Topo Maps 2 :: Downloading Maps

Topo Maps 2 is an offline map viewer; that is, you need to explicitly download the maps that you want before you can view them. Once you have downloaded them they will remain on your device until you explicitly delete them, and no internet connection is required to view them.

To download detailed maps (or imagery):

Locate your area of interest, using the built-in maps or perhaps the app’s search button.

Decide whether you want to download topographic maps, imagery or both. Select the appropriate Map Mode, i.e. tap

then

Map Mode

and select Topo, Imagery or Hybrid from the menu.

Tap

Maps

to open the Maps screen.

Tap

Download

at the top of the screen, if necessary.

Note the list of map types. This will have been set according to your map mode, i.e. in Topo map mode, most of the topographic map types will be selected. See below for more about this.

Note the yellow map grid. (If you don’t see any yellow grid, either you’re zoomed out too far, or possibly zoomed in too far, or maybe you’re looking at somewhere outside North America.)

Select the map(s) that you want to download. You can select individual maps by tapping on their grid squares, or you can select blocks of maps by doing a long-touch and then sweeping out an area.

Scroll the Maps screen to the bottom, and tap the blue

Download

button.

As the maps download, note the progress bar at the bottom of the screen (with a

Cancel

button) and the diagonal animation effect on the map.

Close the map screen.

Zoom in to view your maps.

More about the Map Types list

Sometimes you will want to change the selected map types in the map type list. Specifically:

In “Topo” and “Hybrid” map modes, by default traditional USGS topos are selected. If you want to download US Topo maps or Forest Service maps instead, turn off the traditional topo types and turn on the alternative that you want. (If you turn on more than one type of map they will all be downloaded - but you will only see the traditional topos, unless you use a custom map mode to prioritize something else.)
In areas on the US/Canada border where maps overlap, you may want to turn off either the US maps or the Canadian maps in order to be able to select what you want.
In Alaska, in some areas both 1:24,000 and 1:63,360 maps are available; you may want to turn off one or other scale in order to be able to select what you want.
In Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, currently both 2.5m and 10m imagery are available; you should turn off one or the other in order to be able to select what you want.

Downloaded Map Statistics

The bottom section of the Map screen shows statistics about the maps that you have downloaded; for each map type, the number of maps and the amount of storage used is shown.