A summer vacation doesn’t have to mean just lounging by the pool. If you’re eager to explore the mountains on a bike, go hiking along the ridges, and pick up a geocache or two along the way, we have good news for you: you can plan your entire active vacation in a single app.

One app for your entire vacation

Imagine a typical active vacation: a few days cycling along a river, interspersed with a challenging hike in the mountains, and the occasional geocache to spice things up. Until recently, that meant juggling several websites, paper maps, and notes on your phone. With Locus Map, you can handle everything in one place.

You can plan your trip at your leisure at home on your computer, send the planned routes to everyone in your group, and then Locus will reliably guide you on your phone—even in places where there’s no signal. Let’s go through how to do it step by step.

Map selection – biking and hiking maps

A good map is the foundation of every trip. And this is where Locus Map has one of its biggest advantages—it offers a wide selection of map data, so you can choose the one that best suits your plans.

At the heart of the app are LoMaps—our own maps based on data from OpenStreetMap. They include marked hiking and biking trails, terrain shading, and contour lines, so you can see at a glance where a steep climb awaits you. They work great offline, and we update them regularly.

If you’re planning a trip around Europe, you’ll also find specialized online resources helpful. You’ll find the right ones for every activity and region—for example, detailed IGN maps in France, Outdooractive in German-speaking countries, or Swisstopo in Switzerland. 

Tip: Before you set out, download an offline map of the entire region. With Premium Gold, you can download all LoMaps offline for free, so you won't be caught off guard by a loss of signal in the mountains.

Route planning – from the comfort of your home

Locus Map for Android offers the most advanced route planner, but it’s closely followed by the web planner at web.locusmap.app—which now also lets you edit waypoints, their icons, and labels, and displays them on the map. Planning on a large computer screen simply has its own charm: you can comfortably put together a multi-stage route, add any number of waypoints, and select the appropriate LoRouter profile (bike, walking, and more) for each activity. You can also fine-tune the route calculation parameters for each profile exactly to your liking.

And the best part is that the online LoRouter is free. It’s more than enough to help you plan your vacation from the comfort of your own home. You’ll really appreciate the paid offline LoRouter (Gold) when you’re out in the field with no signal.

If you're not an expert at fine-tuning routing profiles or dealing with complex waypoints, you can easily plan your route in Locus Map Lite on your iPhone or iPad—you'll find a simplified route planner there as well.

All set? Share your route with the whole group

When you’re heading out on vacation with a group, not everyone has to plan the route from scratch. You can simply share the route via a link (URL)—send it to a group chat, and every member of the group can open it on their device with a single click—even those who don’t have Locus Map. The route will open in their web browser. That way, everyone has exactly the same itinerary on their phone, and no one will get lost along the way.

A place to stay straight from the map

Planning your route is one thing, but where will you lay your head each night? Locus Map can help with that, too. For all points of interest (POIs) in the “Accommodations” category, you’ll find a Booking.com button that will redirect you to this popular accommodation portal.

How does it work? The link does not open a specific accommodation listing directly, but launches the Booking.com website or app and enters the name of the POI into the search bar. All you have to do is check availability and prices, then make a reservation.

Geocaching along the way

Geocaching is the perfect way to spice up an active vacation. Locus Map is an official partner of Geocaching.com, so it offers plenty of useful tools for geocachers. You can easily search for caches along your route, download them, let the app navigate you to them, and log your finds both online and offline. Support for waypoints and Pocket Queries is, of course, included.

Think of geocaching as a fun way to spice up your trip—a few caches along the way to the summit or at a rest stop will bring joy and give you the motivation to pedal on, especially for kids.

Offline in the field

Once everything is planned and shared, there’s just one last step: preparing the app for a trip without a signal. Download offline maps, routing data, and planned routes in advance, and Locus Map will guide you seamlessly through even the most remote corners of the countryside. This is where the offline LoRouter from the Premium Gold package comes in handy, as it recalculates your route even without a connection.

Voice-guided navigation along the route is a given, so you don’t even have to take your phone out of your pocket. When cycling with your phone mounted on the handlebars, it’s also handy that the screen turns on automatically at turns so you don’t miss any. Discovering new hidden paths can be an adventure, but you definitely don’t want to end up somewhere in the nettles and swamps—especially with small children. 

While you're out riding, turn on track recording with real-time statistics on speed, elevation, and distance traveled, so you'll have a keepsake of your adventures. And don't forget to take photos! Locus Map can display your photos over the map or in the track details of your trips.

Set out on your active vacation

From the initial inspiration, through route planning and booking accommodations, to navigation on the trail—Locus Map will guide you through your entire active vacation. So what are you waiting for? Open the web planner, plan your next trip by bike or on foot, and set out to explore. Adventures await.

