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Mapit Spatial
GeoPackage Manager

Mariusz Prociuk
Translated to English by Andrzej Bieniek

version 1.0

Mapit Spatial – User Guide

Introduction ……………………………………………………...
Map screen ………………………………………………………

4
6

Navigation between the app modules……………………………

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Online maps ……………………………………………………..

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Services Management WMS, WFS and other ...………………...

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Offline Maps …………………………………………………….

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Data management „Geopackages” …………………………...…

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… Geopackages Tab .........………………………………………….

GeoPackage Export ……………………………………………...

Removing GeoPackage …………………………………………..

Creating new GeoPackage ……………………………………….

… Layers Tab ………………………………………………………

Create New Layer ……………………………………………….

Data Import – General Information ………………………….….

Import layer (geometry and attributes) ………………………….

Import data into existing layer (geometry only) ………………...

Layers Management ……………………………………………..

Attributes Management …………………………………………

… Create attribute set ………………………………………………

Edit attribute set …………………………………………………

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… Export and Remove attribute set ………………………………..

… Import attributes …………………………………………………

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Search for places addresses and coordinates…………………….

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GPS/GNSS Status ……………………………………………….

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Content

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Status Bar ……………………………………………………......

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Spatial reference ………………………………………………...

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“Centre on GPS” switch ………………………………………..

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Map Centre cursor ………………………………………………

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Map scale ………………………………………………………..

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Adding points or vertices ………………………………………..

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Quick measurements …………………………………………….

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Zoom controls …………………………………………………...

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Coordinates ………………………………………...……………

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Save map screenshot and Application Settings …………………

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General Settings …………………………………………………

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Units and coordinates …………………………………………...

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Survey Settings ………………………………………………….

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Miscellaneous Settings ………………………………………….

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Remote Connections …………………………………………….

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External GNSS…………………………………………………...

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Cloud accounts ………………………………………………….

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About and Feedback …………………………………………….

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Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

Introduction
It has been now 4 years since first version of Mapit GIS Data Collector has been published on
Google Play and I am not afraid to say that the project has been highly successful and the
app is being used by thousands of users every single day all over the wold. Over the years
the app was evolving – we have tried hard to listen to the user feedback and make the
application as flexible and useful as possible – we have always however tried to keep the
balance between the complexity and the light design, so the app can be used even by users
which are not necessarily GIS or Survey experts.
The above approach worked very well – however the technology these days is changing fast.
Particularly in the “spatial” world the number of the data gathered during the land or
environmental surveys can be very large. Listening to our users and seeing the need for
improvements we have started to look at possible options and we have decided that
building an app around new OGC Standard called GeoPackage makes perfect sense and it
will greatly improve data management capabilities of new application.
We have also agreed that the current functionality of Mapit Pro is optimal for most users and
we have decided to keep both apps as similar as possible in terms of design and user
interface.
So, here we are – starting from January 2019 Mapit Spatial is available and version 1.5.0 is
now fully compatible in terms of functionality with Mapit Pro.
We are hoping that everyone who used to work with original version of Mapit will be able to
switch to new application without major headache and any new or changed features will
not cause a problem with the workflow.
For everyone who feels however a bit lost with the new app design or for users who are only
starting the journey with new Mapit Spatial product we have designed this guide and we will
try hard to clear out all of the doubts which may have appeared.
Our promise is to keep the app as easy and as user friendly as possible for everyday tasks,
even it hides some powerful tools behind the scenes.

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In relation to the fact that each layer is now separate database table there is also new way of
working with the attribute sets (these in Mapit software are used to define things like for
example dropdown lists on the data entry form). In contrary to Mapit Pro now each layer’s

In terms of major changes - as we have mentioned on the beginning one of the most
important things is completely redesigned data management approach. New OGC
GeoPackage format has replaced basic SQLite database. In fact, now every single layer is a
separate spatial table as we know it from standard GIS applications. The above comes with
all the benefits like improved drawing efficiency, native support for projected coordinates,
spatial indices, support for multigeometries and more.

field can be linked separately with the attribute set field and even different fields in the
same layer can be linked with fields coming from different attribute sets. The most
important thing is to make sure the data type matches for both: layer and attribute set
field.
The nature and beauty of the GeoPackage format is its interoperability and versatility. Most
of the leading GIS Software packages like qGIS [https://qgis.org] can access GeoPackage
data directly. So, if you need your data transferred to the PC for post processing or vice
versa – now it is a matter of getting the GeoPackage file transferred to get immediate access
to all the layers. Of course, we have maintained the functionality of exporting Mapit data to
number of popular formats like geojson, shapefiles, KML and more.
The GIS Software and spatial data gathering and processing is getting more and more
popular these days all over the world and the ability having quick, fast and reliable workflow
is becoming very important. Mapit Pro has become a day to day tool for thousands of
people across the world and we are hoping that Mapit Spatial is going to improve and make
your workflow even more efficient and cost-effective solution.
We would like to address our application to everyone who is working with spatial data and is
responsible for any kind of location related tasks. There is number of science and businessrelated areas relying or depending on the accurate information coming from Geographic
Information Systems and we do hope Mapit Spatial is going to become your day to day tool
when you are making things right out there in the field.
Particularly the app is dedicated to people who are working in agriculture, forestry, housing
development or land survey industry, but also to customers responsible for design work in
power industry, water supply and sewage systems, gas industry, telecommunication and
road engineering. Mapit Spatial can be also adopted for any kind of spatial asset
management tasks, fishery and hunting, habitat and soil mapping or to whatever needs you
can think off, but of which the authors of the application have never thought.
If you enjoy the app and have got your own story or you are using the app for very specific
tasks and you want to share it with us, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be
happy to share your story on our website.
On the next pages we will try to transfer some knowledge which is required to make the
most out of the app and we do extent on some areas which might be looking confusing for
the first-time users or people coming from Mapit Pro environment.

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Here we go, let’s start hour your journey with Mapit Spatial and make it your friend.

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Map screen.

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When the app is started you will be presented with the map screen which is the main
window of the application. The map state is remembered when you leave the app and it
always will be restored to the state of last session when the app starts. Below you can see
description and location of the main elements of the map view, however when looking
closer at other app functionality we will get back to this view and will provide some
additional information related to this screen if necessary.

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By taping the icon or swapping from
the edge of the screen to the centre,
you can access the main menu
allowing to switch between the main
app modules.

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This menu is called a „navigation
drawer” and it will be reference as
that further down in this document.

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Online maps allow you to select the type of basemap for the actual needs. One of the
options allows also to switch off the background map completely. Please tap selected
dropdown element (on the left-hand side of the little arrow-down) to select the actual map.

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On top of Google Maps Mapit Spatial is able to display additional layers of information
available as so called “Google Overlays” which can be a service like WMS, WFS, OSM (XYZ) or
ArcGIS Tiled. Use navigation drawer „Google Overlays” menu item to access services
management screen.
Services management screen has got few tabs. Each tab does contain some sample services
– it is up to user to keep them in or remove if they are not relevant for their area. Users are
able to add their own services – please use the + icon to start the process. Some services
need more information than others, the most important is the service endpoint (URL).

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For example, in case of adding WMS, please provide the Name (can be any text) and the URL.
To move to the next step please press “Connect”.

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When the connection is successful user will be presented with the available layers. Please
check the checkbox to get the layer selected. By pressing the ‘i’ button some general service
metadata is being displayed if available.

