Web Sketch: How to Delete & Move Shapes
A practical Web Sketch guide for appraisers based on the How to Delete & Move Shapes tutorial.
Use this article when you are working in Web Sketch and need a practical reference while building or reviewing a sketch for a report. The video walkthrough is linked below, and the article restates the workflow in appraiser-friendly terms.
Watch the tutorial
Before you begin
Open the correct report and confirm you are sketching the intended subject, dwelling, unit, or related structure. If the sketch will support GLA, exhibits, or report commentary, keep your field notes, measurements, photos, and assignment requirements available while you work.
What this tutorial covers
- How to select, move, and delete shapes without disrupting the rest of the sketch.
When to use this
Use this article when a shape is misplaced, duplicated, or no longer belongs in the sketch.
Video walkthrough in article form
Start in the correct sketch context
This section explains how to move shapes and also how to delete them.
Check each shape before moving on
The process starts with the Select tool. You first have to be in the Select tool, and once you hover over a shape here, you will see that it lights up blue and also highlights in our menu here as well.
If you click on this, in this particular state, you can do a couple different things. For one, you could select the Delete button, and that's going to delete it. But For example, "Oops, I didn't want to do that," you can press Control+Z, and it is already back there.
Well, For example, you can move this shape.
For example, you can move it closer to this. You can click this, on your keyboard move left, and it is going to increment there in that little bit. Maybe I want this to be, like, closer here and, like, down one more level, like there.
Keep the canvas organized
For example, that I changed my mind, I just want to move this kinda off the canvas because you are not really sure where this should be yet.
Maybe you can just want to grab this and then move it all the way here. You can keep using the Select tool to move it. At any point in time, you can also just change its orientation as well.
Use Shift with the keyboard controls to change the selected shape orientation.
Again, if you want to go here, you can move this as well. If you want to get this really close and get it really precise, maybe you can just click it here, move my keyboard up, and put it there. This is how you are going to be mainly using the Select tool to either move shapes or delete shapes as well.
Practical workflow
Select the shape you want to change before using move or delete controls. Confirm you selected the intended shape, especially when shapes overlap or sit close together.
Move shapes when the geometry is correct but positioned incorrectly on the canvas. Delete shapes when they are not needed or were created by mistake.
After moving or deleting, review labels, calculations, and exhibit layout. A deleted shape may remove area support, and a moved shape may need label cleanup.
Field review tips
Do not delete geometry until you know whether it supports a calculated area, label, or report exhibit.
Appraiser review checklist
- Confirm the sketch is attached to the correct report and property structure.
- Confirm labels, areas, and totals match your field notes and intended report use.
- Confirm any generated exhibit is readable before relying on it in the report.
- Recheck the report section where the exhibit or calculated area appears.
Related Web Sketch tutorials
This article is part 5 of 14 in the Web Sketch tutorial series. Use the Help Center search for web sketch to find the other drawing, labeling, calculation, and exhibit guides.