FPP Editor

Overview

The Forest Practices Plan (FPP) Editor is a comprehensive professional forestry planning system that provides advanced spatial editing capabilities for creating, managing, and processing forest operation plans. This sophisticated tool integrates ArcGIS drawing tools with specialized forestry workflows, supporting complete FPP lifecycle management through five distinct operational modes (Edit, Auth, Vary, Revoke, Delete) with extensive symbolic libraries, advanced geometric operations, and intelligent layer management for professional forestry planning applications.

Key Features:

• Multi-Mode Workflow System: Five distinct operational modes (Edit, Auth, Vary, Revoke, Delete) for complete plan lifecycle management
• Extensive Forestry Symbol Library: 50+ specialized forestry icons and symbols for points, lines, and polygons
• Advanced Permission Integration: Role-based access controls with FPP Admin and FPP User privilege levels
• Dual Layer Management: Separate draft and production layer systems with automatic layer group creation
• Professional Drawing Tools: ArcGIS drawing tools integration with coordinate transformation and union operations
• Integrated Advanced Editor: Built-in geometric operations including buffer, union, intersect, and difference
• Copy From Another User's Sketch: Show one colleague's sketch and copy its shapes into your plan, without redrawing them
• Delete a Whole Draft Plan: GIS administrators with FPP access can remove every feature of a draft plan in one step
• Dynamic Style Management: Real-time style application with extensive customization options

Getting Started

Opening the FPP Editor

1. Look for the Unified Map Editors icon (pencil) on the right toolbar
2. Click the icon to open the editor panel
3. Select FPP Editor from the editor dropdown at the top

Permission Requirements

• Edit Mode: Basic access for creating draft plans
• Auth/Vary Modes: Requires appropriate planning permissions
• Revoke Mode: Restricted to FPP administrators only
• Delete Mode (a whole draft plan): Restricted to GIS administrators who also have FPP access (as FPP users or FPP administrators) — see Deleting a Whole Draft Plan

INFO

If you don't see the FPP options you need, contact your GIS administrator about permissions.

Layer Management

Setting Up Layer Names

The FPP Name Selection accordion at the top contains all name and filter controls. The content of this section changes based on the current FPP mode:

• Edit mode: Shows a names dropdown (draft names) + text field to type a new name
• Auth mode: Shows a draft names dropdown + FPP Number field
• Vary mode: Shows a production names dropdown + Variation Name field
• Revoke mode: Shows a production names dropdown + Revoke Layer Name field
• Delete mode: Shows a draft names dropdown only — there is no name field

Before you can draw, you need to set a name:

1. Use Dropdown: Select an existing FPP name from the list (refreshes on click)
2. Type New Name (Edit mode only): Enter a new FPP plan name in the text field below the dropdown
3. Wait for Activation: Drawing tools become available once a name is set

The system automatically creates appropriate draft and production layer groups for your geometry types when you provide a layer name.

Filter by Name

The Filter by Name toggle restricts the map display to features belonging to the selected FPP name:

1. Select an existing name from the dropdown
2. Toggle Filter by Name on
3. The map immediately filters to show only features with that name (draft layers in Edit/Auth/Delete mode, production layers in Vary/Revoke mode)
4. Toggle off to show all features

WARNING

The filter only responds to names selected from the dropdown. Typing a name in the text field (Edit mode) enables drawing but does not apply the filter.

TIP

While the filter is on, changing the dropdown selection automatically re-applies the filter to the new name.

Zoom to Plan

Click Zoom to Plan, below the name field, to zoom the map to every feature of the name chosen in FPP Draft Names — its points, lines and polygons together.

• It works even when the layers are not on the map or are filtered to another name. Turn on Filter by Name to show only that name's features.
• It is disabled until a name is chosen in the dropdown. A name without features says so, and the map stays where it is.
• In Vary and Revoke mode it looks in FPP Production (the plans FPP Production Names lists); in the other modes, in FPP Draft.