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To save the configuration please press “Save Service Configuration’ button.

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When a list element is selected following
options are available:
To activate the service and get it
displayed on the map, please select the
required service on the list than click
icon.

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If you are displaying more than one
service of certain type on the map – you
can drag the selected service down or up
– using the “drag” element on the lefthand side of the list. This will force to
display the services in the order specified
by the position on the list.

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If you are working in remote areas and need to use a background mapping without the
Internet connection you can use so called. mbtiles files to do so. To use .mbtiles in Mapit
you need to prepare your data using e.g. qGIS or other 3rd party apps like Maperitive or
MapTiler. You can prepare that way raster or vector data.
Ready .mbtiles must be transferred to the internal device memory and placed in MapitSpatial→Offline Maps folder. Then the content of that folder will be available when “Offline
Maps” option is selected from the navigation drawer.
In Mapit Spatial alternatively to .mbtiles you can utilise a tiled layers directly in GeoPackage
itself, so if your GeoPackage contains the tiled layers, they can be activated via
Geopackages→Layers Management section.
Following options are available for selected
.mbtiles file in the “Offline Maps screen.
,

Option 3 is available only when the .mbtiles layer is set as visible.
Please follow the steps below to get the offline layer displayed on the map.

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1. Access Offline maps section by selecting “Offline maps” in navigation drawer.

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2. Select the required .mbtiles file from the list – selected element will be highlighted in
blue.

3. Tap the „eye” icon from the context menu to toggle visibility. Visible .mbtiles are
marked by the “eye” icon on the right-hand side of the name. Additionally, the
“zoom-to” icon will be displayed.

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4. Please tap the „zoom-to” icon to switch back to the map and get the map cantered
on the .mbtiles extent.

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In case you need to make the offline map more transparent, you can adjust the
transparency level by selecting the .mbtiles file from the list and pressing “Change
transparency” icon. Following dialog window will be displayed allowing to change the
transparency level.

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This is the core of the application in terms of the data management tasks.
After selecting „Geopackages” item from the navigation drawer user will be presented with
2 tabs. First one is dedicated to the management of GeoPackages and the second one
(Layers) is displaying content of the GeoPackage marked as active.

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After the installation of Mapit Spatial the “GeoPackage” tab contains sample GeoPackage
database called “Sample GeoPackage”, and the “Layers” tab displays three sample layers
“Sample point layer”, “Sample line layer” and “Sample polygon layer”. These layers are
integral part of the selected GeoPackage file – Sample GeoPackage.
The sample GeoPackage which we may refer also to as the „database” is fully functional and
users can use it straight for recording some data, but generally it can be removed and user
can start defining its own data structure in terms of layers, attribute sets etc.

Geopackages tab
There are 2 ways of getting the GeoPackage tab populated with the entries:
1. By placing the Geopackages files in Mapit-Spatial→Geopackages folder – this can be
files prepared in desktop GIS like qGIS.
2. By adding new GeoPackage database directly in Mapit Spatial – in that case new file
will be created in Mapit-Spatial→GeoPackage folder.
User can select one of the listed GeoPackage database and make it „active” by selecting
relevant option on the context menu. The “active” state can be change back to “non-active”
by pressing again the same option.

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If the GeoPackage is marked as “active” and user is activating another GeoPackage – the
previously “active” GeoPackage will be de-activated.

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GeoPackage database can be exported as .gpkg file. To do so please select relevant option
from the context menu
which is visible after selecting the element on the list.
Specifically, please press
and then select „Share” option.

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Note: Each GeoPackage contains its own set of online services and attribute sets. When
GeoPackage file is copied over to another device these will be also available.

To delete GeoPackage – please select
than press “Delete” – The warning dialog will
appear. Please be very careful when using this function. It removes all the files related to
GeoPackage and all data including layers, attribute sets saved for this GeoPackage and
online services.

You can share .gpkg files using standard Android share chooser (e-mail, Bluetooth, Gmail,
Slack, WhatsApp etc.) but other options like FTP/SFTP or drobox are also available.
In lower-right corner of the “Geopackages” tab you can see the + button – please use it to
create new GeoPackage database.

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Newly created database will be displayed as new list element on the „Geopackages” tab. To
be able to configure your database further by creating new data layers (database tables) –
please make the GeoPackage active.

After clicking
button, the „Create GeoPackage” dialog will be displayed, where you
should type required database name. Press “Yes” to add new database and close the
window.

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As mentioned above – ONLY ONE GeoPackage can be active at the time and “Layers” tab is
displaying ONLY layers which are integral part of selected GeoPackage.

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Layers Tab.
To be able to start working with the layers on
the „Geopackages” tab you need to activate
the GeoPackage database (project) you wish to
work on. If there is no active GeoPackage you
will get following message displayed:

When the GeoPackage is marked as active the
„Layers” tab will list all vector and tiled layers
included in selected GeoPackage database. In
fact, each GeoPackage layer is a database table
and we may refer to it as that in some areas of
this document.
On the left-hand side is an example of the
GeoPackage database contains both: vector
and raster data in form of tiled layer.
The layers can have 3 states
1. Active – will be displayed on the map,
new features can be added only to ‘active layer’
2. Visible – will be displayed on the map
and the features belonging to these layers can
be edited.

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3. Not active and Not Visible – features will
not be displayed on the map.

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Adding new layer.
Please use ‘Add’
button to add new layer
to the GeoPackage database.
When you click the button “Add Layer” dialog
will be displayed. Necessary information like
layer name and geometry type “POINT”,
“LINESTRING” or “POLYGON” must be
provided.
You can decide if you want to include Z as part
of your geometry. This option is enabled by
default.
If user is having local coordinate system set in
Settings → Units & Coordinates settings,
additional option will be available to use this
coordinate system.

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Please press „OK” button to see the layer
added to the list.

By default, the spatial reference for the layer is
set to WGS84 (EPSG: 4326).

Newly created layer automatically will be set as “visible” – and it is symbolised by the ‘eye’
icon
on the right-hand side of the layer name.
The newly created layer is ready to be activated and we can start gathering geometry
objects for it like registering new points or creating lines or polygons accordingly to the
geometry type.
However, if the intension is also to gather some attributes data – and usually that’s the case,
the layer must be further customised by adding some fields and optionally link those fields
with the attribute set in case we would like to enter the data using predefined lists, like
dropdown lists or multi-selection lists.
In general – each filed will be presented as standard Text Box on the entry form unless is
linked to the attribute set. There are exceptions from this rule, however we will come back
to this further down.

Data Import – General Information
It is very important to understand that there are 2 types of import operations available in
Mapit Spatial
-

Import Layer with existing attributes
Import geometry only INTO existing layer.

First option is most common, however there are occasions when for example we have got a
layer defined – it does contain all the necessary fields and links to the attribute set, but we
would like to add for example 200 new polygons to it – to get them resurveyed or so. In that
case we can make use of the second option and import geometries only, but all existing
attributes simply will be ignored during the export.

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Below we have described both options in more details, but we would like to stress one more
time that it is very important thing to understand the difference between these two import
options.

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Import Layer - Geometry and Attributes.
Apart from the possibility of adding a layer there is also import functions available in Mapit
Spatial. Using “Import with attributes” option we will import existing GIS data in form of file
like for example geojson or shapefile into the geopackage database.
If you want to import “with attributes” – please
make sure none of the layers on the list is
selected in “Layers” tab.
When the selection on the list is cleared – you
should see only one icon
on the context
menu in the “Layers” tab as shown on the picture
on the left.
Please press the icon to get to the “Import”
module.

