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Trail Planning

Laying a trail gets easier when there is a plan to follow on the map. You draw the trail, mark the waypoints, and share the link. Your runner follows it while recording, so the trail is laid exactly as you envisioned it.

With trail planning, the route is decided on the map, not in the field. You draw it with your finger and place waypoints where something should happen. Share it as a link, and your runner follows the exact route you drew while recording, rather than a description of it. You can also keep the plan to yourself and run it later, with the trail on the map to guide you. Please note that trail planning requires the Pro-Version.

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Planning a Trail

Planned trails have their own tab next to your dog and runner trails.

  1. Open your trails and switch to the Planning tab.
  2. Tap Plan a new trail.
  3. Turn on the pen and draw the trail on the map with your finger.
  4. Tap the save icon in the top right corner.
  5. Give the trail a name and save it.

While drawing you have the following tools below the map:

  • [ICON:edit] Draw the trail on the map with your finger. While the pen is on, the map itself stays still, so your drawing is not moved by accident.
  • [ICON:add_location_alt] Place waypoints with a tap.
  • [ICON:undo] Remove the section you drew last.
  • [ICON:delete] Clear everything and start over.

The current length of the trail is shown above the tools, so you can see how long the trail will be while you are still drawing it.

Waypoints you place while planning stay with the trail. Everyone who opens the trail can tap them on the map to see their name. You can learn more about waypoints here.

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Running a Planned Trail

Once a trail is planned, you can follow it while you record.

  1. Open the planned trail.
  2. Tap Run this trail.
  3. The app takes you to the recording screen with the planned trail on the map.
  4. Start your recording as usual and follow the plan.

A bar above the recording controls shows which trail you are following, together with its length. Tap the close icon there to stop following the plan and continue with a normal recording. The planned trail is only shown as a guide on the map. What gets recorded is your own dog or runner trail, exactly as without a plan.

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Sharing a Planned Trail

Sharing is what makes planning useful for training with others. You plan the trail, send the link to your runner, and they lay it exactly where you want it, without you having to explain the route beforehand.

  1. Open the planned trail you want to share.
  2. Tap the share icon in the top right corner, or the Share this trail button below the map.
  3. Confirm the sharing and wait for the link to be created.
  4. Share the link through your preferred messaging app.

Anyone with the link can view the planned trail with all of its waypoints and run it. No account is needed to look at the trail. The link stops working on its own after ten days, so a shared trail does not stay online forever.

Once the runner has recorded the trail, they can send it to you to run it. This allows you to follow the exact trail they laid. You can learn more about sharing trails here.

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Common questions

Someone shared a planned trail with me. Do I need the Pro-Version?
No. Opening a shared trail and running it does not require the Pro-Version. You only need the app and an account to record your own trail while following the plan.
The link I received does not work?
Shared links are only valid for a limited time. The link has either expired after ten days, or the trail behind it is no longer shared. Ask for a new link to see it.
Can I plan a trail on my desktop computer?
Yes, you can plan a trail on any device you wish to use. Open https://mantrailing.app in your browser to start planning on your desktop computer.
Can I change a planned trail afterwards?
You can rename it and edit its waypoints at any time from the top-right menu of the trail. The drawn route itself cannot be changed after saving. Plan it again if it no longer fits.

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Trail Planning