Maps Tab

The incident's interactive map — get directions, draw on the map, switch layers, and track units, all in one place.

The Maps tab is the situational-awareness heart of an incident. It has three views — Directions, Overview, and Tracks — chosen from the buttons at the bottom of the screen. The active view is underlined and its label turns red. The Overview view is the full interactive map, where you draw shapes, drop markers, switch base maps, toggle layers, and search for places.

Overview

View	What it shows
Directions	The incident's destinations, live turn-by-turn navigation, and a trip-info step list.
Overview	The full interactive map with drawing tools, layers, overlays, and search.
Tracks	Track and route playback for the incident.

Map control	Description
Menu button	Opens the map options menu (base maps, layers, drawing tools, overlays). Available in Overview.
Search field	Type an address or place; suggestions appear as you type.
Coordinate search	Enter a latitude and longitude directly to jump to a point.
Undo	Removes the last point you placed while drawing a line, polygon, or snap-to-road shape.
Save	Saves the shape or marker you just drew and opens its details dialog.
Clear	Discards the current drawing without saving.
Use Current Location	Places a marker, radius, or sector at your current position.
Open Street View	Opens a street-level panorama at the map center; also used to convert coordinates and pick a location reference.

Getting Here

1. Open an incident from the Incidents tab.
2. Tap the Maps tab.
3. Tap Directions, Overview, or Tracks along the bottom.

Getting Directions

The Directions view lists the incident's destinations with live travel estimates, then hands you turn-by-turn navigation.

1. Tap Directions. Until you start navigating, the lower part of the screen shows a street-level view of the incident address.
2. Review the destination list. Each row shows:

Row element	Description
Name	The destination's name.
Address	Its street address.
Coordinates	The latitude and longitude, shown as Lat …, Long ….
Travel time	The driving time from where you are now.
Distance	The straight-line distance from your position, in miles.
Route Distance	The actual driving distance along the route, in miles.

3. Tap a destination to calculate a route and start navigating. Routes are calculated for a car and avoid traffic where it can.
4. The screen splits into two views you switch with the buttons at the top:

View	What it shows
Navigation	The moving map with the current maneuver banner at the top and an ETA banner at the bottom.
Trip Info	The step list — the maneuver you are on at the top, followed by the steps still to come, each with its distance.

5. While navigating, use these controls:

Control	What it does
Re-center	Snaps the camera back to follow your position.
Speaker	Mutes or unmutes spoken guidance. The button shows when guidance is muted.
Navigate	Switches the camera to the whole-route overview.
Close (on the bottom banner)	Stops navigation and returns to the destination list and street view.

How ETA and distance are shown

Remaining time	Shown as
Under a minute	~45 sec
Under an hour	~12 min 30 sec
An hour or more	~2 hrs 20 min
Over a day	~30 hrs

Distance follows your Units System setting:

Setting	Under the threshold	Above it
Imperial	Feet when under a tenth of a mile (420 ft)	Miles (3.4 mi)
Metric	Meters when under a kilometer (640 m)	Kilometers (3.4 km)

tip

If you leave the Maps tab while navigating, a banner stays on screen reading "Navigating to" followed by your destination — so you do not lose the route while checking the board or the radio. Come back to Directions and navigation is still running.

note

Travel times are calculated for each destination in turn as soon as your location is known, so the first row fills in before the last. Directions need location permission and a data connection.

Working the Map (Overview)

1. Tap Overview to open the interactive map.
2. Tap the Menu button to reach map options, organized into groups:

Group	Options
Display	Base Map, Map Layers, Map Layer Toggle
Search and location	Location Search, Coordinate Search, Convert Coordinates, Location Reference, Current Location
Status overlays	EVAC Status, Flight Tracking, Unit Locations, District Status
Fire layers	Fire Perimeter, Fire Heat Map, Fire Heat Area, Fire MODIS
Objects	Object Details, Object Labels, Folder

3. Pan and pinch to move and zoom. Tap a marker or shape to see its details.

Drawing and Marking the Map

1. From the menu, pick a drawing tool:

Tool	What it draws
Marker	A single point marker.
Freehand	A polygon you trace by hand.
Polygon	A polygon built by tapping each corner.
Line	A straight line from point to point.
Radius	A circle of a set radius around a center point.
Sector	A directional sector or beam shape.
Snap To Road	A line that follows the road network between the points you tap.
Add Isochrone	A travel-time area around a point.

