Mac or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>S</kbd> on Windows and Linux.
- **What you see:** next to **Ready to publish**, **Saving…**, then **Saved**, then when it was saved ("Saved 2 min ago").
- **Leaving:** going to another entry, closing the entry, changing a filter or opening the table saves first and never asks. While a file is still uploading, Spatibase asks whether to wait for it.
- **When a value can't be saved** (for example an identifier another entry already uses): everything else is saved, the field is marked and the status says **Not saved: fix 1 field**. If you leave the entry anyway, a message says so with **Open**, the entry gets a small orange dot in the list, and your typing is kept in this browser. Opening the entry again puts it back with a note and a **Discard** button. If someone changed the entry in the meantime, the note offers **Use my changes** or **Discard** instead.
- **No connection:** the status says **Offline, retrying** and the save is tried again by itself.
- **Someone else changed the entry** while you were editing: saving stops and a note offers **Load theirs** or **Save mine over it**.

## Draft and published

Every entry has a draft, the copy you edit, and a published copy, the one your website or app sees through the Content Delivery API. Saving changes only the draft. When the entry is good to go, select **Ready to publish** (it saves your latest edits first); the entry then goes live with the next **Publish** of the project, together with everything else that is ready. **Back to draft** takes the mark away again. **Unpublish** and **Delete** take a live entry out of the API at the next **Publish**; until then the entry shows **Will be unpublished** or **Will be removed** with a **Keep** button. In the list, "Draft" means never published, "Unpublished changes" means you edited the entry after publishing, and "Ready to publish" means it is marked for the next publish; a published entry with nothing new shows no label. Read more in [Drafts and publishing](https://spatibase.com/docs/publish/draft-and-published/).

## See the history of an entry

Open an entry and expand **History** at the bottom of the editor to see who changed it and when. Each publish that included the entry has a **Restore this version** button that puts that version into the draft (not ready; see [Versions and going back](https://spatibase.com/docs/publish/versions/)). Saves you make while editing are combined: the edits to one entry in a short session (up to 10 minutes between saves) show as one change. Changes made by an AI assistant carry a robot icon. When an AI assistant was the last to change a draft, the editor shows a note asking you to review it before it goes live; saving your own changes clears that note. See [Activity and trash](https://spatibase.com/docs/team/activity-and-trash/).

## Duplicate an entry

Choose **Duplicate** in the entry's **⋯** menu (or in the right-click menu on the list). Spatibase makes a draft copy called "… (copy)" with the same values, location and groups, opens it and says "Entry duplicated as a draft". Identifier values are left empty, because each must be unique.

## Delete an entry

Choose **Delete** in the entry's **⋯** menu (or in the right-click menu on the list). There is no confirmation: the entry leaves the API right away and goes to the Trash, where you can restore it for 30 days, and a message with **Undo** appears for a few seconds. See [Activity and trash](https://spatibase.com/docs/team/activity-and-trash/).

## Related

- [Edit entries in a table](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/table/)
- [Collect entries on a phone](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/collect/)
- [Import your data](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/import/)
- [Find, edit and export entries](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/find-edit-export/)
- [Translate your content](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/translations/)
- [Drafts and publishing](https://spatibase.com/docs/publish/draft-and-published/)
- [Types](https://spatibase.com/docs/model/types/)