How to use Waypoint Navigator

1. Getting started

Open the web app in any modern browser. The first time you use it, your browser will ask for permission to access your location — this is required for the app to know where you are and calculate bearings and distances. Location data is processed entirely on your device; it is never sent to our servers.

For the best accuracy, use the app outdoors with a clear view of the sky and keep the browser tab in the foreground. On phones you can enable Screen Wake Lock in Settings so the display does not sleep while you navigate.

2. Adding a waypoint

A waypoint is simply a point you want to navigate to. There are three ways to create one:

By coordinates

Open the waypoint editor and type the latitude and longitude directly. This is ideal when you have coordinates from a map, a guidebook, or a friend.

By distance and bearing

If you know a point is, say, 500 meters away on a bearing of 120°, enter those two values and the app calculates the coordinates relative to your current position.

From a shared link or text

Use the "Import from text" option to paste a Google Maps URL or a block of text containing coordinates (including degree-minute-second formats). The app extracts the location automatically.

3. Building a route

A route is an ordered list of waypoints. To build one, add a waypoint to a route from the waypoint editor, choose an existing route or create a new one, and set its position in the sequence. When you navigate a route, the app automatically advances you through the legs and shows a progress bar of how many waypoints you have completed. You can step forward or back manually using the previous and next buttons on the navigation screen.

4. Reading the navigation screen

The Navigation tab is your primary instrument. Here is what each element means:

• Distance — straight-line distance remaining to the active waypoint.
• Speed — your current ground speed from GPS.
• VMC — velocity made good toward the course; how fast you are actually closing on the destination along the intended track.
• HDG — the direction you are currently facing or moving.
• BRG — the bearing from your position to the destination.
• Course Deviation Indicator (CDI) — the moving needle that shows how far you are to the left or right of the straight line between your last point and your destination. Keep it centered to stay on course.
• Off Course / To Course — the cross-track distance you have drifted, and the correction needed to get back on the line.

Use the CDI scale buttons to zoom the sensitivity in or out: a tighter scale (a few meters) is great for precise final approaches, while a wider scale is better for long legs.

5. Choosing your units and heading source

In Settings you can set distance units (meters, feet, yards, kilometers, miles, or nautical miles) and speed units (km/h, mph, or knots). You can also choose your heading source:

• GNSS only — heading comes from GPS movement. Stable while moving, but meaningless when standing still.
• Hybrid (GNSS + magnetometer) — uses the device compass at low speeds and GPS at higher speeds, with an adjustable speed threshold. This gives you a usable heading even when stationary.

6. Importing and exporting data

From Settings, use the Data Management buttons to import waypoints from GPX or CSV files, or export everything you have saved. This makes it easy to move data between devices, back up your routes, or bring in waypoints prepared on a desktop.