At the moment the files can be imported from:
1. Internal device memory – please place your files into Mapit-Spatial→Import folder.
2. FTP/SFTP – please configure the connection details in Settings→Remote
Connections.
3. Dropbox – the authorisation must be set in Settings→Cloud Accounts.

At the moment Mapit-Spatial can import the data from following formats:

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Geojson, shapefile, kml, csv, gpx.

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When you copy the import files to the proper
location on your device memory (MapitSpatial→Import) under the “DEVICE” tab of
the import module there will be containers
displayed for each file type. The number of
containers will depend from the formats of
the files, so for example if you have only
geojson files in the import folder only
“Geojson Files” card will be displayed.
Please press the card e.g. “SHP File” to get
the category extended and the files available
for import listed.

Please select the file from the list and press
icon to start the import process.

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the

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Alternatively, to the local import - users can also use FTP/SFTP or dropbox. The import
process is exactly the same as described above, however necessary connection parameters
must be set in Settings→Remote Connections for FTP/SFTP, in case of dropbox you need to
authorise the app to use your dropbox account.
In case the connections are not set you can use “FTP Settings” or “Connect to dropbox”
buttons to be taken to the right area of the application settings.

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The application does not have access to all your files. If you want to import your data, after
the account has been linked please place your files in My files→Apps→Mapit Spatial folder.

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Import data into existing layer – Geometry only
Apart from the option of importing the
complete GIS layer (geometry and
attributes), which effectively creates
new spatial table in the GeoPackage
database, Mapit Spatial can also import
additional geometries into existing
database table (layer). It does not matter
if the layer is empty or not – the original
GeoPackage table structure will be
maintain, but new records will be
created for all the features from import
file.
To use this option please select the layer
you want to import into than please
chose “Import” option from the layer’s
context menu.

The rest of the import process is exactly the same as described above (p.25)
The difference is that after the import you will not see any new layer on the list, but the
geometry data will be added to the chosen layer.
So, for example if there was a layer containing for example 50 polygon features, and you
have carried out import from geojson containing 100 polygons – the new polygons will be
appended and in fact after import your layer will contain 150 records.

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Note: The attributes for the layer you are importing the data into can be completely
different than the ones in the file you are importing from – the important fact is however
that the geometry type for both is the same, so it will not be possible to import points from
geojson file into polygon layer.

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Import data – Summary
1. There are two types of import available – it is important to understand the difference
between them (p.23)
2. When importing from shapefile, make sure the shapefile elements (dbf, prj, shp etc.
are ZIP compressed and the name of the ZIP is exactly the same as the underlying
files.

3. Supported formats for import:
-

Geojson
Shapefile
KML (for import with attributes KML must contain so called Extended Data)
CSV – POINTS Only – the layer must contain at least fields “lat”,”lon” alternatively
“alt” and other attributes.
GPX – tracks only

4. For local imports please place your files into Mapit-Spatial →Import folder on your
device.

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5. Generally imported data should be in WGS84 (EPSG: 4326), however import from
geojson and shapefile can support projected data, however the information about
the projection must be presented in the .prj file for shapefiles or included in the CRS
property of geojson file.

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Layers’ Management

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To select the layer – please tap on the list element. The selected row will be highlighted in
blue and the context menu will be displayed at the top of the screen.

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Standard Android „Navigate Up” button – when the layer is selected it clears out the
selection and closes the context menu. If the layer is not selected it closes the „Layer
Management” and user is navigated back to the map. The same effect can be achieved using
Android “back” button.

To be able to add new features to the layer it is required to have an active layer.
The active layer automatically becomes visible on the map, even if the visibility is set to
“none”.
Only one layer can have “active” status at a time – when you activate one layer if there was
any other layer active before it will be deactivated automatically.
If you want to deactivate a layer and do not make another layer active – please select the
active layer and press “change active status” menu item ones again.
The information about current active layer is displayed on the status bar as shown on the
pictures below:

TIP: To quickly swap the active layer, please tap the current active layer name in the “Status
bar” – this will open standard “Layers” tab in the Geopackages section.

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If there is a need to temporarily hide some layers on the map users can easily change the
visibility state for each layer – to change layer visibility, select the layer then press the “eye”
item on the context menu. Active layer is always visible.

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It is more than likely that you will need to edit
some layer properties before you start using it
in your projects. The common things changed
are the layer symbology, labelling of the
features and the layer fields. Ability to add fields
and optionally linking database fields with the
attribute set makes Mapit a powerful and
flexible tool, which can be adopted to number
of projects and support different workflows and
user needs.

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When you start editing of the layer you will be
presented with the screen similar to the one on
the picture on the left.

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On some occasions, you want to display the vector data only as a form of background
mapping and you do not need really to interact with the layer in any other way. If this is a
case you can simply block a layer using this switch and get it excluded from the possibility of
being selected on the map. This function is also useful when you work with multiple vector
layers and would like to keep a map „clean” in terms of selection. Sometimes – when layers
do overlap, it can be challenging to get the proper feature selected and this function can be
utilised to manage the „selectable” state.

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Please use this option if you want the labels displayed on the map. The label can be
generated from any field value, to specify the field used for labelling please select it from the
dropdown as shown below.

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If there is a need to start numbering of the features from e.g. 100 instead of 1 - it can set this
here. This option can be useful if for example you are carrying on a survey and export the
data to PostgreSQL database, you can for example export 99 records and create new table
in Postgres during first export, then you may clear the layer in Mapit and set this value to
100. The next export to Postgres will utilise „append” method and newly created records
contain continues ids.

You can use this option only when the layer is empty – so is just created or emptied using
„clear” option (this will be explained later).

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To apply the chosen colour – please tap the colour
rectangle in the bottom-right corner of the dialog
box.

For every layer user can specify the display style.
The symbology can be changed at any time. For
polygons there is an option allowing to set separate
colour for the polygon outline and separate colour
for polygon fill. You can also set transparency level
for the polygon fill using the slider on the „set
colour” dialog.

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As we have mentioned before, in Mapit Spatial the layer is simply the database table in
GeoPackage database. Apart from the geometry (which is a native feature) of any GIS layer –
users can define set of fields, which will be holding the attributes data.
Each layer can have their own set of fields – each field will be displayed than on the data
entry form allowing users to record specific pieces of information for each entity in the
table.
Fields can be created in Mapit directly, you can also prepare the data layers in desktop GIS
like qGIS, alternatively you can import the layer with attributes from file like geojson or
shapefile.
All layer’s fields are displayed in the list below „set colour” section of „Edit Layer” screen.
In the example on the left the layer contains 3
fields.
• name – data type TEXT
• length – data type DOUBLE
• barcode – data type TEXT

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The chain icon
on the right means that
field is linked to the attribute set (this
functionality will be explained later in the
guide).

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To add a field please press the button „ADD FIELD”. Following dialog box will be displayed:
Parameter „Name” is required and you need to
populate a name to be able to save new field.
TIP: Please try to keep your field name simple
and avoid any special characters like local
diacritic symbols if possible.
In the next step users have the option to set a
field data type. If you want to keep your field as
a general text and be flexible in terms of entry
you can leave it as TEXT, however if you want to
be more specific in terms of data type following
types are available:
TEXT – this field can store any type of text
information, you can use it also for storing
numbers, however after export you will not be
able to do e.g. any arithmetic operations on this
kind of values.

