Fieldwalker's mobile interface is built for field work — observation, data collection, and walking contour lines on the land. It's a different tool from the desktop editor, designed for what you need when you're standing on the property with your phone.
Design work (placing swales, zones, garden beds, fences) stays on desktop or tablet, where you have the screen space and precision to do it well. The phone is for observation, recording, and navigation.
Mobile and field work
On a phone, Fieldwalker switches to a mobile interface built for field data collection.
The design toolbar is hidden — design work stays on desktop/tablet — but you can view your map, toggle layers, and generate contours.
Most importantly, use the field tools:
- Field walk (live GPS navigation on your property map),
- Contour walk (walk contour lines),
- Observations (notes and photos on pins),
- and Offline mode (download your map for field use with no signal).
The mobile interface
On a phone, the editor uses a bottom dock and slide-up panels instead of the desktop's side panel and toolbar. The dock has no text labels except the centre tool pill, which shows the active tool's name (Pan, Select, Measure, Elevation, or Centre). In Field walk or Contour walk, the pill shows the mode name instead and switches between the two.
Open the Menu to reach everything else. Its rows are: Map, Pins, Layers, Contours, Offline, Contour walk, Field walk, Export, and Settings. Panels slide up from the bottom as sheets, designed for thumb-on-screen use.
Observation pins
Pins are location markers you place on the map to record observations. Each pin has a reference number and can hold multiple observations over time.
Dropping a pin: Activate the pin tool, then tap the map where you want the pin. The tool stays armed and a faint “ghost” pin follows your finger until you place it, so you can see where it will land. A small card then opens with a reference number and a Name this pin… field — give it a name and a note, and Save.
Or, in Field walk, tap + to drop a pin at your exact GPS position.
Writing observations: Each observation has a text note and optional photos (up to five per note).
Snap from your camera or choose from your library. When editing an existing note you can add or remove photos, then Save changes. Observations are timestamped, so you can build a seasonal record of a location.
Finding and sorting pins: The Pins sheet lists every pin with a count (e.g. “7 pins”) and sort tabs — A–Z, Z–A, Recent, Oldest. Tap the crosshair on a pin to centre the map on it without opening it. Unnamed pins show as Untitled and sort to the end.
Desktop continuity: The same pin and observation system is available on desktop via the Pins tab. Notes and photos sync between devices.
Field walk
Field walk turns your property map into a live GPS view. Nothing opens over the top: the map you already know follows you as you move.
Field walk is great for helping you translate your map ideas back onto the land - where to put that tree, or make that swale. It’s also great for adding points to your design based on your physical location - here is where I want that tree.
From the mobile editor, tap Menu → Field walk. The map must be georeferenced; if it isn't you'll see This map isn't georeferenced yet — set control points first on the desktop.
What you see: Your position is a teal dot with an accuracy ring and, once the compass is on, a cone showing which way you're facing. A strip across the top shows what the map can't: GPS accuracy, elevation, heading and your nearest pin — for example ±5 m gps · 412 m elev · 312° NW heading · 02 · 17 m SW nearest. The map stays north-up. A Field walk chip sits top-left; tap its × to leave.
Navigate to a pin: Tap any pin on the map. A small card shows its number, name and where it is from you (42 m E of you · 3 notes · last 1 Sep), with Navigate and Open pin. Tap Navigate and an arrow appears on your dot pointing the way, the strip shows the distance and direction, and the screen edge glows teal when you're heading straight for it, orange if you're drifting, red if you're well off. At about 3 m it says You're here. Tap × on the strip to stop. You can also navigate to a spot with no pin — just tap the map there.
You can also start from the Pins sheet: open a pin and tap Navigate to pin.
Drop a pin where you stand: Tap + in the bottom dock. The pin lands at your GPS position and its card opens so you can name it. If the map's georeferencing looks wrong, Field walk refuses rather than saving a bad location.
Compass: On iPhone, tap Turn on compass when the prompt appears. If you decline, the arrow still points correctly relative to north; the strip says Compass off — arrow is relative to north.
Panning: If you pan away, the map stops following you. Tap the GPS cell in the strip, or the re-centre button next to the ×, to snap back to your position.
Offline pin queue: Pins dropped without reception are queued and shown with a dashed outline. A notice reads 2 pins waiting to sync — will upload when you're back online. They upload automatically when you reconnect.
Contour walk
Contour walk guides you along a line of constant elevation — for marking out swales, dam walls, or any earthwork that must stay level. It runs on the same map as Field walk.
It’s also great for getting a feel for what’s at the same elevation as another point on the land.
Getting there: Tap Menu → Contour walk, or, if you're already in Field walk, tap the Field walk pill in the dock and choose Contour walk. The map must be downloaded for offline use first (Menu → Offline). If it isn't, a Map not downloaded card tells you so.
Set your target: Tap Lock my height (412 m) to follow the contour you're standing on, or tap anywhere on the map to target the elevation at that spot. The target contour is highlighted orange on the map.
Follow the line: The arrow on your dot shows which way to walk. The strip reads on the line, drifting off or off the line in teal, orange or red, with how far above or below the target you are (0.4 m above) and roughly how far to the line (~6 m). A short sound plays when the state changes. On flat ground it says Flat here — walk toward a slope. Tap × to clear the target.
Record your walk: Tap Start walk. Your track draws on the map as you go and the button becomes End & save (n), counting points. End & save puts the walked line on your map as a real, editable line you'll see in the desktop editor. It works offline and syncs later.
If saving fails you'll see Couldn't save the walked line — it's kept to resume, and the walk keeps recording. If you leave with a walk running you're asked End & save the walk before leaving? Reopen the app mid-walk and it offers to Resume the walked line in progress.
Elevation data quality: If the map's elevation data is coarse (15 m or worse), an amber notice warns that guidance will be approximate and suggests switching the map to Sourced LiDAR or uploading a DEM.
Phone GPS also varies with tree cover and sky view, so you could be a few metres off the line at times. The strip shows your current accuracy so you can judge.
Offline mode (beta)
From the mobile editor, tap Menu → Offline. Use Download for offline to cache the map's aerial image, elevation data, contour lines, and existing pins; a status chip shows whether the map is Ready offline, Partially downloaded, or Not available offline. Clear offline data removes the cached copy when you no longer need it.
Everything in the field toolkit works offline: Field walk, Contour walk, map viewing, pin observations. While offline, field mode shows a small Offline — pins will sync when you're back online pill under the strip. When you reconnect, offline pins upload automatically, walked contour lines sync, and observation notes and photos upload.
Some caveats you need to know about offline mode
Fieldwalker is a mobile web app running in your browser. We save your data in the browser’s memory and sync it to the server when the web app returns to a coverage area.
Note that offline mode is still in development. It works but there is room for improvement. We’ll be working on this later this year.
If you switch from the browser while walking and start using other apps, there is a chance the browser will be cleared from your mobile device’s active memory, and the yet to be saved changes might be lost.
So use the offline mode carefully, and look for our fully native app version coming later in the year.
Tips for field work
Before you head out: Download your map for offline use while you're still on wifi. Check that your phone's GPS is enabled.
GPS accuracy: In open paddock with clear sky, phone GPS is typically within 2–5 metres. In heavy tree cover or near buildings, accuracy drops. The strip at the top of the map shows your current accuracy, and the ring around your dot grows to match.
Battery: GPS tracking and screen-on use drain battery faster than normal. Bring a portable charger for extended field sessions.
Combine the tools: Walk and record a swale line in Contour walk, then switch to Field walk from the dock pill — without leaving the map — and drop pins at key points along it.