Settings
Settings is ⌘, on the Mac, with three tabs: General, Map and Terrain. Elsewhere it is the gear in the toolbar, one list with the same sections.
General
Section titled “General”- Fetch Elevation as You Draw: a path’s profile and an area’s ground are fetched a second after your last change. Turn it off on a metered connection and use Get Elevation (⌘E) instead. On the Mac this is also Elevation ▸ Update Automatically.
- Elevation Data: Mapzen (30 m worldwide, sea floor included) or ASTER (30 m worldwide, land only).
- New Documents: Map Style, Distance Unit, Elevation Unit and Area Unit. Each document remembers its own; these apply to new ones.
On the Map: Shape Names, Side Lengths of the Selected Shape, My Location.
Terrain
Section titled “Terrain”- Slope: Color Slopes From (15°, 25°, 30°, 35° or 45°) and Strength, with a strip showing the bands as they will look.
- Contours: Spacing (Automatic, or a fixed spacing) and Strength.
- 3D View: the default Vertical Exaggeration, and Sample Points, the small dots that show where each height was measured (hidden while slope or contours are on).
Reset to Defaults puts everything back.