Top Questions
For help getting started with inRoute, there is an in-app tutorial under the map’s More icon, then Tutorial (on Mac, the Help menu).
For help with CarPlay, please see our CarPlay Guide.
Or, email us using the app, which automatically includes app information helpful for troubleshooting: map’s More icon > Contact Support (on Mac, Help menu). If you’re unable to access the app’s Contact button, email us at support@inroute.com.
Your purchase can be used on your other device. On your other device:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Restore Previous Purchase” at the bottom of the screen
For questions about sharing a Pro for Families subscription to family members, see How does Family Sharing work?
The easiest option is to use the Upgrades screen where you originally subscribed:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Manage Subscription” to open the App Store’s Subscription page.
- Tap the inRoute subscription to manage/cancel. If there is no Cancel option, you have already cancelled. If there is no inRoute subscription, you have not subscribed recently.
Or, you can also manage subscriptions through your App Store account settings from your device or a computer. The link below from Apple has general instructions for any subscription on the App Store: https://support.apple.com/HT202039#subscriptions
Importing Spreadsheets
.XLSX files can be imported directly from within inRoute, sent as email attachments to your device and opened from Mail, or shared from your spreadsheet app (.XLSX is the native format for MS Excel and supported by Apple Numbers and Google Sheets as well). For example,
1) Within inRoute, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then tap “Import”, and select the file from its location.
2) Or, email the file to yourself. In the iOS Mail app, tap and hold the attached file, tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right). On a Mac, drag and drop the file onto inRoute.
.XLSX files must include a header row at the top, and during import you will be prompted to choose the columns that contain addresses (street, city, etc.), then the columns that contain the name to use for each map pin (first name, last name, business, etc). The format is flexible so a single column list of addresses works as well. Each row of the file creates a pin on the map, and the resulting route is automatically optimized if that is enabled under the Route button. Examples are available for download below:
Importing other File Types
For more information about importing files, see Can I import from files or other apps?
inRoute’s Pro for Families subscription uses Apple Family Sharing to share your subscription to the members of your family. More info about Apple Family Sharing and how to set up your family group is available here: https://support.apple.com/HT201060
Once setup, all family members need to do is download inRoute from their iPhone/iPad and their apps will be upgraded with your subscription too. If they have already downloaded the app, they can activate your subscription using the “Restore Previous Purchase” button available under their app’s “More” button > Upgrades.
For sharing routes between family members, you can use AirDrop, email or cloud storage with the options under the map’s Share icon (or the File menu on a Mac):
– AirDrop: Use the “Share” > AirDrop option to quickly transfer your route and pins to a nearby, unlocked device.
– Email: Use the “Mail Route” option and a file will be attached to your message that can be imported on another device running inRoute. To import from Mail on an iOS device, tap and hold the attached .GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, and from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
– Cloud storage: Use the “Export GPX to…” option to save the route to a cloud storage location. To import on another device, use the “Import” option under the “More” button (or the File menu on a Mac)
Problems Sharing Your Subscription
If a family member’s iPhone/iPad has not activated your “Pro for Families” subscription yet, there will be a lock icon above the map on their device. This usually occurs due to one of the following reasons:
- In your list of family members, the family member has not been added (Settings app > Family). If needed, tap the Add Member button in the top toolbar to add them.
- In your shared subscriptions, inRoute’s “Pro for Families” has not been added (Settings app > Family > Subscriptions). If so, tap “Manage Subscriptions”, tap your “Pro for Families” subscription, and set “Share with Family” to on (green).
If you still see a lock icon above the map on the family member’s device, tap the lock icon, and tap the “Restore Previous Purchase” button at the bottom of the Upgrades screen.
In version 8.2 or higher (released 06/20/2023), you can plan to drive a certain number of miles or hours per day (e.g., 8 hours) by selecting the Search button and choosing from one of the predefined route search options, such as “Search Every X Hours”. You will be prompted to select the number of hours to travel, and the category to search for (Hotels, Campgrounds, etc.). In the search results list, you can then add the places you want to the map. See below for older versions.
To set a place as an overnight stop (e.g. leave at 7 am), first add the pin to your route by setting it as a WayPt. Then, tap the Route button, tap the waypoint in the list, and set a “Leave at…” layover of 7 am (no “full days” should be added to leave the next morning).
If there were any intervals with no search results, you can use the “Search X Hours from a Pin” option, to easily vary the number of hours from the pin where there were no search results. You will be prompted to select the pin to search from, and you can change the search by +/- 0.5 hours (7.5, 8.5, etc.), or more as needed, to find search results. See below for additional options.
Additional options
You can also find places to stop near a particular time (or near sunset) using inRoute’s charts. Tap the “Distance/Time” label at the bottom to switch to viewing a chart against time. Sunset markers are shown on the chart and, as with any point on the charts, they can be tapped to briefly flash that point along the route on the map so you know where the time occurs. Zoom in on the chart near the time you wish to stop and the map will adjust to show that same area (or vice versa, zooming in on the map). Then tap the search field and select the “Route shown” or “Map” options and enter a search for “hotels”, “campgrounds”, etc, to find places to stay overnight.
There are three options for showing alternate routes:
1) Standard Avoidance/Custom Routes: To show routes avoiding certain criteria or to show custom routes by weather, elevation or curviness, open the “Route” screen, then select “Route Profile”. Avoidance options are shown at the top, along with an option to use those avoidances for all legs of the route (enabled by default). Custom Routes are shown below. Custom Routes initially appear as grey lines on the map and are not active. You must select the route’s label or the grey route line on the map to activate it, changing it to a blue line. The images shown for each Custom Route type are also used for the route’s label on the map (where total route time and distance is shown).
2) Customize Routes with the ALT Button: You can show all available alternate routes for each leg of your route by tapping the ALT button on the green Start pin or any waypoint (alternates may not be available on some legs). Some alternates may use your preferred route, but they’re commonly used alternates so they generally don’t add more than about ~25% to the leg time. After selecting an alternate (if available), tap the “Next” button and repeat for the next leg, building up your route.
3) Customize Routes by Dropping Pins: If the ALT button does not have a route along your preferred road, then you can drop a pin at a midpoint along it by long pressing on the map. You can drag dropped pins (purple) as needed to place them along your preferred road (the pin lands where the pin’s pointy bottom is positioned when released). Finally, add the pin to your route by setting its WayPt checkbox. It may also help to designate any of these dropped waypoints as “Vias” so they are not announced during navigation (under the Route button, tap the waypoint to access the Via setting, or use the “Select” or “Edit” button to choose multiple waypoints at once and set them all to Vias with the “Actions” button).
There is a RV route type at the top of the “Route” screen. You will see three options: Driving (Car icon), RV Routing (Motorhome icon), and Walking (Pedestrian icon). Once RV Routing is selected, an “RV Route Profile” option will appear where you can input your RV’s description. Routes will then avoid known clearance/weight restrictions.
inRoute does use a data plan when needed, but maps and routes are automatically saved locally so most functionality remains available without a data connection. Here are some additional details:
Routes
The route itself (directions as opposed to map images), your pins and notes, are all stored locally by inRoute, so they can be accessed while offline. During navigation, off-route recalculation isn’t possible without a data connection. In this case, the navigator will speak once that internet/recalculation isn’t available and continue to show your location and the previously calculated route on the map, until you either return to the route or a connection becomes available.
