# Click, drag & resize the key

Official GBMaps guide for the classic map maker. VectorMaps has a different interface.

Source: https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key-gestures
Updated: 2026-10-22

You can change the order simply by dragging an entry up or down in the key. The other entries rearrange themselves when you let go. Drag the background instead if you want to move the whole key.

[Watch tutorial video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qs9vmGI5Ko)

Some videos show an earlier layout. The written instructions below describe the current controls; this is a guide, not a video transcript.

![Click, drag & resize the key — current GBMaps controls](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/key-example.png)

The current panel, with its options expanded where useful. Select a numbered circle to read its explanation.

## 3. Choose the next zone

![York team is now selected in the legend. Its postcode shapes around York are blue, while the North team territory remains green.](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/example-two-zones.png)

Select York team in the legend, then click its shapes on the map. They turn blue; the existing North team shapes remain green. If you click a shape already owned by another zone, you move it into the zone you have selected.

## 1. Click a name to select a territory

Click the zone name in the legend to make it your active territory; the name becomes highlighted. Move onto the map and click inside the shapes you want to give that zone’s colour. Selecting the name alone does not colour anything. Keep clicking map shapes to grow the territory, then select another legend name when you want to use its colour.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key-gestures#key-gestures--select)

## 2. Click a colour square to recolour

Opens the colour palette for that entry. Choosing a swatch updates the key square and the polygons assigned to the entry. Use the name beside it when you only want to select the territory.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key-gestures#key-gestures--swatch)

## 3. Drag the key background to move the whole key

Hold a blank part of the key background or its frame, drag to the new position and release. All its entries move together. Keep it inside the page in Print View so it is included in the download.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key-gestures#key-gestures--drag)

## 4. Simply drag a key entry to change its order

In the vertical key, hold the name and drag it above or below another entry. Let go and all the entries automatically rearrange to make room. The colour square and any extra text stay with their name. This only changes the order in the key, not the coloured map areas. Drag from the name, not the blank background.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key-gestures#key-gestures--reorder)

## 5. Scroll over the key to change its size

With the pointer over a portrait key, scroll down to make it smaller and up to make it larger. The whole key scales together. Move the pointer back over the map to zoom the map instead. If the key has become awkward to handle, use Key Settings → Reset position.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key-gestures#key-gestures--resize)

## Related guides

- [Key Settings: layout & visibility](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key)
- [START HERE: names, colours & territories](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring)
- [Extra text beneath key entries](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=legend-details)
- [Choose a colour](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=palette)