# START HERE: names, colours & territories Official GBMaps guide for the classic map maker. VectorMaps has a different interface. Source: https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring Updated: 2026-10-22 Each zone in the legend represents a territory, such as a sales team, depot or service area. To build it, click the zone name in the legend, then click the shapes you want to colour on the map itself. Those boundary shapes are sometimes called polygons. You can change the zone’s name or colour later without selecting all its shapes again. [Watch tutorial video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSoytGAOJg0) Some videos show an earlier layout. The written instructions below describe the current controls; this is a guide, not a video transcript. ![START HERE: names, colours & territories — current GBMaps controls](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/start.png) The current panel, with its options expanded where useful. Select a numbered circle to read its explanation. ## 1. Select the zone, then click the map ![North team is selected in red in the map legend. Several Yorkshire postcode districts are green. A pointer sits inside the still-white YO17 shape, ready to colour it.](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/example-click-before.png) Click North team’s name in the legend first. Then click inside YO17 on the map itself. The pointer shows the sort of place to click: inside the boundary shape, rather than on a legend colour square or a menu control. ## 2. See the shape change colour ![After the click, YO17 has turned green to match the selected North team zone. The other shapes and the legend remain in place.](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/example-click-after.png) After that click, YO17 belongs to North team and turns green. Continue clicking the map shapes you want in this zone. You only need to select a new legend name when you want to work on a different zone. ## 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. Add New Name Adds a name box and colour square. Type the name to create the entry. Keep it short enough to sit comfortably in the key; the name box allows up to 29 characters. An empty draft is not a useful territory. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring#colouring--add) ## 2. Edit or select a name Click into an existing name box to select that territory and edit its wording. The lettering in the key updates as you type. Renaming does not move its assigned polygons to a different team. You can also select a territory by clicking its name on the map key. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring#colouring--rename) ## 3. Change a territory colour Click the square beside the name, or the matching square in the map key. Choose a new swatch in the palette. All polygons belonging to that entry follow the change. Two territories can use the same colour, but different colours usually make them easier to read. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring#colouring--swatch) ## 4. Click inside the map shapes to colour them First click the zone name you want in the legend. Then click once inside a postcode or county shape on the map itself, away from its boundary line. That shape fills with the selected zone’s colour. Repeat for every shape in that territory; you do not have to select the zone again between clicks. To work on another territory, click its name in the legend first. Clicking a shape already assigned to the selected zone clears it; clicking one belonging to a different zone moves it into the selected zone. Check the Colour: control on maps with two boundary levels, so a click affects the district or whole area you intend. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring#colouring--paint) ## 5. Remove a territory The red cross beside a name deletes that entry and clears the polygons assigned to it. It is more than removing a line of text from the key. To keep the territory but change its wording, edit the name instead. Save a copy before a substantial reorganisation. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring#colouring--remove) ## 6. Correct a colouring mistake Use Undo on the top toolbar to step back through colouring changes; Redo reapplies a change you have just undone. Do not rely on these buttons to reverse every kind of edit, import, deletion or account action. A separately saved copy is the safer way to keep a previous version. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colouring#colouring--undo) ## Related guides - [Colour whole areas or smaller districts](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colour-mode) - [Click, drag & resize the key](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=key-gestures) - [Choose a colour](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=palette) - [Import Excel: postcode territories](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=excel) - [Show only your assigned territories](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=hide-unassigned)