Published on 8 April 2024

Orientation

With the swisstopo app, you always know where you are and don't lose your orientation. Your own position is displayed directly on the maps or aerial photographs. The coordinates and elevation data of the current location are always known. By searching for places, addresses, or coordinates, any destination can be found quickly. Discover even the remotest places in Switzerland with high quality maps.

Location

To display your location, tap once on the location icon (iOS: arrow icon, Android: target icon). The icon will turn blue and your device will use its GPS function to display your location as a blue dot on the map.
Tap the blue dot to obtain information about your location, such as its coordinates, altitude and address.

To align the map with the device's direction, tap the location icon once more. This will display the additional compass function and your device will show you which way is north.

To stop aligning the map, tap the location icon again.

• I cannot see my location. What can I do?

  Access must be authorised during use in the device settings under Location ➔ App permissions.

Search

Use the search field to search for place names, addresses, coordinates, saved markers, POIs and tours. Suggestions appear as you type. Quick categories and a search history are also available.

The search history stores the last 30 searches. Individual entries cannot be deleted.

Select a search result. It is displayed on the map and marked with a blue information button. If the search result is a POI, the map background automatically switches to the Base Map. You can then change the map background to your preference in the menu under “Map overview”.

The menu shows the name, coordinates and elevation as well as various functions for the selected location.

Tip: If you wish to be able to search for places and addresses even while offline, download the «Geographic names» and «Addresses» data sets under «Offline maps».

• Can I change the coordinates?

  The swisstopo app uses the Swiss LV95 country coordinates by default. If you wish, you can change the coordinates system to WGS84 in the app settings.

Markers

To save a place, you can set a marker. Select the desired location by long pressing it on the map. In the information window for the location, tap the star icon and the marker menu will open. Here, you can name the marker, enter text, set the marker colour and add tags. Incidentally, you can add markers even while offline.

• Where can I find my markers in the app?

  

  Navigate to Tools ➔ Markers to see a list of your saved markers and display them on the map. You can also find your markers using the search function. Selecting a marker on the map or in the list takes you to the individual marker containing all of the related information.

• Can I edit markers?

  Tap on the pencil icon in a marker's information window to rename the marker, add a description or tag, change the colour or delete the marker.

• Can I share saved markers?

  Markers can be shared as either GPX or KML files. They can also be exported all at once as a package. The export format can be defined in the app settings.

  Share/export single markers:

  • Select the relevant marker
  • Swipe the information window upwards
  • Select «Export»
  • Select the app you wish to use for sharing, or select the file location

  Share/export all markers:

  • Open the «Markers» tool
  • Tap the Export icon
  • Select the app you wish to use for sharing, or select the file location

Do you have any further questions? Here is an overview of the most frequently asked questions about the swisstopo app.