How to Draw Routes, Lines, Polygons, Range Rings and Area Shapes on iPhone

TL;DR

From the map drawing menu: Draw line, Draw polygon, Area shape (square, rectangle or circle from a centre and size), Range rings, Drawings list and Routes. Distances are true ground distances; routes show distance and bearing per leg.

The problem

A waypoint tells you where one thing is. Real tasks need more: a search sector, a boundary you mustn’t cross, a 500 m exclusion circle, or a route with legs you can brief. Drawing these on a paper map with a ruler and a protractor takes a long time and can’t be edited.

Open the tools

On the Map tab, the drawing tools button gives you:

  • Draw line and Draw polygon
  • Area shape…
  • Range rings…
  • Drawings… (a list of what you’ve drawn)
  • Routes…

Lines and polygons

  1. Choose Draw line or Draw polygon.
  2. Move the map so the crosshair is on each vertex and place it. The banner shows the shape and the number of points.
  3. Finish, name it, and pick a colour. Cancel with the banner’s cancel button.
  4. Tap a drawing later to see its details, or edit it from Drawings.

Area shapes

Choose Square, Rectangle or Circle, a Centre (map centre or My location; with no GPS fix it uses the crosshair) and a Size: diameter for a circle, side for a square, two extents for a rectangle. Sizes are ground distances, projected geodesically from the centre, so the shape stays right at large sizes.

Range rings

Concentric rings around your location, the map centre or a waypoint. Set the spacing, the number of rings, the colour and whether they carry labels. They are sampled along the earth’s surface, so they remain accurate far from the equator.

Routes

Pick waypoints in order in the route builder. The route shows each leg’s distance and bearing, in your chosen units and north reference. To walk it, start navigation to the first point.

Measure

The map’s ruler reads the distance between two points in your distance unit, and the angle in degrees and mils (6400-mil circle).

Tip

Draw on a downloaded map for areas with no signal; the drawing tools do not need a connection.

FAQ

How do I draw a line or polygon? On the Map screen open the drawing tools and choose Draw line or Draw polygon, then place points with the crosshair. A banner shows how many points you have.

How do I make a circle of a given size? Use Area shape: choose circle, square or rectangle, a centre (map centre or your location) and a size. Sizes are ground distances.

What are range rings? Concentric circles at a fixed ground distance around your position, the map centre or a waypoint. You set the spacing, count, colour and labels.

What does a route show? The waypoints in order, with distance and bearing for each leg.

The app MGRS GPS →