Help
Guides for everything from your first map to advanced Underdark, fog and export workflows. See also What's new.
Getting started
- Your first mapOpen the editor, paint your first hexes, and know how undo, panning and saving work.
- How saving worksWhere your map is kept before and after you sign in, what the save status means, and what to do when a save fails.
- Keyboard shortcuts that save timeThe tool keys, undo, save, zoom and the hold keys worth learning first, plus what to use on a phone or tablet instead.
- Hidden features worth knowingSmall things Hexer can do that are easy to miss, from picking terrain off the map to tracing over an image and locking old share links out.
Tools
- Every tool at a glanceAll 14 editing tools in one list, with their keyboard shortcuts, what each one does, which are Pro, and where to find them on a phone.
- Brush toolPaint terrain with the Brush, change its size, pick a terrain off the map, fill a whole layer, and use it on a phone.
- The EraserWhat the Eraser removes and what it leaves, how its size works, and why an erased hex keeps the fog you gave it.
- The Select toolSelect hexes, then copy, cut, delete or paste them, turn and flip a paste, and carry a piece of map to another layer or scale level.
- POI toolPlace towns, dungeons and landmarks with the POI tool, name them, move them, scatter them, and remove them again.
- Path toolDraw roads, trails, rivers, borders and walls point by point with the Path tool, then reshape, extend, close, rename or delete them.
- Region toolOutline kingdoms, territories and danger zones with the Region tool by painting hexes into a region, then style and label it.
- Note toolPin notes to hexes with the Note tool, find and move them, and choose which ones your players can read and when.
- The Edge toolBlock the edge between two hexes to make a wall, cliff or closed border that stops travel and sight, and see where those walls show up.
- The Connection toolLink a hex to another layer or to a far-off hex, like stairs down to a cave or a pair of portals, and see where connections show up and who can see them.
- The Token toolPlace movable markers for armies, monsters, ships and the party, choose which ones your players see, and move them across scale levels.
- The Travel toolFind the quickest route between two hexes and how long it takes, or see how far the party can get from one hex, measured in watches.
- The Point crawl toolBuild a point crawl of locations and routes over your map, set travel times, find the quickest way between two places, and choose what players see.
- Vision toolPaint fog of war by hand, switch on dynamic vision, and use every setting in the Vision tool's panel. A Pro tool.
- Pan tool and moving around the mapPan and zoom with a mouse, a keyboard or a touch screen, switch scale levels, set what the scroll wheel does, and find your map again when you lose it.
Painting & terrain
- Custom terrain typesMake your own terrain with a name and colour, and understand what basing it on an existing terrain carries over and what it does not.
- Reusing parts of your mapCopy a mountain range, a town or a dungeon room with the Select tool, turn or flip it, and paste it elsewhere, on another layer or on another scale level.
- Hiding the terrain iconsFade the terrain symbols or hide them completely with one slider, for a clean map of colours. Point-of-interest icons are not affected.
Points of interest
- POI icons, names and favouritesHow the POI palette is organised, where favourites and recent picks are kept, and why an icon or a name is sometimes missing from the map.
- Who sees which point of interestA POI has no visibility switch of its own. The fog on its hex decides whether your players see it, and a hidden POI never reaches their browser.
Scale levels
- How scale levels workOne map at several scales. How a detailed level is built from the hexes above it, what it inherits, and what stays on the level you made it on.
- Picking a scale ladderWhich scale preset fits your campaign, how many levels the free plan and Pro allow, and how to take a ladder from a continent down to a city.
Fog & sharing
- How fog of war worksThe four fog levels, why your fog looks thin while your players see it solid, and how dynamic vision uncovers the map as the party moves.
- Sharing a map with your playersCreate a share link, choose what players see, protect it with a password, and follow along live at the table.
- Clearing stuck fog on a detail levelFog painted on a detailed scale level stays put when you change the fog above it. How to make those hexes follow the larger map again, one at a time or all at once.
Export
- Exporting your mapDownload your map as an image, a Foundry scene, a printable hex key or a data file, and choose which layer, level and audience it is for.
- Exporting to Foundry VTTTurn a Hexer map into a Foundry scene with the Universal VTT export, set the hex grid type once, and get walls from the edges you blocked.
Licensing & commercial use
- Can I use my maps commercially?Yes. You can publish, sell or stream the maps you export from Hexer. Here is what, if anything, needs a credit.
- How to credit icons and generated textCredits you can copy for the Game Icons artwork and for the openly licensed works the map generator draws on, and when each one is needed.
- Does Hexer use AI?No. When Hexer generates terrain, place names or DM notes, no AI model or LLM is involved. Here is how each generated thing is made instead.