Following Numeric fields are dedicated for storing numbers:

*relevant widget (calendar or date time) or (yes, no) dropdown list are generated

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automatically for these data types.

DOUBLE – can store any numeric entry including decimal values
MEDIUM INTEGER – integers in rage (-/+) 2147483647
INTEGER (LONG) – integers in range (-/+) 9223372036854775807
SMALLINT – integers in range (-/+) 32767
TINYINT – integers in range (-/+) 127
*BOOLEAN – please use this if you want to gather information like YES or
NO
*DATE – use this data type if you need to collect date related information –
*DATETIME – as above, but you will be able to store also time information.

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During the “Add Field” operation you can also choose that the field will be required – in this
case the default value must be provided.
The required field is having a “star” symbol just before its name – please have a look at the
Colour field below.
When you add new features on the map – the required field will be automatically populated
on the data entry form with the default value.

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NOTE: All fields are immediately available on the entry form as free entry TEXT BOX or in
case of Boolean YES/NO dropdown-list or alternatively CALENDAR or DATE TIME widgets for
date or date time datatype.

To finalise “Add Field” operation please press “OK” on the dialog box – the new field will be
added to the list of entries for the selected layer.

To create however more sophisticated forms – utilising predefined dropdown lists, barcode
scanner or multi selection lists you must utilise so called “Attribute Set” link.
Field options
When the field is selected – it gets
highlighted in blue as shown on the picture
on the left.

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The name of the selected field appears also
in the title of the context menu and field
related menu items appears on the toolbar.

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Press this icon or Android “back” button to clear the field selection end get back to “edit
Layer” screen.

This option is being used to link the database field of the layer with the pre-defined attribute
set. More information about the attribute sets management will be provided later in the
guide. When the item is selected from the menu, following dialog box is being displayed:
It is worth to say that in Mapit Spatial you need
to link the field only if you want to use
following features:
Predefined list of values – displayed on the
entry form as dropdown lists.
Multi selection lists of values – allowing to
pick up one or more values from the list.
QR and Barcode scanner – this allows users to
open a barcode scanner directly from the entry
form and get the value scanned directly into
the field.
Linking the database field with Attribute Set
field is very simple – you just select the
relevant attribute set and the defined list for
colours.

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TIP: To use barcode scanner please set the database field type as TEXT.

NOTE: The important thing to remember when
linking the fields is that the data type must
match so for example if you are linking a
DOUBLE database field – the attribute set field must be DOUBLE as well.

If the data type of the database (layer) field matches the attribute set type – please press
“OK” on the dialog to finalise the linking operation.
In case the data types for the fields does not match
the relevant information will be displayed – below
example when we are trying to link layer’s field of
type TEXT with the attribute set of type DOUBLE.

If the selected GeoPackage does not contain any
attribute sets yet following message will be
displayed:

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When the data type for both database (layer) and
attribute set fields matches:

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After pressing “OK” the fields will be linked and the chain icon will be displayed next to
the field and when adding new feature, the dropdown list will be displayed:

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If you would like to remove existing field link
please select already linked field – containing
the chain symbol.
The dialog as showed on the left will be
displayed.

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Please press “REMOVE LINK” button to
proceed.

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To remove selected field please select it from the list than use “Delete” option from the
context menu.

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NOTE: The field name cannot be changed – if you need to correct field name it must be
removed and added one more time. Please note that whatever information was already
collected for that field will be removed with it as well.

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Please use this option to display list of all
features recorded for the layer.

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For point layers the geographic
coordinates in form lat, lon are also
displayed. To select the list item, please
tap it and the context menu will appear at
the top of the screen.

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Press this menu item or device “back” button to navigate up to “Layers management”
section.

Please note: This option is only available for active or visible layers.
Please click this option to get back to the map. The map bounds will be set to match
selected feature extent, or centred at the point feature in case of POINT data.

Please select this option to edit the feature’s attributes. The “data entry” form will be
displayed. This is equivalent to the selection of the object on the map and “info window”
click operation.

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Please select this option than “Delete” to remove the feature from the layer. Warning dialog
will be displayed asking for confirmation.

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This option is available only for active and visible layers. This function relies on the spatial
indexing and proper extent for indexed features. If this option is not working as expected for
you please see “Rebuild index” option described below.

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Please select this option on the menu to see
additional options available for selected layer:

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Export menu item allows users to export layer
to number of widely recognised formats like
geojson, shapefile, kml, dxf, gpx or csv. Direct
export to Postgres database is also available.
When the Export item is clicked following
dialog will be displayed – asking user to choose
the export location.
• Local Export to Device – the exported
data will be saved on internal device memory
in Mapit-Spatial → Export folder.
• Share exported file – this option will
open the default Android share application
allowing users to share the data via
applications like Gmail, WhatsApp, Messenger
etc.
• Dropbox - please use this option to
export your data to dropbox platform. Make
sure your dropbox account is connected in
Settings → Cloud Accounts.
• Export to FTP/SFTP – please make sure
the connection details to the remote server are
set in Settings → Remote Connections section.

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For the above 4 types of export the dialog on
the left is displayed allowing users to choose
the required format of the file.

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•

Create new or Append existing table - this option will create new table if table does
not exist or append the data in case table with export name already exists.

•

Create new or Overwrite existing table – this option will create new table if table
does not exist in the database or overwrite existing data in case the table with
export name already exists.

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NOTE: Export to PostgreSQL does require Internet connection. If you try to export the data
to local server in your private network, but the database server is not exposed to Internet –
the export will fail. During the export to PostgreSQL the data is first posted to the Mapit API
which is preparing the data and executing the GDAL scripts uploading the data to your
PostgreSQL database.

In case of direct export to PostgreSQL database there are 2 options available:

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The import was already described on page 24 of this guide. This particular Import function is
related to the import type described on page 27 – this import type does import only
geometry into existing layer.
NOTE: The imported geometry type and geometry type of the layer you are importing into
must match, so you can import POINTS only to POINT layer etc.
Imported geometries will be appended to the existing layer’s records.

In some rare cases you may notice that the “zoom to layer” is not working as expected or
you miss some data on the map – please use this function to rebuild spatial index for the
layer. This index is being utilised to optimise the drawing on the map.
In general, spatial index is self-maintained by the application – however if you experience
some issues related to drawing of the features on the map you may use this function to get
the problems resolved.

This option allows to clear the layer – removes all the
features from the layer but keeps the layer definition,
field links, symbology etc.

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We are sure users will find a dozen of other application
for this functionality.

This can be useful in number of applications for
example surveying similar items in different location or
if you are utilising the export to Postgres append
function and would like to avoid record duplications –
this can be combined with the “set numbering start”
option etc.

NOTE: This operation cannot be reversed and all the data will be lost if it was not previously
exported.

This function will remove the layer completely from
GeoPackage database.

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NOTE: This operation cannot be reversed and all the
data will be lost if it was not previously exported.

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The concept of the Attribute Sets came from the fact that some information is very often
entered multiple times during the surveys. So for example if there was a need of gathering
information about the colours of the cars parked along the streets – instead of typing the
colour names each time you open the form – you would probably prefer to have a
predefined list of colours and when entering the data you would simply chose required
value from the dropdown list.
Utilising the functionality described above – you can also make your data more consistent,
typos free and better structured and you can achieve this simply linking your layer field with
the attribute set field.
In Mapit Spatial you need to use attribute set in 3 cases:
•
•
•

To create dropdown list of predefined values
To create multi-selection list of predefined values
To utilise barcode and QR scanner for the TEXT field

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When the app is installed you may notice there is a single attribute set, containing some
sample fields. In the bottom-right corner of the screen there are 2 buttons available.