Maps
Your device automatically stores Apple’s map data (which inRoute uses) in a temporary cache, depending in part on when it was last used and device free storage. In advance of a trip, you can influence the maps that are stored locally by panning the map through the route at the zoom level needed (e.g. tap “Go” and pan the route). Verifying a map area is cached can be done in Airplane mode. Apple’s map data does not currently support saving a map area to ensure it will always be available when offline. If a cached map is not available during offline navigation, the map will show empty gridlines, although the blue route line will still show and turn instructions will continue.
inRoute uses Apple’s map data for search and directions by default, and the steps below can be used to report a problem to Apple starting within inRoute.
For a problem with map pin data, such as an incorrect label or address:
- Within inRoute, show the map pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the Share icon on the top toolbar, then “Show in Apple Maps” to transfer the pin to Apple Maps
- In Apple Maps, Select “Report an Issue” on the pin’s details screen (near the bottom, you may need to slide up the bottom pane).
For a problem with route directions, such as not showing a faster route between two locations:
- On the map, select the first location of the leg with the incorrect directions, then show the pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the “progress” row, and the leg starting at that location will be highlighted in red on the map.
- On the top toolbar select “Share Leg”, then select “Show in Apple Maps”. Apple Maps should open showing the same leg; if not, verify Apple Maps is using the same criteria for avoid tolls/highways. If the route is still different, please go to the last step below.
- Verify there are no traffic incidents (red minus icons) along the route that may be responsible for the irregular directions. If not, select the Info icon in Apple Maps, then “Report an Issue”.
- If the route is different in Apple Maps, please share the leg to us instead using the “Mail Leg” option on the share screen (instead of “Show in Apple Maps” above). Provide a detailed description of the problem, and send to support@inroute.com.
There are a few options to more quickly add locations to a route:
- Draw icon: Instead of adding each pin/address to the map and immediately setting it as a waypoint, just add each pin to the map only. When you’re done adding the pins to the map (blue pins by default), then tap the Draw icon at the lower-right of the map, circle all the blue pins on the map with your finger, and tap “Add to route” from the 3-dots icon at the top-right. All the pins will be set as waypoints at once.
- Uncheck Start/Destination: inRoute only calculates a route if you have at least a Start and a Destination pin set with the map’s pins. Unchecking one of those, for example the red Destination pin, while adding/removing waypoints will avoid recalculating the route with each change.
- Import from a spreadsheet: You can enter a list of addresses into a spreadsheet and import them all at once. During import, a route will automatically be created. See Can I import from files or other apps? for more details
Introduction
For help getting started with inRoute, there is an in-app tutorial under the map’s More icon, then Tutorial (on Mac, the Help menu).
For help with CarPlay, please see our CarPlay Guide.
Or, email us using the app, which automatically includes app information helpful for troubleshooting: map’s More icon > Contact Support (on Mac, Help menu). If you’re unable to access the app’s Contact button, email us at support@inroute.com.
inRoute is available for iPhones and iPads running iOS 14.0 or later (iOS App Store), Macs running macOS 11.0 Big Sur or later (Mac App Store), and CarPlay.
inRoute is a free download. Additional premium features are available for in-app purchase. These features are identified in the app using a lock icon, which when tapped will bring you to the Upgrades screen.
You can also view a full list of the app’s premium features on the Upgrades screen: tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help Menu), then “Upgrades”.
Your purchase can be used on your other device. On your other device:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Restore Previous Purchase” at the bottom of the screen
For questions about sharing a Pro for Families subscription to family members, see How does Family Sharing work?
The easiest option is to use the Upgrades screen where you originally subscribed:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Manage Subscription” to open the App Store’s Subscription page.
- Tap the inRoute subscription to manage/cancel. If there is no Cancel option, you have already cancelled. If there is no inRoute subscription, you have not subscribed recently.
Or, you can also manage subscriptions through your App Store account settings from your device or a computer. The link below from Apple has general instructions for any subscription on the App Store: https://support.apple.com/HT202039#subscriptions
inRoute should automatically receive purchase/renewal updates back from Apple, but in some cases such as connection problems to Apple’s servers this may not occur. Using the app’s restore feature will reconnect to Apple and retrieve your latest purchase history:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Restore Previous Purchase” at the bottom of the screen
When a subscription lapses, iCloud sync is disabled and saved routes and pins remain locally stored on your devices. For saved routes with more locations than allowed in your current plan, for example a saved 150-location route created with a Pro plan that has expired, the following are also disabled: route editing, optimizing, voice navigation, weather, elevation, and other premium features for routes with more locations than the current plan.
inRoute’s Pro for Families subscription uses Apple Family Sharing to share your subscription to the members of your family. More info about Apple Family Sharing and how to set up your family group is available here: https://support.apple.com/HT201060
Once setup, all family members need to do is download inRoute from their iPhone/iPad and their apps will be upgraded with your subscription too. If they have already downloaded the app, they can activate your subscription using the “Restore Previous Purchase” button available under their app’s “More” button > Upgrades.
For sharing routes between family members, you can use AirDrop, email or cloud storage with the options under the map’s Share icon (or the File menu on a Mac):
– AirDrop: Use the “Share” > AirDrop option to quickly transfer your route and pins to a nearby, unlocked device.
– Email: Use the “Mail Route” option and a file will be attached to your message that can be imported on another device running inRoute. To import from Mail on an iOS device, tap and hold the attached .GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, and from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
– Cloud storage: Use the “Export GPX to…” option to save the route to a cloud storage location. To import on another device, use the “Import” option under the “More” button (or the File menu on a Mac)
Problems Sharing Your Subscription
If a family member’s iPhone/iPad has not activated your “Pro for Families” subscription yet, there will be a lock icon above the map on their device. This usually occurs due to one of the following reasons:
- In your list of family members, the family member has not been added (Settings app > Family). If needed, tap the Add Member button in the top toolbar to add them.
- In your shared subscriptions, inRoute’s “Pro for Families” has not been added (Settings app > Family > Subscriptions). If so, tap “Manage Subscriptions”, tap your “Pro for Families” subscription, and set “Share with Family” to on (green).
If you still see a lock icon above the map on the family member’s device, tap the lock icon, and tap the “Restore Previous Purchase” button at the bottom of the Upgrades screen.
inRoute works worldwide and has been tested in the following countries:
| Albania | Dominica | Macau | Serbia |
| Andorra | Egypt | Macedonia | Singapore |
| Argentina | Estonia | Malawi | Slovakia |
| Anguilla | Ethiopia | Malaysia | Slovenia |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Finland | Malta | South Africa |
| Australia | France | Mauritania | Spain |
| Austria | French Guiana | Mayotte | St. Kitts and Nevis |
| Bahamas | Germany | Mauritius | St. Lucia |
| Barbados | Ghana | Mexico | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Belarus | Greece | Monaco | Sweden |
| Belgium | Grenada | Montenegro | Switzerland |
| Bermuda | Guadeloupe | Montserrat | Taiwan |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Hong Kong | Morocco | Thailand |
| Botswana | Hungary | Mozambique | Togo |
| Brazil | Iceland | Namibia | Trinidad and Tobago |
| British Virgin Islands | Indonesia | Netherlands | Tunisia |
| Brunei Darussalam | Ireland | New Zealand | Turkey |
| Bulgaria | Israel | North Macedonia | Turks and Calcos Islands |
| Burkina Faso | India | Norway | Uganda |
| Burundi | Italy | Philippines | UK |
| Canada | Jamaica | Poland | Ukraine |
| Cayman Islands | Japan | Portugal | United Arab Emirates |
| Chile | Korea, Republic of | Reunion Island | Uruguay |
| Croatia | Kosovo | Romania | USA |
| Cyprus | Latvia | Russia | Vietnam |
| Czech Republic | Liechtenstein | Rwanda | Virgan Islands |
| Denmark | Lithuania | San Marino | Zambia |
| Dominican Republic | Luxembourg | Scotland | Zimbabwe |
* Route elevation charts are currently limited to latitudes 56°S to 60°N.
