Draw | API Reference | ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.31

The Draw class provides advanced drawing capabilities for developers who need complete control over creating temporary graphics with different geometries. For example, if you want to prevent users from drawing graphics with self-intersecting lines or overlapping polygons, then you can use this class to implement these rules. The draw experience is built upon draw actions, which use the view events to generate a set of coordinates for creating new geometries. Each geometry type has a corresponding draw action class.

This class provides a simple interface for interacting with draw actions. After initializing a Draw instance, you can call create() to return a reference to the relevant draw action. This draw action may then be used to create new geometries of the specified type.

Pointer and keyboard gestures

Pointer and keyboard gestures for drawing points, polylines, and polygons are described in the tables below.

Drawing points

Gesture	Action
Left-click	Adds a point at the pointer location.
Enter	Adds a point at the pointer location.

Drawing polylines and polygons

Gesture	Action
Left-click	Adds a vertex at the pointer location.
Left-drag	Adds a vertex for each pointer move.
Enter or Double-click	Completes the polyline or polygon.
F	Adds a vertex to the polyline or polygon.
Z	Incrementally undos actions recorded in the stack.
R	Incrementally redos actions recorded in the stack.

To provide users with a simpler drawing experience, then use SketchViewModel class.

See also

Example

// create a new instance of draw
let draw = new Draw({
  view: view
});

// create an instance of draw polyline action
// the polyline vertices will be only added when
// the pointer is clicked on the view
let action = draw.create("polyline", {mode: "click"});

// fires when a vertex is added
action.on("vertex-add", function (evt) {
  measureLine(evt.vertices);
});

// fires when the pointer moves
action.on("cursor-update", function (evt) {
  measureLine(evt.vertices);
});

// fires when the drawing is completed
action.on("draw-complete", function (evt) {
  measureLine(evt.vertices);
});

// fires when a vertex is removed
action.on("vertex-remove", function (evt) {
  measureLine(evt.vertices);
});

function measureLine(vertices) {
  view.graphics.removeAll();

  let line = createLine(vertices);
  let lineLength = geometryEngine.geodesicLength(line, "miles");
  let graphic = createGraphic(line);
  view.graphics.add(graphic);
}

function createLine(vertices) {
  let polyline = {
    type: "polyline", // autocasts as new Polyline()
    paths: vertices,
    spatialReference: view.spatialReference
  }
  return polyline;
}

Constructors

Draw Constructor new Draw(properties)

Parameter

properties Object

optional

See the properties for a list of all the properties that may be passed into the constructor.

Example

// Typical usage
let draw = new Draw({
  view: view
});

Property Overview

Any properties can be set, retrieved or listened to. See the Watch for changes topic.

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Type	Summary	Class
DrawAction	A reference to the active draw action.	Draw
String	The name of the class.	Accessor
MapView\|SceneView	The view in which geometries will be drawn by the user.	Draw

Property Details

activeAction Property activeAction DrawAction

A reference to the active draw action. An instance of the draw action is created when create() method is called.

declaredClass Inherited Property declaredClass Stringreadonly Inherited from Accessor Since: ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.7 Accessor since 4.0, declaredClass added at 4.7.

The name of the class. The declared class name is formatted as esri.folder.className.

view Property view MapView |SceneView

The view in which geometries will be drawn by the user.

Method Overview

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Return Type	Summary	Class
	Adds one or more handles which are to be tied to the lifecycle of the object.	Accessor
	Complete the current active drawing.	Draw
DrawAction	Creates an instance of the requested draw action.	Draw
Boolean	Returns true if a named group of handles exist.	Accessor
	Removes a group of handles owned by the object.	Accessor
	Resets the drawing by clearing the active action.	Draw

Method Details

addHandles Inherited Method addHandles(handleOrHandles, groupKey) Inherited from Accessor Since: ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.25 Accessor since 4.0, addHandles added at 4.25.

Adds one or more handles which are to be tied to the lifecycle of the object. The handles will be removed when the object is destroyed.

// Manually manage handles
const handle = reactiveUtils.when(
  () => !view.updating,
  () => {
    wkidSelect.disabled = false;
  },
  { once: true }
);

this.addHandles(handle);

// Destroy the object
this.destroy();

Parameters

handleOrHandles WatchHandle|WatchHandle []

Handles marked for removal once the object is destroyed.

groupKey *

optional

Key identifying the group to which the handles should be added. All the handles in the group can later be removed with Accessor.removeHandles(). If no key is provided the handles are added to a default group.

complete Method complete() Since: ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.7 Draw since 4.5, complete added at 4.7.

Complete the current active drawing.

create Method create(drawAction, drawOptions){DrawAction}

Creates an instance of the requested draw action.

Parameters

drawAction String

Name of the draw action to create. See the table below for a list of possible values and type of draw action it creates.

Possible Values

Geometry type	Draw action instance
point	PointDrawAction
multipoint	MultipointDrawAction (only supported in MapView)
polyline	PolylineDrawAction
polygon	PolygonDrawAction
rectangle, circle, ellipse	SegmentDrawAction

drawOptions Object

optional

Object of the drawing options for the geometry to be created.

Specification

mode String

optional

The drawing mode. The drawing mode applies only when creating polygon, polyline, segment draw actions.

Possible Values

Value	Description
hybrid	Vertices are added while the pointer is clicked or dragged. Applies to and is the default for `polygon` and `polyline` draw actions.
freehand	Vertices are added while the pointer is dragged. Applies to `polygon`, `polyline` and `segment` draw actions. Default for `segment` draw actions.
click	Vertices are added when the pointer is clicked.

Possible Values:"hybrid"|"freehand"|"click"

Returns

Type	Description
DrawAction	Returns an instance of the requested draw action.

Example

let pointAction = draw.create("point");

hasHandles Inherited Method hasHandles(groupKey){Boolean} Inherited from Accessor Since: ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.25 Accessor since 4.0, hasHandles added at 4.25.

Returns true if a named group of handles exist.

Parameter

groupKey *

optional

A group key.

Returns

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns `true` if a named group of handles exist.

Example

// Remove a named group of handles if they exist.
if (obj.hasHandles("watch-view-updates")) {
  obj.removeHandles("watch-view-updates");
}

removeHandles Inherited Method removeHandles(groupKey) Inherited from Accessor Since: ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.25 Accessor since 4.0, removeHandles added at 4.25.

Removes a group of handles owned by the object.

Parameter

groupKey *

optional

A group key or an array or collection of group keys to remove.

Example

obj.removeHandles(); // removes handles from default group

obj.removeHandles("handle-group");
obj.removeHandles("other-handle-group");

reset Method reset() Since: ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.6 Draw since 4.5, reset added at 4.6.

Resets the drawing by clearing the active action.