Trail Editor — User Guide

1 Signing in

Visit the Trail Editor address provided by your administrator. You will see a sign-in screen asking for your username and password.

Enter your username and passwordThese are provided by your group administrator. Usernames are not case-sensitive but passwords are.

Click Sign InYou will be taken straight to the map editor, showing the last trail you were working on.

Tip: If you forget your password, contact your administrator — they can reset it from the admin panel.

2 Working with trails

A trail is a collection of points of interest on the map. Your group can have as many trails as you like — for example, a Churches trail, a Pubs trail, a Canal trail, and so on.

Opening the My Trails panel

Click the ☰ My Trails button in the top bar. A panel slides in from the left showing all your group's trails.

Creating a new trail

Open My TrailsClick the My Trails button in the header.

Type a trail nameEnter a descriptive name in the box at the bottom, for example Deanshanger Churches.

Click Create New TrailThe trail is created and opens immediately in the editor, ready for you to add points.

Switching between trails

Open My Trails and click any trail in the list to switch to it. The map will load that trail's points.

Renaming a trail

Open My Trails, click the pencil ✎ icon next to the trail name, type the new name and click Save.

Importing a GeoJSON file

If you have an existing trail in GeoJSON format (for example exported from uMap), you can import it directly. Open My Trails, click Import GeoJSON into new trail, choose your file, and give the trail a name. All points will be imported automatically.

Exporting a trail

Click the ↓ Export button in the header. You will be asked for a filename — the trail name is pre-filled. Click OK and a .geojson file will download to your computer.

Note: Deleting a trail removes all its points permanently. This cannot be undone.

3 Adding points to the map

Each location on your trail is a point. Points appear as numbered pins on the map.

Finding the right location first

Use the search bar at the top of the left panel to navigate the map to the right area before placing a point. Type a place name, street, or postcode and press Enter or click the search icon. Click a result to jump the map there.

Placing a point

Click Add PointThe button is at the top of the points list. The map cursor changes to a crosshair.

Click on the mapClick the exact location where you want to place the point. A pin appears and the Edit Point form opens automatically.

Fill in the details and click Save PointSee the next section for what each field means.

Fine-tuning pin position

You can drag any pin to a new position at any time — just click and hold the pin and drag it. The coordinates in the form update automatically. You can also type coordinates directly into the Latitude and Longitude fields.

Tip: Switch to the Satellite basemap (bottom-right of the map) to place pins on exact building locations using aerial imagery.

4 Editing point details

Click any pin on the map or any item in the points list to open the Edit Point form.

Field	What to enter
Name *	The name of the location as it will appear in the trail app. Keep it short and clear, for example Holy Trinity Church. This field is required.
Description	A brief description of the location's history or significance. This appears in the slide-up panel when a visitor taps the pin.
Web URL	A link to a webpage with more information, for example a Wikipedia page or your group's website. Must start with https://
Latitude / Longitude	Set automatically when you place or drag a pin. You can type coordinates here if you know them precisely.
Photos	Filenames or web addresses of photos. See the Media section below.
Video	Filename or web address of a video file.
Audio	Filename or web address of an audio guide. See the Media section below.

Always click ✓ Save Point after making changes. The trail saves to the server automatically a moment after you save a point.

Reordering points

The order of points in the list is the order they appear in Route mode in the trail app. To reorder, drag the ⁞ grip handle on the left of any point in the list up or down to the position you want.

Deleting a point

Hover over a point in the list and click the red bin icon that appears, or open the point and click Delete at the bottom of the form. You will be asked to confirm.

5 Adding photos and audio

📷

Photos

Multiple photos per point, shown as a swipeable carousel

🎧

Audio

One audio guide per point, played in the app with a progress bar

🎥

Video

One video per point, linked by filename or URL

Using filenames

If your photos and audio files are stored on the server in the uploads folder, just type the filename into the field. The editor will automatically add the correct folder path:

Type church.jpg → stored as images/church.jpg
Type church-guide.mp3 → stored as audio/church-guide.mp3

Using web addresses (URLs)

You can also link to images or audio files hosted elsewhere on the web. Paste the full address starting with https:// into the field. The editor will leave these unchanged.

Adding multiple photos

Click + Add photo to add another photo field. Each field holds one photo. You can add as many as you like. Photos appear as a swipeable carousel in the trail app.

Tip: To remove a photo field, click the ✕ button to the right of it.

Where to put your files

Media files need to be uploaded to the server before they will appear in the trail app. Ask your administrator to upload files to the correct folder for your group:

Photos go in uploads/dvhs/images/
Audio goes in uploads/dvhs/audio/

6 Map tools

Navigate vs Add Point mode

The toolbar at the top centre of the map has two modes:

Navigate — the normal mode. Click and drag the map to pan around.
Add Point — the cursor becomes a crosshair. Click anywhere on the map to place a new point. The editor switches back to Navigate mode automatically after placing a point.

Basemap switcher

The bottom-right corner of the map has three basemap options:

Street — OpenStreetMap. Good for general navigation.
Satellite — Aerial imagery. Useful for placing pins precisely on buildings or features.
Topo — Topographic map. Useful for rural trails with landscape features.

Address search

Type any address, place name, or postcode into the search box above the points list and press Enter. Click a result to jump the map to that location. The map does not place a point automatically — switch to Add Point mode first if you want to place one there.

7 Saving your work

The editor saves your trail to the server automatically. Here is how it works:

Click Save Point after editing a pointThis saves the point's details. A brief green Saved bar appears at the top of the page confirming the trail has been sent to the server.

Dragging a pin also saves automaticallyAfter you finish dragging, the new position saves to the server within a couple of seconds.

Reordering points also saves automaticallyAfter you drag a point to a new position in the list, the new order saves automatically.

Important: Always click Save Point before switching to a different point or closing the browser. If you see the orange ● Unsaved indicator next to the point name, your changes have not been saved yet.

Tip: Your trail is stored on the server — you can close the browser and come back later, on any device, and your work will still be there.

8 Tips and best practice

Writing good point descriptions

Keep descriptions to 2–4 sentences. Visitors are reading on a phone while walking.
Focus on what makes the location interesting or historically significant.
Avoid jargon — write for a general audience including visitors and younger people.

Naming points clearly

Use the building or place name as it is known locally, for example The Beehive rather than Stop 4.
The number is added automatically by the trail app — you do not need to number them yourself.

Point order matters

In Route mode the trail app guides visitors through your points in the order they appear in the list. Arrange them in a logical walking order so visitors do not have to double back unnecessarily.

Photo tips

Landscape (horizontal) photos work best in the trail app's carousel.
Aim for photos under 1MB in file size for fast loading on mobile.
Historic archive photos work well alongside modern views of the same location.

Audio guide tips

Keep audio guides to 60–90 seconds. Visitors tend to stop walking to listen.
Record in a quiet room. Even a basic smartphone recording is fine.
Save as MP3 for broadest compatibility.
Name files clearly, for example holy-trinity-church.mp3