We haven't been in touch since the release of the previous version of Locus Map for Android - we've been busy working. But now it's time to show off the fruits of our tireless labor. November brings several major new features across all platforms, where you can use Locus Map - on the web, iOS, and, of course, Android. And finally, a little Christmas surprise :).

What's new on the website?

Our web application with a route planner and library has once again moved closer to its Android counterpart in terms of functionality. The planner now includes options for custom routing profile settings, undo/redo buttons, and the ability to include these settings when sharing a planned route. 

“Custom” parameters for route calculation

You are already familiar with the options for customizing various parameters for route calculation from the Android version of the app. Now they are all available on the web as well:

• For walking routes, you can set your walking speed to refine the estimated time for the route. You can also add the option "wet conditions."
• There is much more to cycling routes, as each type of bike has its own specific requirements. For mountain bikes, in addition to the flat-surface speed, you can also set the difficulty of the terrain, while for road cyclists, you can set the power in watts or disable the preference for cycle paths. Everyone will welcome the option to enable shortcuts via stairs, tunnels, or ferries.

You can apply your own settings to individual segments of the route or to the entire route at once. Just check the appropriate option:

Undo/redo buttons for full control over planning

We have all been eagerly awaiting these buttons, and we have finally managed to resolve this technical issue. By clicking on “undo”, you can return to the individual steps of your planning, including changes, route point shifts, etc. With the “redo” button, you can repeat the steps you have returned from. 

The "back" button in your browser's toolbar now works similarly, but it can also reverse all other actions you have performed on the page, including map panning and zooming.

Sharing your planned route

The option to share your planned route using a URL link has been available for some time. However, sharing now also reflects the custom route settings and offers two ways to copy the link:

• using the "Share" button with a shortened link
• directly from the browser address bar - this means, among other things, that you will not lose your work in progress, e.g., when restarting the browser

What do you think of the new user interface of the planning panel? We are aware that we have tried to cram a lot of functionality into a small space. We are constantly trying to balance the fine line between simplicity and the range of features. Please let us know in the comments if you find it intuitive and pleasant to use.

Bulk actions in My Library

We have also expanded the library management options for your tracks, routes, and points. You can now view, copy, move, export, and delete multiple items at once. 

First, turn on multiple selection mode. Then check the routes and points you want to perform further actions on:

Select from the menu of actions. Before copying or moving items, select the destination folder:

New version for iOS

Locus Map’s younger sibling, Locus Map Lite, which we are developing for iPhones and iPads, has also gained some key new features:

Guidance to the target

The guidance displays a straight line from your location to the specified destination. It is therefore ideal for guidance in open terrain, such as to a cache. Of course, you can also navigate to points of interest on the map (known as LoPoints) or to your own points.

To start guidance, tap the button in the bottom bar of the point details:

The top of the display shows a panel with the name of the waypoint, a compass needle, and the distance as the crow flies:

It also includes a notification system that alerts you when you are within a certain distance of your destination - you can choose between a beep or a system notification. You can, of course, customize this distance. Cachers will also appreciate the beeping alert with increasing frequency – the beeping speeds up as you approach the target (or slows down as you move away):

You can end guidance by tapping the button in the guidance menu in the top bar:

Temporary point with a long press

When you hold your finger on any place on the map, a temporary point is created with coordinates, aerial distance, and postal address:

You can perform several actions with the temporary point:

• In its place, you can create a permanent point and save it to your library.
• You can share its location using a link, display it in another map application, or launch external navigation to it.
• You can start guidance on it, see above

When you swipe away the panel with details about the point, the point disappears.

Winter vector map

Winter is approaching, so we have added a vector map for winter sports to the app. It includes ski slopes with color-coded difficulty ratings, ski lifts, cable cars, and marked cross-country skiing trails. It now also supports text rotation to maintain readability, just like its summer alternative: 

Compass and GPS status

Every navigation app has a screen with a compass and information about the GPS status of your phone. In Locus Map Lite, you can now display it by tapping the GPS signal indicator:

The compass also includes an accurate azimuth. Furthermore, the screen displays information about your current altitude, coordinates, speed, and horizontal and vertical GPS accuracy.

When target guidance is activated, the compass displays an arrow pointing toward the target:

New Locus Map 4.32

We have also released a new version for Android. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to get it onto Google Play due to a technical issue on their part. Unfortunately, communication with user support at Google for Developers is incredibly poor, so the official release date for the new version is nowhere in sight.

If you don't want to wait for it, you can download it from our Repository.

A complete summary of news can be found on our Helpdesk.

The Garmin add-on supports the latest watches

We have also updated the Garmin watch add-on, Locus Map for Garmin. We have made it available for a whole range of new models.

Make your loved ones happy

Christmas is fast approaching once again, and if you're thinking about gifts for your loved ones, we have a tip for you - a 20% Christmas discount on Premium Silver and Gold annual vouchers!

You can purchase discounted vouchers on our website www.locusmap.app/voucher until January 15th, 2026. The vouchers have no expiration date, so they can be redeemed at any time.

Článek News from December on the web portal and other platforms se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

We’re sure you've gotten used to (and so have we) new versions of your favorite outdoor navigation app coming out at roughly monthly intervals. In fact, we usually get so many tweaks and improvements done in about a month that we have to get it out the door. But now we are releasing news after a much longer time. Why? There are two reasons.

Already before Christmas, we had a "banger" ready for you, as we call it internally, in the form of Locus Map support for Android Auto. The version even came out briefly. But then, when we needed to release a quick fix, Google "threw a pitchfork" at us. Unfortunately, the project has been stalled since then, and several weeks of arguing with robot reviewers have not yet yielded any results. Anyway, we're not giving up and hope to show you this news in full glory one day!