2. Tap on the map to place points. Tap Undo to remove the last one.
3. Tap Save and fill in the object's details — name, color, icon, and folder — in the Add New dialog.
4. Tap Clear instead to throw the drawing away.

tip

Put related objects in the same Folder as you save them. Folders are what make a long object list manageable later, and they are how the Shapes and Objects List groups everything.

Searching and Layers

1. Use the Search field for an address or place, or Coordinate Search for an exact latitude and longitude.
2. From the menu, choose Base Map to change the map style, or Map Layers to turn overlays on and off.
3. Toggle status overlays such as Unit Locations, Flight Tracking, EVAC Status, District Status, and the fire layers to build the picture you need.
4. Use Object Labels to show or hide object names when the map gets crowded.

Option	Default
Base Map	Whatever your agency set as the default style. Shows None if your agency has not chosen one.
Map Layers	Your agency's default layers. Shows None if none are set.
Status and fire overlays	Off until you turn them on.

tip

Use Object Details to see and manage every shape and marker on the incident map in one list, and Object Labels to show or hide their names.

Viewing Tracks

1. Tap Tracks to see track and route playback for the incident.
2. The incident number and timing appear above the map, so you can tie what you are watching to the incident clock.

Loading and Empty States

State	What you see
Waiting for your location	Travel times and distances in Directions are blank until the device has a fix.
No destinations	The Directions list is empty — no destinations have been added to this incident.
No street view imagery	An alert explains that street-level imagery is not available for that spot. The rest of the view still works.
Route cannot be calculated	A short message appears with the reason. Check your connection and that the destination's coordinates are correct.
Nothing drawn yet	The Overview map shows the base map and the incident location, with no objects on it.
Overlay still loading	An overlay you just switched on may take a moment to draw; live overlays refresh continuously while you have a connection.

caution

Map features need location permission and a data connection. Offline maps can be downloaded for an area in advance, but live overlays — unit locations, flight tracking, and the fire layers — need a connection to refresh. Changing map layers is blocked while offline and shows a message that the internet is not available.

How This Connects

The map is the shared picture of the incident. What you draw here is visible to everyone else working it.

• Where the data comes from. Destinations in Directions come from the incident's own address list. Objects on the Overview map are stored against the incident. Base map styles and available layers come from your agency's settings, and the styles you pick are saved back to your account so they follow you between screens.
• What updates it. Objects anyone adds, edits, or deletes appear for everyone. Live overlays — unit locations, aircraft, fire data — refresh from their sources while you are connected.
• Where the same objects show up. Shapes and markers you save here are the objects you can link to a task on the command board, so an assignment carries its geography (see Add a Command Item). They are also listed in the Shapes and Objects List, and in Command View the command tools include Task Maps for working the map objects attached to a task.
• How the map ties into the timeline. The Incident Timeline draws location points over this same map, using the same base map and layer settings, which is why changing the base map in one place changes the backdrop in the other.
• The incident header. The incident number and timer above the map come from the incident record, the same one behind Info and Comms.
• Offline. Already-downloaded map tiles, the destination list, and objects already loaded stay usable. Route calculation, live overlays, layer changes, street view, and search all need a connection.
• On reconnect. Overlays resume refreshing and search works again. Objects you drew while offline are sent when the connection returns — check they are present before relying on them being visible to the rest of the incident.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
Travel times and distances stay blank	The device has no location fix yet. Allow location access for the app, go somewhere with a clearer sky view, and reopen Directions.
Tapping a destination does nothing	You have no connection, so no route can be calculated, or the destination has no usable coordinates.
Navigation will not start	Check your connection, then confirm the destination's Lat, Long looks right in the list.
Voice guidance is silent	Tap the Speaker button to unmute, and check your device volume is not muted.
The map is following you when you want the whole route	Tap Navigate for the overview camera; tap Re-center to go back to following.
Street view shows an error	There is no street-level imagery for that location. Use the map instead.
A layer will not turn on and you see an internet message	Layer changes need a connection. Reconnect and try again.
Base Map or Map Layers shows None	Your agency has not set defaults. Pick one yourself, or ask an administrator to configure them.
Live overlays look frozen	They only refresh while connected. Reconnect, then toggle the overlay off and on.
A shape you drew is gone	If you drew it offline it may not have reached the server. Check the object list and redraw it while connected.
The map is too cluttered to read	Turn off Object Labels, switch off overlays you are not using, and use folders to keep objects organized.
Undo does nothing while drawing	Undo removes points from lines, polygons, and snap-to-road shapes. For a marker, radius, or sector, use Clear and start again.

Related Pages

• Incident Overview
• Communications Tab
• Additional Tab
• Shapes and Objects List
• Command View
• Incident Timeline

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