GeoJSON Studio FAQ
Check EUDR plot files against the EU TRACES requirements, fix what can be fixed, edit plots on the map and see which plots overlap risk layers, all inside your browser. This page answers the questions users ask most often. Keep it open alongside the tool at plotcheck.agridence.com.
Nothing is uploaded
The tool runs entirely in your browser. Plot data never leaves your computer. The only network requests are for public map tiles and, where your administrator has turned it on, anonymous counts of which features are used.
You will need:
- A plot file in GeoJSON format, with a .geojson or .json extension.
- A current desktop browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. The layout is designed for desktop screens.
- Internet access. The basemap, the reference overlays and the Risk Scan raster checks download public map tiles.
What is GeoJSON Studio?
A browser-based workbench for EUDR plot geolocation files. It opens GeoJSON files, checks them against the EU TRACES GeoJSON requirements, corrects the issues that can be corrected, lets you edit plot geometry and properties on the map, and flags plots that overlap risk layers such as protected areas or deforestation.
Where do I open it, and do I need an account?
Go to plotcheck.agridence.com. There is nothing to install and no login. The tool always runs the latest release, shown in the version chip next to the name in the header.
How do I try it without my own data?
Click Try the demo dataset on the start screen. It loads 12 synthetic rubber plots in Jambi, Indonesia, plus a synthetic risk layer, with the checks and the Risk Scan already run. Every plot is fictitious and each one shows a different TRACES issue.
Can I start from a blank map?
Click Start empty on the start screen, then draw plots with the polygon and point tools on the left of the map.
Where is the help inside the tool?
Click the ? button at the foot of the map toolbar, or press ? on your keyboard. It lists every tool and keyboard shortcut and links back to this page.
Which file types can I open?
GeoJSON files with a .geojson or .json extension. A FeatureCollection is the normal case. Bare geometries, single Features, arrays of features and nested collections are also accepted and restructured into a flat FeatureCollection. Shapefiles, KML and spreadsheets are not supported. Convert them to GeoJSON in a GIS tool such as QGIS first.
How do I open a file?
Click Open in the header, or drag the file anywhere onto the window. The TRACES checks run as soon as the file loads, and the map zooms to your plots.
My file is broken. Will it still open?
Usually, yes. The tool repairs common export mistakes as it reads the file: byte-order marks, comments, single quotes, unquoted keys, trailing commas, text coordinates and similar problems. Every repair is listed under File diagnostics in the Tools tab.
What does "quarantined" mean?
A feature that could not be repaired, for example one with no usable geometry, is set aside instead of being dropped silently. The Tools tab lists each one with the reason it could not be read, and Download quarantined features saves them as a separate GeoJSON file so you can inspect them.
The file declares a coordinate system other than WGS 84. What now?
TRACES only accepts WGS 84 (EPSG:4326) with longitude first, so the tool flags the file with rule S4 and does not reproject it. Reproject the file in a GIS tool and open it again.
Can I open a second file without losing my edits?
Opening a file replaces the current data and clears the undo history. If you have unsaved edits, the tool asks you to confirm first. Export your work before opening the next file.
Does it cope with large files?
Yes. Files with tens of thousands of plots open in well under a second. Above 500 plots the map shows regional cluster bubbles instead of individual plots. Bubble colour shows the worst status inside: red for errors, an amber ring for warnings, a dashed purple ring for risk flags. Click a bubble to zoom into it. Checks on large files run in the background with progress in the status bar.
Where do I see whether my file will pass TRACES?
Look at the top of the Plots tab. The headline says it in one line: N errors block this file means TRACES is likely to reject it, No blocking errors, N warnings to review means it would be accepted, and Ready to submit means every check passed. The count tiles under the headline show how many plots have errors, warnings or risk overlap and how many pass every check. Click a tile to see only those plots. The Issues tab gives the detail.
What is the difference between an error, a warning and a note?
An error means TRACES is likely to reject the file, for example an unclosed ring or a point plot over 4 ha. A warning is a likely rejection or a data-quality problem worth reviewing, such as overlapping plots. A note is advisory and never blocks a submission.
What do the colours on the map mean?
Green outlines passed every check. Amber outlines carry warnings. Red outlines carry errors. A dashed purple outline marks a plot that overlaps a risk source. Risk layer zones are drawn dashed in the layer's own colour, the same colour shown beside the layer in the Risk tab. The selected plot is blue. Small red × markers sit on every point where a plot boundary crosses itself. The legend in the status bar at the foot of the window lists them, with a row for each risk layer you load.
What are the codes such as G9 or E2 in the Issues tab?