* Severe weather alerts are available in the USA, Canada, Iceland, EU and Israel.
Route Planning
You can view times and distances for each place or for all places at once:
For each place:
- Tap any route pin on the map, then tap the popup (that shows name/ETA) to show the pin’s details. The “progress” row shows the time and distance from the Start pin (or from your current location while navigating), as well as the time and distance to the next route place.
- Or, tap the ALT button on any route pin and the time and distance to the next route pin will show on the route’s label. The ALT button is available for driving routes only, and shows available alternates for the leg (one route pin to the next).
For all places at once:
- Tap the Turns button. To show only the times and distances and hide the individual turn-by-turn instructions, tap the “Hide Steps” button. This information is also included when a route is shared by email or printed (see below).
Under the Route button, you can drag a location up or down in the list to change its order. Or, to reorder waypoints directly on the map, first disable optimization on the Route screen. Then, on the map uncheck the waypoint you want to reorder, and when you recheck the pin you will be prompted to choose its order.
To save your current route, use the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Save”.
To start a new route, use the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New”, then “Remove Route”.
Saved routes and pins can be reloaded from the “Favorites” screen.
Importing Spreadsheets
.XLSX files can be imported directly from within inRoute, sent as email attachments to your device and opened from Mail, or shared from your spreadsheet app (.XLSX is the native format for MS Excel and supported by Apple Numbers and Google Sheets as well). For example,
1) Within inRoute, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then tap “Import”, and select the file from its location.
2) Or, email the file to yourself. In the iOS Mail app, tap and hold the attached file, tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right). On a Mac, drag and drop the file onto inRoute.
.XLSX files must include a header row at the top, and during import you will be prompted to choose the columns that contain addresses (street, city, etc.), then the columns that contain the name to use for each map pin (first name, last name, business, etc). The format is flexible so a single column list of addresses works as well. Each row of the file creates a pin on the map, and the resulting route is automatically optimized if that is enabled under the Route button. Examples are available for download below:
Importing other File Types
For more information about importing files, see Can I import from files or other apps?
inRoute can import from XLSX, GPX, KML and other files. Routes in XLSX format will be automatically optimized if optimization is enabled under the Route button. Options for importing include:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Import” and select the file from one of your storage locations.
- Use the standard iOS “Open in” or Share menu from other apps. For example, after emailing a file to your device, in the Mail app, tap and hold the attached GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
- On Macs or iPads, drag a file from another app (e.g. the Files app) and drop it within inRoute. You can also drag and drop lists of addresses from other apps, for example from a text file.
With inRoute Pro, there are no limits to the number of places that can be imported from GPX and KML files, but XLSX spreadsheets are limited to 150 places. This is because spreadsheets contain addresses that must be converted to map coordinates, which cannot be done on the device, and map providers limit the number of conversions that can be done at one time. The free version is limited to 8 places for all file types.
File Formats
XLSX
Include a header row at the top, and during import you will be prompted to choose the columns that contain addresses (street, city, etc.), then the columns that contain the name to use for each map pin (first name, last name, business, etc). The format is flexible, so a single column list of addresses works as well. Each row of the file creates a pin on the map, and the resulting route is automatically optimized if that is enabled under the Route button.
For example, a simple spreadsheet could include the following two columns. With just one row after the header row, only one map pin would be created. More commonly, the address is split across multiple columns, for example Street, City, State, and Postal Codes. The import interface will allow you to specify which column(s) to use for the name and address.
| Name | Address |
|---|---|
| Acme Engineering | 1234 S Main St, Seattle, WA 98144 |
GPX
GPX files can contain several types of location information, for example “route”, “waypoint”, and “track” types:
- Routes (denoted with rte tags in the file): A route is a plan for places you want to go. Guided navigation apps use “routes” and determine turn-by-turn directions between the places. For import to inRoute, route places must include latitude and longitude. GPX routes with more than 150 locations (Pro upgrade) will be imported to the map but will not be automatically added to a route. inRoute Pro is required for routes with more than 8 locations.
- Tracks (denoted with trk tags in the file): Tracks are generally used as a record of where you’ve been and may contain thousands of locations. GPX files containing only a GPX track will be automatically filtered to less than 150 locations (Pro upgrade) representing the original track, and automatically added to a route within inRoute.
- Waypoints (denoted with wpt tags in the file): Waypoints are location information, separate from a route, to mark specific places/landmarks on a map. Waypoints are often used together with tracks by navigation software to show a detailed path on a map (the track) and to flag specific locations (the waypoints). If no GPX route or track is found during import, and the file contains waypoints with latitude/longitude coordinates, inRoute will import the waypoints as though they were a GPX route. If a GPX track is found, the track will be used to generate a route, and the waypoints will be added to the map only.
inRoute can also generate GPX files (with inRoute Pro) that can be transferred to other inRoute users or to compatible navigation apps: Tap the map’s Share icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Mail Route” or “Export GPX to…” to attach/generate a GPX file (or “Share” > AirDrop to quickly transfer to a nearby, unlocked device).
KML file
Like GPX, KML files can contain several types of location information. In all cases location information must include latitude, longitude coordinates (not solely addresses). KML “LineString” and “Point” data types are supported. LineString types are treated similar to GPX tracks above (automatically filtered to 150 locations with inRoute Pro, if needed). An example KML Point may look like the following:
<Placemark> <name>Tucson, AZ</name> <Point> <coordinates>-110.9264,32.2216,0.0</coordinates> </Point> </Placemark>
TXT or CSV
Similar to the XLSX section above, you can import addresses and/or coordinates from TXT and CSV files. However, importing from TXT or CSV requires a more specific file format than importing from XLSX, so using XLSX is recommended.
With CSV files, the first column of the file can optionally be used to set the names of the imported map pins, with the remaining columns used to specify the address or coordinates. If a name column is used, the name does not affect the search performed (“Joe Smith, 123 Main St” would be the same as searching for “123 Main St” within inRoute’s search box). The example spreadsheet above in the XLSX section may be used for CSVs with the first column being used for the pin’s name, but CSVs should not include a header row.
For TXT files, each line of the file is used to specify an address or coordinate. Unlike XLSX and CSV, there is no option to name the resulting map pin when importing from TXT files.
Sharing routes and pins between devices or exporting to files is a premium feature. Routes and pins can be shared using iCloud sync or exported as a .GPX file:
iCloud sync:
- Routes and pins you save to inRoute’s Favorites can be automatically synced to the Favorites of your other devices if you opt-in to iCloud sync. You are prompted to opt-in to iCloud sync when you subscribe, but if you did not opt-in on a device you will see “Favorites Sync Disabled” at the top of your “Favorites” screen. Selecting that row will open the app’s settings, where you can enable the “iCloud” option.
- Then, in order to sync your current route or pins on the map, save them by tapping the map’s More button (on a Mac, the File menu), and use the “Save” option. iCloud generally starts syncing changes to your Favorites within about 30-45 seconds (you will see a blue progress bar appear at the top of the Favorites screen). Once the sync completes, from the other device’s Favorites you can select a route to restore it to the other device’s map, or select the Globe icon next to a folder to drop the folder’s pins back to the map.
