Quick guide
Click map surface to add a route point.
E to create or edit a route. Esc to leave edit mode.
Right-click grab handle to delete a point
Drap a virtual drag handle to insert a point
Drag a grab handle to another location.
Modes used with routes
There are two modes that relate to creating a route. The mode is displayed on the status bar (green bar below the map).
- Create mode no longer exists.
- View mode. No changes are being made. Leave whichever mode you are in to return to this mode by pressing the Esc key, or the button or key used to enter the mode you are leaving.
- Edit mode. Inserting, deleting or moving points in the route. This includes appending points to the end of the route. Click Edit Route button or press the E key.
You must return to View mode (Esc) before switching to any other mode.
Creating a new route
When you enter Edit Mode the cursor will change to a cross hair and the Edit Route button will be highlighted. Position the cursor where you would like to start the route and click to add the point. An asterisk(*) will be displayed in the status bar to indicate there are unsaved route changes. Note that as you move the cursor the status bar will show the coordinates for the cursor position. Continue adding points in this way until your route is complete, then leave Edit mode.
Appending to the end of a route
Simply click on the map surface whilst in Edit mode.
Editing a route
When you enter Edit mode grab handles (white circles) appear at each point in the route. When you move the cursor over a grab handle it will turn light blue and the cursor will change to a hand to indicate it is active. Now you can drag the handle to where you want it to be on the map. Right-clicking a drag handle deletes that point. Virtual drag handles appear at the mid-point between drag handles. They are a smaller version of drag handles. Dragging a virtual drag handle inserts a point into the route
Saving a route
Click on the Save Route button or press the S key to save the route. mapRoute will suggest a name based on the nearest location known to the geonames web service. You can accept the name or enter your own route name. Once saved, the asterisk in the status bar will disappear indicating there are no unsaved changes outstanding. Also the route name is displayed in the status bar. You can clear the route by clicking on the Clear Route button or by pressing the C key. If there are unsaved changes you will be warned before the route is cleared.
Zoom to route
The Zoom to Route button (alternatively press the Z key) centres the current route on your screen while zooming to the highest possible level whilst still displaying the entire route on the screen. It can be used whilst in any of the route related modes.
Elevation profile
Once you have at least two points in a route you can show the elevation profile by pressing the G key or selecting Refresh Graph from the menu (top left). When moving the cursor over the graph, cross hairs will show the selected location whilst a pin will be shown on the route indicating the corresponding map location. The top right area on the elevation profile shows the location, distance into the route and elevation at the point selected. The total ascent and descent for the route are shown further to the left.
Elevation data is provided from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) and provides elevation data for much of the Earth's surface at 90 metre intervals. mapRoute currently has elevation data available for most of Western Europe. The rest of the world will be added at a future date.
The elevation profile is not dynamic, so if the route is edited while the graph is being displayed it will not be updated accordingly unless you manually select Refresh Graph from the menu or click the
icon. The graph is automatically displayed when you load a saved route and is hidden when you clear a route. You can hide the profile graph by clicking on the 
symbol.
Managing routes
Press 1 to show the Routes tab and your saved routes. Routes are shown in alphabetic order. As with all tabs, hover the cursor over the column heading for descriptions.
Edit the route name or description by clicking on the text areas.
Load a route onto the map by clicking the
icon. Right click the eye-con to load the static route.Download a route in a GPX file by clicking the
button and then Route.Send a route to the Archive tab by clicking
. Routes can be unarchived, but if left in the archive they will be automatically burned (permanently deleted) after a couple of weeks.
reverses the direction of the route, so the first point becomes the last and vice-versa.Clicking the ascent value toggles the route's elevation profile visibility. Multiple profiles can be displayed at the same time.
Viewing multiple routes on the map (static routes)
While you can only have one route that is available for editing at any one time you can load several other routes in a view only mode at the same time. To do this right-click
on the Route tab. Static routes will appear in a light blue colour. You can't edit or Zoom to route on static routes. Their main purpose is for route comparison. For example, when you've walked a route that you have planned in mapRoute you can import your GPSr track and then view both the route and track at the same time.All static routes can be cleared from Menu->Clear Static. This will not clear your active route. Use the Clear Route button (or C key) to clear the active route.
Locating routes on the map
Press the View Routes button (or V key) to enter Shared mode and show where your routes are located (pink push-pins) and/or where other user's shared routes are located (yellow push-pins). You can view a route by simply clicking on a push-pin. This will also return you to View mode. The routes shown is dependant on your settings (press 8). In the Routes section you can choose if you want to search for your own routes, other people's shared routes or both. The search radius from the centre of the screen is also defined here. If routes are found the map will zoom in to encompass all push-pins displayed. Leave Shared Mode (press Esc or click the button again) to return to your original view.
Shared routes will be covered in a separate guide.