FPP Modes

Edit Mode

Purpose: Create and modify draft FPP plans

• Full drawing and editing capabilities
• Access to all forestry symbols
• Save to draft layer system

Auth Mode

Purpose: Authorize draft plans to production

• Select existing draft plan
• Enter production FPP number in format AAA0000 (3 letters + 4 digits, e.g. ABC1234), optionally followed by _VAR or _VAR1
• Convert draft to official production plan

Vary Mode

Purpose: Create variations of existing production plans

• Select production plan as base
• Enter variation name in format VAR or VAR followed by a number (e.g. VAR, VAR1, VAR2)
• The system combines the production FPP number with the variation name as {FPPNumber}_{VariationName} (e.g. ABC1234_VAR1)
• The combined name must be unique — it cannot already exist in FPP Production
• Create modified version while preserving original

Revoke Mode (Admin Only)

Purpose: Revoke production plans

• Available to administrators only
• Select production plan to revoke
• Enter revoke layer name in the same format as Auth FPP Number (AAA0000)
• Create revoked plan record

Delete Mode (GIS Administrators Only)

Purpose: Delete a whole draft plan

• Available only to GIS administrators who also have FPP access (as FPP users or FPP administrators)
• Select the draft plan to delete in FPP Draft Names; Zoom to Plan shows where it is
• Delete Plan removes every feature of that plan from FPP Draft, after a confirmation — see Deleting a Whole Draft Plan

INFO

Mode selection automatically resets the interface and loads appropriate layer groups.

Geometry Types

Choose the geometry type that matches what you want to create:

Point Features

• Best for: Equipment locations, crossings, gates, cable settings
• Examples: Landing areas, bridges, control points

Line Features

• Best for: Boundaries, roads, extraction routes, constraints
• Examples: Contractor boundaries, located roads, drainage lines

Polygon Features

• Best for: Areas, zones, boundaries, constraints
• Examples: Harvest boundaries, exclusion zones, FPP boundaries

Style Selection

Choosing Styles

1. Set your layer name first (styles are disabled until you do)
2. Select your geometry type (Point, Line, or Polygon)
3. Click on any style icon to select it
4. The selected style will be highlighted

Point Styles

Icon	Style Name
	Landing
	Crossing
	Bridge
	Cable Setting
	Special Point Feature
	Text Point
	Not Coded

Line Styles

Icon	Style Name
	Section Boundary
	Extraction Track
	Planned Road
	Scrub Roll Boundary
	Continuous Landing
	Linear Constraint
	Linear Constraint1
	Surveyed Tenure Boundary
	Machinery Exclusion Zone
	Label Line
	Black Arrow
	Marked Boundary
	Eagle Management Zone
	Not Coded

Polygon Styles

Icon	Style Name
	FPP Boundary
	Harvest Boundary
	Machinery Exclusion Zone
	Vegetation Constraint
	Hazard
	WTE exclusion zone
	Constraint
	Constraint1
	Constraint2
	Constraint3
	Not Coded

Special Options

Point Angle: For directional point symbols, enter a rotation angle (0–359 degrees). The angle resets to 0 when you switch to the Point geometry type.

Text Options: A Display Label and font size (8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30 pt) are shown for the following styles:

• Text Point — label is optional; displayed on the map at the point location
• Label Line — label text displayed along the line; a label is required
• Black Arrow — a label is required; saving will fail without one

Drawing Features

Before You Start

1. ✅ Set a layer name
2. ✅ Choose geometry type
3. ✅ Select a style
4. ✅ Ensure you're in Edit mode (the select, draw and edit buttons appear only in Edit mode)

Toolbar Toggles

Toggle	Description
Multi	Keep the drawing tool active so you can draw the next feature immediately (Edit mode only)
Meas	Show real-time length (metres) and area (hectares) while drawing (Edit mode only)
Label	Toggle labels on/off for all FPP data layers on the map (all modes)

The switch labels are abbreviated so they fit on one line beside the Line style picker; hover any switch to see its full description.

TIP

The Label toggle is available in every FPP mode and starts on by default.

Line Style — Straight or Arc

At the end of the toggle row (in Edit mode, while Geometry Types is Line) is a Line style picker with two icon buttons that control how the line tool reads your clicks:

• Straight (default) — every click is a vertex, joined by straight segments.
• Arc — the first click starts the line, then each pair of clicks is a point to curve through followed by the curve's end point. Repeat for each further curve; a reminder line appears under the row while Arc is selected.