Each check has a rule ID. S rules concern file structure, G rules geometry, E rules the EUDR business rules and D rules the dataset as a whole. Issues are grouped by what they mean for TRACES: Blocks submission, Fix before submitting and Notes. Click a row to expand it. It explains the rule, shows example messages and lists the affected plots, and clicking a plot zooms to it. A rule the tool can correct shows a Fix button; the rest say that a human decision is needed. The full list is in the Rule reference at the end of this page.
Why do the checks run without me pressing anything?
Checks run automatically when a file opens and again after every edit, so the Issues tab and the Plots summary are always current. Re-run at the foot of the Issues tab runs them again on demand.
Why does the area differ from what my GIS tool shows?
Areas are computed the way the EUDR Information System computes them: on the WGS 84 ellipsoid, the standard model of the Earth's shape. They are shown with 4 decimals, so even a 0.0001 ha plot shows its real size. Tools that treat the Earth as a sphere can show up to about 0.7% more for plots near the equator. Rule E4 only flags a declared Area that is more than 25% off the computed value.
Why is a plot flagged as a sliver when the whole plot is large?
Rule G11 measures each polygon on its own. A MultiPolygon is flagged when any single part is smaller than the threshold, 1 m² by default, because such parts are almost always digitising slips. You can change the threshold under Geometry toolkit in the Tools tab, and the checks re-run immediately.
Why is my point plot an error?
Under EUDR, plots over 4 ha must be polygons. A point plot that declares more than 4 ha fails rule E2 and must be redrawn as a polygon. A point without an Area property gets a warning (E1), because TRACES then assumes 4 ha.
What does "Plot area below 0.0001 ha" mean?
The Supplier Portal rejects polygons whose computed area, rounded to 4 decimals, is less than 0.0001 ha (1 m²), and point plots that declare less than 0.0001 ha (rule E7). Remove the plot, redraw it, or drop tiny polygons with the sliver fix.
What does Auto-Fix do?
Click Auto-Fix in the header. A dialog lists every correction available for this file with the number of plots affected: closing rings, rebuilding self-intersecting polygons, converting lines to polygons, removing altitude values, swapping reversed longitude and latitude, rewinding rings, converting country names to ISO codes, removing duplicates and slivers, clipping overlaps and more. Untick anything you do not want, then click Apply selected fixes.
Can I undo Auto-Fix?
Yes. All selected fixes are applied as one undo step. Press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) or click the undo arrow in the map toolbar. Check the map after a fix to make sure the result still matches the plots on the ground.
Can I fix one type of issue only?
Yes. Expand the issue card in the Issues tab and click its fix button, for example Close rings or Remove duplicate vertices.
Which issues cannot be fixed automatically?
Anything that needs new information or a human decision: a point plot over 4 ha (redraw it as a polygon), a plot below 0.0001 ha, missing or unreadable geometry, coordinates with too few decimal places, a vertex at 0°N 0°E, a missing Area on a point plot, missing producer details, and a file in a different coordinate system.
How does the overlap fix decide which plot to trim?
Rule D1 keeps the earlier plot in the file intact and trims the later one. Review the result on the map before exporting. If the wrong plot was trimmed, undo and edit the boundary by hand.
Check fixed plots against imagery
Auto-Fix changes geometry. The tool cannot know where a field boundary really is, so compare fixed plots with the satellite basemap before you submit.
How do I select a plot?
Click it on the map, or click its row in the Plots tab. A selection card appears on the map with the plot's attributes, its findings and any risk overlap, and with Zoom, Properties and Delete plot buttons. When something on that plot can be corrected automatically the card also offers Auto-fix. The chevron in the card's corner collapses it to its header while the plot stays selected. The Properties tab appears in the side panel.
How do I move, add or remove a vertex?
Select the plot. Drag a vertex to move it. Click a midpoint marker between two vertices to add a vertex there. To remove a vertex, click it and press Delete, right-click it, or use Delete vertex on the selection card. Esc unpicks the vertex. The checks run again after every edit.
How do I draw a new plot?
Click the polygon tool on the left of the map, click each corner on the map, then press Done. Double-click or Enter also finish. A polygon needs at least 3 corners. Cancel or Esc abandons it. For a point plot, click the point tool, click the map once per plot, then press Done. Set the Area of each point plot in the Properties tab. On a phone, tap the corners and press Done. The panel drops out of the way while you draw.
What does the snap tool do?
With snapping on, a vertex you draw or drag jumps onto a nearby vertex of a neighbouring plot, so shared boundaries line up exactly and do not overlap. Click the magnet button to switch it off when you need to place a vertex freely.
How do I delete a plot?
Select it and press Delete or Backspace, or click Delete plot on the selection card. Ctrl+Z brings it back.
How do I edit a plot's properties?
Select the plot and open the Properties tab. The EUDR fields come first: Producer name, Producer country as a two-letter ISO code such as ID or CI, Area (ha) and Production place. Area is needed for point plots and optional for polygons. Any other properties are listed below; Add adds one and the × beside a property removes it. Click Save properties, or Revert to go back to the saved values.
