Getting started with Forma Site Design
Take the first steps in Forma Site Design and get ready to start designing.
Prerequisites
- Access to a Forma hub and project
- Permission to create new sites in a project
Learn more about permissions in Forma Site Design
Create a site
- You can start creating a site from the Home page or in Project overview by opening a specific project in the left panel.
- On the interactive globe, type your site address or coordinates in the search bar.
- Zoom and pan to position your site within the dashed boundary box and select Confirm map area. The minimum area is 450 x 450 m.
- When the Order data window opens, select the data sets you find relevant, select Order to load the data to your canvas, then close the window.
- Data availability varies by country. Browse our interactive data provider map.
- We recommend starting with the free Starter pack, which includes buildings and roads.
Explore the canvas
Within a few seconds, you land in the canvas where you can see your geolocated site. This is the main workspace where you design, analyze, and manage buildings and other elements on your site.
Move in the canvas
Tip: Open the Quick access menu in the bottom left corner of the canvas to see a full list of shortcuts and hotkeys.
| Move | Controls |
|---|---|
| Orbit | Right mouse button |
| Zoom | Scroll wheel |
| Pan | Middle mouse button orShift + Right mouse button |
| Swivel | Ctrl + Right mouse button |
Navigate Site Design
| Area | Action |
|---|---|
| Top bar | Switch between Forma apps and tools, invite members. |
| Sidebar and left panel | Navigate between proposals, Library, Extensions, and Contextual Data. When you open Proposals, you can add and manage proposals, as well as layers in each proposal, in the left panel. |
| Design toolbar | Create and shape site elements such as limits and buildings. |
| Right panel | Contextual menus for analyses and interacting selected elements. |
| Visibility and orientation toolbar | Control how your canvas is displayed. |
| Help button | Contact support and access our support knowledge base. |
Get ready to start designing
Before you start designing, make sure that analyses, design tools, and calculations are applied accurately to the intended site.
- From the Settings
icon at the bottom of the side bar, select your unit of measurement (Metric or Imperial). - Go to the Limits
category in the Design toolbar and select Site limit to draw your site boundaries.
Now you can start adding building masses, exploring design concepts, and running analyses to inform your design decisions.