The curve appears live as you click, and a finished arc is stored as closely-followed vertices, so measurement, saving and everything downstream behaves exactly as it does for a straight line. Points and polygons are unaffected. See Line Style for the full explanation, including when a curve deliberately stays straight.

Drawing Steps

For Points:

1. Click the Point draw button
2. Click on the map where you want the point
3. The point appears immediately

For Lines:

1. Click the Line draw button
2. Click points along your desired path
3. Double-click to finish the line (or press ESC to cancel)

For Polygons:

1. Click the Polygon draw button
2. Click points around your area
3. Double-click to close the polygon (or press ESC to cancel)

Visual Feedback

• Draw buttons light up when active
• Disabled buttons show helpful tooltips
• Features appear on the map as you draw them

Managing Features

Selecting Features

1. Click the Select button (requires layer name)
2. Click any FPP feature on the map
3. Feature information loads into the editor — its name, style, Display Label, font size and point angle
4. Current style is detected and displayed
5. While Filter by Name is off, the names dropdown moves to the feature's name as well

Saving several selected features

With Multi on, each selected feature keeps its own style, label, font size and angle when you save — only a control you change after selecting is applied to all of them. All of them are saved under the name in the name field, though, which holds the name of the last feature you clicked. See Selecting and Saving Existing Features.

Editing Features

1. Select a feature first
2. Click the Edit button (Edit mode only)
3. Use the editing tools to modify the geometry:
   • Move vertices by dragging them
   • Add vertices by clicking on edges
   • Delete vertices by selecting and pressing Delete
   • Move entire features by dragging
4. Click Save when finished

Deleting Features

1. Select the feature you want to delete
2. Click the Delete button (trash icon). It does not ask first: every selected feature is deleted at once
3. The feature is removed and layers refresh automatically

Deleting a Whole Draft Plan (GIS Administrators)

GIS administrators with FPP access can remove an entire draft plan in one step — for example a plan created by mistake, or the FPP Draft copy an authorization left behind when it did not finish.

1. In FPP Mode, choose Delete
2. Choose the plan in the FPP Draft Names dropdown
3. Optional: click Zoom to Plan to see where it is. Turn on Filter by Name to show only its features.
4. Open Delete Plan at the bottom of the editor and click Delete Plan
5. Check the plan name in the confirmation, then click Delete
6. A message says how many polygons, lines and points were deleted, and the map and the names list refresh

This cannot be undone

The Delete mode deletes every point, line and polygon of the chosen plan from FPP Draft — whoever drew them. FPP Production is never changed: an authorized plan with the same name stays.

INFO

• Delete is offered in FPP Mode only to GIS administrators. A GIS administrator also needs FPP access (as an FPP user or FPP administrator) to open the FPP Editor at all.
• Switching to Delete mode clears the FPP Draft Names dropdown, so choose the plan again: a plan picked by selecting a feature on the map in Edit mode is never deleted by mistake.
• To delete only some features of a plan, use Deleting Features in Edit mode instead.

Advanced Features

Multiple (Continuous Drawing) Mode

The Multi toggle (tooltip: Multiple Mode) controls whether the drawing tool stays active after each feature is placed.

Multiple OFF (Default):

• Draw one feature, then the tool deactivates
• Click the draw button again to draw another feature

Multiple ON:

• The drawing tool stays active after each feature is completed
• Keep clicking on the map to rapidly create many features
• Click the draw button again or press ESC to stop

INFO

Regardless of Multiple mode, every drawn shape is always saved as a separate feature in the layer.

INFO

Switching the Geometry Type dropdown resets the Multiple toggle to off and clears all unsaved graphics.

Advanced Editor

When you have a layer name set, the Advanced Editor becomes available for complex operations:

• Merge Shape (union): Combine areas together
• Buffer: Create setback zones around features
• Cut Shape (difference): Remove areas from other areas
• Intersect: Find overlapping areas
• XOR: Keep what one set or the other covers, but not both
• Reshape: Re-route a boundary along a line drawn in the reference layer
• Shape tools: Hull, Simplify, Explode, To Lines, To Polygons and Offset

Undo / Redo is available for these operations. See the Advanced Editor guide for the full set.

INFO

The Advanced Editor has no tool that splits a polygon along a line: its old Cut button was removed in v2.21.0, and today's Cut Shape is the former Subtract. To split a polygon along a line, use Split Shape in the Map Editor.