Článek Active Vacations with Locus Map: Biking, Hiking, and Geocaching se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

It's finally here! Locus Map Lite, our app for iOS devices, can now be used without an internet connection. You can download an offline LoMap of the area you're in at home, and you can set off without worrying that the map will disappear after the first hill due to a bad signal. As well as browsing the map, you can also search for places of interest without a connection.

New LoMaps

For starters, let's recap what LoMaps are: they're hiking and biking maps of the world, tweaked for the Locus Map app. They are based on OSM map data, which we modify into our map themes and convert for use in our applications. You can use them online, i.e. streamed from the internet, and now also offline. In addition to the map, they also include LoPoints, which are points of interest or places that are either interesting or important for orientation and staying in the field.

Not only are LoMaps on iOS now available offline, but they're premiering their latest, next-generation version, which is improved in many ways:

• maps are faster, clearer and with smoother scaling
• allow a seamless transition between online and offline maps without changing style or behaviour
• have more detailed terrain shading
• can be rotated while the labels remain horizontal for better readability
• can be tilted

Three display modes

So you can easily view the map in places where there is no signal. However, some data still needs to be downloaded, such as photos for points of interest or terrain shading. Therefore, the app offers three map display options:

Automatic

A default setting that seamlessly connects the online and offline worlds - the app prioritises offline data when you view the map, but fetches missing information like photos, shading or addresses from the internet when you search. No worries, you can always see where you are on the map - if you accidentally go off the offline map, Locus Map will display the online map.

Offline only

Without an internet connection, you can only use the offline map and database of points of interest. However, some details are not available, such as photos and ratings on the LoPoint details screen or terrain shading. You can choose to use one downloaded LoMap or view all maps for easy transition from one to another.

Online only

Use this mode if you want to make sure you see the most up-to-date map data. However, keep in mind that the map loads a bit slower (if there's no signal, not at all) and the app consumes slightly more power.

How to download maps?

In the main menu, you will find a new item, "Download offline maps", where you will find a list of downloadable maps. In the current version of the app, the maps are simply sorted according to your current location. We know this is not ideal for downloading more distant destinations. We are planning a better organization of regions for easier selection for a future update.

Three free LoMaps

As usual with its "Android brother", you can download three offline LoMaps for free in Locus Map Lite. So if you're holidaying at home, or in two neighboring countries, you're covered without dropping a penny. Plus, of course, you have the whole world covered for free with the online LoMap in summer and winter themes.

The whole world offline with Premium Gold

If you're travelling further afield and need to check the satellite map now and then, it's worth investing in the Premium Gold package. Not only can you download as many LoMaps as you want, but you also get all the updates. Add to that the ability to sync your trips, workouts and places of interest with your web library and other devices, and it's a no-brainer!

If anything, get in touch!

Introducing the new maps into the app involved a huge amount of background work - we had to completely overhaul the way the maps are generated, deploy new infrastructure... We don't want to burden you with technical details. However, we would be very happy if you let us know how satisfied you are with the new maps. Either in the comments here below the article, or drop us a line at the helpdesk.

Článek Locus Map Lite works offline se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

You already know that Locus Map is a versatile and flexible tool that enables a wide range of uses. That it can serve hikers, bikers, geocachers, runners and cross-country skiers is a given. That it can also help rescuers, conservationists, and the development of new technologies we wrote about a year ago.

This is because of the plethora of features and gadgets the app offers. Often these options are somewhat hidden, as you had a chance to see in the article about the "magic" of long pressing some buttons. Today, we're going to look a little deeper into the menu and bring to light a few features you may not have known about in Locus Map.

Map specialties

Maps are essential and Locus Map can display a plethora of them - online or offline, of different types, dedicated LoMaps, or maps from various third-party vendors. Now we'll take a look at a few features that further enrich the map.

Automatic zooming

With autozoom, you don't have to manually zoom in and out if your hands are on the handlebars or steering wheel - the map zooms itself depending on your current speed. When you're going fast, the map zooms out, and you can see more of the landscape and get an overview of the overall context and progress along the route. Conversely, when you slow down or stop at an intersection, the map zooms in and you can see all the details you need, such as the shape of the intersection.

Unlike conventional navigation apps, in Locus Map, you can set in detail which zooms to display at which speed. This way you can tailor the auto zoom to any activity, from slow walking to driving, and use the presets to activate it when needed.

