Placing equipment and drawing site elements

Written By Kelson Reiss

Last updated About 1 month ago

Required role: Member · Tier: Base

Equipment, parking, and protective elements all live on the same satellite canvas in Monterra Design, so a project doubles as a site plan and a quantity takeoff.

Add equipment from the toolbar

The top toolbar has two add buttons:

  • New Item, equipment being installed on this project

  • Existing Item, equipment already on the site (used to mark what stays and to set the upstream power source)

Click either, then drill through the categories:

  • EV charging for chargers, power units, and add-ons

  • Electrical for transformers, switchgear, panels, breakers, disconnects, junction boxes, lighting, solar, BESS, meters, and small parts

  • Civil / Construction for parking stalls, bollards, wheelstops, signage, concrete pads, and trenching

Pick a leaf item, then click on the map to place it. Keep clicking to drop more of the same. Press Escape to exit placement.

Find items faster

Search the add menu by name to jump to any item. For chargers, the catalog opens with filter pills for make and type, plus a favorite toggle on each row. Favorited models sort to the top on the next visit.

The left column of the add menu also lists shortcuts for repeat items:

  • Custom Markers, items defined in the price book

  • Groups, preset equipment groups (a charger plus its typical companions, for example)

  • Sets. Saved arrangements of markers. Create one by selecting items on the map and choosing Create set from the right-click menu.

  • Assemblies, reusable parent-and-child equipment bundles

Repeat a marker with drag-to-fill

  1. Click a marker to select it. Plus handles appear on each side.

  2. Drag a handle outward. Duplicates drop along that line with even spacing, and a count indicator follows the cursor.

  3. Release to commit. Drag back toward the original first to remove duplicates before releasing.

Edit one marker

  1. Click a marker. The Inspector opens with the marker's footprint, electrical attributes, cost overrides, and notes.

  2. Edit any field. Changes save as you type.

Select and edit many at once

To act on a group of markers:

  1. Click Box select in the top toolbar, then drag a rectangle across the markers. Hold Shift and click to add or remove individual markers.

  2. The Inspector switches to a multi-edit view. Edit subtype, footprint, or shared electrical attributes and the change applies to every selected marker.

  3. To remove them, click Delete in the Inspector.

Use Distribute and align in the multi-edit view to space markers evenly or snap them to a row.

Tips

  • Drag-to-fill caps at a maximum count per drag. If you need a longer row, repeat the drag from the new endpoint.

  • Save a frequently used layout as a Set once, then drop it onto future projects from the add menu.