Getting Started

pitchmappr is a browser-based mapping tool built for finance, legal, and investment banking professionals who need clean, presentation-ready maps. The core workflow is straightforward: add locations to a map, style the map to match your presentation aesthetic, then export high-resolution images that drop directly into PowerPoint, Keynote, or print layouts.

pitchmappr is a web app you sign in to — access is invite-only, so you'll arrive via an invitation from your organization. Your projects and maps save to your account automatically as you work; there's no file to export and re-import to keep your progress. The map itself renders in your browser, so styling and high-resolution export stay fast.

How the Interface Is Organized

pitchmappr uses a six-tab sidebar layout, accessed from the icon rail on the left side of the screen. Each tab groups related controls together:

Project — Metadata about your project (name, client, job number) and file info. Think of this as the "properties" panel for your map file.

Map — Everything that controls how the base map looks, from theme selection to individual layer visibility. This tab has two modes: Regular Mode (standard interactive map) and Focus Mode (single-country isolation view). A toggle at the top of the panel switches between them.

Data — Where you add, import, and manage location markers. This is your data entry point.

Markers & Labels — Visual styling for your location markers (color, shape, size) and their text labels (font, position, color). Controls how your data points look on the map.

Views — Save specific map positions with crop framing so you can consistently export the same view. Essential for producing multiple versions of the same map.

Export — Output controls for PNG, Hi-Res PNG, and JSON files. Also includes the d3-geo projection export system for non-Mercator map projections.

Header Bar

The top navigation bar displays at-a-glance project information and is always visible while you work.

Element	Description
Brand logo & name	The pitchmappr logo and wordmark. Clicking does not navigate away from your project.
Version badge	Shows the current application version. Useful for confirming you're running the latest release.
Unsaved badge	A pulsing dot with "Unsaved" appears when you have recent changes that haven't auto-saved yet; it flips to "Saved" once they're stored to your account. Auto-save runs a few seconds after you stop editing — there's nothing to click.

Map Controls

Controls that appear directly on the map canvas, outside the sidebar.

Element	Location	Description
Navigation rail	Top-right	One vertical control card, identical in all three map modes, top to bottom: Search (reserved — a compact field slides out; map search is coming soon), Zoom in / out (single 0.5-step increments with a short animation; the buttons grey out at the zoom limits; the scroll wheel and pinch work in every mode), Recenter ⊕ (fits the view to the focus region, or to all your locations, or the world view), Tools (opens a small tray of map tools — radius circles are here now, with drawing tools still to come), and Reset ↺ (see below). In Focus+ mode the zoom buttons scale the projection, and you can also drag the map to pan and zoom with the scroll wheel — the point under your cursor stays put, and Recenter ⊕ returns the projection to its fitted view. Panning and zooming are view movements only; they never change your saved map.
Reset ↺	Bottom of the navigation rail	Mode-aware reset. The button opens a confirmation dialog scoped to the mode you're in — Reset Base Map (base theme, layers, customizations, marker styling, overlays), Reset Focus Map (focus theme, colors, neighbor mode, labels), or Reset Focus+ (projection, regions, resolution). Each per-mode reset preserves everything else, including your locations, datasets, and saved views. The dialog also offers Reset Everything, which wipes Base Map + Focus Map + Focus+ settings and saved views in one go — your locations and datasets are still preserved. Use a per-mode reset for a clean styling start; use Reset Everything to take the whole project back to defaults.
Status readings	Bottom corners of the map	Bare text in the two bottom corners — no bar or background, so the map shows through. Left corner: the coordinates under your cursor (falling back to the map centre when the pointer leaves the map) and the zoom level (in Focus+, the projection scale factor, e.g. "1.3×"). Right corner: the map data credit and a live scale bar (e.g. "30 mi"). The text automatically switches between dark and white to stay readable on light and dark themes. In Focus+ the credit disappears — those maps are drawn from public-domain boundary data — reappearing only if you switch on the Roads/Shields base-map show-through, which reveals the OpenStreetMap basemap.
Crop overlay	Over map	A semi-transparent frame that appears when previewing a crop ratio (toggled from the Views tab). Shows exactly what area will be included in your export, with corner brackets marking the crop boundaries. The darkened area outside the frame is excluded from exports.
Marker popups	On click	Clicking any marker on the map opens an info popup showing the location's geocoded name, custom label (if set), coordinates (lat/lon to 4 decimal places), dataset name, and location type (STANDARD or HQ).

