# Map details: boundaries & place labels Official GBMaps guide for the classic map maker. VectorMaps has a different interface. Source: https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details Updated: 2026-10-22 Keep the detail that helps your reader and hide what gets in the way. The available rows depend on the map’s actual layers. [Watch tutorial video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Ln7HnGfw4) Some videos show an earlier layout. The written instructions below describe the current controls; this is a guide, not a video transcript. ![Map details: boundaries & place labels — current GBMaps controls](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/details.png) The current panel, with its options expanded where useful. Select a numbered circle to read its explanation. ## Before hiding ![A Yorkshire map with green and blue territories, surrounded by uncoloured postcode shapes, town and village names and boundary lines.](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/example-unassigned-before.png) The green and blue shapes belong to our zones. With Hide unassigned areas off, the surrounding postcode shapes and place labels are still visible. Compare this with After hiding: the map position, scale, zone colours and selected detail layers are the same. ## After hiding ![The same Yorkshire map at the same scale, with surrounding unassigned shapes and labels hidden. The two coloured territories and their relevant map detail remain.](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/example-unassigned-after.png) Hide unassigned areas keeps the assigned territory and the useful detail within it, including relevant place labels and parts of wider boundaries. It hides the surrounding artwork rather than deleting it. Use the same control again to restore the full map. ## 1. Borders: show or hide each layer Tick Borders for Areas, Districts, Sectors, Counties or the other layers offered by your map. Untick to hide those lines without removing the polygons or territory assignments. Showing an area border and hiding the district borders can make an overview much cleaner. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--borders) ## 2. Width: set line thickness Choose a line width for each boundary layer. Use heavier lines for the broad divisions and finer lines for small districts. Review the result at the scale you intend to print; a line that looks fine when zoomed in may dominate a small graphic. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--width) ## 3. Labels: independent from borders Tick Labels for a layer to show its names/codes. You can show labels without boundary lines or lines without labels. District and sector labels get crowded on a national view; they are more useful on a regional crop. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--labels) ## 4. Hide unassigned areas Focuses the map on the polygons assigned to territories and the relevant surrounding map detail. It hides unwanted artwork rather than deleting it. See the dedicated topic for how labels, broad boundaries and the Google preview are treated. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--hide) ## 5. Towns, villages and cities: Names The Names column controls settlement names separately for each available class. Start with cities and add towns or villages if the local detail helps the reader. These labels are part of the map artwork; they are not marker boxes you created. On a New Zealand district map, open Map details > Places. Cities and Towns have separate Names and Dots tickboxes, so you can show either or both. Names stay close to their dots; crowded town names and their dots are omitted together to keep the map readable. Cities take priority. Save the map to remember these choices. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--names) ## 6. Towns, villages and cities: Dots The Dots column controls the point symbols independently of their names. You can keep names while hiding dots or use dots without names. These are built-in place dots, separate from the postcode dots created in Create Dots. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--dots) ## 7. Open or close a group Click a section heading such as Borders & labels or Places to fold its controls away. Folding a group only tidies the panel; it does not switch off its map layers. Extra rows such as Outer labels appear only on maps that contain that detail. [Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--groups) ### What this looks like Current GBMaps controls with example maps and account details. Choose View larger to see the details. ![Find this tool in the menu — GBMaps controls](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/help-20261022-menu-showHideMenu.png?v=1792654464) [**Find this tool in the menu**](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details#details--borders) The current menu entry. Expand its options as described in the numbered instructions; extra controls appear when an item or data has been added. ## Related guides - [Show only your assigned territories](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=hide-unassigned) - [Regions, London & inset maps](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=regions) - [Roads, land & specialist map layers](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=roads) - [Map Colours: page, labels & boundaries](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colours) - [Color a whole state; style its border and name](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-state-levels) - [USA county maps: choose a state](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-county-maps)