Auto zoom can be found in the map screen settings. Details here >>

All maps magnification

Many middle-aged people are losing the ability to focus their sight at short distances. For them, Locus Map offers the ability to enlarge all maps from 125% to 800% of the original resolution. You can enable map magnification in the advanced map settings. Details here >>

Terrain shading

The classic map shading, which increases the plasticity of the terrain and aids orientation, needs no introduction:

However, Locus Map offers something extra again:

Slope gradients for ski mountaineering

The popular activity on the snow plains of the mountains brings with it one crucial aspect to watch - the slope gradient. The risk of an avalanche increases with a higher angle. Based on elevation data, Locus Map can color-code slopes exceeding 30°, which is critical for safe movement in open terrain. Steeper slopes are further distinguished by a darker color:

Slope colouring by cardinal directions

Landscape photographers and other hunters of sunrises and sunsets will appreciate being able to tell from a map which slope leans in which direction. The cardinal points are color-coded so you can guess fairly accurately where the shade will be at what time of day:

Quickly turn shading on or off in the map content panel on the left. Details here >>

Auxiliary graphics

The rather generic title in the map settings menu hides some real treasures that can be very useful to you as you wander through the countryside. This section is worth exploring in more detail, but we'll just list the highlights here:

Dynamic elevation

The height of the location on the map is displayed above the cursor. You always know what elevation you are at and the elevation of your surroundings:

Time circles

Intuitively and quickly show us where we will get to in half a minute, a minute, etc., at the current speed:

Cursor to position line

A very fast tool to measure the beeline distance between your current location and any other location. You can also add other values to the line such as elevation difference or azimuth:

Course line

This element highlights the direction of your movement. Useful for water sports on a larger body of water:

Heading line

Highlights the direction of rotation of the phone. For example, it can help you find the names of peaks on the horizon or other landscape features you can see from a viewpoint.

Show view

Particularly helpful for those who have trouble orienting themselves on the map - it shows the viewport you are currently looking at:

More about auxiliary graphics here >>

Specialties for athletes

The primary goal of the Locus Map app is to help people who enjoy being active in the outdoors. In addition to the main functions such as track recording, route planning, navigation, or connection to external sensors, there are also a lot of auxiliary functions that can make these activities even more enjoyable.

Audio coach

The audio coach is appreciated by runners and everyone who needs to know their performance data first-hand, so to speak. When recording an activity (running, cycling or other trail training), Locus Map reports the current statistics of the ongoing activity to the headphones at a selected interval.

A range of parameters is available - in addition to the usual data such as distance, speed, or pace, Locus Map also provides information on elevation, heart rate, cadence, or energy consumption. The reporting interval can be selected as distance or time, and the parameters can also be layered on top of each other. And don't worry that you won't hear your favorite music while running - Locus Map only sounds when it needs to.

You can set up as many audio coaches as you want and use a different one for each sports activity. Connecting audio to a specific route recording profile and starting it automatically is a matter of course.

You can configure the audio coach in the route recording settings. Details here >>

Track naming automation

Locus Map offers several options for naming a recorded track when you save it to your library. The default format is a timestamp, however you can further enrich this or replace it with something else. There is the activity type, start and finish location, country, name of the route you are navigating, start time, and distance traveled.

Everything is set using tags in the track recording profile settings. Here are the details >>

And now something for the experts

As if the primary settings in Locus Map weren't enough, there are other settings that are rather hidden from the general user. We refer to these as "Expert" and they can be used to set up almost anything you can imagine. Just to name a few:

• colors and styles of all possible auxiliary lines above the map and graph curves
• colors and fonts of titles or labels
• detailed settings for hardware drivers
• various tweaks and shortcuts

However, there are also settings that may not work properly on all phones, such as fullscreen, as well as a few options for developers, so it's best not to touch them at all. Either way, you can customize Locus Map in many, many ways.

And how do you activate the expert settings? You can find everything here >>

Locus Map LITE - iOS cherry on top

What does iOS have to do with the unknown features of Locus Map, you ask? The "unknown". This time, however, not for users, but for us developers - until recently, the iOS platform was an unknown and unexplored place for us.

We admit, throughout the history of Locus Map development, we couldn't imagine developing an app for another platform. However, as they say, "Never say never", and so, after less than two years of intensive work, we created our first iOS app - the Locus Map LITE.

Not to be misled - this is not the equivalent of the Android Locus Map. Locus Map LITE is so far just a Locus baby that can only do a fraction of what its "adult" Android brother is capable of. Anyway, we want to teach it as much as possible in the future to make it as much the same as the Android app.

And what can Locus Map LITE do now?

• display your location on an online LoMap or satellite map
• record your activity
• import your route in GPX format
• view your route and waypoint library and synchronize it with the web

You can learn all about it on its brand new page at www.locusmap.app/ios.

Enjoy your summer!

Článek Specialties From the Locus Map Menu se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Although the map is the main thing you see when you turn on Locus Map and what you need to work with it, the app can display much more on the main screen. The map itself can contain multiple layers - points of interest LoPoints, terrain shading, various overlays... On top of that you can see user points and routes, plus various ancillary graphics like lines, circles, coordinate grids, etc. Today we'll see what all can be displayed on the main screen, and also how to "clean up" the screen as quickly as possible.

Content panel

You'll find the place where it's all controlled near the left edge of the display.

The content panel has a series of toggles and buttons, divided into several thematic headings:

• Maps
• Tracks & Routes
• Points
• Miscellaneous
• Settings (disabled by default)

As is common with Locus Map, you can customize the content panel to suit your needs - turn on the toggles you use and hide the ones you don't. A selection of options can be found in the top bar of the panel. You'll also find three settings items that are hidden in the default panel configuration.