Starting view

Every new map opens on the same world view — centered at coordinates [10, 25] at zoom level 1. pitchmappr does not ask for your browser's location, so where you happen to be sitting never affects the starting frame. Opening a saved project restores that project's own saved position instead.

Toast Notifications

Brief status messages appear at the bottom center of the screen to confirm actions or report errors. Toasts auto-dismiss after about 2.5 seconds. They're color-coded by type: blue border for general info ("Map style: Light"), green for success ("Project loaded"), yellow for warnings, and red for errors ("Max locations reached"). You don't need to interact with toasts; they're informational only.

Quick Start Guide

This walkthrough takes you from a blank map to an exported presentation image. It covers the core workflow that most users will follow on every project.

Step 1 — Open pitchmappr. Navigate to the app URL in your browser. The map loads on a default world view. The sidebar is on the left with six tab icons.

Step 2 — Set up your project. Click the Project tab (document icon, top of the rail). Pick which project folder the map belongs to, and optionally enter a Project ID. The Project ID becomes your export filename prefix, so something like "PRJ-2026-042" keeps exports organized automatically; leave it blank and exports fall back to the map's name. The Author field fills in from your account and is read-only.

Step 3 — Add locations. Click the Data tab (pin icon). Click Paste a list… and enter your locations one per line — a single address works just as well as two hundred. Click Add & geocode and markers appear on the map. To import spreadsheets instead, use + Add a CSV in the Import Files section — you can stack several files and geocode them all together with the Geocode locations button. To drop a single exact spot by hand, use Place a pin at the top of the tab and click the map where you want it. Review or fix anything afterwards in Manage locations…, the full data table.

Step 4 — Organize into datasets (optional). If your locations fall into distinct groups (e.g. "Current Offices" vs. "Target Acquisitions"), expand Dataset Settings in the Data tab and create additional datasets. When adding locations, select the appropriate dataset from the dropdown. Each dataset gets its own color and shape.

Step 5 — Choose a base theme. Click the Map tab (map icon). The Base Map Theme dropdown at the top sets the overall look. For a clean presentation map, try "Clean Minimal" or "Finance." For dark slide backgrounds, try "Default Dark" or "Midnight Blue." You can always change this later.

Step 6 — Clean up layers (optional). Still in the Map tab, expand Base Map Layers. For most presentation maps, consider hiding Minor Roads, Railways, all Road Labels, all Water Labels, and Points of Interest. This removes visual noise and keeps the audience focused on your markers.

Step 7 — Style your markers. Click the Markers tab (circles icon). Set marker colors for each dataset (use the color swatches or enter hex codes for brand colors). Choose shapes if needed (circle, square, star). Adjust marker size and label settings to taste.

Step 8 — Frame and save a view. Click the Views tab (eye icon). Select a crop ratio (16:9 for widescreen slides is most common). Check "Preview crop frame" to see the export boundaries overlaid on the map. Pan and zoom until your locations are framed the way you want them. Enter a view name (e.g. "US Overview") and click Save.

Step 9 — Export. Click the Export tab (download icon). In the Export Views section, click "Hi-Res PNG" next to your saved view. A high-resolution, precisely cropped image downloads to your computer. For transparent backgrounds (so the map sits cleanly on any slide color), check "Transparent background" before exporting.

Step 10 — Your work is already saved. pitchmappr auto-saves your project to your account as you work — watch the "Unsaved" badge flip to "Saved." There's nothing manual to do. For a portable backup, or to move a project between accounts, open the Export tab's JSON section and click "Export JSON" to download a .json file; use "Import JSON" to load one back in.

That's it. The exported PNG drops directly into PowerPoint or Keynote. For Focus Mode maps (single-country isolation), use the mode toggle at the top of the Map panel to switch to Focus Mode, select a country, and follow the same save/export workflow.

Your work auto-saves to your account as you go — the "Unsaved" badge in the header clears to "Saved" once your changes are stored.

Introduction Overview