Mapping a block

Platform: Mobile (Archer Setup app)

Mapping a block is usually the first real job you do with Archer on a new site. You don't walk the perimeter — instead you survey posts along your rows. You drop a GPS point at the start and end of a few rows, give each point a row number, and let Archer fill in the rows in between. Accuracy matters here — this geometry is what every future operation will be based on — so RTK GPS is strongly recommended.

📷 Screenshot: Completed block on the map showing surveyed row points and interpolated rows over satellite imagery.

Before you start

• The vineyard the block belongs to needs to exist. If it doesn't, create it first and sync your device.
• You should be signed in to the Archer mobile app and have the correct management group selected.
• Ideally, you have an RTK GPS receiver (such as the X8-M1) paired and showing a Fixed solution. Phone GPS works but will be far less accurate.
• You're physically at the block, ready to walk to the posts you want to survey.

Checking GPS status

The GPS status bar lives at the top of the block-mapping screen, just under the title. You can check it before and during mapping:

1. Open the Maps tab (the home screen) to confirm GPS is alive while you're getting set up.

2. Once you're in the block wizard, watch the status bar at the top. It shows the source (for example Phone GPS or X8-M1) on the left and the fix quality on the right.

3. You want to see RTK Fixed ±2cm. Float ±50cm means RTK hasn't locked yet — wait for it to settle. On phone GPS only you'll see a rough accuracy estimate instead (for example ±5.0m).

   📷 Screenshot: Block-mapping screen with the GPS status bar at the top showing "RTK Fixed ±2cm".

You can't add a point unless the fix is good enough, so the Add Point button stays disabled until GPS is ready.

Steps

1. Open the List tab and tap the vineyard you're working on.

   📷 Screenshot: List tab open with a vineyard selected, showing the vineyard detail screen.

2. On the vineyard detail screen, tap Create new block. The block opens straight onto the mapping screen with an auto-generated name (for example "New Block 1").

3. To rename the block or set its variety, tap the block title at the top of the screen (it has a small edit icon next to it). This opens the Edit Block Details dialog, where you can change the Block Name and pick a Variety. You can do this now or later.

   📷 Screenshot: List tab + vineyard detail screen with the "Create new block" button highlighted.

4. Walk to the first post of your first row.

5. When the status bar shows a good fix, tap the full-width Add Point button at the bottom of the screen.

   📷 Screenshot: Block wizard map with the full-width "Add Point" button and the GPS status bar showing RTK Fixed.

6. The point drops on the map and a prompt appears: "Point added - tap to assign row number." Tap the prompt (or tap the pin on the map) to open the Edit Point dialog, type the Row Number (for example 1), and tap Save.

   📷 Screenshot: Point editor dialog with the "Row Number" field filled in.

7. Walk to the end of that row (or a few posts along it) and add another point, assigning it the same row number. Two points per row is enough to define the row's line.

8. Repeat for your last row, giving its points the correct (higher) row number — for example, if your block has 30 rows, this point gets row 30. Two points per row is enough.

How the rows in between get filled

You don't have to survey every row. As soon as you have two valid rows — your first and last, each with two points and a row number — Archer automatically interpolates the rows in between, spacing them evenly across the block. The interpolated rows appear on the map as faint (auto-fill) points and rows; you'll see them generate as you complete the second row.

📷 Screenshot: The interpolated rows appearing automatically between the first and last surveyed rows.

You can survey extra rows in the middle if your rows aren't perfectly straight or evenly spaced — each real row you add refines the interpolation around it.

If you ever need to start the row numbering over, use Reset Row Numbers in the AppBar overflow menu (the ⋮ button at the top right). This clears every point's row assignment so you can reassign them.

Marking gaps and obstacles in a row

If a row has a physical gap — a track, a dam, or some other obstacle — you can mark it with a break point so Archer doesn't treat it as one continuous run:

1. Add a point on each side of the gap and assign it the row's number.
2. Open the Edit Point dialog on that point and turn on Row Break Point ("Creates a gap in the row").
3. To copy the same break across the other rows, turn on Auto-fill Start Point on the first break, then open the matching break point on the row at the other end and tap Auto-fill. Archer adds break points to the intermediate rows in between.

📷 Screenshot: Edit Point dialog with the "Row Break Point" and "Auto-fill Start Point" toggles on.

Marking the block complete

The Block Status panel sits above the Add Point button once your block has enough geometry. Tap it to expand it and see what's left to do:

• The badge reads Incomplete or Complete.
• Under To complete this block:, Archer lists any blockers — for example "2 unassigned point(s)", "No rows defined", rows with an odd number of break points, or rows whose headings aren't parallel.
• If you have points that haven't been given a row number, tap Find unassigned point to jump the map straight to the next one and open its editor (handy when a stray point is hidden under other markers).

When there are no blockers, the Mark Complete button turns green. Tap it to finish the block.

📷 Screenshot: Block Status panel expanded, showing completion blockers and the green "Mark Complete" button.

Filling in block details

You can set these any time from the block:

• Name and Variety — via Edit Block Details (tap the block title in the wizard, or edit later — see Editing block details).
• Plant spacing and Plants per bay — these are planting settings. They're inherited from the vineyard by default and can be overridden per block. On the block detail screen each value shows a chip indicating its source (Block, Inherited, or Not set).

Block status and releasing

A freshly mapped block is a draft until it's released. Releasing is done from the mobile app: open the block detail screen, go to Version History, and tap Release Version. Until then, the block isn't used for operational work. See Block versioning for details.

Tips and gotchas

• Stand still for a couple of seconds before adding each point so the fix settles, especially on the X8-M1.
• Points too close together are rejected. Archer enforces a minimum distance (30 cm) between surveyed points — if you're too close you'll see "Too close (Xcm)" and a prompt to "Move at least 30cm away."
• Wait for RTK Fixed. If the status bar drops to Float ±50cm, pause and let it re-lock before adding more points.
• GPS Settings is in the AppBar overflow menu (⋮) — you can also open it by tapping the GPS status bar. Use it to switch GPS source or check your receiver.
• Use the Help icon (the ? at the top of the screen) for a quick in-app refresher on the survey-and-auto-fill workflow.
• Auto-fill works best with straight, parallel rows. If rows diverge too much, completion will flag them and you may need to survey a couple of extra rows.