GPS

Read your exact position in every coordinate format, convert coordinates, and share your location.

The GPS screen is where you get a precise position and do something with it. One tab shows your live position in every coordinate format at once, with your accuracy and altitude at the top. The other lets you type a coordinate in any format and fill in all the others. From either tab you can copy a value, see the point on the map, navigate toward it, check the elevation, look back through your history, or share your location with someone outside the app.

Overview

The screen has two tabs across the top. The active tab is shown in red with an underline.

Tab	Purpose
Current location	Read your live position in each format.
Convert	Type coordinates in one format and convert to the others.

Control	Where	What it does
Three-dot menu	Top corner	History and, where allowed, Share.
Copy	Each format row	Copy that value to the clipboard.
View on Map	Each format row	Drop a marker at that point on the map.
Elevation	Current location tab	Open detailed vertical data.
Guide Me	Convert tab	Navigate toward the entered point with a guiding compass.
Select from Map	Convert tab	Pick a point on a map instead of typing it.
Location Type	Convert tab	Look up the reference layer at the entered point.
Pull to refresh	Both tabs	Pull down to take a fresh reading, or clear the convert fields.

The formats shown

Format	Description
DD	Decimal Degrees
DDM	Degrees Decimal Minutes
DMS	Degrees Minutes Seconds
UTM	Universal Transverse Mercator — zone, easting, northing
MGRS	Military Grid Reference System
3-word	A three-word address

note

Share only appears on the three-dot menu when your organization allows location sharing. Otherwise the menu has History alone.

Getting Here

1. From Home, open the GPS tool.
2. The app asks for location permission, and then for motion permission so it can work out detailed altitude. Allow both for the full picture.
3. The Current location tab opens and begins reading your position.

caution

If location is denied you will see Location Permission Denied with Please enable location permission in settings to use this feature. Without it there is no position to show. Motion permission is only needed for the detailed altitude reading; denying it leaves the rest of the screen working.

Read and Copy Your Position

1. On the Current location tab, Accuracy and Altitude appear at the top, each followed by Feet or Meters depending on your unit system. A three-word address for your position is shown as well.
2. Below that, your position is listed in each format. Latitude and longitude rows are labelled Lat and Lon; UTM is shown as the zone, then the easting followed by E, then the northing followed by N.
3. Tap Copy on a row to copy that value. A brief Copied message confirms it.
4. Tap View on Map on a row to see that point marked on the map.
5. Tap the detailed height reading to see the full altitude breakdown, or tap Elevation for the full screen. See Elevation Detail.
6. Pull down on the tab to take a fresh reading.

tip

Read Accuracy before you pass a position on. A figure of a few feet is a solid fix; a figure in the hundreds means the device is still settling or you are under cover, and the coordinate should not be trusted yet.

Convert or Enter Coordinates

1. Tap the Convert tab.
2. Find the block for the format you already have and fill in its fields:

Format	Fields
DD	Latitude, Longitude
DDM	Latitude degrees and minutes, Longitude degrees and minutes
DMS	Latitude degrees, minutes and seconds; Longitude degrees, minutes and seconds
UTM	Zone, Easting, Northing
MGRS	Zone, Identifier, Easting, Northing
3-word	Three word fields

3. Tap the convert action for that block. Every other block fills in from what you entered, and the Copy buttons appear on all rows.
4. Tap View on Map on the block you entered to see the point on the map.
5. Tap Guide Me to navigate toward the point with a guiding compass that points at it as you move.
6. Tap Location Type to look up which reference layer feature sits at that point.
7. Tap Select from Map to pick a point on a map instead of typing one.
8. Pull down on the tab to clear every field and start again.

caution

Each block checks its own fields before converting. Depending on which one you used you may see Enter Lat, Enter Lon, Enter Minites, Enter Seconds, Enter Zone, Enter Easting, Enter Northing, Enter Iden, Enter Esting or Please provide all 3 words. Fill in the missing field and convert again.

note

Converting a coordinate also saves it into your GPS history, so anything you convert is there to come back to later. See GPS History.

Share Your Location

1. Tap the three-dot menu and choose Share.
2. Fill in the form:

Field	Notes
First name	Required.
Last name	Required.
Field type	Choose Phone Number or Email Address. Starts on Select.
Phone number / Email address	Required. The label and keyboard follow the field type you chose.
Password required	On by default. The recipient must enter a password to open the link.
Share once	On by default. Turn it off to reveal the end date and the infinite option.
End date	Shown when Share once is off. Defaults to now, as date and time.
Share infinitely	Shown when Share once is off. Keeps the share open with no end date.

3. To fill the name and contact from someone already in your directory, use the directory search button and pick a contact. Their phone numbers and email addresses are then offered in a drop-down.
4. Tap Share, or Cancel to close the form without sharing.

caution

The form is checked before it sends. You may see Enter firstname, Enter lastname, Please choose field type, Please enter phone number or Please enter email.

View Your History

1. Tap the three-dot menu and choose History.
2. Your saved positions open as a list or on a map. See GPS History.

How This Connects

• Your position, accuracy and altitude come from the device's own sensors, so the Current location tab works with no connection. The coordinate conversions are worked out on the device too.
• The one part that needs a signal is the three-word address, which is fetched from a service. Offline, the other five formats are still correct and the three-word row will be blank.
• The detailed height reading uses the device's motion sensors and a positioning service, which is why motion permission is requested. See Elevation Detail.
• Every conversion is written into your history on the device. That history is local to the phone — it is not synced and not visible to your team. See GPS History.
• View on Map hands the point to the same map screen as Map, so all the map tools are available once you are there.
• Location Type uses the reference layers published by your organization and a database stored on the device — see Coordinate Format.
• Share creates a link for someone outside the app. It needs a connection, and the recipient's contact details can be pulled from your directory.
• The route you record while moving is a different feature — see Start a Tracking Session and My Tracking.
• Whether accuracy and altitude read in feet or metres follows your unit system in General App Settings.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
No position appears	Allow location for the app, then pull down on the Current location tab to take a fresh reading.
Accuracy is a very large number	The fix is poor. Step into the open, away from buildings and cover, and wait. Pull down to refresh.
The position drifts while you stand still	Normal while the fix settles. Watch Accuracy fall, then take the reading.
The three-word address is blank	It needs a connection. The other formats are still valid.
The detailed height reading never appears	Motion permission is needed. If it was denied you will see Motion Permission Denied; allow it in Settings and reopen the screen.
Converting shows Enter Lat or similar	A field in that block is empty. Fill it in and convert again.
Please provide all 3 words	All three word fields must be filled, and the three-word lookup needs a connection.
Converted values look wrong	Check you filled in the block for the format you actually have, and that degrees, minutes and seconds went into the right fields.
Copy does nothing	Tap the button on the row and watch for the brief Copied message. Copy buttons only appear once a conversion has produced values.
Share is missing from the menu	Your organization has not enabled location sharing.
A share will not send	Check every required field, and check you have a connection.
Location Type says the reference database is downloading	Wait on a connection for the download to finish, then try again.

Related Pages

• GPS History
• GPS History Detail
• Elevation Detail
• Coordinate Format
• Compass
• Map

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