Copying Shapes From Another User's Sketch

The Sketch layers on your map only ever show your own sketches. When a colleague has already sketched a shape you need in a plan — a boundary, a road line — you can show their sketch in the FPP Editor and copy its shapes instead of redrawing them.

1. In Edit mode, set the FPP layer name. The Other User's Sketch block appears above the Advanced Editor.
2. Expand Other User's Sketch and choose your colleague in User — type to search the list.
3. Choose one of their sketches in Sketch Name, or All sketches to show every sketch they have.
4. The sketch appears on the map as the Other User's Sketch layer and the map zooms to it. The line under the block's heading says whose sketch it is and what it contains, for example bob@STTAS · Coupe 12 — 3 polygons · 1 line.
5. In the Advanced Editor, choose Other User's Sketch as the Target layer and select the shapes you want, as you would from any other layer. Where shapes overlap, click the same spot again to move to the next one. (As the Reference layer, its shapes are only used by operations such as Cut Shape or Reshape: Save takes only the target layer's shapes.)
6. Click the Advanced Editor's Save. It saves one geometry type at a time: lines or polygons in its target layer are merged into one new feature of your plan, and points are saved as one feature each.
7. The new features have the Not Coded style and no label: select them with the FPP Editor's Select button, click their proper style and click Save — see Selecting Features.

Their sketch is never changed

Copying only reads the other user's sketch. What you save becomes new features of your plan, saved under your name — the original sketch stays exactly as its owner left it.

If the sketch covers data you need to see, turn Visible off. The sketch disappears from the map but stays chosen — the line under the block's heading ends in · hidden — and turning Visible back on shows it again. While it is off, nothing can be selected from it — clicking says the layer is hidden — and the Advanced Editor no longer offers Other User's Sketch as a Target or Reference layer, as with any hidden layer. Picking another sketch always shows it.

Click Clear to take the sketch off the map; the user stays chosen, so another of their sketches is one pick away. The sketch is also removed when you close the FPP Editor, switch mode, or clear the layer name.

INFO

• Other User's Sketch is part of the FPP Editor, so it is available to FPP users and FPP administrators.
• It is a temporary helper layer: it is not saved in bookmarks, not printed, and not listed in the Layer List, the legend or the Filter tool.
• One sketch — or one user's sketches — is shown at a time.

Authorization Workflow

1. Switch to Auth mode
2. Select the draft plan you want to authorize
3. Enter the production FPP number
4. Process the authorization

Variation Workflow

1. Switch to Vary mode
2. Select the production plan to vary
3. Enter a variation name in the required format: VAR or VAR followed by a number (e.g. VAR, VAR1, VAR2)
4. The system creates a combined layer name as {FPPNumber}_{VariationName} (e.g. ABC1234_VAR1) — this must be unique across existing production layers
5. Make your changes and save

Tips & Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Problem	Solution
Drawing buttons are grayed out	Set a layer name first, and make sure you're in Edit mode
Can't select styles	Set a layer name first — styles are disabled until a name is set
Authorization option missing	Check that you have Auth mode permissions
Revoke option not visible	This feature is for administrators only
Label Line or Black Arrow won't save	Enter text in the Display Label field — both styles require a display label
Point angle not working	Enter a number between 0–359 degrees
FPP Number rejected in Auth	Use format AAA0000 (3 letters + 4 digits), optionally followed by _VAR or _VAR1
Variation name rejected	Must be exactly VAR or VAR followed by a number (e.g. VAR, VAR1, VAR2) — no other characters allowed
Variation already exists	The combined name {FPPNumber}_{VariationName} already exists in production — use a different number (e.g. VAR2 instead of VAR1)
Filter not showing features	Select a name from the dropdown — typing in the text field does not apply the filter
Multiple resets after geometry switch	Switching the Geometry Type dropdown resets the Multiple toggle to off

Best Practices

• Name consistently: Use clear, descriptive layer names
• Check permissions: Make sure you have access to the mode you need
• Save frequently: Use the save function regularly to avoid losing work
• Review before authorization: Double-check draft plans before making them official

Video Tutorials

Adding Draft FPP Data

Modifying Draft FPP Data

Deleting Draft FPP Data

Advanced Feature Editing

Authorization Process