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To create new attribuute set please press the +
button – than provide the name or optionally
description for the new attribute set.
Press “SAVE to finalise. New attribute set will be
displayed on the list.

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When the attribute set is selected it gets highlighted in blue and context menu apears.

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Navigate up, clear the list selection.

By editing the attribute set, you can add fields and add
values to each field. These fields can be then linked with
the layer’s fields and finally you can add the data on the
data entry form using predefined lists of values.
Please tap the

button to add new field and its values.

When you press the ‘Add’ button following screen will be displayed:
You need to provide the name for new field – in our case
this is “Species”.
You need also specify the data type for the field – this is
important step as the attribute set field data type must
match the data type of the field you want to link in the
layer.
So, assuming we have a layer containing field
“species_name” in the layer of type TEXT, we are going to
create the field “Species” of type TEXT in the attribute set
and we will populate it with some trees name values.

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These values will be then displayed as options for
selection in the dropdown list on the data entry form.

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Press the

to add some values:

Please repeat the process to populate all required values.

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Now you can get back one level and add other fields and their values.

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Single choice dropdown lists
This kind of lists allows selection of the value from pre-defined list of values. They are
defined in the attribute set. You can create single choice dropdown list for any type of the
data like TEXT, DOUBLE and INTEGERs.
The process is simple, the field must be added to the attribute set as described on page 52
and the values populated for that field according to page 53. The final action is the “link
field” operation on the “Edit Layer” screen – page 39.

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Following the above when user creates new feature on the map – on the data entry screen
the dropdown list will be created for the linked field as shown below.

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Multiselection lists.
Multiselection list allows users to select one or more options from the predefined list of
values.
To create such list please select MULTISELECT in the field data type dropdown when adding
the Attribute Set Field and then add some values.

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You can link any layer field of type TEXT with the MULTISELECT list and it will be available on
the data entry form as displayed below.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

Barcode scanner
If you intended to utilise a barcode scanner (it is built in in
the Mapit application – and it does not require any external
scanners attached) – you need to define the Attribute Set
field of type BARCODE.
The barcode field can be linked with any field of type TEXT.

On the data entry form on the right
had side of the text box you will
see the little “barcode” icon –
please press it to open the scanner
and scan the value.

To remove the attribute set, please select it from the list
than choose Delete from the context menu. You cannot
delete attribute set when it contains fields defined and
relevant warning will be displayed if this is the case.

attribute set with
cloud like dropbox, so
please choose

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in GeoPackage definition, if you
same attribute set in different
use Export function. The
do Local Export – that way
set is immediately available
another GeoPackage.
If you want to share your
other users or store it in the
you can access it anywhere –
relevant option to do so.

Attribute Set is saved
would like to use the
GeoPackage – please
quickest option is to
exported attribute
for import from

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The files are exported as a simple text files (can be edited with any text editor) and the
content is standard JSON structure.
{
"name": "Sample attribute set",
"description": "",
"fields": [
{
"name": "Species",
"dataType": "TEXT",
"defaultValue": "",
"values": [
"Pinus
"Abies
"Larix
"Taxus

sylvestris",
alba",
decidua",
baccata"

]
},
{
"name": "Barcode",
"dataType": "BARCODE"
},
{
"name": "length",
"dataType": "DOUBLE",
"defaultValue": "",
"values": [
"1000",
"1250",
"1500"
]
}
]
}

NOTE: Mapit Spatial – attribute set files can be also created using external editor, so for
example instead of creating long species list on the device, users can prepare the files on PC
and then get them imported.

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It is recommended however that you pre create fields and then export the structure to
manipulate it further if required.

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Import attribute set
You can import exported locally files immediately to another GeoPackage or alternatively
you can create the files in any text editor on the PC and then please them in Mapit-Spatial →
AttributeSets folder.
The important thing is that the extension of the files is .json - otherwise they will not be
displayed on the import screen.

To import the attribute set from file please press the import

icon.

Following screen will open allowing to choose the import location.

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Select the file (it will get highlighted in blue) – than
press the import icon
in the bottom-right part
of the screen.

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This function allows to search for places and addresses and is using Nominatim search
engine [https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org]. This function can also be utilised to centre
the map on the latitude, longitude location.
To centre on location please enter coordinates e.g. 55.8629429,-4.2349042 to centre the
map on Glasgow Cathedral.

Press this menu item to get detailed information about current GPS position.
When using internal GPS, you need to make sure you have got the “Centre on GPS”
option on.

Sample GPS Info screen looks like on the picture below. To close it down you can press the
“GPS Info” button again or swap the screen up.

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NOTE: Not all information is always available.
Some readings like RMS values, correction
station ID etc. are available only for some types of
external GNSS devices connected to the
application.

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The “Status Bar” role is to provide information about the current app mode.
When you are in the “Survey” mode – you can see information about the currently selected
“active” layer. The “active” layer is the one you can add new feature into and the “active”
status can be set in Layer Management section. You can access it from navigation drawer ->
Geopackages ->Layers or you can click the name of the active layer on the status bar to be
taken to the “Layers” screen directly.
If you are in the “Measurement” mode – you can enable this with the start measurement
button
the “Status Bar” will display the relevant information.
TIP: To swap between “DISTANCE” and “AREA” in measurement mode – long press the
measurement
button.
To exit from “quick measurement” mode just press the button again.
More information about the measurement mode will be provided further down in this guide.

This element holds information about currently selected spatial reference.
Most users works in WGS84 (EPSG: 4326) coordinate system (and it is set as default when
you start working with the application), however if there is a need to use local projected
coordinate system like e.g. British National Grid (EPSG: 27700) – this is possible and can be
set in Settings->Units & Coordinates section.
NOTE: 3rd party prj4 library is being used to convert coordinates and some projections may
not be supported.

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When you try to use custom EPSG code, but it gets reset back to EPSG: 4326 it means that
this particular projection is not yet supported.

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Mapit Spatial is having two states.
1. Centre on GPS – when red dot is displayed on the switch – that means the device is
trying to utilise the GPS position (This can be either internal or external GPS). When
the GPS position is available the map will be automatically centred on the current
location.

2. Map Cursor – when you would like to create new features based on the map
information like digitising a river or piece of land from the aerial photography – you
can switch off the “Centre on GPS” and utilise a map cursor (cross in the centre of the
map) to add new points or varices to constrict the features.

Depending from the mode you are in “Centre on GPS” or “Map Cursor” in the centre of the
map there is so called “blue dot” or “crosshair” displayed.
The “blue dot” is giving you as well the rough information about accuracy – when the area
covered by “blue” is bigger – it means you are having a week and not very accurate GPS
signal.

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The scale bar can give quick estimation of the distance per map unit.

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The “Map toolbar” is located in the lower-right part of the screen. Its content (menu items)
changes and they depend from the context like geometry type of active layer, edit session
state, feature selection etc.
Add POINT feature or Vertex
The most common toolbar icon and you can see it whenever there is a need to
insert a point or vertex (lines and polygons), you will see this in both measurement
and editing mode. Depending from the geometry type of active layer the behaviour will be
different after click.

