How to build a map in DotMap

1. Create a map

1. Sign in and open the dashboard.
2. New map — title required, description optional. The map starts private.
3. The studio opens. Three tabs on the left: Markers, Shapes, Settings.

Free: 20 maps (1 public), 50 events, 50 shapes, 3 marker types. Achievement slots can be public too. Other plans are on pricing.

2. A pin on the map

You cannot drop a pin “just like that”. First create a marker type — icon, name, color. Public-map filters come from those types.

Marker type

1. Open the Markers tab.
2. + Add marker type — pick an icon, name it (e.g. “Cafe”), change the color if you want.
3. Some icons are paid (Explorer and up). Basic icons are on Free.

With no types, the add-pin button says: create a marker type first.

Place a pin

1. Select a type in the list.
2. Add on map — click a place. An event card opens.
3. Fill title, description, date (for the timeline), photo or video.
4. Save. Drag the marker if the click was off.

On Free: photo up to 2 MB, video up to 12 MB, 16 MB total per event. Paid plans allow more — see pricing. Click a marker to edit.

3. Line, arrow, zone, text

Shapes have their own tab. No marker type needed: pick a tool and draw.

• Line — click vertices. Click the last red point again to finish. Esc cancels.
• Arrow — two clicks: start and end. The panel can make it an arc.
• Circle / rectangle — two clicks: a corner and the opposite one.
• Polygon (zone) — outline points, click the last one again to fill.
• Text — click the map, edit text and font in the panel. Size: fixed on screen, or zoom with the map.

Click a shape to edit name, color, stroke, fill, date. No date — always visible. With a date — on that day in the chronology.

The diamond on an edge adds a vertex. Right-click or double-click a point to remove it. Delete removes the selected shape.

4. Starting view

Settings → Starting view — what someone sees from the link.

• As on the map now — saves your current center and zoom.
• Pick on the map — a separate frame and scale.

5. Private, link, catalog

Three modes in Settings → Visibility. A shareable link is not the same as “listed in the catalog”.

• Private — only you. The link does not open for others.
• By link — anyone with the URL can open it. Not in the catalog. Use this for friends or an iframe.
• Catalog — the link already works, plus a moderation request. After approval it appears in the catalog. A rejection shows a reason. You can remove it later.

New maps are always private. Turn on “By link” or send to the catalog before anyone else can open it.

6. Author profile and extras

A public author page appears when the profile has a username (Latin, 3–24 characters). Address: dotmapapp.com/u/name. It shows name, bio, socials, rating, and maps already in the catalog. Private maps stay hidden.

Ratings

Visitors rate a public map. The average shows in the catalog and on the profile. You cannot rate your own maps.

Achievements

Dashboard → Achievements. You turn on the frame, status, and badges yourself once they unlock.

• First map — Newbie status, bronze frame, +1 map, can be public.
• 5 maps — Master, silver frame.
• 10 maps — Cartographer, gold frame.
• Map in the catalog — Author badge.
• Editors mark Featured — Featured badge.
• You rated a public map — Critic. You rated a Featured map — Reviewer.
• First rating received / 10 ratings — separate badges.
• Top-10 maps — platinum frame and another +1 public map. Top-5 and top-3 — diamond. 1st place — garnet.

Promo banner

In map settings: title, text, and a link. Shown to everyone right after the map opens — a channel, fundraiser, or your site.

7. Many pins: CSV and JSON

In the studio, use CSV/JSON. File or paste. Rows over your plan limit are trimmed.

CSV

Create at least one marker type first. The type column must match the type name. Required: title, lat, lng. Optional: date, description, media_url.

JSON (ChatGPT / Copilot)

Types can be created by the file — plus pins, zones, and lines. The studio has a JSON prompt: copy it, paste into chat, describe the map, paste raw JSON back — no surrounding text. Chat coordinates are often “somewhere nearby” — check the map.

8. Language, iframe, Android

Content language

Write in whatever language you want. Saves add UK/EN translations; the original stays. On the map: Original / Українська / English.

Embed on a site

The map must not be private. Copy the iframe in Settings — https://dotmapapp.com/maps/your-slug/embed, no DotMap chrome. Live example: how it looks on a page. Steps: embed guide.

Phone

Same account in the browser or the Google Play app. Maps are not copied separately — it is the same dashboard.