The map is essential

Although a robust map manager is available for managing maps in the app, a toggle switch in the content panel is preferable for quickly viewing and changing maps on the main screen. Tap on the name of the currently displayed map to open a menu of recently used online maps and downloaded offline maps covering the local area. And since the vast majority of users use no more than about 3 maps at a time, the quick switch is the best solution.

Hike, bike or a city?

Some maps, such as our LoMaps, can be switched to different themes depending on how they are used. 

If you have such a map active, a theme switcher will be added to the content panel.

This consists of three buttons. The first selects the theme itself - for LoMap this is Hike and Bike, Ski, City and Road.

The next button will show you the legend of the map you are using if you are unsure of a marker on the map. The third button shows the map theme layers, which can be shown or hidden as needed. For example, a hiker doesn't need to see bike route markers.

Shading or slope gradients?

Locus offers shading to make the terrain on the map more plastic. While the classic "eyelet" toggles shadows on or off, tap the button name to see additional options - for which maps to show shadows, and also the type of shading.

A map over a map

If one map is not enough, Locus Map can display two map layers on top of each other. Click the button to open the overlay map selection dialog with a transparency slider. 

Use the eyelet to toggle the overlay on or off.

Places on the map

An integral part of the map are points of interest and information about them - LoPoints. Online LoPoints are always available when you are connected, offline LoPoints are downloaded together with the LoMap of the area. You can view them over any map, including satellite maps. Here you can easily show or hide them all at once.

My points and routes

You control the display of your own points and routes directly from My Library. You can activate them individually, in groups or in whole folders. In the content panel, you will find only the main "switches" to turn all displayed points and routes OFF.

Which place is the closest?

This button does not turn on anything on the map, but instead pulls the closest points in the selected category from the map and sorts them according to their distance from you. You have a choice of LoPoints, caches, user points, users visible via live tracking and more. 

Photos

Photographs taken with a mobile phone usually include information about the exact location of the photo. Tap on the "eye" to view these photos above the map. 

Locus Map can display not only your own photos, but also images sent via Whatsapp and other social media. Tap the button name to set which folders Locus Map will take photos from.

Something for geeks

Mapper’s notes

OSM notes are a specific layer for those of you who want to contribute to the improvement of the map. Just by turning on the layer you can see the places where there is some error in the map. If you click the full button, you can report the map error or change to the OSM mapping community yourself.

Active items

Behind the somewhat mysterious and generic name is the ability to control the display of external geodata files (custom maps, routes, points...) that are added to the app via "Map Items". Here you expand the list of their layers and set the transparency. A bit too much digital wilderness for the average hiker or biker, so you can deactivate this option in the panel settings with peace of mind.

Would you like some more graphics?

Grids

A layer for old-timers and map lovers who are not satisfied with the map location and coordinates in the top panel. Here they can turn on the WGS or UTM coordinate grid, or the kilometer grid.

Lines and circles

We've also added the option to turn on the graphical tools settings in the content panel - it's not in the basic menu, you have to activate it in the panel configuration (see above). This way you can quickly turn on time and distance circles, orientation and direction lines, magnifying glass and other elements.

Clean up!

So we have a lot of content, the map is full of routes, caches and various other graphical ballast. How do we quickly get back to just the map?

• You can hide all your tracks, routes and points with one (or two) buttons with a broom symbol.
• LoPoints are also easy to get rid of, just select which one you're currently using - online or offline - and tap the eyelet.
• Similarly, you can quickly hang up photos, notes or the grid.

However, there are still some features hanging around on the map that you've added using the graphical geocaching tools, or caches that streamed in while using the live map... These are all reliably removed by the "Temporary map items" button with the trashcan symbol. It's not in the default panel menu, but if you frequently work with the live map or various cachers’ tidbits, activate it.

Since Locus Map handles a lot, there's quite a bit in the content panel as well. If you don't use everything we've written about here, remember that you can disable unnecessary features! This will make the panel much more concise and clear:

Článek Home screen, it’s not just the maps se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

As we approach the end of the year, we thought it would be a good idea to pause and look back at what we have accomplished this year together with you. And there's no shortage of things, you can judge for yourself. 

Let's start with some statistics

A look at the anonymized data you sync via the Locus cloud reveals a lot of interesting numbers for 2022:

• you’ve recorded over 2 million tracks
• you have walked, hiked, cycled, run, climbed, etc. over 11 million (!!!) kilometers with Locus Map (that's 14 times from the Earth to the Moon and back)
• most of your trips have been on foot - you have enjoyed over 71,000 walks and hikes
• the most kilometers were cycled - almost 1.5 million km
• you added almost 7 000 user photos to LoPoints on the map during the autumn alone
• geocachers went hunting for nearly 700,000 caches

We've done our best, too, and this year we've improved Locus Map with a lot of new features for you. Here are the highlights:

Satellite and aerial maps of the world

Since Locus Map is not built on Google's mapping interface, it cannot legally use Google maps. The lack of a good global satellite and aerial map was our obvious disadvantage. We had to rely on local suppliers, but we were unable to find them in all countries.