Add LINE feature - this item is only visible when LINE layer is active.
Add POLYGON feature - this item is only visible when POLYGON layer is active.
Data Entry Form
When you create new feature in Mapit Spatial – (by clicking
the menu items described above) first thing you need to do is
to populate the attributes form. That way you will never miss
or record the geometry without the data attached to it.
The data entry form is a representation of all the layer’s fields
in forms of the free entry text boxes, alternatively when the
layer’s fields are linked to the attribute set, relevant
dropdown lists or other widgets will be displayed.
The data entry form context menu allows you as well to add
some feature attachments like pictures, videos or audio
recording.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

•

POINT layers - Depending if you are in “Centre on GPS” or “Map cursor” mode when
you click a GPS location or the map centre coordinates will be used to construct new
feature geometry. After the click a “Data Entry Form” will be displayed (see more
details below).
LINE, POLYGON layers – new vertex will be inserted, again a GPS position or map
cursor coordinates will be used depending from the “Centre on GPS” state.

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•

NOTE: The attachments are not stored or saved within the
layer (this is because the large size of the media files). They
are stored in: Mapit-Spatial ->Attachments folder and
organised in folders representing the GeoPackage->Layer
Name->Feature ID, so you can link attachments back to the
data in post processing if required.

By pressing “SAVE” on the data entry form there could be 2 different behaviours observed:
1. POINT Layers – the new feature is saved into the layer and is immediately visible on
the map.
2. LINE and POLYGON Layers - the new feature is saved into database but the
geometry is empty, the next phase of the add line or polygon is started and you need
to add vertices using the “Add vertex” button to see the line or polygon constructed
on the map.
Edit Session
The active edit session of LINE or POLYGON
layer can be recognised by the presence of
“END” item on the toolbar. In fact, the feature
geometry is updated in the database every time
you add or remove the vertex, but if you wish to
exit the edit session please press the “END”
button on the toolbar.
GPS Tracking - When edit session is
active – for LINE and POLYGON layers,
you can also use automatic track recording –
please press “rec” button to start the tracking
service and to record the vertices automatically
as you move. The tracking will also record new
vertices if the app is in the background or the
device screen is off.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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TIP: Tracking parameters can be modified in Miscellaneous Settings.

When track recording is active – the “rec”
button colour changes to red.

In case you record a vertex by mistake or you want to remove one or few last
vertices please use this button to do so. By pressing this button multiple times, you
can reverse back to the beginning of the LINE or POLYGON.
By pressing this button, you will end the edit session and the polygon or line
symbology will be reversed to layer’s default symbology applied in “Layers
Management” section.

When the “Edit Session” is started, there are also
three further actions available for LINES and
POLYGONS:
1. When the vertex is selected on the map new
menu item “Delete Selected Vertex” is shown on
the toolbar. It is shown as 3 on the picture on the
left-hand side.
2. Insert Vertex between existing vertices –
please press the “Blue Dot” – shown on every
polygon or line segment to insert new vertex in that
position.
3.

Move vertex – by pressing and
holding this icon you can drag the
vertex to another location on the map.

During the edit session relevant measurement is
displayed at the bottom of the map, it can contain
distance and bearing in case of LINES and area and
perimeter in case of POLYGONS. The units can be
changed in Settings ->Units & Coordinates section.

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The process above has been described for “new features” – however the edit session can be
also started for existing elements currently presented on the map and this time this is not
limited only to the “active layer”.

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To start edit session please select the feature on
the map by taping its “yellow” label when
available (must be enabled in Edit Layer section)
or by taping the line or polygon geometry – when
polygon, line or point is selected new menu item
“a pencil” will be displayed, please press it to
start edit session for selected element.
For LINE and POLYGONS standard edit
session will begin after pressing the
“pencil”.
For POINT features following screen allowing
change of the coordinates will be displayed:

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TIP: You can use “Edit Point Geometry” also if you need to add a point in a certain location.
To do so please add a point feature anywhere on the map using “map cursor” than edit its
coordinates using the dialog shown above.

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Distance & Bearing (Project Point) Method
Project point method for adding points can be used in conjunction with any range finder
which measures horizontal distance and true bearing to a target.
In the example below shows the construction of a line using the ‘Project Point Method’ but it
can be used with any type of geometry type.

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To be able to use the ‘Project Point’ method for
add point action you need to go to ‘Survey
Settings’ and switch on the ‘Distance &
Bearing’ option.

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When Distance & Bearing mode is enabled in the setting “Add Point/Vertex” tool will open a
popup window where users can provide distance & bearing information (alternatively it can
be read directly from the paired Bluetooth range finder).
Depending if you are in “Centre on GPS” or “Map cursor” mode the “Start from” option will
be different as shown on the pictures below:

You can provide distance & bearing parameters manually or get them directly from the
paired Bluetooth range finder.
Mapit Spatial been tested with 2 popular range finders:
– LTI True Pulse 360B Laser rangefinder
Sample NMEA output for Horizontal Vector:
$PLTIT,HV,3.70,M,165.90,D,-0.90,D,3.70,M*48
– Trimble LaserAce™ 1000 rangefinder
Sample NMEA output for Horizontal Vector:
$PTNLA,HV,2.94,M,288.1,D,8.6,D,2.98,M*5F
If your device supports Bluetooth connections and the output is consistent with NMEA
standard you should be able to use it with MapIt – however this is not guaranteed.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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1. Make sure your measurement units on the rangefinder are set to M (meters) for distance
and D (degrees) for angles.
2. Make sure the Bluetooth output contains HV (Horizontal Vector) data.

Please follow the steps below to get MapIt properly connected to your rangefinder and use
it as a distance & bearing source:

3. Make sure the rangefinder’s Bluetooth function is switched on and the device is paired
to your Android Device.
4. Open Mapit Spatial and enable “Distance & Bearing” method for new points in ‘Survey
Settings’.
5. When the ‘Distance & Bearing’ method is active you can now enable ‘Bluetooth
rangefinder’ option. When enabling you will be asked to pick up the paired device.
Please select the device you want to use as a source.
6. In the ‘Project New Point’ dialog box please select your start position and use the
rangefinder to acquire a distance and bearing. If the distance and bearing fields are not
immediately populated this is a sign that the rangefinder is not communicating with
Mapit.

Data entry screen – editing existing features
In case you need to edit existing feature attributes and not
geometry please select it on the map and tap the “info
window” containing name & layer name – this will open the
“data entry” screen.

Users are able to edit the data related to the
features at any point.
On the context menu there are 2 more tools
available:
Navigate to feature

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More Options -> Delete feature

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Navigation to selected feature
Use this tool on the “data entry” form (see page 68) if you would like to navigate to
the selected feature. You need to have a GPS location enabled to use this feature.
When GPS location is established the line will be drawn on the map showing the shortest
distance between your current location and the selected feature. In case of navigating to
LINE or POLYGON the arrow on the map will be drawn between your current position and
the nearest vertex.
To exit navigation mode – please press STOP.

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In case the bearing information is available for the current GPS position there will be also
navigation info displayed on the screen. The colour of the navigation arrow will be green if
you are moving into the right direction than yellow and finally red when you are moving in
opposite direction to the navigation object.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

Measurement mode allows users to do quick measurements without the need of storing the
data, so for example if you need to check what is the distance between point A and B or
quickly calculate the area of the forest or any piece of land based on the aerial or satellite
photos, then you can use this mode to do so.
Long press the “measurement button” to switch between DISTANCE and AREA.
After activating the measurement mode there is a message displayed on the bottom of the
screen informing that you should start adding vertices.
Press the “Add Vertex” button

to construct line or polygon.

