Reference Map

The full reference map, with every map tool gathered into one menu.

The Reference Map is the main interactive map used throughout References. It shows your organization's base map and selected layers, plots live overlays such as aircraft, unit locations, fire data, evacuation areas and district status, and hosts every map tool in a single options menu. It opens centered on your current location.

Overview

Tap the menu button in the top corner to open the options list. It is one long list; rows that can be switched on and off carry a checkbox, and four of them expand in place into a bordered box with their own list and an APPLY button.

Menu row	Type	What it does
Base Map	Expands	Pick one base map style, then APPLY.
Map Layers	Expands	Tick overlay layers, then APPLY.
Location Search	Panel	Find a place or address by name.
Coordinate Search	Panel	Jump to a typed coordinate in any format.
Convert Coordinates	Screen	Open the coordinate converter for this point.
Street View	Bottom bar	Place a pin, then open street-level imagery.
Location Reference	Bottom bar	Place a pin, then look up the reference layer under it.
EVAC Status	Expands	Tick evacuation statuses, then APPLY; CLEAR removes them.
Flight Tracking	On/off	Live aircraft, refreshed every 7 seconds.
Unit Locations	Filter	Team and unit positions, refreshed every 10 seconds.
District Status	On/off	District coverage shading, refreshed every 10 seconds.
Current Location	Acts at once	Clear everything drawn and re-center on you.
Direction	Screen	Full turn-by-turn navigation.
Bearing	Tap 2 points	Compass direction from one point to another.
Distance	Tap 2 points	Straight-line distance between two points.
Add Isochrone	Tap 1 point	Shade a drive-time or distance area.
Fire Perimeter	On/off	Reported fire perimeters; tap one for detail.
Fire Heat Map	On/off	Heat intensity as a heat map.
Fire Heat Area	On/off	Heat detections as areas.
Fire MODIS	On/off	Satellite thermal detections.
Saved Maps	Expands	Open one of your saved maps, or CREATE NEW MAP.
Start Tracking / Stop Tracking	Acts at once	Begin or end recording your route.
Downloaded Maps	Bottom bar	Outline an area and download it for offline use.

The tracking row changes its own wording: it reads Start Tracking when nothing is recording and Stop Tracking while a session is running.

A filled checkbox means that overlay is on; an empty box means it is off. These states are remembered, so an overlay you left on is still on when you come back.

note

When an expandable row has nothing to show — for example your organization has published no map layers — the box displays No Item instead of an empty list.

Getting Here

1. From Home, open References.
2. Open the Map reference. The map fills the screen.
3. The app asks for location permission the first time. Once allowed, the map centers on you at a close-in zoom.
4. Tap the menu button in the top corner to reach every tool above.

Find a Place or Coordinate

1. Open the menu and tap Location Search for a place by name, or Coordinate Search for an exact position.
2. The matching panel slides in and the keyboard opens.
3. For a place search, results appear as rows showing the name followed by a short description. Tap a row to drop a marker and move the map there.
4. For a coordinate search, type the value and press return. The app recognises decimal degrees, degrees decimal minutes, degrees minutes seconds, UTM, MGRS, and a three-word address without you choosing a format.

Look Up What Is Under a Point

1. Open the menu and tap Location Reference.
2. A pin appears in the middle of the map and a bar at the bottom shows the address found there. Pan and zoom to put the pin where you want it — the bar updates as you move.
3. Tap Select Location Reference on the bottom bar. A picker lists the reference layers your organization has marked for this use.
4. Tap the layer you want. The app looks up the feature at the pin and shows its details.

caution

Reference lookups read a database that downloads in the background after sign-in. Until it has finished you will see Reference database is still downloading. Please wait and try again. If nothing is found at that point you will see Property not found.

Open Street View From a Point

1. Open the menu and tap Street View. The map re-centers on you and a pin appears.
2. Move the map until the pin is on the building or junction you care about. The bottom bar shows the address.
3. Tap Open Street View on the bottom bar. See Street View.

Measure Bearing or Distance

1. Open the menu and tap Bearing or Distance.
2. A message asks you to pick two points: Please select two geo points to calculate bearing or Please select two geo points to calculate distance.
3. Tap the first point, then the second. Each tap drops a red dot with a white edge, and a red line joins them.
4. A result card opens about a second later, titled Bearing Conversion or Distance Conversion.

Tool	What the card shows
Bearing	The true bearing and the magnetic bearing, both in degrees to one decimal place.
Distance	Under 1 km: metres and feet. Over 1 km: kilometres and miles, each to two decimal places.

See Bearing & Distance for how to read the card.