Send as a .GPX file:
- Tap the map’s Share icon, then “Mail Route” to attach a .GPX file with the current map’s contents (route and pins), which can be imported on another device running inRoute (or select “Share” > Airdrop to quickly transfer to a nearby, unlocked device). You will need a route on the map for sharing, but all non-route pins on the current map are included in the file as well (a simple two location route with a Start pin and a Destination is sufficient). For sharing by email, from a receiving iOS device’s Mail app, tap and hold the attached GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
The sync between devices includes saved routes and pins stored on your Favorites screen. If you haven’t already, in order to sync the current route and pins on the map, first save them by tapping the map’s More button (on Mac, the File menu) and use the “Save” option.
If your Favorites are not syncing between devices, there are a few things that may help:
1) Do you see a green checkmark and “Favorites Sync Enabled” at the top of your Favorites screen on the devices you’re trying to sync? If not, additional information may show in that location about any problems your devices are having connecting to iCloud.
2) Restarting both devices can often help with unexpected iCloud problems:
https://support.apple.com/HT201559 (iPhone)
https://support.apple.com/HT210631 (iPad)
3) At the top of your Favorites there’s a blue progress bar that appears when iCloud is syncing changes, which can help with understanding whether iCloud has started uploading or downloading your changes. If you save a route/pins on a device, iCloud should start uploading changes that you make (progress bar appears) within about 30-45 seconds. This can help identify if one of your devices is not syncing correctly with iCloud.
If the above doesn’t help and you need to get routes transferred immediately, you can also tap the map’s Share icon, then “Mail Route” to attach a .GPX file that can be imported on another device running inRoute (or use “Share” > Airdrop to quickly transfer to a nearby unlocked device). You’ll need a route on the map for sharing, but all non-route pins on the current map are included in the file as well (a simple route from a Start pin to Destination is enough). If you email the route, from the other iOS device’s Mail app, tap and hold the attached GPX file, tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
150 locations is the route limit with inRoute Pro. However, you can save multiple routes, each with up to 150 locations. If you can break up your trip by region, day, etc., you can save trips of any size.
- Save the first route with up to 150 locations using the “Save” button under the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu). Optionally, note the Arrival Time of the route (under the Turns list, last row); to keep timing accurate between multiple routes, you may want to use this as the Departure Time for the next route.
- Clear the route: map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New”, then “Remove Route”.
- Add the next set of up to 150 locations to a route, and optionally set your new Departure Time either from step 1 or based on the new day of travel.
When complete, repeat the save/clear procedure above for any further routes needed for your trip. Routes are saved to Favorites. When loading a route from Favorites you can choose to leave the previous route’s pins on the map, but only up to 150 at a time will show an active route.
In version 8.2 or higher (released 06/20/2023), to search along a route, first make sure there’s a blue route line showing on the map (i.e., at least a Start pin and a Dest. pin need to be set with the map’s pins). Then, tap the Search button, and several predefined route search options will be shown. For older versions, see below.
Note: Searching a route can lead to many blue pins on the map. To remove them all, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New” and use the “Remove Non-Route Pins” option. Or, remove specific pins with the map’s Draw icon, drawing around them and using the “Remove from Map” option under the 3-dots icon at the top-right (or “Remove Non-Route Pins”, available with version 8.2, released 06/30/2023).
In version 8.2 or higher (released 06/20/2023), you can plan to drive a certain number of miles or hours per day (e.g., 8 hours) by selecting the Search button and choosing from one of the predefined route search options, such as “Search Every X Hours”. You will be prompted to select the number of hours to travel, and the category to search for (Hotels, Campgrounds, etc.). In the search results list, you can then add the places you want to the map. See below for older versions.
To set a place as an overnight stop (e.g. leave at 7 am), first add the pin to your route by setting it as a WayPt. Then, tap the Route button, tap the waypoint in the list, and set a “Leave at…” layover of 7 am (no “full days” should be added to leave the next morning).
If there were any intervals with no search results, you can use the “Search X Hours from a Pin” option, to easily vary the number of hours from the pin where there were no search results. You will be prompted to select the pin to search from, and you can change the search by +/- 0.5 hours (7.5, 8.5, etc.), or more as needed, to find search results. See below for additional options.
Additional options
You can also find places to stop near a particular time (or near sunset) using inRoute’s charts. Tap the “Distance/Time” label at the bottom to switch to viewing a chart against time. Sunset markers are shown on the chart and, as with any point on the charts, they can be tapped to briefly flash that point along the route on the map so you know where the time occurs. Zoom in on the chart near the time you wish to stop and the map will adjust to show that same area (or vice versa, zooming in on the map). Then tap the search field and select the “Route shown” or “Map” options and enter a search for “hotels”, “campgrounds”, etc, to find places to stay overnight.
There are three options for showing alternate routes:
1) Standard Avoidance/Custom Routes: To show routes avoiding certain criteria or to show custom routes by weather, elevation or curviness, open the “Route” screen, then select “Route Profile”. Avoidance options are shown at the top, along with an option to use those avoidances for all legs of the route (enabled by default). Custom Routes are shown below. Custom Routes initially appear as grey lines on the map and are not active. You must select the route’s label or the grey route line on the map to activate it, changing it to a blue line. The images shown for each Custom Route type are also used for the route’s label on the map (where total route time and distance is shown).
2) Customize Routes with the ALT Button: You can show all available alternate routes for each leg of your route by tapping the ALT button on the green Start pin or any waypoint (alternates may not be available on some legs). Some alternates may use your preferred route, but they’re commonly used alternates so they generally don’t add more than about ~25% to the leg time. After selecting an alternate (if available), tap the “Next” button and repeat for the next leg, building up your route.
3) Customize Routes by Dropping Pins: If the ALT button does not have a route along your preferred road, then you can drop a pin at a midpoint along it by long pressing on the map. You can drag dropped pins (purple) as needed to place them along your preferred road (the pin lands where the pin’s pointy bottom is positioned when released). Finally, add the pin to your route by setting its WayPt checkbox. It may also help to designate any of these dropped waypoints as “Vias” so they are not announced during navigation (under the Route button, tap the waypoint to access the Via setting, or use the “Select” or “Edit” button to choose multiple waypoints at once and set them all to Vias with the “Actions” button).
There is a RV route type at the top of the “Route” screen. You will see three options: Driving (Car icon), RV Routing (Motorhome icon), and Walking (Pedestrian icon). Once RV Routing is selected, an “RV Route Profile” option will appear where you can input your RV’s description. Routes will then avoid known clearance/weight restrictions.
inRoute uses Apple’s map data for search and directions by default, and the steps below can be used to report a problem to Apple starting within inRoute.
For a problem with map pin data, such as an incorrect label or address:
- Within inRoute, show the map pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the Share icon on the top toolbar, then “Show in Apple Maps” to transfer the pin to Apple Maps
- In Apple Maps, Select “Report an Issue” on the pin’s details screen (near the bottom, you may need to slide up the bottom pane).
For a problem with route directions, such as not showing a faster route between two locations:
- On the map, select the first location of the leg with the incorrect directions, then show the pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the “progress” row, and the leg starting at that location will be highlighted in red on the map.
- On the top toolbar select “Share Leg”, then select “Show in Apple Maps”. Apple Maps should open showing the same leg; if not, verify Apple Maps is using the same criteria for avoid tolls/highways. If the route is still different, please go to the last step below.
- Verify there are no traffic incidents (red minus icons) along the route that may be responsible for the irregular directions. If not, select the Info icon in Apple Maps, then “Report an Issue”.
