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map.army Glossary: Military Map and MilX Terms
The terms used in map.army and in this documentation, each named the way the app shows it, with a short definition and the page that explains it.
How to read this glossary
- Bold marks a label exactly as it appears in the app. The documentation uses the same label, so what you read here matches your screen.
- Where the app shows no label (for example a key or a concept), the term is the one this documentation uses throughout.
- The entries under Symbols and symbology are worded identically in the symbol.army documentation, because both apps use the same Military Symbol Service.
Symbols and symbology
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MSS (Military Symbol Service) | gs-soft AG’s service that renders military symbols and tactical graphics and provides their names, modifiers and rules. |
| MIL-STD-2525 | US joint military symbology standard; MSS implements revision MIL-STD-2525C. |
| SIDC (Symbol Identification Code) | 15-character code of MIL-STD-2525 that identifies a symbol; shown in the app as “Symbol Code”. |
| Base Symbol | The symbol chosen from the library (unit, equipment, installation or tactical graphic) before modifiers are added. |
| 1-Point Symbol | Symbol placed at a single point, such as a unit, equipment or installation; informally “unit symbol”. |
| Tactical Graphic (N-Point Symbol) | Line, area or arrow symbol defined by several reference points, typically a task or control measure. |
| Reference Point | One of the points that define the position and shape of a symbol. In map.army you move, add and remove them on the map or in the point list — see Edit Multi-Point Tactical Graphics and Point List. |
| Modifier | Additional information shown with a symbol, as text around it or as a graphic element (e.g. higher formation, date-time group). |
| Affiliation | Whether a symbol is friend, hostile, neutral or unknown (plus the assumed, suspect and exercise variants); sets frame shape and colour. |
| Operational Condition | Status of a symbol: planned / anticipated, present, damaged or destroyed. |
| Echelon | Size of a unit or level of command (team to region), shown above the frame. |
| Work Mode (International / Extended) | Selects the symbol library: International (MIL-STD-2525C) or Extended (all International symbols plus the Swiss military and civil symbols; a few international symbols are replaced by their Swiss counterparts). In map.army each mode also has its own Symbol Gallery — see Work Modes. |
| MSS Symbol Editor | Editor for the modifiers, affiliation and operational condition of a symbol. See Symbol Editor. |
| Free-Format Options | Line, fill, arrow and text styles of free-format graphics, set in the MSS Symbol Editor. |
map.army uses MIL-STD-2525C only; it has no separate APP-6 symbol library.
Symbols in map.army
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Add new MSS Symbol | Main-window button that opens the Symbol Gallery to place a new symbol on the active layer. |
| Symbol Gallery | Panel to browse symbols by area and group, and to pick one — see Symbol Gallery. |
| MSS Symbol Search | Search box of the Symbol Gallery; finds symbols by name in the interface language. |
| My Favorites | Gallery area holding the symbols you marked as favorites and the ones you used recently. |
| Generic Graphics | Gallery group with free-form pins, lines, areas, texts and shapes that are not tied to the standard — see Generic Graphics. |
| Point list | The coordinate table of a selected tactical graphic, opened with the button View and edit graphic’s coordinates — see Point List. |
Layers
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Layer (MilX layer) | A named set of symbols drawn on the map. Every symbol belongs to exactly one layer. “Overlay” is used in this documentation only as the general idea of something drawn over the base map — see MilX Layers. |
| Layers | Top-left main-window button that opens the layer list. |
| Layer-Manager | Editing mode of the layer list, opened with Open Layer-Manager, for creating, loading, saving, reordering and deleting layers — see Layer-Manager. |
| Local MilX Layers | Group of the layers you work on in this browser tab. |
| Shared MilX Layers | Group of the layers that belong to an open MilX Share. |
| Active layer | The layer new symbols land on, marked with a pencil. The main-window button is Active/Selected Layer. |
| Vector Layers | Group of layers loaded from vector files (KML, GeoJSON, Shapefile and others) or online sources — see Import Overlays. |
| Image Layers | Group of layers made from images placed on the map. |
| Approved | Layer setting that switches the layer to black-and-white presentation; saved in the MilX file. |
| Read-Only | Layer setting that prevents any change to the layer. |
| Override Symbol Format | Layer setting that gives one layer its own symbol format instead of the app-wide one. |
| Reorganize Layers | Layer-Manager mode in which layers can be dragged into a new order or into another group. |
| Operation Layers | Layers of a joined operation in map.army pro; not available in the free app. |
Map and tools
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Map Type | The base map under your layers, chosen in Map Settings — see Base Maps. |
| Coordinate Grid | Grid drawn over the map (MGRS, UTM, WGS84 and others) — see Coordinate Grid. |
| Pacific View | Centres the world map on the Pacific instead of the Atlantic — see Pacific View. |
| Display Magnetic North | Map tool that shows geographic, magnetic and grid north with the declination (DEC) — see Magnetic Declination. |