Turn On Fire and Evacuation Data

1. Open the menu.
2. Tap Fire Perimeter, Fire Heat Map, Fire Heat Area or Fire MODIS to add that layer. Each row is independent, so you can combine them.
3. With Fire Perimeter on, tapping a perimeter on the map opens its detail.
4. Tap EVAC Status, tick the statuses you want — Evacuation Order, Evacuation Warning, Shelter In Place, Advisory, Evacuation Order Lifted — and tap APPLY. The areas refresh every 60 seconds.
5. Tap CLEAR inside EVAC Status to take the evacuation shading off, or tap any fire row again to remove that layer.

caution

Inside EVAC Status, APPLY stays dimmed until at least one status is ticked.

Show Aircraft, Units and Districts

1. Tap Flight Tracking. Aircraft appear at once and are refreshed every 7 seconds. Tap an aircraft for its detail popup — see Flight Detail.
2. Tap Unit Locations. A checklist opens so you can pick which categories to plot; tap Done and the positions appear, refreshed every 10 seconds. See Filter People on the Map.
3. Tap District Status to shade district coverage, refreshed every 10 seconds. Tapping it again returns the districts to a plain outline.
4. Tapping Flight Tracking off removes every aircraft, clears any drawn track, and stops the refresh.

Record Your Route

1. Open the menu and tap Start Tracking.
2. Give the session a name and tap Save. A short Location tracking started message confirms it, and the menu row now reads Stop Tracking. See Start a Tracking Session.
3. The app records a point roughly every 100 metres of movement and sends batches to the server about every 10 seconds, so a session keeps recording while you drive and while the app is in the background.
4. To finish, open the menu and tap Stop Tracking.
5. Review finished sessions under My Tracking.

Download an Area for Offline Use

1. Open the menu and tap Downloaded Maps. A short message appears — Please select a geo points to download a map for offline — and a download bar appears at the bottom.
2. Tap points on the map to outline the area you want. Each tap drops a red dot and the app joins them into a shape.
3. Tap Download on the bottom bar. You are asked to confirm: Offline Download — Are you sure you want to download offline map at this location? Choose Yes or No.
4. Download started appears and the outline is cleared. When the tiles have finished you see Download complete, and the downloaded area is drawn on the map.
5. Use Clear to drop the outline and start again, or Cancel to leave the tool.

Areas are downloaded using whichever base map style you currently have selected, from the widest view down to a close-in street-level zoom.

caution

You must place at least three points, or the app shows Please select minimum 3 geo points to download a map for offline. You also need a connection to start a download — offline you will see Internet connection not available. If the tiles fail you will see Downloading failed try again.

tip

Use Current Location at any time to wipe measurement lines, outlines and pins off the map and recenter on yourself. It is the fastest way to get back to a clean map.

How This Connects

• Base Map and Map Layers applied here are saved to your organization settings and become your defaults everywhere — on Map, on every saved map, on the incident Maps tab, and on track playback in My Tracking. If you change them while offline, the change is held on the device and synced to the server the next time you have a connection.
• Flight Tracking, Unit Locations, EVAC Status, District Status and the fire layers are all fetched live on their own timers. Offline they stop updating and the last drawing stays until you leave the screen.
• Unit Locations are the positions your teammates' devices are reporting. Your own position joins that picture while you have a tracking session running.
• Saved Maps opened from this menu are the same maps used by an incident, and their markers and shapes are listed in Map Shapes & Objects.
• Downloaded Maps are stored on the device and are what keeps the map usable in a dead spot. Only the base map tiles are stored — live overlays still need a connection.
• Whether measurements read in feet and miles or metres and kilometres follows your unit system in General App Settings.
• Points you place here can be read in every coordinate format, and copied, from the GPS screen and the Coordinate Format display.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
The map never centers on you	Allow location for the app in iOS Settings, then open the menu and tap Current Location.
Your position is off by a street or two	Move into the open and wait a few seconds. Check the live Accuracy figure on the GPS screen.
Map tiles stay blank or grey	You are offline or on a very weak signal. Use Downloaded Maps ahead of time so the area is stored on the device.
Overlays are drawn but never update	The live timers have stopped, usually a dropped connection. Leave the screen and come back to restart them.
Tapping a feature says the reference database is downloading	Wait for it to finish on a good connection, then tap again.
A reference lookup says Property not found	There is no feature from that layer at the pin. Move the pin slightly, or pick a different reference layer.
Bearing or distance never produces a card	Both taps must land on the map. Tap two clearly separate points and wait about a second.
Download refuses to start	Place at least three points, and check you have a connection — the confirmation needs one.
A download says Downloading failed try again	Retry on a stronger connection and with a smaller area; large outlines need many more tiles.
Tracking does not seem to be recording	Confirm the menu row reads Stop Tracking, and that location permission is set to allow the app to use your location in the background. Points are only added as you move.
District Status does nothing	The district layer is not part of the base map style you are on. Switch styles.

Related Pages

• Map
• Map Style Options
• Map Annotations & Drawing
• Directions
• Saved Maps
• Bearing & Distance
• Isochron (Drive-Time Rings)
• Start a Tracking Session

---

⬅️ Previous: Isochron (Drive-Time Rings) | Next: Directions ➡️