As of spring 2022, that's different - we've acquired global satellite data from HERE and Maxar, so we finally have a bird's eye view of almost the entire world in both the app and the web planner.

New winter maps and ski routing

Our offline LoMaps can be switched to a winter theme for years, but this time we've focused on their online version so we can have a winter map on the web too. We cleaned up the map, optimized it for better readability in the sun, and added updated winter LoPoints. It includes cross-country groomed and ungroomed trails (where the OSM community has put them on the map), color-coded pistes, freeride trails, ski-alpine trails, and winter hiking trails. 

We've removed one big skeleton from the closet - we've given LoMaps a brand-new and up-to-date legend.

For white trail lovers, we've added a cross-country ski routing profile for both planner and quick navigation. We're still tweaking the profile to meet the current needs of our users, so sometimes you'll find a spot where the route is not rendered - you can overcome such a section either by drawing it manually or by switching to the walking profile.

LoPoints with information from Wikipedia

LoPoints - points marking interesting and important places on the map, are an integral part of our LoMap. In the spring, we managed to link them with data from the biggest internet encyclopedia - Wikipedia. A lot of architectural, technical, and natural landmarks on the map got interesting descriptions and photos.

Your photos of interesting places on the map

During the summer we started another big project - user photos can be assigned to each LoPoint so others can see what it looks like - is the view on the map really the view in reality? Is there really water in this well? Is this ruin really worth a visit? Is it possible to hide in this shelter in bad weather? These questions can best be answered by actual photography.

A download of caches directly in the app

Until recently, only the Geocaching4Locus add-on was used to download and import caches, but we have no influence on its development - it is programmed by one of our partners. For better sustainability and flexibility, we decided to add the cache download option directly into the app. So, it doesn't yet do all the finesse of G4L, but we'll add it in time. You can now find the direct cache search and import in the geocaching tools.

Locus Map Premium - one-offs and vouchers

We were able to introduce all of these new features thanks to a new sustainable way of funding our work through subscriptions. Plus, in the spring we introduced the option to get Premium services for one-off payments - for three months or a year, with no automatic renewal. This way you can use Locus "in full" only during peak season and have it free for the rest of the year.

The newest option to get Premium without having to purchase through Google Play, are annual vouchers. These can be purchased directly on our site, for yourself, or as a gift. And it really pays off now before Christmas! Each voucher contains a unique code, after entering it in the "Go Premium" section of the menu, the app restarts in Premium mode with all the high-tech features.

And what awaits us next year?

That, in a nutshell, was our year 2022 together. And what can you look forward to next time? Well, there are plenty of things to look forward to, including:

• a completely new search - we are far from using all the possibilities of the location data available in our service, so we want to "teach" Locus better how to search in this amount
• we will most likely expand the availability of Locus... fanfare and drumroll... even for apple industry fans! Yes, we will probably start testing the first (lightweight) versions on the iOS platform as early as spring.

So you have something to look forward to again, and so do we! We wish you all good health and lots of outdoor fun with Locus Map!

Článek Looking back at 2022 se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

It's been a while since we've written about the release of a new version of your favorite app. Not because nothing has happened, on the contrary - we release new versions more or less regularly every month, as you've probably noticed. There's a lot going on, it's just that it's not so visible "on the surface" - we're just working on a lot of stuff that's going on in the background, but also on already finished stuff that we're tweaking to even greater perfection - we call it internal cultivation.

Version 4.13 is no exception, but it does bring some major new features that we would like to show off. We can summarize them in three thematic groups:

• geocaching
• winter
• cultivation

Download caches without add-on

Locus Map offers a lot of features and gadgets for geocaching players. Until recently, except for one - the ability to search and download caches from Geocaching.com. Until now, we've left that to the Geocaching4Locus add-on, which comes from another developer. However, the add-on hasn't been updated for several years, so in order to maintain availability and get greater flexibility, we decided to add the feature directly to the app.

You can find it in the Geocaching Tools section in the list of all app features. It doesn't yet do everything G4L does - it lacks a live map with streaming caches displayed on the map and search by GC code. But we plan to add all of that to Locus soon. Until that happens, feel free to continue using the G4L add-on.

Predefined lists

Another new feature taken from the add-on is the ability to display lists of caches that you previously defined on geocaching.com. Click on My Lists to see your lists in the app. There is then a button at the end of the line to batch-download all the caches in the list directly into the app for offline use. Your Pocket Queries are also displayed in the same section.

