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Turn a GPX Track into a March Route

Tutorial 10 of 17 · Intermediate · 10 min

Load a recorded GPX track into the map as a vector layer, then convert it into a MilX^® march route whose points and waypoints you can edit like any other military graphic.

You need

map.army open in a current desktop browser and about 10 minutes. Download the sample track march-route-sample.gpx: a fictional 9.6 km route near Münsingen, Switzerland, with four waypoints. Any GPX, KML, GeoJSON or shapefile of your own works the same way.

A vector layer shows lines, areas and points from a GIS or GPS file on top of the base map. It only displays them: to edit them as military symbols you convert the layer to a MilX layer, the format map.army draws its overlays in.

Step 1: Pick the GPX file

1. Click Layers in the toolbar and expand the Vector Layers group.
2. On the Local tab, click the Add Layer button with the stacked-layers icon. A form opens.

3. Click Select File… and pick march-route-sample.gpx.

Step 2: Load and add the layer

1. The form now reads march-route-sample (GPX). Click Load. The format GPX is highlighted.
2. Click the green Add Layer button.

The track appears as a thin light-blue line with a circle at each waypoint. The map does not move to it on its own: pan to Münsingen, south-east of Bern. The row of the new layer has Show / Hide, an Opacity slider and Remove the layer.

Step 3: Convert the track to MilX

Click the convert button in the vector layer’s row. Its tooltip reads Convert the layer to MilX and add it to the project.

A new MilX layer named march-route-sample (GPX) appears in the layer list. The track is now a thick dark-blue line labelled March route, and each waypoint is a pin symbol with its name. The vector layer stays on the map: click its Show / Hide to hide it, so you see only the MilX layer.

Step 4: Edit the route

1. Click the route line to select it. It turns purple and shows its points as orange-red handles; drag a handle to move that point.
2. Click View and edit graphic’s coordinates in the toolbar. The point list shows one row per point, Point 1 to Point 18.
3. Change a coordinate, for example to move the start, and click Apply Changes. The line follows.

Step 5: Turn a waypoint into a checkpoint

Each waypoint became a one-point symbol, a Point of Interest. Give the checkpoint its proper military symbol:

1. Select the Checkpoint pin and click MSS Symbol Editor in the toolbar.
2. Click Base Symbol…, type checkpoint and click Search.
3. Click Check Point once, then the check icon (Confirm) at the top right of the dialog, then Apply.

The pin becomes the pennant-shaped checkpoint symbol marked CKP, and it keeps its name Checkpoint. The other waypoints can be swapped the same way.

Result

The march route is now a MilX layer: it is listed under Local MilX Layers in the Layer-Manager (Open Layer-Manager in the Layers panel), saves with Save as MilX, travels in a share, and prints with the rest of your overlay. The GPX vector layer is only needed again if you want to convert a fresh copy.

Next tutorial

Continue with Print an overlay. Every control used here is described in Import Vector Layers: KML, GeoJSON and Shapefile and in the Point List.