Maps can be imported into Maps n Trax as plain raster image files or as optimised (tiled) raster image files or as vector files.  Tracks can be imported as GPX or KML files.  See the bottom of this page for a complete list of supported file types.  (NB:  Vector maps are slower to render and display than raster maps, but raster maps take up more storage space.)

Note that before Maps or Tracks can be imported, they must first be transferred to the device.  In most cases, maps should also be optimised and georeferenced (calibrated) before being transferred.  Some maps may also need to be warped into Spherical Mercator projection for better accuracy of locations.  For more information on optimising, calibrating and warping, see the section, Preparing Maps for Import.

Maps n Trax can unzip zip-archived files during import, so it is recommended to zip large KML or GPX files before copying them to the device for faster upload/download times.  Since only files (not folders) can be uploaded/downloaded, Windows users will need to zip folders before importing them and Mac OS X users should either zip the folders (for HTTP download) or add the ‘.bundle’ filename extension to the folder names (for iTunes/USB upload).  Note that importing from a .bundle is much faster than importing from a .zip.

Map or Track files can be imported by any of the following sources:

• Upload with iTunes via USB to Maps n Trax internal Document Store
• Download from the world wide web (WWW) via the network
• Drop Box (see https://www.dropbox.com – Drop Box app and Drop Box account required)
• Photo Library or directly from the camera
• Email attachments (image files must be zipped before attaching to email)

Note that when downloading from the WWW or copying from email, files are saved to the Documents store first and can be kept there aftwards if desired (they can then be re-imported directly from the Documents store later instead of downloading from the network again).

Upload with iTunes via USB

• Connect the device to a computer running iTunes.
• In iTunes click on the device’s name or icon in the left side bar, then click on ‘Apps’ in the top tab bar.
• Scroll down to the bottom section where the list of apps that can handle document sharing are displayed and click on Maps n Trax in that list.
• Drag the files to be imported onto the files list to the right of the apps list.  They will be copied to the Maps n Trax document store.

Note that this will not actually import them into Maps n Trax, but will merely make them available to Maps n Trax for import.  See the next section for information on how to import items that have been uploaded to the Document store.

NB:  iTunes will only allow files to be uploaded in this way, not directories.  Windows users should zip folders and upload the .zip file (Maps n Trax will unzip it during import).  Mac OS X users should add the ‘.bundle’ filename extension to the end of the folder’s name.  Mac OS X (and iTunes) will then treat the folder as though it were really a file, and will allow it to be uploaded through iTunes.  Note that unzipping can take a very long time during import and therefore bundles will import much quicker than zip files (for large image sets).

Import (or Re-import) from the Documents Store

• In Maps n Trax tap the Import button (+) in the main Tab View to display the Import View
• Tap the ‘Document Store’ item to display the contents of the Documents store.
• In the list of available documents, tap the one to be imported.

The Documents Store will disappear revealing the Import View again.  A progress bar and messages will appear to indicate the download progress and import status.  Finally, a message will appear to indicate when import is complete.

Download from Web via HTTP

• Tap the ‘+’ (Import) button in the main Tab View to display the Import View.
• Tap the ‘World Wide Web’ item to display the Web View.
• Enter the URL of the file to be downloaded (or of a page that links to the file) in the field at the top of the web view.
• If necessary, tap on the link (or series of links) to navigate to the file.

The Web View will disappear revealing the Import View again.  A progress bar will appear to indicate the download progress.  The file will be downloaded to the Maps n Trax document store.  Once download is complete the file will be imported automatically.  A message will appear to indicate when import is complete.  After import is complete, you will presented with an alert that gives the option of deleting the downloaded file from the document store.  It is safe to delete the file, as it is no longer required after import, but you may like to keep it in the document store if you think you may need to import it again and don’t want to have to download it again.

Import from Drop Box

Before this method can be used, the Drop Box app must be installed and configured to use a Drop Box account.

• Tap the ‘+’ (Import) button in the main Tab View to display the Import View.
• Tap the ‘Drop Box’ item to display a list of available files and folders in the Drop Box app.
• Navigate to and select the file to be imported.

Import from Photo Library or Directly From Camera

• Tap the ‘+’ (Import) button in the main Tab View to display the Import View.
• Tap the ‘Photo Library / Camera’ item to display the Photo Assets View.
• In the Photo Assets View select the button that matches your import requirement (one photo or an entire album; map or track).
• Select the photo or album by following the prompts.

You can even choose to import directly from the camera.

The images will be prepared for import and then imported.  A message will appear to indicate when import is complete.

For importing as a track, a new track will be created and a waypoint will be created for each photo for which location information can be gleaned (other photos will be ignored).  The photo will be linked to the waypoint and a thumbnail will be displayed in the Waypoint Editor for that waypoint.

For importing as a map, a new map will be created and a map sheet will be created for each photo.  These map sheets will be uncalibrated and therefore will not appear on the main Map View and cannot be used for location-based functions.  They can be calibrated by navigating to the Sheet Editor for each sheet and using the ‘Calibrate’ button in the Sheet Editor.

Email  Attachments

• Open the Mail app and navigate to view the email that contains the attachment to be imported.
• Touch and hold (long press) on the attachment to display the list of apps that can handle the attachment.
• Tap on Maps n Trax.

Maps n Trax will open and copy the attachment to its document store and then commence importing it.  A message will appear to indicate when import is complete.

Note that image file attachment in Mail cannot be handled by third party apps, only by the iOS own bundled apps.  Therefore images should be zipped before attaching to emails which are to be used for importing to Maps n Trax.

Delete Files from the Document Store

• Tap the ‘+’ (Import Item) button in the main Tab View to display the Import View.
• Tap the ‘Stored Files’ button in the Import View to display the list of files in the Document Store.
• Swipe across an item to be deleted from one side to the other.  A ‘Delete’ button will appear to the right of the item.
• Tap the ‘Delete’ button to confirm and delete the item.

Nested / Grouped Imports

Map image files (sheets) can be grouped into a folder for import and the map sheets will all be imported into a new map with the name of that folder.  These folders can be further grouped into a parent folder and the maps will all be imported into a new atlas with the name of that parent folder.

Track files can be grouped into a folder for import and the tracks will all be imported into a new Directory with the name of that folder.

The parent folder will need to be zipped into a single file for upload to iTunes or for download from the web.

NB:  It is strongly recommended to zip each map individually before zipping all the zipped maps into one master zip file to be imported.  This nested zip file (or double-zipped file) has fewer files in the master zip file which overcomes some problems which can occur when attempting to unzip a single zip file with a large number of items in it.  Maps n Trax can recursively unzip these nested zip files (so long as the outer and inner zip files all have a .zip filename extension).

Supported File Types

The following file types are supported for import.  Note that large files should also be zipped before upload/download to reduce the transfer time.

Tracks

• GPX
• KML
• KMZ

Maps

Raster Georeferenced

• TIFF (GeoTIFF)
• bitmap
• TMS (Open Street Map’s ‘Tile Map Service’ format for raster image tiles – use ‘MapTiler’ to convert images)

Raster Uncalibrated

• PNG
• JPEG
• TIFF

Note that some other raster and vector file types may also work, including some older OZF2/MAP and OZFX3/MAP formats, but these are not officially supported.

Raster KMZ files cannot be imported.

NB:  Vector maps are slower to render and display than raster maps.  Raster maps take up more storage space.