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(Mostly) Complete guide to using HowFar for activity mapping

Table of Contents

Mapping Functionality

Create a route by clicking on the map. As you click, the most efficient route between your selected points will be calculated and automatically drawn onto the map. Turn off "Auto Follow Roads" or right click at any time to route a straight line between your points instead. This is useful when your route does not follow established roads or paths, for example when it goes through an open field, off trail in the wilderness, or hops a curb from a road to a path.

Auto follow roads routing
Auto follow roads routing
Straight line routing
Straight line routing

As you map, your routes distance and estimated elevation gain and loss are updated and displayed at the top of the side bar. Adding, moving or deleting points will update these values, and clearing your route will reset all values to 0.

Note: Distances are very accurate, but elevation gain and loss are rough estimates and should not be trusted for official use
Displayed distance and estimated elevation change
Displayed distance and estimated elevation change

And don't forget you can undo any actions at any time, as well as clear your route or turn it into an out and back.

Add Waypoints in Line Segments

Enabling the "Edit lines on click" will allow you to edit existing line segments within your route. When disabled (which is the default) clicking on a part of your route will simply add a new waypoint to the end of beginning of the route (depending on the "Add new points to beginning/end" option). But when this setting is enabled, hovering the mouse over a line will reveal a gray "add new" waypoint. Clicking on the line will add a waypoint at that point in the middle of the line, allowing it to be dragged/edited.

Hovering the mouse over a line reveals the add new waypoint in line marker
Hovering the mouse over a line reveals the "add new waypoint in line" marker. Click to add a new waypoint at that point on your route and split the line in two
After the point has been added, it can be moved, editing that section of your route in place
After the point has been added, it can be moved, editing that section of your route in place

Edit Route Between Points

If you need to edit a section in the middle of your route, rather than adding points in-line and dragging them around, you can use the edit feature to select 2 points and completely redraw the section between them. To begin, click the "Edit" button in the sidebar.

Selecting points to edit route between
Once you have started an edit, click on the 2 points between which you want to edit. The points will start to glow when they are selected. Re-click a point to deselect it. Click "Begin" to move to the next phase of editing. (You cannot select the start or finish waypoints for edit. If you need to edit the beginning or end of your route, simply delete the desired point(s), set "Add new points to" to "Beginning" or "End", and draw route normally.)
After clicking begin to edit route
Once you "Begin", you will see the section of route between your points turn gray. During this phase you can redraw the route the same as you would normally. Most HowFar features are available and work as expected. Note that you cannot edit the rest of your route during this phase, and you will actually see your other waypoints disappear.
Redrawing route section
Redraw your route section like normal. You will see the glowing point move with each added point. The other glowing point will not move (think of it as your finish-line).
New distance while redrawing
As you reroute, your new distance and elevation gain/loss are displayed in green in the sidebar. These reflect the non-edited portions of your route + what you have redrawn so far.
Finishing route edit
To finish, click on the other glowing point. If you are happy with the final new distance and elevation gain/loss, click "Finish". If you are not, you can "Undo" your last point placement and keep editing.

Map Types

HowFar has multiple map types.

Standard streets view map
Standard streets view map
Outdoors map
Outdoors map. Recommended for mapping trail runs, hikes and mountain bike rides as it makes viewing trails a much nicer experience
Satellite map
Satellite map
Dark theme map
Dark theme map

Pins

You can place helper pins on your map to help you visually when routing. These points are separate from your route and will in no way effect route legs, waypoints of distance.

Pins can be useful when you are attempting to route between specific locations, or in an area you don't know well. They can be named, and they always show up on the map. If a pin is off screen, you will see it on the edge of the map in the direction that it is located.