Can I change a property on every plot at once?
Yes. In the Tools tab, Property toolkit lets you rename a property, remove it from all plots after a confirmation, or set the same value on every plot, for example ProducerCountry set to ID. Each action is one undo step.
How far back does undo go?
50 steps. An Auto-Fix run counts as one step. Opening another file clears the history.
What does the Risk Scan do?
It checks every plot against the risk sources you have set up and lists the overlap for each flagged plot as an area and a percentage of the plot. Flagged plots get a dashed purple outline on the map, a RISK badge in the Plots tab and a risk share in the CSV report. Click Risk Scan in the header to run it.
What can I use as a risk layer?
Any polygon GeoJSON: protected areas, deforestation alerts, concession boundaries or your own no-go zones. In the Risk tab click Add layer and pick one or more files. Each file becomes its own layer, named after the file, which you can show or hide on the map or remove with the bin button. Load demo layer adds a clearly labelled synthetic layer for practice.
How are point plots treated in the scan?
As circles the size of their declared Area, or 4 ha if none is given, which mirrors how EUDR treats point plots.
What are the raster checks?
Pixel-by-pixel checks against public deforestation maps, run as part of the Risk Scan. They are under Scan settings in the Risk tab. The deforestation signal is on by default: pixels that were forest in the EU JRC 2020 map and show tree cover loss in the selected years. Two single-dataset checks, forest cover 2020 overlap and tree cover loss overlap, are opt-in. Hits under 0.01 ha are ignored as pixel noise.
Which years does the loss check use?
2021 to 2025 by default, which is loss after the EUDR cutoff date of 31 December 2020. Change From and To under Scan settings. The range also drives the Tree cover loss overlay on the map.
Why is the scan slow?
The raster checks download map tiles for each plot and analyse them in your browser. Scattered plots need far more tiles than clustered ones. Progress is shown in the status bar. A quick first pass clears plots with no forest or loss signal nearby, and only the rest get the detailed analysis.
The Risk tab says "Results may be out of date". Why?
You changed a layer, a raster check or the loss years after the last scan. Click Risk Scan again.
Is a raster hit proof of deforestation?
No. The maps have a resolution of roughly 10 to 30 m and can misread small plots, roads and plantation cycles. Treat a hit as a reason to look closer. Switch the basemap to Satellite (2020) and Satellite (latest) to compare the plot before and after the cutoff.
Tiles that fail to load
If the scan reports that tiles failed to load, some risk may have been missed. Check your connection and run the scan again.
How do I change the basemap or add overlays?
Click the layers button in the top-right corner of the map. Choose Street, Topo, Satellite (latest) or Satellite (2020), and switch on either reference overlay: Forest cover 2020 in cyan or Tree cover loss in magenta. Each switch takes its overlay's map colour when it is on. All overlays start switched off.
The map behind my plots is grey. Why?
The Street and Topo maps come from OpenStreetMap servers, which do not load on some networks, for example in mainland China without a VPN. If no map appears within about 8 seconds, the tool switches Street and Topo to Esri maps, shows a note, and remembers this in your browser. To go back, open the layers menu and click Try OpenStreetMap again. Satellite (latest) and Satellite (2020) always come from Esri.
How do I change the language?
Click 中文 in the top-right corner of the header, or in the top corner of the start screen, to switch to Simplified Chinese. Click English to switch back. The tool remembers your choice in this browser. On a first visit it follows your browser's language. Exported files stay in English either way, as TRACES expects.
The overlay is not showing. Why?
Overlays need an internet connection and take a moment to load. If nothing appears, zoom in one level and wait.
How do I get more room for the map?
Hide the side panel with the button at the right of the tab row, and bring it back with the Plots & issues handle on the map edge. The legend sits in the status bar, so it never covers the map. The selection card collapses to its header with the chevron in its corner. Zoom with the + and − buttons in the map toolbar, the mouse wheel, or Zoom to all plots.
How do I find a specific plot?
Type in the search box in the Plots tab. It matches plot IDs, production places, names, geometry types, the codes and names of a plot's findings, and every other property value. Press Enter to zoom straight to the first match. Multi-word searches match plots that contain every word.
How do I list only the plots with problems?
Click a count tile at the top of the Plots tab: Errors, Warnings, Risk or Clean. Click it again to show every plot. The sort menu beside the search box orders the table by most findings, highest risk, largest area, name or file order.
How do the table and the map work together?
Click a row to zoom the map to that plot. Click a plot on the map to highlight its row. Entries in the Issues and Risk tabs zoom the same way.
What can I export?