- If the route is different in Apple Maps, please share the leg to us instead using the “Mail Leg” option on the share screen (instead of “Show in Apple Maps” above). Provide a detailed description of the problem, and send to support@inroute.com.
There are a few options to more quickly add locations to a route:
- Draw icon: Instead of adding each pin/address to the map and immediately setting it as a waypoint, just add each pin to the map only. When you’re done adding the pins to the map (blue pins by default), then tap the Draw icon at the lower-right of the map, circle all the blue pins on the map with your finger, and tap “Add to route” from the 3-dots icon at the top-right. All the pins will be set as waypoints at once.
- Uncheck Start/Destination: inRoute only calculates a route if you have at least a Start and a Destination pin set with the map’s pins. Unchecking one of those, for example the red Destination pin, while adding/removing waypoints will avoid recalculating the route with each change.
- Import from a spreadsheet: You can enter a list of addresses into a spreadsheet and import them all at once. During import, a route will automatically be created. See Can I import from files or other apps? for more details
To delete a Favorite, you can swipe left on a row in your Favorites (on Mac, right-click), and then tap the “Delete” button that appears.
To organize your Favorites, tap the “Select” or “Edit” button from the top toolbar, enabling multiple selection and showing additional tools for organizing your Favorites. 4 additional icons appear on the top toolbar (trash, new folder, move to new folder, and a Globe for dropping selected items back to the map).
Additionally, while organizing your Favorites with the “Select” or “Edit” button on the top toolbar, an Info icon will appear next to each item in your Favorites, that when tapped allows you to rename an item.
You can change non-route pin colors (default blue) and waypoint pin colors (default orange), in one of two ways:
1) Select the pin on the map, then select its name/ETA popup, and tap the pin icon on the details screen to pick a new color.
2) To change multiple pins at once, select the map’s Draw icon, draw around the pins, and use a “Set Color…” action to change their colors.
To remove all pins, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New”. You can choose to remove the route and/or all the non-route pins.
Or, to remove several pins, tap the map’s Draw icon, draw with your finger around the pins to remove, then under the 3-dots icon at the top-right, tap “Remove from Map” (or “Remove Non-Route Pins”, available with version 8.2, released 06/20/2023).
A single pin can only be set as a waypoint once, but you can add an additional pin at the same location to create a route with the same location multiple times. One easy option is to drop a new pin near the original with a long press on the map. You can press and hold near the middle of these purple dropped pins to drag them and precisely place it near the original pin location (the pin drops where the sharp bottom is located when released).
After adding it to your route, you could use the same pin name as the original pin, e.g. “Hotel X”, by changing it on the pin’s details screen (tap the map pin, then tap the popup that shows name/ETA).
Since these two pins are next to each other but you don’t want to visit them in order, disable “Optimize Waypoint Order” under the Route button and instead drag the waypoint up/down in the list to reorder it.
A map pin can have both its Start and Destination checkboxes set to create a loop back to that pin.
Tap the map’s Share icon (or on a Mac, the File menu), then “Print Route” to print the route and current map display.
If you are not using an AirPrint compatible Wi-Fi printer you can also:
- Email the route: tap the map’s Share icon (on Mac, the File menu) > “Mail Route”, which includes the same route itinerary as the Print option.
- Create a PDF file: The iOS print dialog includes the ability to print to PDF files: tap the map’s Share icon > “Print Route”, then pinch/zoom-in on the print preview until it zooms full screen, and tap the Share icon on the toolbar to save a PDF to your Files app, email, etc. On a Mac, a PDF option is available directly from the print dialog.
You can set departure times for your route and for its waypoints under the Route button. By default, the route’s departure time uses the time zone at the route’s Start pin. You can instead use a different time zone by tapping the “Time Zone” button shown when setting the route’s departure time.
Waypoint departure times can be set by tapping a waypoint in the list, then the “Leave at” tab, and these also use the time zone at that waypoint’s location. For example, setting a “Leave at” time of 07:00 means you plan to depart from the waypoint at 07:00 local time. To make planning across time zones easier, the time in the route’s departure time is also shown when setting the time for a single waypoint.
Calculated arrival/departure times for the route are shown under the Turns button, or on the map by showing a pin’s details. By default, arrival/departure times are shown in local time zones for each route location. At the top of the list, a “Time Zone” button allows changing these times to use the route’s departure time zone instead.
Dropped pins cannot be moved once they’ve been added to a route, as indicated by the change in pin color (no longer purple). However, you can add another dropped pin with a long-press on the map. Alternately, removing the pin from your route may change the pin back to purple, so long as another dropped pin has not been added to the map (only one draggable pin can be on the map at a time).
If the forecast does not appear accurate, first verify the route’s Departure Time is correct (shown near the top-left of the chart). Weather data along the route are based on when you’re expected to be at that area (Departure Time + Drive time + Layovers you’ve set). If the forecast does not appear accurate, please contact us so we can look into it further: map’s More icon > Contact Support (on Mac, the Help menu).
There’s an “Undo” option available under the map’s More icon (on Mac, the “Edit” menu) for most changes to the map. Places added to the map are also automatically saved periodically.
Your routes are also automatically saved as Recents after every change: to access, tap the map’s More icon, then “Recents” (on Mac, “Recents” are available on the sidebar).
For additional help restoring map pins, contact us using the “More” button (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Contact Support”.
For countries using the metric system, inRoute defaults to temperature in °C and lengths in meters/kilometers; otherwise temperatures in °F and lengths in feet/miles are used (the UK defaults to length in feet/miles and temperature in °C). However, units can be manually overridden by tapping the map’s More icon, then “App Settings” (on Mac, the inRoute menu > Preferences…).
Top Questions
For help getting started with inRoute, there is an in-app tutorial under the map’s More icon, then Tutorial (on Mac, the Help menu).
For help with CarPlay, please see our CarPlay Guide.
Or, email us using the app, which automatically includes app information helpful for troubleshooting: map’s More icon > Contact Support (on Mac, Help menu). If you’re unable to access the app’s Contact button, email us at support@inroute.com.
Your purchase can be used on your other device. On your other device:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Restore Previous Purchase” at the bottom of the screen
For questions about sharing a Pro for Families subscription to family members, see How does Family Sharing work?
The easiest option is to use the Upgrades screen where you originally subscribed:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Manage Subscription” to open the App Store’s Subscription page.
- Tap the inRoute subscription to manage/cancel. If there is no Cancel option, you have already cancelled. If there is no inRoute subscription, you have not subscribed recently.
Or, you can also manage subscriptions through your App Store account settings from your device or a computer. The link below from Apple has general instructions for any subscription on the App Store: https://support.apple.com/HT202039#subscriptions
Importing Spreadsheets
.XLSX files can be imported directly from within inRoute, sent as email attachments to your device and opened from Mail, or shared from your spreadsheet app (.XLSX is the native format for MS Excel and supported by Apple Numbers and Google Sheets as well). For example,
1) Within inRoute, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then tap “Import”, and select the file from its location.
2) Or, email the file to yourself. In the iOS Mail app, tap and hold the attached file, tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right). On a Mac, drag and drop the file onto inRoute.
