What is a "Track"?

iPhone

To record a track, go to the track tab. Here you will be presented with the map and a bottom sheet. The bottom sheet gives you access to all the important controls: It allows you to change the activity, pick a route to navigate, or just show the route on the map without being guided by voice commands. There are also some additional controls such as the settings for speech output during navigation

Once you are ready to go, tap 'Start', track recording will begin as soon as your location has a good GPS signal available. To let you focus on what is most important during track recording the bottom tab bar is hidden. To unhide it simply tap on the up arrow in the bottom right corner.

To see your live elevation, expand the bottom sheet by dragging up the handle.

Tap the 'Tracking' icon shown on the bottom bar of the app to start recording. The recording itself will begin once you press "Start". Please note that your GPS signal will need to have been activated by this point. You can find out more about determining your current location and aligning your map view . 

It is possible whilst recording to continue to display the interactive altitude profile which gives you your current altitude, the time you have spent moving and your current and average speeds. To access this, tap on the arrow under the upper gray bar showing the distance covered, altitude and the elapsed time. Swipe left and right to switch which information is shown.

Click on "Pause" to stop the recording. You can then choose to continue recording or end it altogether. The recording will be saved in "Overview"> "Contents"> "Tracks". Or you can save it as a route, which can be edited and published later.

Tip: You can also zoom in on the map during recording with just one finger. To do so, tap the map twice in quick succession. If you swipe upwards directly afterward, the map zooms out. If you swipe down after the double tap, the map zooms in. Practical!

If you are using an iPhone (Android coming soon), you can see different statistics while you record your track based on the defaults set with the activity type, or you can customize the displayed statistics to match your needs.

Customizing is done by opening the three-dot menu from the bottom sheet:

•  Press Customize your track data in the three-dot menu
•  You will see a modal showing 5 boxes representing the position of selected statistics on the bottom sheet during the recording
•  Tap the box you wish to change the statistics for
•  A list of possible statistics will be shown below
•  You can change any or all of the five displayed statistics
•  Press 'close' and you are all set

Various data are compiled while recording your track, which can then be viewed under the statistics section. The main considerations are the duration and distance of your recording as well as speed and altitude changes. The following is captured and displayed:

• Route
• Duration
• Ascent
• Descent
• Speed

The statistics feature shows you more specific values relating to your speed and altitude changes.

Speed:

• Your average speed
• Your maximum speed
• Your average speed uphill
• Your average speed downhill

Elevation profile:

• The highest point
• The lowest point
• The route going uphill
• The route going downhill

Started your recording too early or left it running by accident? No problem! You can easily crop the beginning and end of the track. This function can be found in the app as well as on the web version by clicking on "Edit track" followed by "Crop track". A slider then appears that allows you to move the start and end points. Any changes you make will also be reflected in the number of kilometers and the track's time.  

Your cropped track will be displayed once saved. You can always return to how it was before if you cropped incorrectly or simply want to go back to the original recording.

Existing routes can be used as a template when tracking, with the route shown on the map at the same time as you are creating your track. 

To do this, go to the route's detail page. Select "More" from the menu bar then "As template". This function also works with plans or tracks.

iPhone

Existing routes can be shown on the map when tracking, without navigating them.

During track recording, simply open the three-dot menu from the bottom sheet, "select a route to navigate", pick your route and choose "Show on map when tracking".

• Check in the settings whether location detection has been allowed.
  • iOS: "Settings" ⇒ "General" ⇒ "Location Services and under "Settings" ⇒ "Outdooractive" ⇒ "Location"
  • Android: "Settings" ⇒ "Privacy & Security" ⇒ "Location" and under "Settings" ⇒ "Apps" ⇒ "Outdooractive" ⇒ "Permissions"
• iOS: To record tracks, the app must be allowed to update the background ("Settings" ⇒ "General" ⇒ "Background update").
• Android: Check in the location settings of your smartphone whether "High accuracy" is selected.
• Any type of battery-saving feature on your device should always be deactivated. Battery-saving features can severely interrupt the GPS signal. A common symptom of your device saving battery is straight lines in a track recording. The app will connect that last GPS location with the current GPS location using a straight line. This usually means that when the screen went to sleep your device stopped receiving GPS signals meaning the app cannot function correctly. 
• Dropouts can naturally occur whenever the GPS signal is weak. It is best to check regularly whether the reception is good and not to stow your smartphone too deep in your backpack.
• If you are using an Android device and a recording contains straight lines that lead away from the route, please check 'general settings'⇒ 'Location'⇒ 'Advanced settings'⇒ 'Wi-fi Scanning'. This should be activated to allow for optimal performance from the app. 

The only way to currently create a track on Outdooractive is to use the app. When creating a route, the geometry of the track is copied and the original track is retained.

If you import a GPX track from another device, it will always be saved as a "Plan", which can also be expanded into a full route.