FAQs

An offline map is simply a map which can be accessed and viewed without an internet connection. When a map area is downloaded in ActiMap it is explicitly listed as such in the ‘offline’ tab of the 'maps' page.

It is also possible to access a map which has not been downloaded without an internet connection. By enabling caching you are able to view areas of an ‘online’ map which have previously been viewed even if an internet connection is no longer available. By viewing, panning, and scrolling around a map in the area of your expected route, this will typically allow temporary offline access in poor signal areas without the need to download the map first. Map images are cached for a minimum of 24 hours.

Note: Caching is not available in the free edition of ActiMap (ActiMap Free).

Yes, Ordnance Survey maps are included for use in all editions of ActiMap. When most people refer to Ordnance Survey or OS maps, they usually mean Landranger style (1:50000) or Explorer style (1:25000) maps. These map styles are available in two forms for import from the ActiMap online library:

• Bing maps -  these are the maps previously shown on the Microsoft Bing Maps website when using Ordnance Survey imagery. They are in the Web Mercator projection, meaning they use the same orientation as most other online maps, but this does result in grid lines not being quite vertical. Note that these have been deprecated by Microsoft and access may be removed in 2027 or 2028, however they are unrestricted, in that bulk downloads are permitted

• OS Premium Leisure Maps - these maps are supplied directly from Ordnance Survey and are the same as those available in the Ordnance Survey app itself. They are updated regularly, use the OSGB projection, and provide slightly greater visual resolution than those from Bing Maps. Access is free (*), although licensing rules mean that bulk downloads are not permitted. However, enabling caching does allow a degree of access with no internet connection. See 'What is an offline map?' above.

(*) Access to the highest resolution if these maps and the ability to cache them is only available in the standard edition of ActiMap (ActiMap Standard).

In order to download a map, you must first select the map from you wish to download from. The available maps are listed on the 'online maps' tab of the 'maps' page. (You can import additional online maps into this list from the ActiMap online map library of official and community maps.) Once selected as the current map you should then choose the option to view the full-screen map. A map can then be downloaded as follows:

The answer to this depends on whether you are referring to online or offline maps.

Online maps

Yes you can. ActiMap is technically capable of displaying many different base maps available on the internet, although some will contain unsupported features. Defining a map is by its nature a technical process and this is described in detail here: Map Source Definition. A UI to allow map sources to be more easily defined may be added to ActiMap in a future release, but the same level of technical knowledge and understanding will still be required.

Offline maps

ActiMap only allows offline maps to be imported which are contained in '.anmt' files. This is a proprietary format specific to ActiMap, and allows the sharing of offline maps between users, or the transfer between different devices only. There is currently no ability to use offline maps sourced or purchased elsewhere in formats such as GeoTIFF.

In essence, a track is a recording of a journey you have made, and a route is a plotted route that you intend to follow. Both are supported and can be shown on the ActiMap full-screen map display.

Tracks and routes are both stored in '.gpx' files and are often refered to as GPX files or just GPX. The confusion lies in the fact that the GPX specification allows three distinct sets of items to be described in them:

• Tracks - a recorded track

• Routes - a plotted route

• Waypoints - sets of arbitrary points, usually given a name

Tracks will usually have time and altitude information in them, while routes will usually contain only coordinate information, although this is not always the case. When importing a GPX file, ActiMap will list it under either the 'tracks' tab or the 'routes tab of the 'tracks' page according to whether the information is technically described as a track or route within the file. It is worth noting that many GPX 'routes' available for download from the internet which show suggested routes are actually incorrectly described as tracks within the GPX file itself, and so will appear under the 'routes' tab. There is currently no way to change this.

Note: A GPX file can technically contain multiple routes or tracks, or even a mixture. However, this is rarely the case and very few mapping applications support the concept. ActiMap will only interpret and display the first track or route in the file, along with any defined waypoints, the presence of a track taking precedence.

Recording a track is one of the key features of ActiMap. It allows you to record details of your journey (time, distance, and altitude gain) and plot the track on the full-screen map, which in itself aids navigation.

A track recording can be started, stopped, paused, saved, and cleared from the 'track' tab of the 'current map' page. If there is no current track being recorded, then a page of help text is shown; if a current track is present then a summary and altitude profile of the tracked journey is shown below:

When a track is being recorded it is possible to add a waypoint from the full-screen display. A waypoint is distinct from a track point (which is a record of your location added to the recorded track), in that it can be given a name and will show on the map as a pin or other indicator; when tapped the waypoint name will appear in a small popup.

When the full-screen map is shown and a track is being actively recorded:

While GPX tracks can be recorded in ActiMap, it is not currently possible to create a planned route. Routes can be downloaded from the internet or imported from those created in other apps or websites and they will be displayed, but they cannot be created directly within ActiMap itself.