Adding a TMS Map Source

Some online TMS map sources can be added to Gaia GPS by finding the tiles based URL and creating a TileJSON file. Not all online map sources will work. In this article, you will learn how to find and test the URL.

For this example, we will be using Google Chrome as our browser and the following map source: http://maps.stamen.com/terrain/#3/37.8029/-440.2985

Finding the URL

1. Load the map in Google Chrome

2. Zoom and pan the map on the area you are interested in

3. Open the Developer Tools for Chrome

4. Click the "Network" tab in the Developer toolbar

5. Zoom and Move the map to populate the text fields

6. Click one of the .png items in the Name field to view the image URL

It will look something like this: http://a.tile.stamen.com/terrain/13/2265/3167.png

7. Copy and paste the link into a text editor

8. Replace the number variables at the end of the URL with {x}, {y}, and {z}

For the example map source, the variables will need to be in this order: {z}/{x}/{y}

http://a.tile.stamen.com/terrain/{z}/{x}/{y}.png

Note: you may need to re-arrange these variables for the URL to work

Check the URL

1. Go to http://trailbehind.github.io/TilejsonTester/

2. Copy and paste your adjusted URL along with the name and attribution for the map source

3. Click "Update Map"

4. Zoom to the area of the map that you expect to see your map source

If you have created the URL correctly, you will see your TMS source appear in the correct area of the map

If your map source doesn't appear:

Adjust the zoom levels and update the map
Make sure that you have toggled the bounds to whole numbers
If you are using a map source other than this one; sometimes the {x} and {y} will be reverse: /{z}/{y}/{x}

Import to gaiagps.com

To upload the TMS URL directly to your gaiagps.com account, follow the instructions here.

Import to Gaia GPS app

To import a TMS source into the app you will need to create a TileJSON file. You will need a text editing program to do this.

1. Follow the steps above to check the TMS URL. When your map successfully appears, you can create a JSON File.

2. Copy the text in the 'JSON, editable' section

3. Open a text editor like TextWrangler or Sublime Text

4. Paste the text from the 'JSON, editable' section

5. Us the "Save As" option in your text editor to save the file with a '.json' extention

6. Import the JSON into the app:

Once imported, the file will appear in your layers list. Select the layer in order to view it.

Notes: Please make sure you read the map providers Terms of Service before using the map source in Gaia GPS.

Articles in this section

Some online TMS map sources can be added to Gaia GPS by finding the tiles based URL and creating a TileJSON file. Not all online map sources will work. In this article, you will learn how to find and test the URL.

Finding the URL

Check the URL

Import to gaiagps.com

Import to Gaia GPS app

To import a TMS source into the app you will need to create a TileJSON file. You will need a text editing program to do this.

Comments

Articles in this section

Some online TMS map sources can be added to Gaia GPS by finding the tiles based URL and creating a TileJSON file. Not all online map sources will work. In this article, you will learn how to find and test the URL.

Finding the URL

Check the URL

Import to gaiagps.com

Import to Gaia GPS app

To import a TMS source into the app you will need to create a TileJSON file. You will need a text editing program to do this.

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