The measurement mode can work in “Centre on GPS” or “Map cursor” mode.
The measurement details are being displayed on the bottom of the screen and the units can
be changed in Settings -> Units & Coordinates section.

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To end the “Measurement mode” – please press the measurement button again.

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The map can be controlled by the standard gestures known from Google Maps, if you
however prefer to have the zoom control on the map you can enable this in General
Settings.

This view displays GPS position or map centre coordinates – depending if you are in “Centre
on GPS” or “Map cursor” mode. Default latitude, longitude in decimal format are being
displayed here, however if user has got custom coordinate system set in Settings -> Units &
coordinates the projected coordinates will be displayed here.

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When you tap the coordinates view – the location details will be copied to the clipboard, so
you can use them in other applications like text message when required.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

Please tap the 3 dots (more options) menu item to get access to

1. NTRIP Client – you can ignore this menu item if you are not using the NTRIP
application.
2. Take Map Screenshot – use this option to quickly share the map content using
standard Android share widget – only the map content will be shared and all
buttons and layout elements will be removed.
The screenshots will be saved to the internal device memory and you can access
them using standard Android Gallery application if required.

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3. Settings – use this option to open application settings.

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Application Settings.

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Mapit Spatial application settings allows users to configure the app to the specific needs.
You can hide or show certain elements of the UI like zoom control or set preferred
measurement units and preferred coordinate system. The settings are split into some
categories to simplify navigation.

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There is few map styles available as default, however users can defined their own styles
using the designer at https://mapstyle.withgoogle.com – the final JSON file need to be
placed in Mapit-Spatial→GoogleMaps→Styles folder.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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Zoom controls allows users to zoom-in/zoom-out by pressing +/- buttons.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

As default the map in Mapit is orientated in North-South
direction, some people do prefer however to work with
different map orientation. You can enable map rotation in
the settings then use standard Google Maps gestures to
rotate the map (please touch the map with 2 fingers at the
same time then rotate them in needed direction). The
map will rotate and below the “Centre on GPS” button
small compass will be displayed with the red arrow
showing the North. To reset map rotation to N-S please
tap the compass icon.

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Enable this option if you would like to keep the map rotating when navigating to feature.
This is similar behaviour to e.g. car sat-nav and can be useful in some cases.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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If you do not use measurement tools, to keep the map screen clear you can disable this
option to hide the measurement button.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

During measurement operation or standard feature construction during the survey, you can
enable the mid-distances labels showing the length for each line or polygon segment.

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This option will keep the device screen ON – until the app is completely switched off.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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There is few WGS84 formats available as well as Web
Mercator and British National Grid available on the
selection list. If you would like to use your local
coordinate system please select the last option on
the list and then enter the EPSG numeric code in the
next step.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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Use this setting to provide custom EPSG code. I the code is
supported it will be accepted and the coordinates will be
converted on the fly using prj4 library.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

If you would like to register points/vertices only when they meet certain accuracy level,
please enable the Minimum Accuracy option and then set the accuracy value in the next
step. When the current GPS position does not meet the minimum accuracy settings the
point/vertex will not be added and user will get relevant warning on the screen.

This option is active only if Minimum accuracy is enabled.

Minimum accuracy value set here determine if point feature or vertex will be added to the
map.

If you would like to record points or vertices by averaging number of positions from certain
period of time you can enable this option. Yu can then specify the number of seconds – this
is the time which will be used to calculate the final position. If you GPS is refreshing the
position with 1Hz frequency and if this value is set to 20 – you should be getting the average
position calculated from around 20 different measurements.

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NOTE: If minimum accuracy is set, only positions meeting the accuracy criteria will be taken
under consideration by the averaging function.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

As mentioned above – please use this option to set the time interval in which the averaging
position will be calculated.

Some users need as much as possible information about the survey, including GNSS
parameters like DOPs, RMS values, correction station Id etc. You can enable this option to
add relevant fields to the export files.
NOTE: This option works only for POINT layers.

Enable this option to allow recording of altitude as orthometric height which approximates
so called global mean sea level and represents local vertical datum surface.
The geoid shape passes through the Earth’s crust
and is determined from data collected all over
the world about the Earth’s gravity field. The
vertical distance between the geoid and the
ellipsoid is called the geoid height. This height
can be either negative of positive. Differences in
height between the geoid and ellipsoid (geoid
heights) range from roughly -100 to +100 meters.

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The best view yet of Earth’s geoid obtained by GOCE (strongest gravity
measurements in yellow, weakest measurements in blue). Credits:
ESA/HPF/DLR.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

Several local geoid grids are available and ready
to use in Mapit out of the box
including GEOID12B (United
States), PLGEO11 (Poland), OSGM15 (Great
Britain) or HT 2.0 for Canada.
We have added also support for custom Geoid
grids in *bin (US National Geodetic Survey
format) – simply convert your local grid to *bin
format and rename the file
to LOCAL_GEOID.bin then place in MapitSpatial->Resources folder.
When the file is ready enable Orthometric Height
and select last option on the list.

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Your grid will be used to calculate the
orthometric height in Mapit.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

You can set the GPS antenna height here. When this value is >0 the orthometric height is
being reduced by the antenna height value, so you will be getting the ground level reading
recorded as altitude.

Enable this option to get the accuracy & GPS Quality (GPS, DGPS, RTK-Float or RTK-Fix)
information displayed below the coordinates on the map.

Please enable this option to get speed & altitude displayed on the map below the
coordinates.

If you are carrying on a survey and you are recording similar attributes for new records you
can enable this option to get the “data entry” form automatically populated with the values
recorded for the previous feature.
This is particularly useful if there is long list of fields and only one or two values are different.

Project point method for adding points can be used in conjunction with any range finder
which measures horizontal distance and true bearing to a target.

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NOTE: Please check page 66 of this guide for more details.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

This option is active when Distance & Bearing Method is enabled. It allows user to
automatically input distance and bearing readings from the rangefinder to Mapit.
Please check page 66 for more details.

When “Base Point” is added during the “Distance & Bearing” survey it can be displayed on
the map and the default symbol for it is a red square. Users can enable or disable the base
points visibility on the map using this setting.

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If you are using the Project Point Method and the rangefinder as the data input following
fields will be added to the exported files when this option is enabled: baseLat, baseLon,
baseElev, tgtHorizontalDistance, tgtBearing, tgtSlopeDistance, tgtVertAngle

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

The HRMS value is available only when NMEA GST message is available.
Typical GTS message looks like:
$GPGST,172814.0,0.006,0.023,0.020,273.6,0.023,0.020,0.031*6A

𝜎𝑥 = LatErr = GST [6]
𝜎𝑦 = LonErr = GST [7]
𝜎𝑧 = AltErr = GST [8]

VRMS (2 sigma vertical error) = 2

× √1 × 𝜎𝑧 2 ≡ 2 × 𝜎𝑧

Accuracy = RMS (1 sigma horizontal error) = √

HRMS = 2 sigma horizontal error =

2
×
(𝜎
+ 𝜎𝑦 2 )
𝑥
2

2 × √2 × (𝜎𝑥 2 + 𝜎𝑦 2 )

If user want to use HRMS (2 sigma error) instead of standard accuracy (1 sigma error) this
can be set here.
If there is a need for it or you want to be more confident in terms of accuracy of your
measurement you can set whatever multiplier you want for the HRMS value.

