Recording your outdoor activities is a great way to keep memories about all your trips, analyze your performance and see how you are improving, recording a track also makes it easy to share your outdoor adventures with others. In this article we explain how to record a track in GPX Viewer PRO and make sure your track is recorded correctly.
Choose your recording profile
To start track recording, open the main menu and tap Track recording, you will be returned to the map screen and the red recording button will appear on the right. After you tap the red recording button, the app offers you to select a recording profile that matches your activity, before recording starts. GPX Viewer PRO has recording profiles for walking, running, biking, and car, you can also create your custom profiles. Each recording profile has two settings: a time interval and a distance interval, they determine how often the app records a new location point. For example, a walking recording profile will record a point every 1 meter or, every 10 seconds, this means the track captures every small turn accurately, giving you a precise line on the map.
Choosing the recording profile that matches your activity matters more than it might seem. Using the car recording profile for a hike might not capture enough points to accurately represent the path you took. And using the walking recording profile for a fast ride will create too many unnecessary points making your file bigger and harder to work with later.
Give GPX Viewer PRO the right permissions
After choosing your recording profile the app will ask for a few permissions, let’s have a closer look at them and find out why each one matters.
First of all, GPX Viewer PRO needs access to your device location, so it can continuously capture your route as you move. Most people record their outdoor activities while the phone is in a pocket or backpack, so GPX Viewer PRO needs to be able to collect location data not only when you are actively using the app, but also when your screen is off. To make this possible, you need set the location permission to “Allow all the time”.
In the app version 1.51.4 we have also added a new dialog for disabling battery optimization when starting track recording. This permission allows the recording to continue reliably when you switch to another app or your screen is turned off. It does increase battery usage slightly, but is worth it to avoid gaps in your track.
If after giving the permissions you still have issues with track recording, please try following the instructions from important note part of our track recording guide.
Start recording a track
After you have chosen your recording profile, track recording starts. A quick glance to the upper part of the screen will give you all you may need to know about your track: how long the recording already lasts, the length of the recording track and the number of waypoints you added.
You can pause recording at any time by tapping the red button again, and continue it when you are ready. This is useful if you take a longer break or visit a landmark on the way and don’t want to record something that is not part of your planned route. Each time you continue recording after a pause, a new track segment is created. Your track can contain multiple segments, saved together in one file, later when you review your track statistics, GPX Viewer PRO lets you analyze your track segment by segment, so you can compare your speed in each part of your hike or ride. Here you can read more about how to analyze track segment by segment.
Add a waypoint during track recording
When you pass something interesting like a viewing point with beautiful panorama, a café you want to visit later, or just some place you might need to find again, simply tap the blue waypoint button on the right of the screen to add a waypoint. In the opened window add waypoint name, description, select a waypoint icon and tap OK. You can take a photo of the place or add a link to its website to keep everything important in one place.
View elevation graph during track recording
While recording a track, you can also easily take a look at your elevation data. Just tap on your track during recording, and the elevation graph will appear below the map. The graph updates in real time as you move, so you can quickly check how much elevation you have already gained.
When you reach your destination, tap the grey stop button to finish your recording. After you set your track name and description, your track with all your waypoints, speed and elevation data, will be saved on your device.
Recording your routes is more than just capturing your coordinates. Each recorded track tells the story of a journey you took, a peak you conquered, moments you shared with your hiking mates, or a hidden place you discovered. Grab your gear, open GPX Viewer PRO, and start recording your next outdoor adventure.
