Importing data layers into Avenza Maps Android app

DATE: 2023-03-13
AUTHOR: John L. Godlee


I had a go with the Avenza Maps[1] Android app during fieldwork to visualise my position within the landscape. I had access to a vegetation map and I wanted to see how close I was to transition zones between vegetation units, and also where I could walk to find a good place to install a vegetation monitoring plot.

It was a bit of a faff, but I worked out a method for importing raster and vector data into Avenza Maps. I used the free version of the Avenza Maps app:

To import a raster layer:

• In QGIS:
• Choose to export the chosen raster layer
• Choose GeoTIFF
• Choose "Rendered Image" when exporting
• Increase the resolution as desired
• Put the exported .tif on Android phone
• Open Avenza Maps
• Add the .tif as a Map

Avenza (free) only supports KML/KMZ and GPX, which don't support polygons. To import point (vector) data:

• In QGIS:
• Ensure that the chosen point features only have one attribute "name"
• Choose to export the chosen features
• Choose GPX
• Select GPX_USE_EXTENSIONS = YES
• Put the exported .gpx on Android phone
• Open Avenza Maps
• Add the .gpx as a Layer in the chosen map