Using the GPS site map
The GPS site map is the second screen most coordinators open after the issue list. It plots every issue on a Mapbox map centred on your project, shows where you are right now, and lets you drop new pins with a long-press. This guide covers the basics, the offline behaviour, and the small features that make it useful on site.
Opening the map
Bottom tab bar › Map. The map loads centred on your project's GPS coordinates with all open issues plotted.
Pin colours
| Pin colour | Status |
|---|---|
| 🔴 Red | Open issue |
| 🟠 Amber | In-progress issue |
| 🟢 Green | Resolved issue (last 7 days) |
| 🔵 Blue (pulsing) | You — live GPS position |
Resolved-and-verified issues older than 7 days are hidden by default to reduce clutter. Toggle via Filter → "Show resolved older than 7d".
Interacting with pins
Tap a pin
Opens the issue summary bottom sheet: title, status, assignee, raised date, first photo thumbnail. Tap "View full issue" to open the detail screen.
Long-press a pin
Quick actions: Assign, Change status, Add comment, Get directions.
Long-press anywhere on the map
Opens the new-issue form with the tapped point's GPS coordinates pre-filled. Fastest way to raise an issue when you're not standing right at the location.
Live position
The blue pulsing dot is you. It updates every 5 seconds (or whenever you've moved > 3m). Tap the blue compass-needle button in the bottom-right to centre the map on you.
The "Share live position with team" toggle (Map › Settings) makes your position visible to other project members. Useful during coordinated site walks.
Search & filter
Top of the map screen has search + filter:
- Search — finds issues by title or tag. Matching pins highlight, others fade.
- Filter — by type, priority, assignee, age. Persists across sessions.
Layers
Top-right layers icon opens the layer panel:
- Issues — toggle off to declutter when you just want the map.
- Site boundary — if you've drawn a boundary polygon under Project Settings → Site boundary.
- Workspaces / compounds — admin-defined sub-areas.
- Team positions — other coordinators' live positions if they've shared.
- Photo locations — every captured site photo plotted as a small camera icon.
Map styles
Tap the map-style icon (stack-of-paper) to switch between:
- Streets — default. Best for navigation.
- Satellite — best for seeing actual site features.
- Hybrid — satellite + street names.
- Dark — easier on the eyes in night-shift work.
Navigation to an issue
Tap a pin → "Get directions". Opens your phone's default map app (Apple Maps / Google Maps) with the issue's GPS as destination.
Offline behaviour
Mapbox tiles within a 5km radius of your project pin are pre-cached when you first open the project. While offline:
- The map renders from the cache at all zoom levels.
- Your live position keeps updating.
- Pins for cached issues display correctly.
- New pins (issues raised offline) appear as outlined-only markers until they sync.
- Pan/zoom outside the cached area shows a grey grid with "Offline — tiles not cached".
Pre-syncing tiles
If your project covers a larger area than 5km radius:
- Map › Settings › Tile cache › Extend cache.
- Pan + zoom to define the area you need offline.
- Tap "Cache this area" — downloads happen in the background.
Each km² adds ~5 MB to your phone's storage. A typical 5×5km cache is ~125 MB.
Battery considerations
The map with live GPS uses ~10% of a modern phone's battery per hour. To reduce:
- Map › Settings › GPS accuracy: Balanced (drops accuracy from ±3m to ±10m, halves battery use).
- Stop sharing live position when you don't need to.
- Lower screen brightness — usually the bigger drain.
Privacy
Your live position is only visible to other members of the same project, and only if you've turned on Share. Position history is not stored — once you stop sharing, the data is gone.
Photo geotags are visible to anyone with photo access. If you don't want photos geotagged, disable in Profile → Settings → Photos → "Geotag captures: Off".
Common issues
"Map is blank / centred on Kampala"
Your project's GPS coordinates haven't been set. Open the project on the web app → Settings → GPS coordinates → drop a pin or paste lat/lng.
"My position keeps drifting"
Indoor GPS is noisy. Step outside briefly to re-acquire signal. Indoors you can manually drop pins instead.
"Tiles won't cache"
You need to be online when you trigger pre-cache — the tiles download from Mapbox. Check your connection and try again. If you're on cellular and have data caps, do it on WiFi.
"Issue pins are missing"
Check the filter panel — you may have filters applied that hide them. Reset filters to default.