Click Export in the header. Export GeoJSON saves the cleaned plot file, Export CSV report saves a per-plot quality report, and Quarantined features, offered only when the file had features that could not be read, saves those. Files go to your Downloads folder and nothing is uploaded.
What does the exported GeoJSON contain?
A plain FeatureCollection with every coordinate written to 6 decimal places and ProductionPlace written as text. With Keep only TRACES-recognised properties ticked, which is the default, only ProducerName, ProducerCountry, ProductionPlace and Area are kept and everything else is dropped. Untick it to keep all properties. The default file name ends in -traces-checked.geojson.
I need my plot IDs after export. Where are they?
Export the CSV report as well. It carries every property in the dataset as its own column, together with the computed area, status, issues, risk flags, risk share and the geometry as Well-Known Text. The file name ends in -quality-report.csv.
Can I export while errors remain?
Yes. The export dialog warns that TRACES is likely to reject the file. Run Auto-Fix first or fix the remaining plots by hand.
Excel shows an error in the geometry column. Why?
Very large polygons exceed Excel's limit of 32,767 characters per cell. Open the CSV in a GIS or database tool instead, or ignore the geometry_wkt column in Excel.
Does any plot data leave my computer?
No. Files are read and processed in your browser and exports are saved locally. The only network requests are for public map tiles and, where your administrator has turned it on, anonymous counts of which features are used. Plot contents, coordinates, file names and property values are never sent, and browsers with Do Not Track enabled send nothing at all.
Something looks wrong. Who do I contact?
Click Contact Agridence in the status bar, or email info@agridence.com. Include the version shown in the header chip, your browser, and the File diagnostics from the Tools tab if the file failed to open. Do not email confidential plot files without checking with their owner.
Every issue card in the Issues tab carries one of these IDs. S is file structure, G is geometry, E is the EUDR business rules and D is the dataset as a whole.
| ID | What it means | Severity | Auto-Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | The file was not a plain FeatureCollection and was restructured on load. The repair notes are in the Tools tab. | Note | Not needed |
| S4 | The file declares a coordinate system other than WGS 84. Reproject it in a GIS tool. | Error | No |
| G1 | A feature has no usable geometry. Unrepairable features are quarantined on load. | Error | No |
| G2 | Geometry type not accepted. TRACES takes Point, Polygon and MultiPolygon only. | Error | Yes. Converts enclosing lines to polygons and splits collections |
| G3 | Coordinates are not numbers. Text values are converted on load where possible. | Error | No |
| G4 | Coordinates out of range. Often longitude and latitude are swapped. | Error | Yes. Swaps them where that fixes the plot |
| G5 | 3D coordinates with an altitude value. | Warning | Yes. Removes altitude |
| G6 | Polygon ring not closed. | Error | Yes. Closes the ring |
| G7 | Ring with fewer than 4 positions. | Error | Yes. Removes the ring |
| G8 | Duplicate consecutive vertices. | Warning | Yes. Removes them |
| G9 | Self-intersecting polygon. | Error | Yes. Rebuilds it as a valid shape covering the same area |
| G10 | Ring winding order does not follow RFC 7946. | Warning | Yes. Rewinds the rings |
| G11 | Sliver polygon under the threshold, 1 m² by default, measured per polygon part. | Warning | Yes. Removes slivers |
| G12 | More than 6 decimal places in coordinates. | Note | Yes. Rounds to 6 decimals |
| G13 | Fewer than 4 decimal places in coordinates, a grid of roughly 11 m. Re-export the source at full precision. | Warning | No |
| G14 | Polygon contains holes. Check they are intended. | Note | Yes. Removes holes |
| G15 | Two or more features share exactly the same geometry. | Warning | Yes. Keeps the first of each group |
| G16 | A vertex sits at 0°N 0°E, which almost always means missing coordinates. | Warning | No |
| E1 | Point plot without an Area property. TRACES will assume 4 ha. Set Area in Properties. | Warning | No |
| E2 | Point plot declaring more than 4 ha. Redraw it as a polygon. | Error | No |
| E3 | The Area property is not a number. | Error | Yes. Reads numbers from text |
| E4 | Declared Area is more than 25% off the computed area. | Note | Yes. Sets Area from the geometry |
| E5 | ProducerCountry is not a two-letter ISO code. | Warning | Yes. Converts recognised country names |
| E6 | ProducerName or ProductionPlace missing. Optional, but recommended. | Note | No |
| E7 | Computed area rounds below 0.0001 ha at 4 decimals, or a point declares less than 0.0001 ha. The Supplier Portal rejects these. | Error | No |
| D1 | Plot boundaries overlap. | Warning | Yes. Keeps the earlier plot and trims the later one |
| D2 | A point plot sits inside a polygon plot. | Note | Yes. Removes the point |
GeoJSON Studio v1.6 · FAQ updated 23 October 2026 · Contact Agridence