.XLSX files must include a header row at the top, and during import you will be prompted to choose the columns that contain addresses (street, city, etc.), then the columns that contain the name to use for each map pin (first name, last name, business, etc). The format is flexible so a single column list of addresses works as well. Each row of the file creates a pin on the map, and the resulting route is automatically optimized if that is enabled under the Route button. Examples are available for download below:
Importing other File Types
For more information about importing files, see Can I import from files or other apps?
inRoute’s Pro for Families subscription uses Apple Family Sharing to share your subscription to the members of your family. More info about Apple Family Sharing and how to set up your family group is available here: https://support.apple.com/HT201060
Once setup, all family members need to do is download inRoute from their iPhone/iPad and their apps will be upgraded with your subscription too. If they have already downloaded the app, they can activate your subscription using the “Restore Previous Purchase” button available under their app’s “More” button > Upgrades.
For sharing routes between family members, you can use AirDrop, email or cloud storage with the options under the map’s Share icon (or the File menu on a Mac):
– AirDrop: Use the “Share” > AirDrop option to quickly transfer your route and pins to a nearby, unlocked device.
– Email: Use the “Mail Route” option and a file will be attached to your message that can be imported on another device running inRoute. To import from Mail on an iOS device, tap and hold the attached .GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, and from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
– Cloud storage: Use the “Export GPX to…” option to save the route to a cloud storage location. To import on another device, use the “Import” option under the “More” button (or the File menu on a Mac)
Problems Sharing Your Subscription
If a family member’s iPhone/iPad has not activated your “Pro for Families” subscription yet, there will be a lock icon above the map on their device. This usually occurs due to one of the following reasons:
- In your list of family members, the family member has not been added (Settings app > Family). If needed, tap the Add Member button in the top toolbar to add them.
- In your shared subscriptions, inRoute’s “Pro for Families” has not been added (Settings app > Family > Subscriptions). If so, tap “Manage Subscriptions”, tap your “Pro for Families” subscription, and set “Share with Family” to on (green).
If you still see a lock icon above the map on the family member’s device, tap the lock icon, and tap the “Restore Previous Purchase” button at the bottom of the Upgrades screen.
In version 8.2 or higher (released 06/20/2023), you can plan to drive a certain number of miles or hours per day (e.g., 8 hours) by selecting the Search button and choosing from one of the predefined route search options, such as “Search Every X Hours”. You will be prompted to select the number of hours to travel, and the category to search for (Hotels, Campgrounds, etc.). In the search results list, you can then add the places you want to the map. See below for older versions.
To set a place as an overnight stop (e.g. leave at 7 am), first add the pin to your route by setting it as a WayPt. Then, tap the Route button, tap the waypoint in the list, and set a “Leave at…” layover of 7 am (no “full days” should be added to leave the next morning).
If there were any intervals with no search results, you can use the “Search X Hours from a Pin” option, to easily vary the number of hours from the pin where there were no search results. You will be prompted to select the pin to search from, and you can change the search by +/- 0.5 hours (7.5, 8.5, etc.), or more as needed, to find search results. See below for additional options.
Additional options
You can also find places to stop near a particular time (or near sunset) using inRoute’s charts. Tap the “Distance/Time” label at the bottom to switch to viewing a chart against time. Sunset markers are shown on the chart and, as with any point on the charts, they can be tapped to briefly flash that point along the route on the map so you know where the time occurs. Zoom in on the chart near the time you wish to stop and the map will adjust to show that same area (or vice versa, zooming in on the map). Then tap the search field and select the “Route shown” or “Map” options and enter a search for “hotels”, “campgrounds”, etc, to find places to stay overnight.
There are three options for showing alternate routes:
1) Standard Avoidance/Custom Routes: To show routes avoiding certain criteria or to show custom routes by weather, elevation or curviness, open the “Route” screen, then select “Route Profile”. Avoidance options are shown at the top, along with an option to use those avoidances for all legs of the route (enabled by default). Custom Routes are shown below. Custom Routes initially appear as grey lines on the map and are not active. You must select the route’s label or the grey route line on the map to activate it, changing it to a blue line. The images shown for each Custom Route type are also used for the route’s label on the map (where total route time and distance is shown).
2) Customize Routes with the ALT Button: You can show all available alternate routes for each leg of your route by tapping the ALT button on the green Start pin or any waypoint (alternates may not be available on some legs). Some alternates may use your preferred route, but they’re commonly used alternates so they generally don’t add more than about ~25% to the leg time. After selecting an alternate (if available), tap the “Next” button and repeat for the next leg, building up your route.
3) Customize Routes by Dropping Pins: If the ALT button does not have a route along your preferred road, then you can drop a pin at a midpoint along it by long pressing on the map. You can drag dropped pins (purple) as needed to place them along your preferred road (the pin lands where the pin’s pointy bottom is positioned when released). Finally, add the pin to your route by setting its WayPt checkbox. It may also help to designate any of these dropped waypoints as “Vias” so they are not announced during navigation (under the Route button, tap the waypoint to access the Via setting, or use the “Select” or “Edit” button to choose multiple waypoints at once and set them all to Vias with the “Actions” button).
There is a RV route type at the top of the “Route” screen. You will see three options: Driving (Car icon), RV Routing (Motorhome icon), and Walking (Pedestrian icon). Once RV Routing is selected, an “RV Route Profile” option will appear where you can input your RV’s description. Routes will then avoid known clearance/weight restrictions.
inRoute does use a data plan when needed, but maps and routes are automatically saved locally so most functionality remains available without a data connection. Here are some additional details:
Routes
The route itself (directions as opposed to map images), your pins and notes, are all stored locally by inRoute, so they can be accessed while offline. During navigation, off-route recalculation isn’t possible without a data connection. In this case, the navigator will speak once that internet/recalculation isn’t available and continue to show your location and the previously calculated route on the map, until you either return to the route or a connection becomes available.
Maps
Your device automatically stores Apple’s map data (which inRoute uses) in a temporary cache, depending in part on when it was last used and device free storage. In advance of a trip, you can influence the maps that are stored locally by panning the map through the route at the zoom level needed (e.g. tap “Go” and pan the route). Verifying a map area is cached can be done in Airplane mode. Apple’s map data does not currently support saving a map area to ensure it will always be available when offline. If a cached map is not available during offline navigation, the map will show empty gridlines, although the blue route line will still show and turn instructions will continue.
inRoute uses Apple’s map data for search and directions by default, and the steps below can be used to report a problem to Apple starting within inRoute.
For a problem with map pin data, such as an incorrect label or address:
- Within inRoute, show the map pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the Share icon on the top toolbar, then “Show in Apple Maps” to transfer the pin to Apple Maps
- In Apple Maps, Select “Report an Issue” on the pin’s details screen (near the bottom, you may need to slide up the bottom pane).
For a problem with route directions, such as not showing a faster route between two locations:
- On the map, select the first location of the leg with the incorrect directions, then show the pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the “progress” row, and the leg starting at that location will be highlighted in red on the map.
- On the top toolbar select “Share Leg”, then select “Show in Apple Maps”. Apple Maps should open showing the same leg; if not, verify Apple Maps is using the same criteria for avoid tolls/highways. If the route is still different, please go to the last step below.
- Verify there are no traffic incidents (red minus icons) along the route that may be responsible for the irregular directions. If not, select the Info icon in Apple Maps, then “Report an Issue”.
- If the route is different in Apple Maps, please share the leg to us instead using the “Mail Leg” option on the share screen (instead of “Show in Apple Maps” above). Provide a detailed description of the problem, and send to support@inroute.com.
There are a few options to more quickly add locations to a route:
- Draw icon: Instead of adding each pin/address to the map and immediately setting it as a waypoint, just add each pin to the map only. When you’re done adding the pins to the map (blue pins by default), then tap the Draw icon at the lower-right of the map, circle all the blue pins on the map with your finger, and tap “Add to route” from the 3-dots icon at the top-right. All the pins will be set as waypoints at once.
