GPS tracks
A GPS track (also called a GPS trace) is a file containing one or more lines consisting of trackpoints.
GPS tracks may be used for:
- mapping: recorded tracks can be used to map roads and footpaths, similar to tracing from aerial imagery by either:
- uploading the GPS track to openstreetmap.org and clicking Edit next to the track, or by
- loading the GPX file in your editor of choice
- navigation: navigation applications/devices can compute turn instructions based on a provided GPX file
- recording/analyzing/sharing your physical activity, see Track drawing websites
Recording
GPS tracks can be recorded with your smartphone (see Android apps and iOS apps), or alternatively with a dedicated GPS device.
For more information see Recording GPS tracks.
Displaying
The following websites let you display GPS tracks without having to create an account:
| Name | License |
|---|---|
| gpx.studio | MIT[1] |
| GPS Visualizer | Proprietary |
GPS tracks can also be displayed offline with the following software:
Rendering
The following tools can be used to generate static images from GPX tracks:
- Party render
- TileMill
- GPS Visualizer supports rendering as PNG, JPEG and SVG
The following tools can be used to generate a video from GPX tracks:
Editing
See Edit GPS tracks.
Converting file formats
GPS tracks can be stored in various file formats such as GPX, KML, GeoJSON or FIT.
You can convert between these formats with GPSBabel or an online tool such as GPSVisualizer.com. For more information see Convert GPS tracks.