Measure Distance, Area and Bearing on the Map

Measure a distance of a route or an area to observe within map.army.

The measurement tools are 2D only — they have no equivalent in the 3D view.

The measurement tools are switched on under Options → Map Settings → Map Tools, alongside the on-map readouts — see Map tool settings.

Overview

map.army supports the measurement of distances and areas in the metric system as well as in the imperial units:

Activate Measurement Functions

The measurements tools are deactivated by default. Follow these steps to activate within the web application:

  1. Open the ‘Options’ menu
    'Options' button in the map.army main window

  2. Scroll to the ‘Map Settings’ and activate the ‘Measure Tools’ check box
    'Measure Tools' check box under Options -> Map Settings

  3. The ‘Measure Tools’ for distance and area are displayed in the bottom left corner of the main window
    'Measure Tools' buttons in the bottom left corner of the main window

Measure Distance

The distance measurement displays the distance between two points. In case of measurement of a route with multiple points the tool displays the distance of the sections as well as the overall distance. In addition, the bearing between the two points is displayed.
Route measurement showing the section distances, the overall distance and the bearing

To start measuring a distance:

  1. Press the ‘Measure distance’ button (button turns blue)
    'Measure distance' button in its active blue state

  2. Click onto the map to set the starting point

  3. Every click will add a point for measurement

  4. Double click to end the measurement (pressing ‘Esc’, ‘Space’ or right click are also supported to exit the measurement)

Hint: Selecting a symbol cancels a measurement in progress. Click a symbol on the map while you are part-way through measuring and the measurement ends silently — no warning, no partial result kept. Finish the measurement first, or read the figures off before you touch anything else.

Measure Area

The measurement of an area calculates and displays the area between three or more points on the map.
Area measurement across four map points with the calculated area

To start measuring an area:

  1. Press the ‘Measure area’ button (button turns blue)
    'Measure area' button in its active blue state

  2. Click onto the map to set the starting point

  3. Every click will add a point for measurement

  4. Double click to end the measurement (pressing ‘Esc’, ‘Space’ or right click are also supported to exit the measurement)

Supported Units

Distance measurements support the metric system, the imperial system, and nautical miles (NM) for aeronautical and maritime use. The unit is set by Distance Unit under Options → Unit Settings. The same setting drives areas as well as distances — there is no separate unit for area.
'Unit of Measurements' pulldown in the 'Options' menu

Bearings are reported twice — once from true north and once from magnetic north, one above the other. There is no setting to pick one, because you always get both; the magnetic figure is the true bearing corrected by the WMM-2025 declination at the start point of the segment. See Magnetic declination.

Hint: The magnetic bearing appears a moment after the true one, and can stay blank. The true bearing is calculated on the spot; the magnetic one waits for the magnetic model, so its row is created empty and filled in when that resolves. If the model fails to load, the row stays empty and no error is shown — an empty Mag. Bearing means the model did not arrive, not that the bearing is zero.

The Angular Unit setting chooses only the units those bearings are written in — degrees or NATO mils (6400 to a full circle; the app’s own label for this value reads Milliradian (NATO), which is not accurate). It does not change which north they are measured from.
'Angular Unit' pulldown in the 'Options' menu, with degree and mil settings

Terrain Tool — Cursor Elevation

map.army map info popup showing WGS84 coordinates and 'Altitude' AMSL from the ESRI Elevation Service

The Terrain Tool shows the ground elevation at the cursor position as you move over the map. Elevation is reported in metres or feet according to the Distance Unit setting.

The displayed elevation is AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level) — i.e. orthometric height referenced to the geoid (Earth Gravity Model), not GPS-style ellipsoidal height. This matters for aeronautical and surveying work where AMSL is the standard reference. Elevation is fetched from the Esri ArcGIS elevation service rather than computed in the app, so it needs a working connection and its accuracy is whatever that service provides for the area. Expect metre-scale uncertainty, more of it in steep terrain.

For symbol-level elevation (the altitude shown for a placed point symbol), the same AMSL reference applies.

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