Online Mapping from OpenStreetMap and Open Cycle Map
ViewRanger can display free online mapping from OpenStreetMap and Open Cycle Map. This mapping is downloaded to your phone as it is needed. The maps are then cached on the phone. If the mobile network is not available, or if you choose to work offline, then ViewRanger will display as much of the map as it can using the cached tiles.
Click on any picture to see it full size.
The list of online maps; a worldwide overview is shown; the map as it downloads tiles
Zoom in through levels of detail; Open Cycle Map shows cycle routes, contours and facilities; OpenStreetMap shows detailed street maps
Maps in screen grabs © 2010 CloudMade or Open Cycle Map Map data CCBYSA 2010 OpenStreetMap.org contributors Terms of Use
Essentials
- Start viewing online maps
Go to Options > Data manager, then into Maps, then into Online Maps. Answer Yes when invited to update the list.
You'll see 1 or more map types listed. Double tap on one, or highlight it and press the cursor pad centre, and choose View map. ViewRanger swaps to the map view and the map will start downloading.
- Interact with the map
As you pan or zoom, ViewRanger downloads more map tiles to cover the screen. Each zoom level uses a different map tile.
- Swap to a different map
In the Options > Map source menu you'll see options to choose the different types of open mapping - choose one and ViewRanger will change to displaying that map.
To swap back to the usual detailed maps choose Options > Map source > Premium map.
- Work offline
To work offline, that is only display cached map tiles, choose Options > Map source > Offline. You'll only see map tiles that are cached on the phone.
ViewRanger will do its best to cover the screen, so some map areas will appear blocky where it's using a different zoom level map.
To go back online choose Options > Map source > Online.
More advanced topics
- Manage the cache
Map tiles are stored in the MapCache folder within the ViewRanger folder.
You can control the maximum size of this cache by going to the User section of Settings. It defaults to 100MB.
Once the cache reaches that size, the oldest file will be deleted to free more space.
To clear the cache use Options > Map source > Clear map cache. You'll be asked to choose a number of days. If you enter 3 then all tiles older than 3 days will be deleted. If you enter zero then all tiles will be deleted.
- Routes, Tracks and POIs
Routes, tracks and points of interest created when viewing online maps are completely separate to those used for premimum maps (except for USA maps, where they are the same).
So for example, a route or POI set shown on a premium map, won't be visible on the online map and vice versa. This is because the two maps use different coordinate spaces. We will remove this restriction in a future release.
Also note that if you swap between online and non-online maps while recording a track, the track will be split into parts and the whole won't be visible.
Tip: You can move routes, tracks and POIs between the maps by saving them to a GPX file, swapping to the other type of map, then re-importing the GPX file.
- Coordinate display
When viewing online maps by default coordinates are shown using the global UTM coordinate system.
To see local coordinates, for example GB national grid, go to Settings, then into UI, and set "National grid" to the coordinate type you'd like to see.
If you view maps outside the area that is valid for those coordinates, the software will revert to UTM.
- Copyright
To see the copyright and license details for the current map, use Options > Map source > Copyright. You can click on links to see the full license statements.
The copyright details are also shown when ViewRanger starts.
- Note: OpenStreetMap and Open Cycle Map use free map sources and the level of detail available varies greatly.