The second reason we are writing to you in the first place is much more cheerful. We're bringing you a brand new library of routes, tracks, and waypoints, allowing you to do things you've never seen before. And since the library is one of the cornerstones of all our platforms, including the web and iOS, it took a little longer.

All data in one place

Common folders for routes and points

A first glance at the new library tells you a lot - the separate tabs for tracks and points have disappeared. You can now have both in one place. You can store everything Locus Map has to offer in folders - your planned and recorded routes, favorite spots, and geocaches ready to go.

Uniform work with data

Tracks, routes, and points can now be sorted, filtered, copied, moved, deleted, displayed on the map, or hidden together. Plus, you can import and export both at the same time. So everything is much more flexible and faster. If you have Premium Gold, all changes are automatically synced with your other devices and the web interface.

Up to six levels of folder nesting

Common folders aren't everything - you can also nest them inside each other. So, for example, the "Biking Croatia 2025" folder will contain subfolders with individual trips to the Croatian islands, which can be further subdivided into routes, places with nice views, geocaches... You have many more possibilities at once. With the Premium package, you also get the option to add up to six levels of nesting to your folders.

You can customize the look

In the Android version, the new library offers four display modes. You can choose between two layouts - simple and advanced, and two types of lists for folder contents - slim and full.

By default, you see the library with a simple layout and a full list for visibility of necessary statistics. Tools for working with the folder and the data in it are available in the menu in the top bar.

The floating button at the bottom right unfolds the tools for adding content to the folder - importing points and routes, track recording, route planning, etc.

The new library on iOS and web

As mentioned in the introduction, the new version of the library database applies to all platforms on which Locus Map can be used. So syncing data across platforms and on all Android, iOS devices and on the web supports the new folder structure as well as multiple plunges.

iOS and the web also "catch up" considerably with their Android counterpart in terms of data handling capabilities in the new library:

On the web, you'll love the improved logic for viewing items in bulk on the map - for example, you can view all routes from one folder above the map in 2 clicks. Just note that for a large number of routes, this is not an instant operation and we'd appreciate it if you keep in mind our background infrastructure that has to do the work. :)

Locus Map LITE for iOS has now even experimentally overtaken the Android version with the ability to browse the library with a simultaneous view of the map on the other side of the screen.

However, even here we still have some work to do, e.g. in the web library we still need to refine some controls for batch processing.

What happens during the switch to a new library?

Since the database under the surface of the application changes significantly with this change when you upgrade to the new version, your original library will automatically migrate to the new one when you first run the application. Before this process, the application will automatically perform a backup to eliminate the risk of data loss. If such a situation does occur and you find nothing in the new library, or if some data is misplaced, keep calm and DO NOT UNINSTALL the current version of the application. Contact our helpdesk right away, we will be happy to help. And you will help others.

For those of you who have Premium and use the library sync with our web portal, you will be switched to the new library on the web the first time you sync your data with the new version of the mobile app. If you sync multiple devices between each other or even between Android and iOS apps, it doesn't matter which device you launch the version with the new library first.

However, due to the gradual release of the new version of the app on Google Play, you may have one device for which the new version is already available and another for which it is not. If this causes you problems, you can update the other device manually from our public repository at https://bit.ly/lmVersions. The iOS version should be available to everyone at the same time.

And what does the future hold for you?

The preparation of the new library has given us a lot of work. If you feel that the functional benefit does not match it, we want to reassure you that the current version of the new library is just the beginning. It is a stepping stone to further plans to develop our applications and services that would not otherwise be possible.   We don't want to promise too much more yet, but we can at least reveal the preparation of sharing entire folders. You'll have to wait for the announcement of other features for now. :)

What else does the new version bring?

Of course, the new library is not the only change to Locus Map. The update includes dozens of minor improvements and fixes. We have to mention a pair of major ones related to system permissions:

• if you want to navigate to an address from your contact list, you no longer need a special add-on - the functionality is implemented directly in the main application
• the function of automatically turning on/off the display when navigating no longer requires admin rights for the app - we have found a better solution

So, are you looking forward to spring too? We sure are!

Článek The new library brings major improvements to your data management 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.

Článek Meet Kagu, an endangered bird Locus helps to preserve se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

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

Hello Locusers,

We’re very happy that we can introduce new version of Locus. It comes with lots of improvements. The most significant is… the speed. Last month we’ve focused mainly on optimization loading points and tracks.

Speed of points and tracks

Do you have large data set of POIs or geocaches? Locus reads and shows your points almost three times faster in new version! Great, isn't it? With this speed improvement is related new function: quick select or deselect of entire folder with points and tracks. Click on the icon of folder and Locus select or deselect all points or tracks in this folder.
But there is even quicker solution. Do you want to hide all points and track on the map? Long click on Data button provide function “Hide all” which simple make all items temporary invisible.

Focused on Geocaching

Sometimes can be difficult to find the correct cache in huge list of your points. Locus has better tools for filtering and sorting cache in your data folders. You can filter caches based on their difficulty, terrain and also based on their type.

OSM notes coming into Locus

Openstreetmap service has changed their bugs system to the new one – Notes. New Locus version reflects these changes and now you can create and show notes directly in your android device.

Even more

There are other improvements which make Locus more helpful for your outdoor activities. Rendering offline vector maps is again little bit faster than in old version. Better support of lines and areas in KML files and of course lots of small changes, fixed bugs and memory optimizations.

Článek News in version 2.13.0 se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.