Before you go offline

What works without a connection

Works with no connection:

• Projects on the device. iCloud syncs what you save once the connection returns. See Offline pinning.
• Basemaps you have built, including tapping and searching their features.
• Downloaded map tiles, inside the rectangle they were downloaded for. See Using offline tiles.
• Elevation tiles on the device: heights, a spot’s terrain and elevation profiles. See Downloading tiles.
• Search of your layers, your basemaps and typed coordinates. See What each section finds.
• On iPhone, track recording, which uses no network.

Needs a connection:

• Apple Maps, which cannot be downloaded in TopoKit.
• Tile layers that stream from a server without a download.
• Place search, the Places section of search.
• Planning a route: every leg is a request to Apple Maps.

Building a basemap and downloading tiles need the full app, and buying it needs the App Store, so unlock before you leave. See Without a connection.

Before a trip

Do these on Wi-Fi, on the device you are taking. Downloaded tiles, elevation tiles and a basemap’s built files are stored on the device that downloaded or built them, not in the project, so they do not sync. Free space before these steps, not after: Clear Downloaded Map Tiles in Storage & iCloud also deletes the map tiles of basemaps built on this device.

1. Build a basemap of the area with Basemaps in the tool sidebar. Building downloads the area’s elevation and map data. Let every queued area finish: the queue is not kept if TopoKit quits. See Building a basemap.
2. Download tiles and elevation for anything outside your basemaps. In the Add Data menu, Download Map Tiles… saves a tile layer you have added over a rectangle and zoom range, and Download Elevation… opens the elevation grid. Leave the project open until tile downloads finish: closing it, or opening another, cancels them. See Starting a download.
3. Keep the project on the device. A local project always is. For an iCloud project, open it once on this device so iCloud brings it up to date, then choose Save Offline from its Project options menu in the Projects tab, or File → Save Offline on Mac, or turn on Settings → Storage & iCloud → Keep All Projects Offline. The offline copy is the project as it was on this device when you pinned it, and only this device’s saves refresh it. With no connection, an iCloud project neither downloaded nor pinned does not open. See Offline pinning.
4. Check the GPS. On iPhone, if the GPS tab shows Location Access Required, tap Open Settings and allow location access. Turn Precise Location on for TopoKit in iOS Settings, since without it every recording profile except Record All Fixes rejects nearly every fix. On Mac, TopoKit records no tracks; View → Show My Location shows your position once location access is allowed. See Location permissions.

FAQ

I edited the same project on two devices with no connection. What happens when they sync? iCloud reports a conflict. TopoKit makes the newest version active and keeps every other version in the project folder as a conflict copy, listed under Restore from Backup. See Sync conflicts.