Create an order
Who can do this: project Editor, Approver or Manager. A workspace Viewer cannot create orders whatever their project role.
Before you start
- Select a project in the sidebar. An order belongs to one project, and you cannot create one while viewing All projects.
- The areas must be homed in or linked into that project. See Create areas.
- The workspace needs a billing account before the order can be submitted. See Billing.
Start a draft order
Click New Order in the sidebar (or Create Order on the Orders page) and enter an Order Name: up to 60 characters, letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens and underscores only, unique within the project. The order opens as a Draft in the order wizard, with the workspace's default billing account and data format.
Order numbers
A draft has no number. The number is assigned on submit, as <project number>-<year>-<sequence> (for example 12-2026-0001), restarting each calendar year (UTC) per project. It never changes, even if the order moves project.
The order wizard
The wizard has two steps, Deliverables and Review & Submit, and saves every change automatically. Switching project in the sidebar returns you to the orders list.
Step 1: add deliverables
A deliverable is one product over one area (and, for a recurring capture, one capture window). Click Add Deliverable, choose a Product (Imagery or DEM) and a Data source, select areas, then fill in the parameters.
Data sources
| Data source | What it does | Areas |
|---|---|---|
| Archival | Select existing captures | One polygon area |
| Area Tasking | Commission new captures on a schedule | One or more polygon areas; each becomes its own deliverable |
| Point Tasking | One scene per point, priced per scene (Imagery only) | Point areas only |
Minimum area sizes
| Product | Archival | Area Tasking | Point Tasking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imagery | 25 square kilometres | 100 square kilometres | No minimum |
| DEM | 50 square kilometres | 100 square kilometres | Not offered |
Some vendors set a higher minimum, enforced when the deliverable is priced.
Selecting areas
The picker lists only areas in the order's project. Manage Areas lets you draw or upload a new area without leaving the wizard.
When an area is too small
The Area Expansion Required dialog offers:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Create New Variant (Recommended) | Orders over a larger copy (named with " - Archive" or " - Tasking"). The original is unchanged. |
| Modify Original Area | Enlarges the area itself for every future order. |
| Remove from Selection | Drops the area from this deliverable. |
If the area already has deliverables, you can only create a variant.
Archival imagery
Select Archival Scenes lists matching scenes newest first. Use the filter icon to narrow by date, resolution, spectral bands, cloud, off-nadir and vendor.
Your first selected scene fixes the vendor and resolution: scenes from other vendors, or not orderable at that resolution, are disabled. Change the resolution in the form to enable them.
For a DEM from the archive, you select stereo imagery, then the DEM product and resolution.
Partial coverage
If your scenes do not cover the whole area, the deliverable covers only part of it and, once approved, shows a Partial badge with the covered percentage. Select more scenes before adding the deliverable to cover the whole area.
Area Tasking and Point Tasking
DEM tasking asks for a DEM Product Type (DSM, DTM or DSM + DTM Bundle) and the source stereo imagery.
Capture schedule
One-time Capture sets a single window. Recurring Capture sets a first start date, window duration, frequency and number of captures, and previews every window.
A window starting on 3 March starts at midnight on 3 March where the area is.
| Rule | Area Tasking | DEM tasking | Point Tasking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earliest window start | 2 days from today | 2 days from today | 2 days from today |
| Minimum window length | 6 days | 14 days | 1 day |
| Maximum window length (recurring) | 90 days | 90 days | 90 days |
| Number of captures (recurring) | 2 to 52 | 2 to 52 | 2 to 365 |
| Frequencies | Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly, Bi-monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly, Yearly | As Area Tasking | Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly, Quarterly |
Recurring windows cannot overlap, so a short frequency needs a short window. The frequency list shows only what the vendor and resolution support.
The 2-day rule is checked again on submit. If a draft sits too long, delete the affected deliverable and add it again with later dates.
Recurring captures create one deliverable per capture
Each capture window over each area is its own deliverable, with its own status, price and notifications: 12 monthly captures over 2 areas is 24 deliverables. If some windows fail to save (Partial Completion), add them again as a new deliverable.
Processing level
| Level | What happens | Effect on the order |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | Processed in-house: orthorectified, mosaicked and colour balanced, custom formats available | Order goes to feasibility review |
| Rush | Vendor processes automatically, fastest turnaround | Priced instantly if every deliverable is Rush |
Rush is available only for Imagery Point Tasking. See Instant and reviewable quotes.
Prices in the wizard
Prices are in AUD excluding GST. An order with Premium work totalling over $25,000 is labelled RRP and Custom Quote: volume discounts are confirmed in the final quote after feasibility review.
Edit or delete a draft
Reopen a draft with Edit on its row in the Orders list. Deliverables cannot be edited: delete one and add it again. Delete on a deliverable card has no confirmation.
To delete the whole draft, choose Delete Order from its row menu. This cannot be undone. Only drafts can be deleted; a submitted order can only be cancelled.