Using Topo Maps From OpenAndroMaps.org

For years, users have expressed a need to download topo maps covering entire states or countries.

As of 5.7.8, the method is being simplified.

Please see this link on your mobile device for these instructions. 

http://www.openandromaps.org/en

(without the /en part, the site will be in German, if you prefer that)

Remember to bookmark this site and donate to it so that they can continue to produce great maps.

Installing a Style

Installing a style only has to be done once. We recommend the Elevate theme, version 2.X and will recommend Elevate 3.X when we are ready.

1. From http://www.openandromaps.org/en Go to Map Styles in the menu (the symbol that looks like :=) and choose Elevate Theme. You will end up at a link like this.

http://www.openandromaps.org/en/legend/elevate-mountain-hike-theme

2. Look at the Elevate 2.X theme (Elevate 3.X compatibility to come).

3. Find the row in the table that corresponds to your screen resolution. 240dpi is the resolution of many tablets. Hi res phones can either be 320 or 480 dpi. When in doubt, choose 320 dpi.

4. Push the button that says BackCountry Navigator. If nothing happens when you push this button, you probably don't have 5.7.9 of BCN or later. Go to Google Playstore app and look for updates.

5. You will briefly see a screen with a progress bar as we download the style.

6. You will see a screen that asks you to pick a style file:

I pick BackCountry, even though its not affiliated with us. Hiking, Cycling, or City all might be good for you depending on the situation. You can change them later from the Layers menu.

For more information about the styles, including a PDF legend, see the page you just got the styles from:

http://www.openandromaps.org/en/legend/elevate-mountain-hike-theme

Downloading a Map

1. Go to http://www.openandromaps.org/en. Book mark the site so you can donate to them later.
2. Go to the Downloads menu. Choose a map from many countries or states. You will end up downloading something like Washington.zip. Yellowstone national park is a good choice if you want to practice with a small one.
3. Open the + symbol for additional options. You will see an option called "Install on BackCountry Navigator".

4. A screen with a progress bar will appear. The download has not started yet till you confirm and press Install. (If nothing happens when you push this button, you probably don't have 5.7.9 of BCN or later. Go to Google Playstore app and look for updates.)

5. You have a chance to change where it is putting the map file, if desired. It is recommended that you pick a place, or our default one, and stick with it.

6. The download will begin after you confirm by pushing the install button.

7. When complete, the button will change to View. Push this to see the map.

When I finished, this is how my Layers Menu looks.

Note that the dropdown next to Map File contains the four most recently used maps.

After you have downloaded a map through this method, the "Browse" button will start in the location you chose for your maps. If you do install or move maps via another method, it is suggested that you put them in the same folder so they are all easy to find through browse.

This is how it looked in a nearby national forest:

Take note about the

• Data for streets, trails, and just about everything are based on OpenStreetMap data, a community effort. Trails are based on the "walking path" component. I have found it to be quite good, and have trails that are not mentioned in other sources.
• Contours are in meters, not feet, which may be a disadvantage only to those who are in the United States. (or does some other country care about contours in feet?). Major contours appear to be every 100m and minor contours at 20m.
• It is still very important where the map is centered. If you load a map of Washington but happen to be hiking, or browsing, in Oregon, you will find that it comes out completely blank.
• These will render slower than raster map tiles, and need a bit more processing power.

Please do:

• Donate at the openandromaps.org/en site if you find these useful.
• Contribute your own data to the openstreetmaps.org project.

Please do not:

• Complain to us if the maps are not adequate for your need or are missing features you consider important. We do not own the data and neither do the hard working people at OpenAndroMaps.org. The data belongs to the people and you have the chance to contribute.

We will continue to make the process more streamlined.