Domain map

Getting around

Drag the map to pan, scroll to zoom, or use the controls at the bottom right.

On macOS, use Cmd wherever this says Ctrl. While you type in a field, keys go to the field: Ctrl+Z there undoes typing, not a change to the map. Esc is the one key that also works from a field.

Shapes

Key or gestureWhat it does
Click a shapeSelect it
EscClose the ⋮ menu, or else clear the selection
Drag a domainMove it, with everything in it
Drag a capabilityMove it. Drop it inside a domain to put it there, on another capability to swap the two, or on open ground to leave it loose
Drag a domain's titleMove the title around its domain
Drag the bars at either side of a domain's title, while renaming it or in an Edit sessionChange the width the title wraps at
Double-click a domain's titleRename it in place (see below)
⋮ at the end of a selected domain's titleRename, or Edit: a session of changes that Cancel undoes all at once
Delete or BackspaceDelete the selection. Deleting a domain asks first.
Ctrl+ZUndo
Ctrl+BTurn bold on or off for the selected domain or capability
Ctrl and + / Ctrl and −Step the selected capability's font size up or down (= works as +)
Shift and + / Shift and −Step the selected capability's shape size up or down
Ctrl and < / Ctrl and >Make the selected capability's oval narrower or wider, in five steps: tall, a little tall, round, a little wide, wide. New capabilities start wide. (Ctrl+, and Ctrl+. work too)
] / [Bring the selected capability to the front of its stack, or send it to the back. Its stack is the other capabilities in its domain, or the other loose ones.
Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[Move it forward or back one step

Renaming a domain on the map

KeyWhat it does
EnterSave the title
Shift+Enter or Ctrl+EnterStart a new line in the title
EscCancel and keep the old title
Click awaySave the title

Connectors

Key or gestureWhat it does
Point at or select a capabilityShow its connection points
Drag from a connection point to one on another capabilityDraw a connector
Click a connection point, then one on another capabilityDraw a connector in two clicks
Esc, or click anywhere elseDrop a connector you have started
Click a connectorSelect it
Drag an end of the selected connectorMove that end to another point, or onto another capability
Shift+click a curved connectorAdd a bend where you click
Drag a bendReshape the line
Double-click a bendRemove the bend

Palette

Edit palette, at the foot of the details panel, opens the palette editor in the bottom right corner, over a light overlay that leaves the map in view. Pick a swatch, then drag in the color area below the swatches or along the hue strip, or type a hex: the picker and the hex field follow each other as you go. A drag is applied when you let go; the hex field takes Enter to apply the color and Esc to put the old one back. Ctrl-Z undoes a color change, and Esc or Done closes the editor.

About Domain map

A shared map of your organization, so flow conversations start from context instead of a blank whiteboard.

The map is the fixed terrain: your domains and the business capabilities within them, each in a deliberate position. Whereas a diagram's layout is arbitrary — rearrange it and nothing is lost — a map anchors elements geometrically, so position carries meaning, and the terrain stays learnable across teams.

Flows are overlays. Trace a payment authorization from checkout through invoicing, financial booking, and settlement, and the route shows which teams are involved and how each participates in the end-to-end flow. Think of Google Maps as the terrain and your planned route as the overlay.

Establish the context once. Then draw on top of it — with a marker or digitally — every time after.