How To Navigate A Route Using The Plotaroute App

If you have a smartphone with GPS capabilities, you can use the plotaroute app to help follow a route from plotaroute.com.

1. Select the route you want to follow and view the interactive route map.
   
   
2. At the bottom of the screen are four buttons:
   
   
   • ZOOM IN - Zooms in to the current tracker position.
     
     
   • ZOOM OUT - Zooms out to show the whole route.
     
     
   • SETTINGS - Tap to access the Navigation Settings panel.
     
     
   • START/STOP - Tap to start or stop navigation. 

    

   
   
   

3. When you tap the START/STOP button to start navigation, it will change colour and spin to indicate that GPS tracking is turned on.
   
   
   
   
4. Your current position is shown on the map by a blue marker with a direction arrow to indicate your heading. This may initially be surrounded by a shaded blue circle indicating the location accuracy - the circle should disappear once your device has an accurate position fix. 
   
   
   
   
5. Start moving! The app uses your current heading to help determine your position on a route, thereby avoiding any confusion with out-and-back routes. 
   
   
6. At the top of the screen is a panel displaying various navigation information. This shows:
   
   
   • NEXT TURN PROXIMITY - How far away the next turn is (in distance or time depending on ROUTE DATA selection).
     
     
   • NEXT TURN INSTRUCTIONS - Directions to follow at the next turn (tap to expand).
     
     
   • ROUTE DATA - You can choose to display either of the following (tap to choose):
     
     
   • DISTANCE TO FINISH - How much further you have to go.
     
     
   • TIME TO FINISH - How much longer you have to go. 
     
     
   • SPEED - Your current speed. 

    

   
   
   
   Time estimates are based on your current TIMER settings. These can be changed by turning off the tracker and selecting TIMER from the MENU above the map. 
   
   

7. The Navigation Settings panel can be accessed by tapping the gear icon .
   
   
   
   
   The following Navigation settings are available:
   
   VOICE NAVIGATION (Premium feature)
   
   
   • VOICE NAVIGATION - Enable/disable voice navigation.
     
     
   • TURN NOTICE - How far before each turn you want a voice alert.
     
     
   • TURN INFO:
     
     
   • BRIEF - Turn direction only, e.g. Turn left
     
     
   • VERBOSE - Reads the directions (max. 25 words), e.g. Turn left onto Sunshine Avenue
     
     
   • OFF-ROUTE ALERTS - Alerts you when you are off-route, including heading in the wrong direction. 
     
     
   • VOICE - The voice that will be used to speak the navigation instructions (see note below).
     
     

   OTHER SETTINGS

   • DARK MODE - Uses a dark maps during navigation to conserve battery life.

NOTES

1. Due to an iOS bug, some voices listed on iPhone devices are not available and will be substituted with another voice.
   
   
2. Directions are only shown if they were added when creating the route.