> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.growthfactor.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.growthfactor.ai/study/overview.md).

# Studies Overview

## What a Study Is

A study is where your market exploration and analysis live. You drop pins, draw shapes, add annotations, and run analysis on the map — all of it saved as you go. This work can also be seen and continued by team members with access.

Studies are listed on the **Studies** tab in the sidebar, along with the **Starred** and **Recents** sections.

***

## Creating a Study

Click **New study** on the **Studies** page or from the sidebar. The new study opens with the name **Untitled study**.

You need edit access to the workspace to create a study; viewers will see the list but not the button.

***

## Naming a Study

### Automatic Naming

As you begin working in a new study, a title is generated for it automatically. This happens a few seconds after you add your first pins or trade zones, or as you begin chatting with the agent.

Auto-naming only happens when the study is untitled, so it never overwrites a name you chose.

### Renaming a Study

Click the study name at the top of the Study panel and type a new one. You can also click **Rename** in the **⋯** menu next to any study on the **Studies** page.

***

## The Study Workspace

A study opens as one screen: the agent on the left, the map in the middle with its toolbar, and the right panel for everything the study contains.

### The Agent

The **GrowthFactor Agent** sits in a panel beside the map and acts on the study as you talk to it. It isn't available in a read-only or archived study. See [GrowthFactor Agent](/study/growthfactor-agent.md).

### The Toolbar

Drawing tools are grouped behind two menus, **Pins** and **Shapes**, with annotation and history controls alongside them. A hint below the toolbar tells you what to click next once a tool is active.

See [Controls & Shortcuts](/study/controls-and-shortcuts.md) for the shortcut list, and [Pins](/study/pins.md) and [Shapes](/study/shapes.md) for what each tool produces.

### The Study Panel

The **Study** tab shows the study name, counts of pins, trade zones, and shapes, then up to three sections: **Pins** (add button **Add pin**, empty hint **No pins yet — click + to drop one.**), **Deals & Stores** (the deals and portfolio stores this scenario's trade zones are anchored to, including any pins promoted to a deal — hidden when there are none), and **Shapes & Boundaries** (add button **Extract boundary**). Hover any row for a trash icon to delete it without opening it.

Select a pin, shape, site, or deal and the tab becomes **Pin**, **Shape**, **Site**, or **Deal** and shows that entity's details and analysis. Drag the panel's left edge to resize it, or use **Collapse panel** to get the full map back.

### The Layers Panel

The **Layers** tab controls what's drawn on the map — built-in data layers, your own custom layers and territories, annotations, and the basemap. See [Data & Layers in a Study](#data-and-layers-in-a-study) below.

***

## Data & Layers in a Study

### Adding a Data Layer

Open the **Layers** tab and click **Add layer** to open the **Add a data layer** picker. The built-in layers are **Vehicle Traffic**, **Foot Traffic POIs**, **Tracked POIs**, **Zoning**, **My Stores**, **Deal Stages**, and — for accounts in the closed beta — [**Available Listings**](/data-and-analytics/available-listings.md). Once everything is added the picker reads **All layers added.**

Added layers group under **Data**. Click a row to toggle its visibility, click **Show all** or **Hide all** in the section header to toggle every added data layer at once, or use the X to remove it. New studies start with **My Stores**, **Deal Stages**, and **Tracked POIs** already added, with **Tracked POIs** hidden until you turn it on.

### Custom Layers & Territories

Workspace layers you haven't added yet sit in a **Custom Layers** group inside the picker, with territories marked **Territory**. Once added they group under **Custom**, where **Show all** / **Hide all** toggles them all together.

Removing a custom layer from a study only removes it from your view — the underlying layer stays in the workspace. See [Map Layers](/manage/map-layers.md).

### Tracked Businesses

Expand **Tracked POIs** and click **Edit** to see which brands and categories the study is tracking. The header tells you whether you're **Using workspace defaults** or **Custom for you**. Defaults come from workspace settings. Any brands or categories you add yourself are visible only to you, and they stay in place until you reset. Use **Reset to defaults** to go back to the workspace set. While you're on workspace defaults, **Refresh defaults** pulls in the latest workspace settings.

Admins can push a custom set to the whole workspace with **Save as defaults**, or jump to [workspace settings](/getting-started/workspace-settings.md) with **Edit Defaults**. For more on tracked brands and categories, see [Points of Interest](/data-and-analytics/points-of-interest.md).

{% hint style="warning" %}
The layers you add to a study are remembered in your browser, not saved to the study. A teammate opening the same study sees the default layers, not the ones you added — and you'll see the defaults again if you open the study in a different browser.
{% endhint %}

***

## Finding and Organizing Your Studies

The **Studies** page lists every study you can see, with when it was last edited and by whom, and whether it's **Shared** or **Private**. Use **Search studies** to filter by name.

### Starring

Use **Star** in a study's **⋯** menu, or the star icon in the study header. Starred studies appear in the **Starred** section of the sidebar, above **Recents**. Stars are yours alone — teammates don't see them — and they don't change the order of the studies list. **Unstar** removes it again.

### Sorting

Click **Filter** and pick a **Sort by** option: **Recently edited** (the default), **Least recently edited**, or **Alphabetical**. Your choice is remembered the next time you open the page.

### Filtering by View

The toggle above the list switches between **All**, **Private**, **Shared**, and **Archived**. If you have access to more than one workspace, **Filter** also lets you narrow the list to specific workspaces.

***

## Archiving a Study

Choose **Archive** from a study's **⋯** menu and confirm. Archived studies are hidden from **Recents** and the main list, and move to the **Archived** tab — open one and it's read-only, with the agent hidden.

**Unarchive** brings it back. Archiving is how studies are removed; there is no permanent delete.

***

## Asking the Agent

Anything you can do by hand in a study, you can usually ask for instead. For example:

* "Drop a pin at 4th and Main, Boston"
* "What are the demographics of S1?"
* "Merge S1 and S2 into one shape"
* "What brands are inside S1?"

See [GrowthFactor Agent](/study/growthfactor-agent.md) for how the agent works and what else it can do. The agent isn't available in archived studies.


---

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