| Safety Distance Zone | Live-fire danger area drawn around a weapon position: impact sector, direction of fire, ricochet areas and vertical hazard. Also called SDZ, surface danger zone or range fan. Its weapon list is the Saved Types — see SDZ builder. |
| SDZ, safety distance zone, surface danger zone | SDZ stands for both: Safety Distance Zone is what the app calls it, surface danger zone is the doctrinal term for the same area — see SDZ builder. |
| Ref. Scale | Map scale from which 1-point symbols start to shrink as you zoom out; shown with Scale Symbols. |
| Cluster Size | Distance below which 1-point symbols are spread apart; shown with Decluster Symbols — see Map Controls. |
| Magnifier lens | Circle that pulls clustered symbols apart while you hold D on the 2D map. |
| 3D view | Read-only 3D view of the map, opened with Switch to 3D View (read only) — see 3D Map View. |
| Compass | Round heading button of the 3D view; click it to turn the view to north. The 2D map has no compass. |
| Milliradian (NATO) | Angular unit value that is in fact the NATO mil: 6400 to the full circle (a true milliradian is about 6283) — see General Options. |
Sharing and exchange
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MilX Share | Copy of your layers on the share server, opened by link — see How to create a share. |
| Read Only, Edit & Copy, Edit & Overwrite | The three kinds of share link: view only; edit a copy; change the share itself. |
| Include Version in Link | Share option that makes the link open one particular version instead of the newest. |
| NVG (NATO Vector Graphics) | Exchange format for overlays between military systems — see NVG. |
| KML / KMZ | Google Earth format; the KML export writes a .kmz file — see KML Export. |
| Print and export panel | Panel opened with Print map or Export to PDF, for PDF, image and georeference output — see Create an Export. |
| iframe | HTML element that embeds map.army in another web page — see iFrame. |
Military terms and where to find them
Doctrine words a soldier searches for, and the map.army feature that does the job. The task finder lists the same by task.
| Term | In map.army |
|---|---|
| Overlay, operation overlay | A MilX layer holding your symbols and tactical graphics — see MilX layer. |
| COP (common operational picture) | Share your layers by link (Read Only, Edit & Copy, Edit & Overwrite) — see How to create a share. |
| Control measure | A Tactical Graphic: boundaries, phase lines, axes, areas. Find it with the Symbol Search — see Symbol Gallery. |
| Obstacle | Obstacle graphics are tactical graphics; search for them by name in the Symbol Search. |
| AO (area of operations) | Draw it as a tactical graphic area, or with a generic graphic. |
| Range fan, SDZ, sector of fire, ricochet | Safety Distance Zone — see SDZ builder. |
| Range card, sector sketch | Not a feature as such. Combine a Safety Distance Zone for the sector with range rings for the distances, then print it. |
| FSCM (fire support coordination measures) | Tactical graphics, found by name in the Symbol Search. |
| Direction of movement, direction of fire | Direction in the Point List — see The Point List. |
| Grid reference, MGRS entry | Type the coordinate in the Point List — see The Point List. |
| Mils | Angular Unit: Milliradian (NATO), 6400 to the circle — see General options. |
| DTG (date-time group), time zone | Time zone under Unit Settings, default Z; each MilX layer remembers the zone it was made in — see General options. |
| SIDC (symbol identification code) | Every symbol carries its code in the MilX and NVG file, but the Symbol Search finds symbols by name, not by code. |
| Classification marking | No marking field in the PDF or image export. Place a text generic graphic with the marking inside the export area. NVG export carries confidentiality metadata — see NVG. |
| Overlay trace, foil | Export without Background Map and with Reference Points, then print on transparent foil — see Create an export. |
| Black-and-white print copy | Approved layer setting — see Edit a layer. |
| BFT (blue force tracking) | map.army pro only — see Pro vs free. |
| Move a group of units | Select several graphics with Ctrl, then drag one of them — see Select several graphics. |
| Offset, displaced symbol | A symbol moved away from its true position keeps a reference line back to it — see Map controls. |
| Snap to points | The magnet button or the S key while editing a tactical graphic — see Edit multi-point graphics. |
| Freehand line along a road | The pen button, on by default for lines and areas — see Edit multi-point graphics. |
| Undo, Ctrl + Z | Undo works on what you draw, not on how you look at it: symbols, graphics and layers are undoable; zoom, map type and options are not. |
App and files
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| map.army / Military Map | map.army is the product and website; Military Map is the app’s name in the window title and when installed. |
| Progressive Web App (PWA) | Web application that runs in the browser and can also be installed like an app. See Install. |
| MilX (Military Exchange Format) | gs-soft’s file format for military layers. The app never spells it out — see MilX Format. |
.milxlyz / .milxly | MilX file extensions: zipped (the default when saving) and plain XML. |
| Project | Everything open in the browser tab: your layers, the map view and settings — see Project Model. |
| Options | Settings panel of the app, grouped into General, Unit Settings, Map Settings, Symbol Format and others. |
| Message & Info Center | Status-bar panel with news, version information and warnings — see Notifications. |
| Application Settings | Options group to download all settings as a file and load them in another browser. |
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