- Uncheck Start/Destination: inRoute only calculates a route if you have at least a Start and a Destination pin set with the map’s pins. Unchecking one of those, for example the red Destination pin, while adding/removing waypoints will avoid recalculating the route with each change.
- Import from a spreadsheet: You can enter a list of addresses into a spreadsheet and import them all at once. During import, a route will automatically be created. See Can I import from files or other apps? for more details
Introduction
For help getting started with inRoute, there is an in-app tutorial under the map’s More icon, then Tutorial (on Mac, the Help menu).
For help with CarPlay, please see our CarPlay Guide.
Or, email us using the app, which automatically includes app information helpful for troubleshooting: map’s More icon > Contact Support (on Mac, Help menu). If you’re unable to access the app’s Contact button, email us at support@inroute.com.
inRoute is available for iPhones and iPads running iOS 14.0 or later (iOS App Store), Macs running macOS 11.0 Big Sur or later (Mac App Store), and CarPlay.
inRoute is a free download. Additional premium features are available for in-app purchase. These features are identified in the app using a lock icon, which when tapped will bring you to the Upgrades screen.
You can also view a full list of the app’s premium features on the Upgrades screen: tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help Menu), then “Upgrades”.
Your purchase can be used on your other device. On your other device:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Restore Previous Purchase” at the bottom of the screen
For questions about sharing a Pro for Families subscription to family members, see How does Family Sharing work?
The easiest option is to use the Upgrades screen where you originally subscribed:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Manage Subscription” to open the App Store’s Subscription page.
- Tap the inRoute subscription to manage/cancel. If there is no Cancel option, you have already cancelled. If there is no inRoute subscription, you have not subscribed recently.
Or, you can also manage subscriptions through your App Store account settings from your device or a computer. The link below from Apple has general instructions for any subscription on the App Store: https://support.apple.com/HT202039#subscriptions
inRoute should automatically receive purchase/renewal updates back from Apple, but in some cases such as connection problems to Apple’s servers this may not occur. Using the app’s restore feature will reconnect to Apple and retrieve your latest purchase history:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Upgrades”
- Tap “Restore Previous Purchase” at the bottom of the screen
When a subscription lapses, iCloud sync is disabled and saved routes and pins remain locally stored on your devices. For saved routes with more locations than allowed in your current plan, for example a saved 150-location route created with a Pro plan that has expired, the following are also disabled: route editing, optimizing, voice navigation, weather, elevation, and other premium features for routes with more locations than the current plan.
inRoute’s Pro for Families subscription uses Apple Family Sharing to share your subscription to the members of your family. More info about Apple Family Sharing and how to set up your family group is available here: https://support.apple.com/HT201060
Once setup, all family members need to do is download inRoute from their iPhone/iPad and their apps will be upgraded with your subscription too. If they have already downloaded the app, they can activate your subscription using the “Restore Previous Purchase” button available under their app’s “More” button > Upgrades.
For sharing routes between family members, you can use AirDrop, email or cloud storage with the options under the map’s Share icon (or the File menu on a Mac):
– AirDrop: Use the “Share” > AirDrop option to quickly transfer your route and pins to a nearby, unlocked device.
– Email: Use the “Mail Route” option and a file will be attached to your message that can be imported on another device running inRoute. To import from Mail on an iOS device, tap and hold the attached .GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, and from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
– Cloud storage: Use the “Export GPX to…” option to save the route to a cloud storage location. To import on another device, use the “Import” option under the “More” button (or the File menu on a Mac)
Problems Sharing Your Subscription
If a family member’s iPhone/iPad has not activated your “Pro for Families” subscription yet, there will be a lock icon above the map on their device. This usually occurs due to one of the following reasons:
- In your list of family members, the family member has not been added (Settings app > Family). If needed, tap the Add Member button in the top toolbar to add them.
- In your shared subscriptions, inRoute’s “Pro for Families” has not been added (Settings app > Family > Subscriptions). If so, tap “Manage Subscriptions”, tap your “Pro for Families” subscription, and set “Share with Family” to on (green).
If you still see a lock icon above the map on the family member’s device, tap the lock icon, and tap the “Restore Previous Purchase” button at the bottom of the Upgrades screen.
inRoute works worldwide and has been tested in the following countries:
| Albania | Dominica | Macau | Serbia |
| Andorra | Egypt | Macedonia | Singapore |
| Argentina | Estonia | Malawi | Slovakia |
| Anguilla | Ethiopia | Malaysia | Slovenia |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Finland | Malta | South Africa |
| Australia | France | Mauritania | Spain |
| Austria | French Guiana | Mayotte | St. Kitts and Nevis |
| Bahamas | Germany | Mauritius | St. Lucia |
| Barbados | Ghana | Mexico | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Belarus | Greece | Monaco | Sweden |
| Belgium | Grenada | Montenegro | Switzerland |
| Bermuda | Guadeloupe | Montserrat | Taiwan |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Hong Kong | Morocco | Thailand |
| Botswana | Hungary | Mozambique | Togo |
| Brazil | Iceland | Namibia | Trinidad and Tobago |
| British Virgin Islands | Indonesia | Netherlands | Tunisia |
| Brunei Darussalam | Ireland | New Zealand | Turkey |
| Bulgaria | Israel | North Macedonia | Turks and Calcos Islands |
| Burkina Faso | India | Norway | Uganda |
| Burundi | Italy | Philippines | UK |
| Canada | Jamaica | Poland | Ukraine |
| Cayman Islands | Japan | Portugal | United Arab Emirates |
| Chile | Korea, Republic of | Reunion Island | Uruguay |
| Croatia | Kosovo | Romania | USA |
| Cyprus | Latvia | Russia | Vietnam |
| Czech Republic | Liechtenstein | Rwanda | Virgan Islands |
| Denmark | Lithuania | San Marino | Zambia |
| Dominican Republic | Luxembourg | Scotland | Zimbabwe |
* Route elevation charts are currently limited to latitudes 56°S to 60°N.
* Severe weather alerts are available in the USA, Canada, Iceland, EU and Israel.
Route Planning
You can view times and distances for each place or for all places at once:
For each place:
- Tap any route pin on the map, then tap the popup (that shows name/ETA) to show the pin’s details. The “progress” row shows the time and distance from the Start pin (or from your current location while navigating), as well as the time and distance to the next route place.
- Or, tap the ALT button on any route pin and the time and distance to the next route pin will show on the route’s label. The ALT button is available for driving routes only, and shows available alternates for the leg (one route pin to the next).
For all places at once:
- Tap the Turns button. To show only the times and distances and hide the individual turn-by-turn instructions, tap the “Hide Steps” button. This information is also included when a route is shared by email or printed (see below).
Under the Route button, you can drag a location up or down in the list to change its order. Or, to reorder waypoints directly on the map, first disable optimization on the Route screen. Then, on the map uncheck the waypoint you want to reorder, and when you recheck the pin you will be prompted to choose its order.
To save your current route, use the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Save”.
To start a new route, use the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New”, then “Remove Route”.
Saved routes and pins can be reloaded from the “Favorites” screen.
Importing Spreadsheets
.XLSX files can be imported directly from within inRoute, sent as email attachments to your device and opened from Mail, or shared from your spreadsheet app (.XLSX is the native format for MS Excel and supported by Apple Numbers and Google Sheets as well). For example,
1) Within inRoute, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then tap “Import”, and select the file from its location.
