RouteSketch

The essentials

Draw your first route

A RoutePoint is a numbered point that controls the route. RouteSketch joins each new RoutePoint to the one before it.

1. Make sure Add Route Points is ticked in the toolbar.
2. Choose whether Follow Roads should be ticked.
3. Click the map to place the starting RoutePoint.
4. Continue clicking to extend the route. Each click adds the next numbered RoutePoint.
5. If a point is wrong, choose Edit → Undo or press ⌘ Z.

Creating the route

Adding RoutePoints

Add points at the end

Tick Add Route Points, then click anywhere on the map. New points are added to the end of the active segment. If you stop adding points and later tick the box again, drawing continues from the last RoutePoint in that segment.

Follow Roads or draw a straight line

Insert a point into an existing route

1. Choose the required Follow Roads setting.
2. Hold Control and click the route line, away from a numbered RoutePoint.
3. Choose Add Route Point from the contextual menu.

The new point is inserted at that position and the route on either side is rebuilt according to the Follow Roads setting. This works whether Add Route Points is ticked or unticked: holding Control temporarily suspends ordinary point-adding.

Split a segment at a new RoutePoint

1. Hold Control and click the route line where the split should occur, away from an existing RoutePoint.
2. Choose Split Segment Here from the contextual menu.

This also works with Add Route Points ticked or unticked. RouteSketch creates two segments. The first ends with a new RoutePoint at the chosen location, and the second begins with a different RoutePoint at exactly the same location. The existing route line and elevation information on either side are retained.

Correcting the route

Selecting and moving RoutePoints

Editing applies to the active segment—the highlighted segment in the panel on the right.

Select one point

Untick Add Route Points, then click a RoutePoint or its number. The selected point is outlined.

Select several points individually

Hold Shift while clicking RoutePoints. Each point is added to the current selection.

Select points with a rectangle

Click the dashed-box Select Area button in the toolbar. Drag a rectangle around the required RoutePoints and release. Map movement and point-adding are suspended while this tool is active. Click the button again when finished.

You can also hold Shift and drag from an empty part of the map while editing; this adds the enclosed points to the current selection.

Move a point

1. Untick Add Route Points.
2. Choose the required Follow Roads setting.
3. Hold Control, then drag a numbered RoutePoint to its new position.
4. Release the mouse, then release Control.

The lines to the preceding and following RoutePoints are rebuilt. At the start or end of a segment, only the one adjoining line is rebuilt.

Removing points

Delete—or delete and split

Delete RoutePoints and keep one segment

Select one or more RoutePoints, then press Delete, use the toolbar’s Delete button, or choose Edit → Delete Route Points.

The selected points disappear. The surviving points on either side are reconnected using the current Follow Roads setting. Deleting an endpoint simply shortens the segment.

Delete RoutePoints and split the route

Select the point or points where the break should occur, then press Shift Delete or choose Edit → Delete and Split.

The selected points are removed, but RouteSketch does not reconnect across the gaps. Each uninterrupted part that remains becomes an independent segment. Segment numbers and colours are automatically rearranged to remain in order.

Longer and more complex routes

Working with segments

Choose the active segment

Click a segment in the right-hand panel. That segment becomes active: its RoutePoints can be selected and any new points will extend it.

Create a segment

Click the + above the segment list, choose File → New Segment, or press ⌘ N. RouteSketch selects the new segment and turns on Add Route Points so that its first point can be placed.

Join two segments

1. Choose Route → Join Segments… or press ⌘ J.
2. In the first menu, choose the segment whose end will be used.
3. In the second menu, choose the segment whose start will be used.
4. Choose whether the joining line should Follow Roads.
5. Click Done.

The two become one segment. Remaining segments are renumbered and recoloured automatically.

Reverse a segment

Select it in the right-hand panel, then choose Route → Reverse Segment or press ⌘ R. Its first point becomes its last, its last becomes its first, and the direction of its route and elevation profile is reversed.

Segment colours

Colours belong to positions in the segment list, not permanently to particular segments.

For projects with more than eight segments, the sequence repeats.

Understanding the route

Distance and elevation

The band beneath the map represents the whole active segment. Its left end is the start (0); its right end shows the total distance.

• Move the pointer over the route on the map to show the corresponding position in the lower band.
• Move the pointer across the lower band to show the corresponding point on the map.
• When elevation is available, the readout is distance / elevation / positive ascent—for example, 67.8 km / 504 m / 1,698 m.

Load elevation

Click Load Elevation in the lower band or choose Route → Load or Refresh Elevation. RouteSketch sends sampled route coordinates to Open-Meteo and displays an elevation graph. Use Refresh Elevation after changing a route if needed; when an edited segment already has elevation data, RouteSketch normally refreshes it automatically.

Projects and interchange

Open, import and export

Save and reopen a RouteSketch project

Use the standard File → Save command to keep an editable RouteSketch project. Reopen one with File → Open… or ⌘ O.

Open this guide

Choose Help → RouteSketch Help. RouteSketch opens its built-in copy of this guide in your default web browser.

Import GPX

Choose File → Import GPX…. If a RouteSketch window is active, the imported segments are added to that project (or replace its single untouched empty segment). If no project window is open, RouteSketch creates a new window. The map automatically moves and zooms to enclose the imported route.

A recorded GPX track keeps its complete line and any embedded elevation data, while presenting its start and end as editable RoutePoints. Insert extra RoutePoints wherever control is needed. GPX route files containing deliberate route points retain those points individually.

Hide RoutePoints

Tick Hide Route Points when you want an unobstructed view of the route line. Untick it again before selecting or moving points.

Export GPX

Choose File → Export GPX… or click the Export button. With several segments, choose the segment to export in the dialogue. The exported file includes the detailed route geometry and available elevation values.

Reference

Keyboard shortcuts

Good to know

Useful tips

• If clicking the map keeps adding points, untick Add Route Points before navigating or editing.
• On Mac, holding Control temporarily suspends ordinary point-adding, even when Add Route Points is ticked. Control-click a route line to insert a RoutePoint or split the segment there. On iPad, touch and hold the route line instead.
• If dragging a point moves the map instead, hold Control before beginning the drag.
• If RouteSketch cannot find a road connection, check the network connection, adjust the point, or untick Follow Roads and use a straight line.
• Use separate segments for disconnected parts of a route, alternative sections, ferry crossings, or portions you intend to export independently.
• Most route-changing actions can be reversed immediately with ⌘ Z.