Plan cross-country ski trips

About a month ago, we put a brand new winter LoMap in the app and on the web. We've cleaned up its look, improved readability, added winter LoPoints, and it's ready for the upcoming season. It shows the slopes by difficulty, and also cross-country ski trails divided into several levels. Of course, lifts, cable cars, ski huts, aprés bars, etc., are all there. 

We are now adding a cross-country skiing profile to the map in the planner. You can find it both in the online LoRouter in the app and on the web, and in its offline version - here you only need to update the routing data (if it hasn't already been updated automatically). The profile plans trips on both groomed and ungroomed trails, as long as they are entered into the map. Sections of the route that do not have ski tracks plotted on them need to be plotted with another profile, such as a walking profile. These are usually roads, car parks, or other similar places that interrupt the ski route.

Something for more convenient control

And now a few tidbits from our favorite cultivation section. Starting in the map manager, we've consolidated the menu for adding new maps. Now when you click the + button in the online or offline tab, you'll see the same menu and can add any map you want, even a WMS source from our library. 

We've moved the option to recalculate a complete route for a different activity from the menu in the top bar more "in your face" - directly into the profile selection dialog. For example, you have a route for hiking and want to change it to mountain biking. You open it in the planner, select the MTB profile and click "recalculate all" - only the shaping and via points stay in place.

Quite often we've had to explain where the backup is now hidden, where you can find the option to unload the app data to move it to a new phone, etc. We got tired of this, so we've simplified it dramatically - all settings related to working with app data can now be found in a separate category of Backup and File System settings.

This includes the File System Manager, where you can set up the main and auxiliary directories, manage cloud sync, and the aforementioned backups, and we've also moved the deletion of temporary data here.

As part of the cultivation, you'll of course find plenty of other tweaks across the app, but we won't write about those. If any catch your eye, let us know in the comments.

Článek What new features does the latest Locus Map 4.13 bring? se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

A year has just passed since we introduced our new project - Locus Map 4. And since we are not really into those classic anniversary parties, we want to celebrate this event with you in a somewhat unconventional way - by introducing some major new features:

• Import and satellite maps on the web
• New options for purchasing Premium features
• Locus Map Pro is now Locus Map 3 Classic

News on the web

Import routes and points

Finally, for many of you, there’s a crucial piece of functionality. It took a long time, as it was not easy for us - you are used to importing not only routes, but also points or combinations of them from the mobile app. All this also in multiple numbers. All of this is now possible in the web planner as well.

You can start the import using the button, or by simply dragging the GPX file directly onto the map (you need to be logged in for this to work):

The web application then gives you a choice of what you want to save from the imported file to the library:

Then click "Save", select the folders for routes and points separately and you're done (but you can only save with the Premium Gold package activated).

LoMap or aerial view?

We recently introduced global satellite maps to Locus Map on mobile. Now we've done the same on the web. You can now choose between cycling/touring LoMap or aerial/satellite imagery to plan your routes or view your trips.

Dynamic LoPoints are of course displayed over both. This takes the comfort of trip planning one step further again.

The maps show data from Here and Maxar and can be zoomed down to level 18.

In addition to subscriptions - the one-time payments

You all probably understand that all the gadgets and new services we have been throwing at you for a year now cost a lot of money.

Still, we know that paying for premium features as a subscription is not popular with some of you.

That's why we have prepared one-time payments for you. You pay for a specific period of time, the Premium Services are activated, the period expires, and the app returns to the basic state. No automatic payment renewal, you are in full control:

Premium for 3 months

If you're a fan of summer-only outdoor activities, this plan is for you. On this plan, you'll only pay for Premium features for the peak outdoor season of the year, when you're guaranteed the best weather and longest daylight hours. So ideal for hiking and biking.

Of course, you can use the same plan in winter, when the cross-country skiing and skialp season is in full swing. Anyway, it's up to you, you can start the 3-month Premium at any time.

Premium for 1 year

This is the plan of choice for die-hard outdoorsmen who want to be in full control of the payments for their hobby. Just pay once, you're set for a year and you don't have to deal with automatic renewal.

Try Premium for 14 days for free

So you don't buy into the hype, you can try the premium app for FREE. You have a full 14 days to do so, so if you time it right, you'll be able to make it through two weekends. The trial is included with annual Silver and Gold subscriptions. If you cancel your subscription before the end of the trial period, it won't cost you a cent.

Can I switch from a subscription to a one-time purchase and vice versa?

Yes, we have several transition scenarios, all of which have one thing in common - they are always fair to you.

For example, if you have an annual Silver subscription and want a three-month one-time Gold for the summer, your subscription will not be deactivated, but instead extended by the three months you use Gold. So you won't lose a day of the subscribed features.

Or, if you are switching from an unfinished three-month one-time Silver to an annual Gold subscription, the remaining unused funds will be used to extend the annual period pro-rata.

All options for one-off purchases, subscriptions, and transitions between them can be found directly in the app under the "Go Premium" menu.

