PDF Maps Support

PDF Maps is a fast and powerful geospatial PDF reader for your Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. It renders maps quickly and features intuitive multi-touch gestures for easy navigation. With PDF Maps, you can download and open saved maps, pan, zoom, use GPS to locate yourself on the map, drop multiple placemarks, add attribute data, and measure area and distance. There is even support to open up GeoTIFF images. The easiest way to get maps is to download them directly from the Avenza Map Store.

With the release of Adobe Acrobat 9 and Adobe Reader 9 a new geospatial feature set was introduced to the Adobe PDF specification. Geospatial PDF files are PDF documents that contain geospatial information such as real world location and/or GIS attributes. Geospatial PDF documents can be created in some GIS applications such as ArcGIS and Mapinfo and from within Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop with the aid of the MAPublisher and Geographic Imager plugins, respectively. The geospatial data contained in a geospatial PDF document may be accessed and used (for example to locate a specific point or measure distances) without the aid of any additional plugins, using tools found natively within Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9.

The Avenza Map Store contains spatially referenced maps from around the world including USGS and Canadian Topographic maps. The Avenza Map Store can be accessed directly through the app where in-app purchases can be made. Maps can be downloaded for free as well. See more info about the Avenza Map Store.

Register as an Avenza Map Store vendor here. After approval, you will be able to upload your maps, enter descriptions and sales information, and publish them live to the store. Join hundreds of other map publishers to sell digital maps now. See more info about the Avenza Map Store.

Yes! You can create your own geospatial PDF maps and GeoTIFF files and load them into the app using several methods. 1. Use the iTunes File Sharing feature to load maps from your computer; 2. Load maps from the Avenza Online Maps Library; and 3. Load maps from a network/server.

Every map varies in how it is created. For best results, use GeoTIFF or geospatial PDF documents that have been optimized. Also, large maps require more processing and it is recommended to use PDF Maps on iPhone 3GS or better, 3rd generation iPod Touch or better, or iPad because of their faster hardware specs.

The geospatial PDF must be properly and accurately georeferenced and comply with the Adobe Acrobat PDF 1.7 specification (such as maps produced using MAPublisher or ArcGIS). Also, in Adobe Acrobat, use Advanced > PDF Optimizer to create a balance of small file size and good quality. Large rasters in the map could increase file size significantly, so try to use optimized/compressed images and only when necessary.

Yes! Maps are stored on the device and can be used offline. This is a great feature for travelers who wish to load up maps before they travel outside of their home network coverage area - no roaming data charges! It works great with using an iOS device that has GPS built-in.

We've developed a "pdfmaps" URL scheme that lets you open PDF Maps on your website. This pdfmaps scheme also has several parameters where you can customize how a PDF Map opens. See this thread on the Avenza User Forum for more information.

The following is a list of supported gestures and what they perform:

• Single tap and drag: pan the map
• Single tap and flick: pan the map quickly
• Single tap: hide all placemark labels
• Single tap and hold: pick up a placemark, drag to reposition
• Double tap: zoom-in and centers
• Two-finger double tap: zoom-out and centers
• Expand: Zoom-in
• Pinch: Zoom-out

First, tap the Maps button to show the list of maps. Perform a left-to-right swipe on a map in the list, then tap Delete. Alternatively, tap Edit, tap the red and white Delete icon, then tap Delete. The map can also be deleted in the map preferences.

Tap the Maps button, tap Edit, then tap a map in the list. In the map preferences window, you can change the map title, read its description or delete the map. Tap Advanced Options to view detailed map information, set a password, clear cached data, and render the map in high resolution.

Tap the Maps button, tap Edit, then tap a map in the list. In the map details window, tap Advanced Options > Clear Cached Data For This Map. This will cause the map to be processed and tiled again the next time it is opened.

This Apple iOS SDK used to create PDF Maps only supports Adobe Acrobat 7 or lower file encryption. Any PDF encrypted using a higher version will not be read properly.

Tap the GPS button to use the built-in GPS (iPhone and iPad Wi-Fi + 3G) to view your location in real-time. This only works if you are physically within the geographic extents of the map that you are viewing. The status Not on map appears if you are not within the extents of the map.

