A method for generating a stimulation program for electrical stimulation of a patient includes providing, by a processor on a display, a first grid of first pixels and a representation of a portion of an electrical stimulation lead with electrodes； obtaining, by the processor, a user selection of a first set of the first pixels in the first grid for stimulation； generating, by the processor, a stimulation program based, at least in part, on the user-selected first set of first pixels for stimulation using at least one of the electrodes of the electrical stimulation lead； and initiating, by the processor, a signal that provides an implantable pulse generator with the stimulation program. In other methods, instead of a grid of pixels, user-selectable primitives or selectable-objects are used to determine a desired stimulation region and generate the stimulation program.
