Find your way around
This page is a tour of the Spatibase app once you are inside a project: what each section is for, how to switch the layout, and the shortcuts that get you anywhere quickly.
What are the sections of a project?
Every project has the same sections. The side panel lists all but Activity, which you open from the project menu, with ⌘ Y or from search:
| Section | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Entries | The map and the list of places. This is where you add and edit content and mark it ready to publish. Its Groups view holds hand-picked, ordered lists of entries, such as “Featured”; the Table button opens the entries as a spreadsheet, see Edit entries in a table |
| Content model | Types, the Elements library (reusable fields) and map feature types, as three tabs |
| Media | Uploaded images and files, reusable across entries; filter by All, Images or Files |
| Analytics | What is ready to publish, which drafts are not ready, what is live in the API, entries an AI assistant changed that need a check, entries by status and type, and recent activity |
| API | The addresses, keys and examples your developer uses to load published content |
| AI agents | Connecting AI assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT to the project, or giving a coding agent what it needs to build your own app |
| Members | The people who can work in the project and their roles |
| Activity | Who changed what, and when (in the project menu, not the side panel) |
| Versions | Every publish as a numbered version, and a way to go back to an earlier one, see Versions and going back |
| Trash | Deleted entries and files, kept for 30 days |
What you can change in each section depends on your role (Owner, Editor or Developer). For example, only Owners change the content model; Editors and Developers can look at it. See Members and roles.
What is always at hand?
Two controls stay visible in every section:
- The project name at the top of the side panel. Click it to open the project menu: Rename project (Owners), Duplicate… (Owners and Editors), Export entries (GeoJSON) (Owners and Editors), Activity, Collect on a phone… (a QR code to open the project on your phone), Preview data (a public map page of the published entries, in a new tab), All projects, your Recent projects and, for Owners, Delete project…. Choosing another project keeps you in the same section: from Analytics you land on the other project’s Analytics.
- Publish (Owners and Editors), just below it, with the number of changes waiting. It opens a list of what will go live (entries marked Ready to publish, entries leaving the API, group changes) and publishes it as one numbered version. Entries with something missing are reported and left out. See Drafts and publishing.
Share feedback
Share feedback is the last row above your account menu, on every page of the app. Click it, write what’s confusing, missing or great (up to 2,000 characters) and press Send: the message goes straight to the Spatibase team, with the page you were on and your account, and we read every one. Nothing you type is lost if you close the panel before sending; it waits for you. Drag the grip at the top to move the panel, press Esc to close it.
Getting started checklist
The Getting started checklist is a short list of first steps that a new account shows at the bottom of the side panel, with a progress ring, both inside your projects and on the projects list. It tracks your account, not one project: a step counts once you’ve done it in any of your projects, so starting a second project doesn’t reset it. If you have no project yet, the first open step is Create your project, and its button New project opens the New project screen. Click a step to see what it means, links to the matching docs and a button that takes you there. The list stays open on top of every page until you click the chip again, press Esc inside it or finish the steps, and the chip opens it again. It doesn’t open by itself on the New project screen or over the Entries screen of a project with no entries yet, where you are already doing those steps. Drag the grip at its top to move it anywhere; double-click the grip to put it back. Only Owners see it, because the steps are the Owner’s job: if you were only invited to other people’s projects, you won’t see it.
You never tick steps yourself. Each step completes from what is really there:
| Step | Done when |
|---|---|
| Create your account | Always done, so you don’t start at zero |
| Create your project | A project has at least one type (its content model; an empty project gets its first type when you save its first place) |
| Create your first entries | There is at least one entry |
| Publish your content | At least one entry is published |
| Create your first API key | A project has a read key that is not revoked or expired (create one under API > Access & keys) |
When all five are done, the checklist says All set and offers a Go further list: upload a file or photo, and curate a group. Only then can you hide it for good, with Close this list; until every step is done the checklist stays, and its button folds it away. Whether the list is open, hidden and where you dragged it are remembered in your current browser only.
The side panel
Project sections are listed in the side panel on the left, under the project name, Publish and Search…. At the bottom are Documentation, the Getting started checklist, Share feedback and your account menu. The same panel appears on the projects list and your account pages, with New project, Search…, Projects and your account pages: Profile, Preferences, Usage, Connected apps and Plan. Inside a project, your account pages are in the menu behind your picture or initials at the bottom, which also holds the light and dark switch and Sign out.
The side panel can shrink to a narrow strip of icons with Collapse menu and open again with Expand menu. Hover an icon to see its name.
How do I search and jump anywhere?
Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows and Linux to open search. You can also click Search… in the side panel.
Inside a project, start typing to jump to:
- a section of the current project, including Activity and Groups, and the pages of the API section;
- an entry, by its title: before you type it lists the entries you changed most recently, and as you type it searches every entry of the project;
- a type (shows the entries of that type);
- a group;
- another project (you stay in the same section);
- Preview data, which opens the public map page in a new tab.
Search also runs a few commands, on the projects list too: All projects, switch between light and dark, and open Account settings (your profile), Usage or Your plan.
How do I switch between light and dark?
Press T anywhere in the app to switch between light and dark. It does nothing while you are typing in a field or holding ⌘ or Ctrl. You can also switch from your account menu, from search, or under Preferences > Appearance.
Which keyboard shortcuts open a section?
Inside a project, hold ⌘ (or Ctrl on Windows and Linux) and press a letter to open a section:
| Section | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Collapse or expand the side panel | ⌘ ⇧ S |
| Focus on editing an open entry, or show the map again | ⌘ ⇧ F |
| Entries | ⌘ E |
| Content model | ⌘ D |
| Groups | ⌘ G |
| Media | ⌘ P |
| Analytics | ⌘ O |
| API | ⌘ U |
| AI agents | ⌘ B |
| Members | ⌘ I |
| Activity | ⌘ Y |
| Trash | ⌘ J |
Hold ⌘ or Ctrl for a moment and the letters appear next to the menu items.
Shortcuts pause while your cursor is in a text field, so ⌘ B still means bold when you are writing. Preferences lists all shortcuts.
Tip: Entries save as drafts by themselves a moment after you stop typing. In the entry editor, ⌘ S (or Ctrl S) saves right away.
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