Tip: Click on a pin that is off screen (will be visible on the edge of the map) to move the map to its location.
Add/Remove Pins button in settings menu
Click the "Add/Remove Pins" button in the settings menu to open the pins popup.
Add/Remove Pins popup
Pins can be placed at a specific coordinate, or by clicking on the map. You can also remove all pins at once.
Add/Remove Pins popup
Pins on and off screen. Notice the pin which is off screen shows up slightly transparent on the edge of the map. Click on these pins to go to their location. Click on an on-screen pin to delete it.

Post to Strava

Clicking into the menu at the top left of the sidebar opens more settings. The first two buttons in the sidebar are "Connect with Strava" and "Post Activity". Before an activity can be posted to Strava, you must first connect using the "Connect with Strava" button. This will bring up a Strava controlled login window. Note that HowFar never sees and does not save your login info, but it does save a token safely in the browser which will prevent you from having to re-login to Strava every time you open the app. The token lasts 6 months and can be deleted by clearing your cookies.

Underneath the "Connect with Strava" button you will see your connection status. If you are connected, you will see a green check. This indicates that you have already logged in and are able to post your activity. If you see a red X, you will need to login.

The "Post Activity" button will bring up a window where you can enter information like a name, description, elapsed time, time of day and activity type. Enter all of the required fields and click "Post" to post your run to Strava.

Connect with Strava and Post Activity buttons
Connect with Strava and Post Activity buttons
Post activity to strava dialog window
Post activity to strava dialog window

Favored Surface Type Slider

This can be a confusing feature, but can also be helpful for mapping different types of activities, or for mapping in certain geographic areas. Basically, the closer the slider is to favoring "Roads", the more weight the mapping service will put on keeping your route ON roads. The closer the slider is to favoring "Walkways", the more weight the mapping service will put on keeping you OFF of roads and on sidewalks, trails, path and walkways.

Favored surface type slider
Favored surface type slider
Routing with the slider all the way toward Walkways
Routing with the slider all the way toward "Walkways". The route avoids roads and stays on paths
Routing with the slider all the way toward Roads
Routing with the slider all the way toward "Roads". The route avoids paths and stays on roads

Export Activity

Activities (routes) can be exported to GPX files for portability with other applications. To do this, click on the menu icon in the top left of the sidebar and find and click the "Export Activity" button. Then just enter a file name and click "Export".

File names can only contain letters, numbers, dashes (-), underscores (_), and periods (.)

Note: Exported routes will only contain geographic data, and not time data (i.e. the file will describe a route, not a timed activity)
Export activities by clicking the Export button
Export activities by clicking the Export button
Choose a custom filename before exporting an activity
Choose a custom filename before exporting an activity so you can easily find it later

Import Activity

Routes can be imported into HowFar from a GPX file. These GPX files can be ones that were exported from HowFar, from a watch, or any other place. As long as it is a valid GPX file it can be imported to HowFar. Once imported, routes can be edited as normal.

To import a route, click on the menu icon in the top left of the sidebar and find and click the "Import Activity" button. Then just choose a file and click "Import".

Import activities by clicking the Import button
Import activities by clicking the Import button

3D Visualization

Visualize your route from above with HowFar's 3D visualization feature. Once you've created a route, you can view it in a 3D aerial view that shows elevation profiles, terrain details, and provides a cinematic fly-through that you can either animate, or control yourself.

The 3D visualization gives you a unique perspective on your planned activities, helping you understand the elevation changes and terrain you'll encounter. This is particularly useful for trail runs, hikes, and bike rides on terrain with elevation change, but can also be used to visualize race courses or other complex routes.

3D Visualization button in the interface
View 3D visualization with the "View 3D Visualization" button in the settings menu
3D visualization page showing route in 3D
3D visualization showing your route with elevation and terrain details

To use the 3D visualization feature:

  1. Create a route by clicking on the map
  2. Open the settings menu
  3. Click "View 3D Visualization" in the Visualize section
  4. Enjoy the cinematic view of your route
Tip: The 3D visualization is especially useful for routes that have elevation changes. Try it with mountain trails or hilly routes for the most impressive results!