Bearing & Distance

Measure the direction and distance between two points on the map.

The Bearing & Distance card shows the measurement you asked for by tapping two points on the map. Bearing gives you the compass direction from the first point to the second — in both true and magnetic degrees. Distance gives you how far apart they are as the crow flies, in two units at once. The card is deliberately plain so it is easy to read out over the radio.

Overview

Element	What it shows
Title	Either Bearing Conversion or Distance Conversion, depending on which tool you used.
Value	The calculated result, on two lines.
Back	Close the card and return to the map.

What the value looks like

Tool	Lines shown	Example
Bearing	The true bearing, then the magnetic bearing	Bearing 247.3° True / 247.3° Magnetic
Distance — under 1 km	Metres, then feet	Distance 450 meter, 1480 feet
Distance — 1 km or more	Kilometres, then miles	Distance 3.42 km, 2.13 mi

Bearings are given to one decimal place, measured clockwise from north, in the range 0 to 360 degrees. Distances under a kilometre are given as whole metres and feet rounded to the nearest ten feet; distances over a kilometre are given to two decimal places in both units.

note

The distance is a straight line between the two points. It is not a driving distance. For road distance and travel time, use Directions or the drive-time strip on the Map screen.

Getting Here

1. Open the Reference Map, or an open saved map.
2. Tap the map's menu button.
3. Tap Bearing or Distance.

Take a Measurement

1. After you tap the menu row, a short message tells you what to do: Please select two geo points to calculate bearing or Please select two geo points to calculate distance.
2. Tap the first point on the map. A red dot with a white edge marks it.
3. Tap the second point. A second red dot appears and a red line joins the two.
4. About a second later the result card opens, titled Bearing Conversion or Distance Conversion.
5. Read the value, then tap Back to close the card.

The order matters for a bearing: it is measured from the first point you tapped to the second. Distance is the same either way round.

tip

Run Bearing and then Distance between the same two points and you have both the direction and the range — everything you need to pass a position relative to a known landmark.

Clear the Measurement

The two red dots and the red line stay drawn on the map after you close the card, so you can keep looking at them. To remove them:

• Open the map menu and tap Current Location. This clears every temporary marking and re-centers the map on you.
• Or use Clear or Cancel on the bottom bar if one is showing.
• Or leave the map screen. Temporary markings do not survive.

note

Measurement dots and lines are always drawn in red so they stand out against any base map, whether you are on streets, satellite or terrain.

True vs Magnetic Bearing

The bearing card gives you both numbers because different tools want different ones.

Reading	Use it when
True	Working from a map, a grid, or anything already referenced to true north.
Magnetic	Working from a handheld magnetic compass, where the needle points at magnetic north.

The difference between the two is the magnetic declination at that place. You can read the declination for where you are standing on the Compass screen, which also lets you switch the compass itself between magnetic and true north.

How This Connects

• Both measurements are worked out on the device from the two coordinates you tapped, so they work perfectly well with no connection — as long as you can see enough map to tap the right spots. Download the area in advance from the Reference Map if you expect to be out of signal.
• The two points are just map coordinates. To read either of them in a specific format, or copy one to paste into a message, use Coordinate Format or the GPS screen.
• A bearing and distance pair is a temporary drawing on your screen. Nobody else sees it and it is not saved. To leave something behind for the team, place a marker or a Sector on a saved map instead — a sector takes a bearing and a beam width directly, so a measured bearing drops straight into it.
• For an area rather than a line, use Add Isochrone to shade everything reachable within a time or a distance. See Isochron (Drive-Time Rings).
• Whether other parts of the app show you feet and miles or metres and kilometres follows your unit system in General App Settings. This card always gives you both.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
No card appears after two taps	Both taps must land on the map itself, not on a panel or a marker. Tap two clearly separate points and wait about a second.
The card opened with only one point tapped	It did not — the card only opens on the second tap. If it appeared early, you probably had a leftover point from a previous measurement. Clear the map and start again.
The bearing is the reverse of what you expected	Bearing runs from the first point to the second. Tap them the other way round to get the reciprocal.
The distance seems far too short for the drive	This is a straight line, not a road distance. Use Directions for the driving figure.
The magnetic bearing matches the true bearing exactly	Declination at that location works out as effectively nothing, or could not be applied. Check the declination shown on the Compass screen.
Red dots and lines will not clear	Tap Current Location on the map menu, or leave and reopen the map screen.
You measured the wrong point	Clear the map and measure again. There is no way to move a point once it is placed.
You cannot find Bearing or Distance	They are on the Reference Map and saved map menus, not on the shorter Map screen menu.

Related Pages

• Map Annotations & Drawing
• Reference Map
• Coordinate Format
• Compass
• Isochron (Drive-Time Rings)

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