Transportation means¶
To plan or generate a route you need to set the means of transportation. You can find the transportation means button in the bottom of the plan or route generation screen, or below the plan button in the point details screen. On the button the currently used transportation means is shown. Next to the transportation means button a settings button is displayed. This settings button can be used to fine-tune the behavior of a transportation means. Note that enabling any of the possible settings can increase the duration and/or length of the route.
It is possible to mix the transportation means when planning a route. One can for example start with pedestrian, then plan a part with “Crow fly” and then plan with “Bicycle”.
For planning a route or generating a route you can choose between the following transportation means: Walking, Bicycle, Racing bike, Mountainbike, Horse, Motorcycle, Car, Car (avoid highways), and Crow fly.
Walking¶
The walking transportation means in Topo GPS should be used for manual route planning and automatic route generation. When this profile is selected, the route calculation will respect roads and trails suitable for pedestrians. An active internet connection is necessary.
When planning a Walking route, you can adjust the following settings to customize your path:
Prefer more scenic roads: Chooses nicer environments when possible.
Prefer paved roads: Favors paved surfaces and avoids unpaved trails.
Prefer unpaved roads: Favors dirt or gravel trails and avoids paved roads.
Prefer curved roads: Favors paths with more curves.
Prefer rural areas: Routes through nature or countryside, avoiding cities.
Prefer urban areas: Routes through towns or cities, avoiding the countryside.
Avoid cycle roads: Avoids paths that must be shared with bicyclists.
Avoid hills: Seeks out flat terrain.
Avoid stairs: Prevents routes that require climbing steps.
Avoid ferries: Prevents routes requiring water crossings (useful if ferries are not running).
Avoid tunnels: Keeps the route above ground. Avoids even short tunnels.
Bicycle¶
The bicycle transportation means should be used for planning and generating a bicycle route. The route will respect roads suitable for bicycles. An internet connection is necessary. In the settings you can set the following options:
Prefer more scenic roads: It will choose nicer roads when possible.
Prefer bicycle roads: It will prefer bicycle roads if possible.
Prefer paved roads: It will try to use paved roads and avoid the unpaved roads.
Prefer unpaved roads: It will try to use the unpaved roads, and avoid the paved roads.
Prefer curved roads: It will prefer roads with curves.
Prefer rural areas: It will prefer rural areas if possible, and tries to avoid urban areas.
Prefer urban areas: It will prefer urban areas if possible, and tries to avoid rural areas.
Avoid hills: It will prefer flat train.
Avoid stairs: It will avoid stairs.
Avoid ferries: It will avoid ferries. This might be useful if you want to avoid the risk of not able to cross a water because the ferry is not running.
Avoid tunnels: It will avoid tunnels. Might be useful if you do not prefer to walk through tunnels.
Racing bike¶
The racing bike transportation means should be used for planning and generating a route for the racing bike. The route will respect roads suitable for fast bicycles. An internet connection is necessary. In the settings you can set the following options:
Prefer curved roads: It will prefer roads with curves.
Prefer rural areas: It will prefer rural areas if possible, and tries to avoid urban areas.
Prefer urban areas: It will prefer urban areas if possible, and tries to avoid rural areas.
Avoid cycle roads: It will avoid the roads specially designated for bicycles. This might be useful if you want to avoid the slower moving bicycles.
Avoid hills: It will prefer flat train.
Avoid stairs: It will avoid stairs.
Avoid ferries: It will avoid ferries. This might be useful if you want to avoid the risk of not able to cross a water because the ferry is not running.
Avoid tunnels: It will avoid tunnels. Might be useful if you do not prefer to walk through tunnels.
Mountainbike¶
The mountainbike transporation means should be used for planning a route for mountainbike (MTB). The route will try to take specially designated mtb paths if possible. An internet connection is necessary. Note that you should always verify if mountainbiking is allowed on the planned trail, especially in nature areas. Sometimes a special permit is necessary. In the settings you can set the following options:
Avoid ferries: It will avoid ferries.
Horse¶
The horse transportation means should be used for planning and generating a horse riding route. It is a new possibility and might not be optimal. It will prefer bridleways (but only those which are not forbidden for pedestrians). It will avoid specially designated bicycle roads, since in most countries they are forbidden for horses. An internet connection is necessary. In the settings you can set the following options:
Prefer paved roads: It will try to use paved roads and avoid the unpaved roads.
Prefer unpaved roads: It will try to use the unpaved roads, and avoid the paved roads.
Avoid ferries: It will avoid ferries. This might be useful if you want to avoid the risk of not able to cross a water because the ferry is not running.
Avoid tunnels: It will avoid tunnels. Might be useful if you do not prefer to walk through tunnels.
Car¶
The car transportation means should be used if planning a route by car. It will in principle give you the fastest route possible. An internet connection is necessary. In the settings you can set the following options:
Avoid ferries: It will avoid ferries. This might be useful if you want to avoid the risk of not able to cross a water because the ferry is not running.
Avoid toll: It will avoid toll roads.
Avoid tunnels: It will avoid tunnels.
Car (avoid primary roads)¶
The car (avoid primary roads) transportation means is useful if you want to plan a scenic car route. It will automatically avoid all motorways and high speed primary roads. An internet connection is necessary. In the settings you can set the following options:
Prefer curved roads: It will prefer roads with curves.
Prefer unpaved roads: It will try to use the unpaved roads, and avoid the paved roads.
Prefer rural areas: It will prefer rural areas if possible, and tries to avoid urban areas.
Prefer urban areas: It will prefer urban areas if possible, and tries to avoid rural areas.
Avoid secondary roads: It will also avoid the secondary roads, leading to a longer trip over smaller roads.
Avoid ferries: It will avoid ferries. This might be useful if you want to avoid the risk of not able to cross a water because the ferry is not running.
Avoid toll: It will avoid toll roads.
Avoid tunnels: It will avoid tunnels.
Motorcycle¶
The motorcycle transportation means is useful for planning or generating a motorcycle trip. An internet connection is necessary. In the settings you can set the following options:
Prefer curved roads: It will prefer roads with curves. That might give a more enjoyable trip.
Prefer unpaved roads: It will try to use the unpaved roads, and avoid the paved roads.
Prefer rural areas: It will prefer rural areas if possible, and tries to avoid urban areas.
Prefer urban areas: It will prefer urban areas if possible, and tries to avoid rural areas.
Avoid motorways: It will avoid the motorways. Useful if you want to make a scenic tour.
Avoid primary roads: It will avoid the primary roads.
Avoid secondary roads: It will also avoid the secondary roads, leading to a longer trip over smaller roads.
Avoid ferries: It will avoid ferries. This might be useful if you want to avoid the risk of not able to cross a water because the ferry is not running.
Avoid toll: It will avoid toll roads.
Avoid tunnels: It will avoid tunnels.
Crow fly¶
The crow fly transportation means can be used to plan the shortest path between points. If the distance is small, it will be a straight line. An internet connection is not necessary. Using the crow fly it is possible to plan any route, even one that does not respect the roads. If you have purchased the height extension, also a height profile will be generated in specific countries. There are no possible fine-tune settings for the crow fly transportation means.
Other transportation means¶
If you have bought any of the layers, e.g. Walking nodes, Bicycle nodes, Mountainbike routes, or Long distance bicycle trails, you can also use them as a transportation means. Then you can plan a route in this layer without using an internet connection.