Locus Map Pro changes to Locus Map 3 Classic

Throughout the year we’ve been explaining to our users that Locus Map 4 and Locus Map Pro are developed and maintained in two different projects. However, we are aware that the name of the older application containing the word "Pro" may evoke the opposite impression, especially for new users, that Locus Map 4 is an older or lower-end application.

That's why we decided to rename the original Locus Map Pro application to Locus Map 3 Classic.

The number 3 in the title refers to the number series of the original "Pro" application, which we are now releasing in version 3.59. The word "Classic" conveys the feeling of "good old", reliable, and time-tested software.

Some of our users are rejecting the novelty of the 4th series of the app. For example, they are used to the original user interface. Locus Map 3 Classic is primarily for them, and we will continue to maintain and update it so that it works seamlessly on the latest versions of the Android operating system.

For those who want to take advantage of our latest gadgets, there's Locus Map 4, which in Premium Silver includes the same features as Locus Map 3 Classic, plus a lot more. 

Článek Check out the presents for the first anniversary of Locus Map 4! se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Locus Map provides a solid map base in offline LoMaps, drawn from OSM data, but let's face it - there are places that OSM mappers don't visit much. There, quality hiking and cycling maps produced by local publishers or authorities can help us significantly. These belong to the basic things that everyone packs for a proper outdoor vacation.

We recently added brand new maps of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service HGSS to the Locus store, and updated a number of map packages of the Polish Compass and the Hungarian Cartographia.

To Croatia not only to the sea

We mostly go to Croatia to spend the vacation at the seaside, however, the whole country abounds in many natural beauties, which we can fully admire on hiking or biking trips. Local maps are provided by the Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS - Hrvatska gorska služba spašavanja). As part of its numerous activities, it publishes high-quality, detailed, up-to-date and clear maps.

Maps of all Croatian national parks, islands and mountains are now available in Locus. Maps are available in several scales, include marked hiking trails, bike paths, mountain huts and shelters, pubs, views and other natural and architectural attractions, camps, and other tourist amenities.

To Poland and Slovakia with Compass maps

Compass, a traditional leading manufacturer of tourist maps of Poland, Slovakia and eastern Ukraine, recently released updates to a number of its products. Maps of the Sącz, Silesian and Żywiec Beskids, Bieszczady, Bystrzycky and Orlické Mountains, the city map of Kraków with cycling routes in the vicinity, Sanok and its surroundings, Podhale, Tatras, Orava, Spiš, Zawoja, Babia Góra and the Kłodzko region have received new data.

Hungary is not just Balaton

This can be confirmed by many fans of the picturesque landscape of the Bukovské Mountains, the fertile Danube plains or the highest mountains Mátra. The established cartographic publishing house Cartographia has recently published a number of updates to its tourist maps. In the Locus store you will find new versions of maps Bakony, Buda mountains, Göcsej, Kemeneshát, Keszthely mountains, Őrség, Somló hill, Velencei mountains and Velencei lake, Vértes and Zselic.

All maps are now available in the Locus store. Enjoy your holiday!

Článek Get maps ready for your vacation in Croatia, Poland or Hungary se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by John Thorn, UK

First, some history...

Twenty years ago, when you wanted a map for outdoor activity, the choice was between Ordnance Survey paper maps in either 1:50000 scale (“Landranger”) or 1:25000 (“Explorer”). Consumer GPS devices were just becoming available and smartphones were unknown. Fast forward and dedicated GPS devices are past their peak with a general move to smartphones with moving map displays that show you where you have been and where you are.

Raster or vector?

The digital maps used by these devices are either raster maps where the image is held on the device as a picture (more often a set of picture tiles) or vector maps where map features are described by their coordinates and type with the image being created by the device as it is being displayed. If you zoom into a raster map everything gets bigger; if you zoom into a vector map the places move farther apart but the width of the road between them stays the same.

The major OS maps, even digital versions, are still raster maps but the OS also releases vector data, some of it free.

Base - OpenStreetMap and Ordnance Survey Opendata

Open Street Map was formed as a project to map the world and make the result available for free. The data is collected by volunteers who input the descriptions and data for buildings, woods, rivers, roads into a vast shared database. Anyone can access the database and there are organizations that provide regular extracts in different formats such as Garmin and Mapsforge (as used in both LoMaps and mine).

The good thing about the Ordnance Survey is that the country is mapped thoroughly, regularly, and consistently. Set against this the price - which has dropped a lot in the past few years - and many features - shops, ATMs, street names - are not on the maps, and many topographic features are revised over a period measured in years.

The good thing about Open Street Map is the speed of update - days or less - and the wealth of data held in the central database but this has to be balanced by its inconsistencies. Just because Joe has mapped all the lanes in his supermarket car park does not mean Jill will do the same for hers. In towns and popular areas this is not much of a problem because there are many who will contribute but in remoter areas - see the screenshots for Stow Hill below - there is a lot of missed data. Another issue with OSM is that footpaths are included but they are rarely defined as Rights of Way.

