Field features

A field feature is anything on your site that's worth marking on the map but isn't a block. Irrigation headers, frost fans, gates, pump sheds, hazard zones, water tanks — if it's useful to know where it is, you can record it as a field feature.

📷 Screenshot: Vineyard map with a mix of blocks and field features (point icons for headers/fans, line for a pipe, area for a hazard zone).

What you can record

Field features can be:

• Points — a single location (for example, an irrigation header, a gate, a pump shed).
• Lines — a linear feature (for example, a mainline, a fence, a track).
• Areas — a polygon (for example, a hazard zone, a storage pad, a dam).

Every feature can also carry photos and notes, so you can attach a picture of the thing on the ground and jot down anything that doesn't fit a structured field.

Categories and types

Features are organised into a two-level taxonomy:

• Category — the broad grouping. The platform defaults are Irrigation, Power, Water & Drainage, Access & Structures, Hazards & Safety, Boundaries & Land, Vegetation & Planting, and Survey Control.
• Type — the specific kind within a category (for example, "Irrigation → Pump", "Access & Structures → Gate").

Each category has its own colour, so features are easy to tell apart at a glance on the map — irrigation in blue, power in orange, hazards in red, vegetation in green, and so on.

📷 Screenshot: Close-up of the map legend / a few features showing the category colour coding (blue irrigation point, red hazard area, green vegetation line).

Each type can define its own custom attributes — so, for example, an "Irrigation → Pump" might prompt you for flow rate, power source, and horsepower, while a "Hazards & Safety → Overhead Hazard" might prompt for hazard type and minimum clearance.

The category/type list is configured per organisation. Some entries come from the platform defaults; your organisation can add its own on top.

Where features get created and managed

You can create features on either platform — the difference is how you place the geometry:

• Adding a field feature — mobile. Capture in the field with GPS: pick the type, walk the point, line, or area, and Archer records the geometry from your position. Name, notes, and photos are added when you save; the type's structured attributes are filled in afterwards by tapping the feature open.
• Managing field features — portal. Create by drawing directly on the map (where you can also fill in name, attributes, and notes inline), then review, edit, and organise features across a site. The portal is also where you can hide a feature from the map by default to reduce clutter — see the managing page for detail.

Features vs. blocks vs. trouble spots

These three can look similar on the map, so it's worth being clear:

• Blocks are the permanent vineyard structure — where the vines are.
• Field features are other permanent or semi-permanent things worth knowing about — irrigation and power, access and structures, hazards, landmarks.
• Trouble spots are transient — things you report, work on, and complete. Once done, they go away.

If you find yourself recording the same "trouble spot" in the same place over and over, it probably wants to be a field feature instead.