Handheld Help

This is the help page for the handheld WristMap app.

Here is the main screen for the handheld app. It has much the same functionality as the wearable app. Only when this app is running, are map archives stored on the handheld viewable on the wearable.

Zoom in and out with a pinch. Zoom in with a double tap. From the UI preferences you can enable on screen zoom buttons which will appear for a while after touching the screen.

The map may be panned by a drag with one finger. A double tap will zoom the map in. On-screen + and - zoom buttons can be enabled using a settings option.

In the App settings, you can set the wearable to track the handheld's pan and zoom and vice versa. One handheld can pan and zoom multiple paired wearables.

On first start, the App can take a while to load whilst it scans storage for offline map archives.

One of these action bar buttons indicates when any paired wearable devices are available. If the first wearable is 'nearby', the logo with the internal Bluetooth symbol is used. Clicking on the action bar icon will list the paired wearables and their battery levels. The handheld app can only share map base layers and overlays with the first nearby wearable.

Use this action bar button to select between the available map base layers. These may be an offline map archive file, or an online map. The set of online maps listed is configured from the map preferences. This list of online maps is shared to the wearable app. Map archives stored in a folder named 'osmdroid' on the internal storage or SD card will be automatically found and offered for selection. Other archives, stored anywhere on the device, can be added manually using the menu. Manually added base layers are not copied, just listed. A separate menu can be used to remove, but not delete, a manually added base map. Use unique files names for every added base layer archive, whatever their storage folder. Small, single file archives may be copied to the wearable.

Use this action bar button to select any overlays to be shown on top of the map. KML and GeoJSON overlays are supported. The sub-menu allows for already loaded overlays to be turned on or off, or new overlays to be loaded from the file system or the web. When overlays are first loaded, WristMap makes a copy of them from subsequent use. If WristMap's copy of an overlay is no longer wanted, it can be deleted.

Overlays may be pushed to the first wearable from the main menu. Overlays stored on the first wearable may be listed and deleted from the main menu.

Use these buttons to toggle magnification of the map on and off, separately to zooming. This can be useful for some base maps which might appear too large or too small otherwise.


Use this button to request your current location. The background of the button will change whilst a location is being obtained. When a location is obtained, the map will pan to the location and a 'Track pin' will be placed on the map. Touch a 'Track pin' to see its age and location. 'Track pins' are synchronised between the wearable and handheld App. The format for location text display can be set in the App's settings. It can be one of:

  • Decimal Latitude and Longitude

  • British National Grid

  • Military Grid Reference System (WGS84 UTM)

  • what3words (needs internet connection)

The colour of the 'Track pins' for both the wearable and handheld Apps can be set using the handheld App's preferences.

Use this button to delete selected 'Track pins'. You can select which to delete by age.

WristMap lets you easily and accurately determine the location of a point on the map. From the settings, turn on the Cross Hairs. You can choose their colour in the UI preferences. The cross hairs stay centred as the map is panned and are automatically hidden after a short period of inactivity. If you touch inside them , the location at their centre will be displayed and saved to the clipboard. The format for location text display can be set in the App's settings. It can be one of:

  • Decimal Latitude and Longitude

  • British National Grid

  • Military Grid Reference System (WGS84 UTM)

  • what3words (needs internet connection)