Stow hill on a LoMap and on a JohnThornMap:

When the OS started to release free map data with an open license I decided to try to create a ‘best of both worlds’ map.

The OS Opendata contains many products but the ones I use are “Local”, “District” and “Terrain 50”. But property boundaries and footpaths are not included in any of the Open data so I looked for other sources. There is a site “www.rowmaps.com” that aggregates rights-of-way information from most local councils in England and Wales; for Scotland (where the law is different) I have sourced “Core Path” data from some of the councils including Highland. (I believe that these are the only digital maps that show and identify Core Paths.) But in private lands such as Forestry and Nature Reserves, there are permissive paths that can be used but are not official rights of way. So I source footpath data from Open Street Map as well as other map features like Pubs, Toilets, Airfields, Abandoned Railways, and Viewpoints. Rights of way are in green or mauve, other paths in red. See the Legend for more details.

My maps

My maps include every building, road, railway, river, and wood known to the OS supplemented by the other data described above. Contours and spot heights are in meters. With the rights of way data, you can be sure that you are allowed to be where you are and you will not find your way blocked by an unmarked river. Sadly, though, there is no source of property boundaries that I can use.

The maps are designed for most outdoor activities - hiking, biking, equestrian, canoeing. The maps are revised with the latest data every year.

Below are a number of screenshots comparing my maps with OS and LoMaps (which are derived from Open Street Map):

If you want to explore further - and I hope you do - the Lowlands map covering the area from the Tyne to the Tay is free for download.

My overall message is that the OS provides the best topographical detail at the highest price. If your trips are to places that are well mapped by OSM then LoMaps are fine but if you are going "off the beaten track" then my maps are probably the best value.

I would be happy to receive comments or suggestions: john@the-thorns.org.uk

Článek JohnThornMaps – why you might want to use them on your travels in UK se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Locus Map offers a lot of maps for your outdoor fun. Over 150 online maps that can be downloaded or cached (not all of them, though :(), offline maps, raster (e.g. SwissTopo) or vector - our LoMaps. Each map has its properties, covers a certain area, has its price, downloading or caching limits so almost everybody in the world can choose one.

But this is not all. There are also WMS maps. Myriads of them around the world, just add them to Locus. In the newest 3.44, we completely overhauled the way WMS maps are offered, searched, or added. But before we get to our new Web Services Library, let's make clear what it is all about.

What is WMS?

Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet. These images are typically produced by a map server from geo-information data. Such a definition sounds quite geeky, right? Take it easy, WMS is just another channel of many interesting map sources.

WMS can serve almost any type of map. Beginning with topographic maps, historic maps, satellite, and aerial images, cycling routes, town plans, ending with various data layers like cadastral maps, weather services, environmental layers, etc.

Advantages and drawbacks

The biggest plus of WMS is the range of content you can get, switchable layers, metadata in some sources displaying even more information. Drawbacks - WMS maps and data can be viewed online only with no option of downloading or caching so they are not the choice for remote areas with weak or no internet signal.

Check this practical example of using WMS maps when pinning a friend's land plot >>

How do I get WMS maps into Locus?

Browse and search the Library

Originally, we maintained a website with a list of recommended WMS links. Some time ago we found out most of those links don't work or are not updated. Therefore, we created the Web Services Library containing only verified links. You can find it in the WMS tab of Locus map manager. When you open it, Locus offers WMS maps surrounding your GPS location:

To narrow your selection, use full-text search:

When you choose the source you like, tap it - Locus Map automatically uploads the source and inserts it in your WMS list. You just select the needed layers and confirm.

On the main map screen, notice the special button in the upper left corner. With it, you can switch among visible WMS layers and control their opacity:

Enter link of a specific WMS source

If you don't find the right WMS channel in the library but you know its URL address, select Add manually in the WMS tab and insert the link into the dialog:

Locus adds your channel to the WMS tab.

If you think other users would enjoy the WMS link too, you can add it to the Library:

We'll just check the link is functioning and activate it.

Flexible function panel

Web Service Library is not the only improvement brought to you in this version. A few of you had an idea of flexible shifting of buttons between upper and right function panels when rotating the phone:

You can select this option in the settings of the panels:

Beware of memory cleaners

Some phone producers, especially Xiaomi and Huawei, equip their devices with very aggressive memory cleaning software. Such a cleaner can wipe out all your Locus data - points, tracks, maps, even settings. Please, always exclude Locus Map from these cleaners' to-do list. If you forget to do so, Locus Map will prompt you after some time.

These are, in a nutshell, all major improvements in Locus Map 3.44. (actually, there are much more minor changes and fixes all over the app, as usual). In the meantime, we are working on features for Locus Map 4.0 - new design, a built-in router, user database, cloud sync, etc.etc. Keep your fingers crossed :)

Článek WMS maps in Locus Map 3.44? Not just for experts ! se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.