Documentation
Using Places Builder
How it works

How it works

The flow is the same in both versions.

  1. Export your rooms from Microsoft Places. The export lists your buildings, floors and rooms with their Places IDs.
  2. Create an office and its floors in Places Builder and import that list. The app matches floors and rooms to the Places items.
  3. Add a floor plan (PDF, PNG or JPG) to each floor and align it on the satellite map: place, scale and rotate it until it fits the building.
  4. Trace the rooms (and, if you use them, sections and desks) on the plan and match each shape to the Places item it represents.
  5. Check the project. Places Builder points out problems, such as two floors with the same ordinal.
  6. Download the IMDF zip and upload it to Places with Places PowerShell.
New-Map -BuildingId <building PlaceId> -FilePath "<path to the downloaded zip>"

Good to know

  • One building per zip. A map can take up to an hour to appear in Places.
  • To replace a map, run Remove-Map -BuildingId <building PlaceId> first.
  • Every floor needs a unique SortOrder in Places that equals the floor ordinal in Places Builder.
  • The Places IDs are written into the package, so the zip can be uploaded as it is.

More detail, including what has been verified and what is still open, is in verified and open questions.