Assuming that you are within the geographic extents of the map, tap the GPS button to locate yourself, then tap the Drop Placemark button. Placemarks are also known as pins (used interchangeably).

First, tap the Map Tools button, then tap Add Placemarks. A crosshair in the middle of the screen identifies where the placemark will be added. Pan the map and simply tap the Drop Placemark button to drop a placemark (pin). Tap the Done button to exit out of the Add Placemark mode.

Tap a placemark to show its label. Then tap the round, white and blue arrow to open the Edit Placemark window. In the top-left corner, tap the Change preview and select a different pin colour.

Tap a placemark to show its label. Then tap the round, white and blue arrow to open the Placemark window. Tap Add Attribute and type a new field name. Enter a value for the new field. Attributes and fields may be edited at any time.

Tap a placemark to show its label. Then tap the round, white and blue arrow to open the Placemark window. Tap Description and type into the text area. Descriptions or notes can be used to record information that does not belong in the attributes.

Tap a placemark to show its label. Then tap the round, white and blue arrow to open the Placemark window. Tap Photos and tap the + sign to add a photo. Photos can be added from your Photo Library.

Tap the Map Tools button. Then tap Add Placemarks. This tool allows you to pan the map to view the coordinates centered on the target. By default, the latitude and longitude coordinates are listed. Tap the coordinates to change the display format to WGS84, Northing/Easting, or Military Grid Reference System (MGRS)/United States National Grid (USNG).

Tap a placemark to show its label. Then tap the round, white and blue arrow to open the Placemark window. The coordinates (latitude and longitude) are listed in the Location field. Tap the Location field and then tap the Latitude or Longitude fields to edit the coordinates. Tap Open in Maps to open the current map extents in the Maps app.

Tap the Placemarks button. In the Placemarks list screen, tap the Export buton, choose a file type (KML, CSV or GPX), choose an export location (iTunes, Mail or Dropbox), then tap Export. Only export visible placemarks is on by default.

To REMOVE ALL PLACEMARKS: Tap the Placemarks button. In the Placemarks list screen, swipe left-to-right on a placemark folder and tap Delete. Alternatively, tap Edit, then tap the check icon to select which folder should be deleted, and tap the garbage bin button at the bottom.

To REMOVE INDIVIDUAL PLACEMARKS: Tap the Placemarks button. In the Placemarks list screen, tap a folder to view the placemarks inside. Tap Edit, then tap the check icon to select which placemarks should be deleted, and tap the garbage bin button at the bottom.

To HIDE ALL PLACEMARKS in a folder: Tap the Placemarks button. In the Placemarks list screen, simply tap the eye icon beside the folder.

To HIDE INDIVIDUAL PLACEMARKS: Tap the Placemarks button. In the Placemarks list screen, tap a folder to view the placemarks inside. Simply tap the eye icon beside the placemark.

Simply tap anywhere on the map once that's not a label and the placemark labels will hide.

Tap the Map Tools button, then tap Measure. Tap the Measure Area/Distance icon to toggle between the respective mode. Tap anywhere on the map to set the initial measurement point, then tap other positions on the map. The measurement updates as more points are added. Tap Undo to remove the last point set.

In the Measure Distance or Measure Area mode, tap the measurement value near the top of the screen. In the Units window, select a new unit. For Distance, tap + to add a new custom unit.

Tap the Map Tools button, then tap Compass. In Compass mode, a floating compass orients towards north (red tip) and rotates the map as you turn. During this mode, you can not zoom in or out, and no placemarks can be accessed or placed.

Open a map and tap the "i" or Info icon at the top right of the display. Tap Advanced Options > Render Map in High Resolution button. Note that this process may take several minutes (depending on the size of the original map) and will increase the amount of storage used on your device.

Tap the Map Tools button, then tap Find Places. In the search screen, type an address or point of interest that you are looking for then tap Search. If places are found, placemarks are dropped at each location. The number of search results appears at the bottom of the screen. Use the left and right buttons to go to the next search result. To exit this Find Places mode, tap Done. You will have the option to save the search placemarks to a folder.

Tap the Map Tools button, then tap Import KML File. In the Import KML screen, use the options to choose to import the file from iTunes, Dropbox, or from the Web. Upon import, placemarks are added for each location specified in the KML file. Up to 500 placemarks can be imported in a map.