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Accuracy on GPS Info screen and the recorded value will be also adjusted accordingly to this
setting.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

For LINE and POLYGON layers you can use the tracking to construct new features.
It’s very useful tool if you need to gather the data quickly e.g. by driving around the site or
recording track from point A to B simply by just walking around.
To use this tool just start any line or polygon feature. The Rec button will show up on the
screen. When you press the button a background service will start and new points will be
automatically added to your feature as you move forward.
The track recording process is running in the background so you can do other things on your
device and the points will be registered anyway even the app is not visible on the screen. To
save battery you may switch the screen off as well. When the ‘Track recording’ process is
active.
You can also specify additional parameters for the tracking here.
Time interval – new points will be recorded only if the time interval between last recorded
position and NOW is greater than specified here in seconds.
Distance interval – new points will be registered only if the distance between the last
recorded point and current location is greater than the value specified here in meters.
There are also some known issues connected to tracking and polygon features caused by
current SDK limitations:
▪
▪

When number of points in single polygon exceed 2000 the polygon fill will may not be
visible
When polygon does contain self- intersections the polygon fill will may not be visible as
well.

There are 3 methods of stopping a track
recording process:
by pressing stop button on the notification
screen

▪

by pressing ‘Rec’ button on the map

▪

by pressing ‘END’ feature button on the
map toolbar
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▪

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

As default you can drag the point feature to new location by simply long press and drag.
When this setting is enabled this functionality can be blocked. Sometimes it can be
important that this functionality is blocked so you can avoid accidental dragging of the
point to new location.

As default the export to shapefile does include the Z dimension. Some systems do require
2D geometry. If this is a case you can enable this option to force 2D geometry for shapefiles.

If the active layer contains the field called name, when you create new point the prefix
specified here will be added to the default name. As default WPT value is set for point layers
and following names will be created for new features: WPT 1, WPT 2 etc.
You can specify your own value here or remove it if necessary.

This setting is working the same way as described above for points.

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This setting is working the same way as described above for points.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

Alternatively, to accessing the data directly
from geopackage file there is an option to
export the collected data to files.
Files can also be exported to FTP/SFTP –
please set the connection details for your
FTP or SFTP server to be able to use this
option for import and export of the data.
Direct export of the collected data to
PostgreSQL database is also available.
Make sure your database is having the
PostGIS extension installed and can be
accessed from Internet.

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Please check page 47 for more details.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

External GNSS connections allows to utilise
accurate location provided by high-quality
GNSS receivers. In theory Mapit Spatial can
be connected to any Bluetooth or TCP
enabled device streaming the data using
NMEA standard. If the device is capable of
streaming RTK corrected coordinates you get
centimetre accuracy.
GNSS metadata statistics are visible in GPS
Info screen and recorded by Mapit Spatial for
Point features. They can be added to the
exported files as separate fields when
exporting to geojson or shapefile. This option
must be enabled in “Survey Settings”.
On top of the standard (direct) connections
via Bluetooth or TCP some GNSS receivers
offer dedicated connections via apps
like Trimble Mobile Manager, EOS Tools
Pro or Leica Zeno Connect. These can be the
source of the GNSS location for your Android
device and feed the location manager via a so
called “Mock location”.
Mapit Spatial can also utilise Mock locations
provided by any other apps like “Bluetooth
GPS”, however some GNSS metadata may not
always be available in that mode.

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NOTE: If you would like to get mean sea level
height in Mapit Spatial – please enable Geoid Height (Survey Settings) and select the
relevant Geoid Grid from the list.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

To connect external GNSS device to Mapit Spatial – please go to Settings → External
GNSS and switch on relevant option:
I. Direct External GNSS Connection via Bluetooth or TCP socket – this method of
connection should be used if you want to connect Mapit directly to the source streaming
NMEA sentences via the Bluetooth or TCP interface. If you want to get RTK corrected
location via this method of connection you have to have a device which is able to stream
NMEA with the solution applied.
The app was tested with number of receivers like Garmin GLO or professional marXact UNIGR1.
To connect external GNSS device to Mapit Spatial please follow the following steps:
1. Make sure the device is paired in Bluetooth settings.
2. In Mapit Settings go to External GPS and switch ON Direct Connection to External GNSS
or Direct Connection over TCP switch.
3. When getting back to map the location source will be automatically switched to
External GNSS (users may need to restart application on some devices).

II. Eos Tools Pro Connection – Enable this function if you would like to make Mapit
compatible with Eos Arrow receivers. Eos Tools Pro must be installed and configured on
your device before using Mapit GIS. These Tools feature an NTRIP client to receive
corrections from an RTK network/Internet base station and feed these corrections to your
Arrow receiver via Bluetooth. They will also take care of populating the Android Location
Service with the Arrow’s more accurate position (replacing the device’s internal position
with the Arrow’s position) – this position is then used by the Mapit app.
1. Make sure the EOS Tools is selected as Mock Location app in the Android developer

settings.

III. Leica Zeno Connect – please use this method for the connection with Leica smart
antennas. The Zeno Connect app must be installed and configured on your device before
using Mapit GIS. MapIt has been tested using Leica Smart Antenna GG03/04. Please follow
the steps below to get the accurate location inside Mapit:
1. Make sure the Zeno Connect is selected as Mock Location app in the Android developer

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settings.

2. Connect your GNSS receiver via EOS Tools and enable Mock Location inside the EOS
Tools Pro – make sure you are getting the RTK corrections correctly.
3. When you get accurate location in EOS Tools Pro – switch to Mapit and in the External
GNSS Settings → EOS Connect on.
4. You can enable GNSS metadata for export in Survey settings as well if you need.
5. In this mode you will not get the satellite’s signal and satellite’s position views – as
they are not available via mock location.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

2. Connect your Leica Smart Antenna via Zeno Connect and enable Mock Location inside
the app – make sure you are getting the RTK corrections correctly.
3. When you get accurate location in Zeno Connect – switch on Mapit and go to
External GNSS Settings → Switch on Leica Zeno Connect switch.
4. You can enable GNSS metadata for export in Survey settings as well if you need.
5. In this mode you will not get the satellite’s signal and satellite’s position views – as
they are not available via mock location.
IV. Trimble Mobile Manager – please use this method for the connection with Trimble
antennas like the Trimble Catalyst. The Trimble Mobile Manager app must be installed and
configured on your device before using Mapit GIS. Please follow the steps below to get the
accurate location inside Mapit:
1. Make sure the Trimble Mobile Manager is selected as Mock Location app in

the Android developer settings.

2. Connect your Trimble Catalyst Antenna via Trimble Mobile Manager app and enable
Mock Location inside the app – make sure you are getting the RTK corrections

correctly.
3. When you get accurate location in TMM – switch on Mapit and go to External GNSS
Settings → Switch ON Trimble TMM switch.
4. You can enable GNSS metadata for export in Survey settings as well if you need.

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V. You can also use any other app providing Mock Locations like “Bluetooth GPS” to get the
location inside Mapit leave External GNSS settings switched off in that case. GNSS metadata
statistics like DOPs values, RMS values etc. may however will not be available in that mode.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

If you need to check the current Mapit version or contact us please use this option.

Mapit Spatial – spatial.mapitgis.com

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In this section you can authorize dropbox or remove dropbox link, provide your own Bing
Map key if required and get information about Bing Maps Terms of Use.

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