2) Or, email the file to yourself. In the iOS Mail app, tap and hold the attached file, tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right). On a Mac, drag and drop the file onto inRoute.
.XLSX files must include a header row at the top, and during import you will be prompted to choose the columns that contain addresses (street, city, etc.), then the columns that contain the name to use for each map pin (first name, last name, business, etc). The format is flexible so a single column list of addresses works as well. Each row of the file creates a pin on the map, and the resulting route is automatically optimized if that is enabled under the Route button. Examples are available for download below:
Importing other File Types
For more information about importing files, see Can I import from files or other apps?
inRoute can import from XLSX, GPX, KML and other files. Routes in XLSX format will be automatically optimized if optimization is enabled under the Route button. Options for importing include:
- Tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Import” and select the file from one of your storage locations.
- Use the standard iOS “Open in” or Share menu from other apps. For example, after emailing a file to your device, in the Mail app, tap and hold the attached GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
- On Macs or iPads, drag a file from another app (e.g. the Files app) and drop it within inRoute. You can also drag and drop lists of addresses from other apps, for example from a text file.
With inRoute Pro, there are no limits to the number of places that can be imported from GPX and KML files, but XLSX spreadsheets are limited to 150 places. This is because spreadsheets contain addresses that must be converted to map coordinates, which cannot be done on the device, and map providers limit the number of conversions that can be done at one time. The free version is limited to 8 places for all file types.
File Formats
XLSX
Include a header row at the top, and during import you will be prompted to choose the columns that contain addresses (street, city, etc.), then the columns that contain the name to use for each map pin (first name, last name, business, etc). The format is flexible, so a single column list of addresses works as well. Each row of the file creates a pin on the map, and the resulting route is automatically optimized if that is enabled under the Route button.
For example, a simple spreadsheet could include the following two columns. With just one row after the header row, only one map pin would be created. More commonly, the address is split across multiple columns, for example Street, City, State, and Postal Codes. The import interface will allow you to specify which column(s) to use for the name and address.
| Name | Address |
|---|---|
| Acme Engineering | 1234 S Main St, Seattle, WA 98144 |
GPX
GPX files can contain several types of location information, for example “route”, “waypoint”, and “track” types:
- Routes (denoted with rte tags in the file): A route is a plan for places you want to go. Guided navigation apps use “routes” and determine turn-by-turn directions between the places. For import to inRoute, route places must include latitude and longitude. GPX routes with more than 150 locations (Pro upgrade) will be imported to the map but will not be automatically added to a route. inRoute Pro is required for routes with more than 8 locations.
- Tracks (denoted with trk tags in the file): Tracks are generally used as a record of where you’ve been and may contain thousands of locations. GPX files containing only a GPX track will be automatically filtered to less than 150 locations (Pro upgrade) representing the original track, and automatically added to a route within inRoute.
- Waypoints (denoted with wpt tags in the file): Waypoints are location information, separate from a route, to mark specific places/landmarks on a map. Waypoints are often used together with tracks by navigation software to show a detailed path on a map (the track) and to flag specific locations (the waypoints). If no GPX route or track is found during import, and the file contains waypoints with latitude/longitude coordinates, inRoute will import the waypoints as though they were a GPX route. If a GPX track is found, the track will be used to generate a route, and the waypoints will be added to the map only.
inRoute can also generate GPX files (with inRoute Pro) that can be transferred to other inRoute users or to compatible navigation apps: Tap the map’s Share icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Mail Route” or “Export GPX to…” to attach/generate a GPX file (or “Share” > AirDrop to quickly transfer to a nearby, unlocked device).
KML file
Like GPX, KML files can contain several types of location information. In all cases location information must include latitude, longitude coordinates (not solely addresses). KML “LineString” and “Point” data types are supported. LineString types are treated similar to GPX tracks above (automatically filtered to 150 locations with inRoute Pro, if needed). An example KML Point may look like the following:
<Placemark> <name>Tucson, AZ</name> <Point> <coordinates>-110.9264,32.2216,0.0</coordinates> </Point> </Placemark>
TXT or CSV
Similar to the XLSX section above, you can import addresses and/or coordinates from TXT and CSV files. However, importing from TXT or CSV requires a more specific file format than importing from XLSX, so using XLSX is recommended.
With CSV files, the first column of the file can optionally be used to set the names of the imported map pins, with the remaining columns used to specify the address or coordinates. If a name column is used, the name does not affect the search performed (“Joe Smith, 123 Main St” would be the same as searching for “123 Main St” within inRoute’s search box). The example spreadsheet above in the XLSX section may be used for CSVs with the first column being used for the pin’s name, but CSVs should not include a header row.
For TXT files, each line of the file is used to specify an address or coordinate. Unlike XLSX and CSV, there is no option to name the resulting map pin when importing from TXT files.
Sharing routes and pins between devices or exporting to files is a premium feature. Routes and pins can be shared using iCloud sync or exported as a .GPX file:
iCloud sync:
- Routes and pins you save to inRoute’s Favorites can be automatically synced to the Favorites of your other devices if you opt-in to iCloud sync. You are prompted to opt-in to iCloud sync when you subscribe, but if you did not opt-in on a device you will see “Favorites Sync Disabled” at the top of your “Favorites” screen. Selecting that row will open the app’s settings, where you can enable the “iCloud” option.
- Then, in order to sync your current route or pins on the map, save them by tapping the map’s More button (on a Mac, the File menu), and use the “Save” option. iCloud generally starts syncing changes to your Favorites within about 30-45 seconds (you will see a blue progress bar appear at the top of the Favorites screen). Once the sync completes, from the other device’s Favorites you can select a route to restore it to the other device’s map, or select the Globe icon next to a folder to drop the folder’s pins back to the map.
Send as a .GPX file:
- Tap the map’s Share icon, then “Mail Route” to attach a .GPX file with the current map’s contents (route and pins), which can be imported on another device running inRoute (or select “Share” > Airdrop to quickly transfer to a nearby, unlocked device). You will need a route on the map for sharing, but all non-route pins on the current map are included in the file as well (a simple two location route with a Start pin and a Destination is sufficient). For sharing by email, from a receiving iOS device’s Mail app, tap and hold the attached GPX file (at the bottom of the message), tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
The sync between devices includes saved routes and pins stored on your Favorites screen. If you haven’t already, in order to sync the current route and pins on the map, first save them by tapping the map’s More button (on Mac, the File menu) and use the “Save” option.
If your Favorites are not syncing between devices, there are a few things that may help:
1) Do you see a green checkmark and “Favorites Sync Enabled” at the top of your Favorites screen on the devices you’re trying to sync? If not, additional information may show in that location about any problems your devices are having connecting to iCloud.
2) Restarting both devices can often help with unexpected iCloud problems:
https://support.apple.com/HT201559 (iPhone)
https://support.apple.com/HT210631 (iPad)
3) At the top of your Favorites there’s a blue progress bar that appears when iCloud is syncing changes, which can help with understanding whether iCloud has started uploading or downloading your changes. If you save a route/pins on a device, iCloud should start uploading changes that you make (progress bar appears) within about 30-45 seconds. This can help identify if one of your devices is not syncing correctly with iCloud.
If the above doesn’t help and you need to get routes transferred immediately, you can also tap the map’s Share icon, then “Mail Route” to attach a .GPX file that can be imported on another device running inRoute (or use “Share” > Airdrop to quickly transfer to a nearby unlocked device). You’ll need a route on the map for sharing, but all non-route pins on the current map are included in the file as well (a simple route from a Start pin to Destination is enough). If you email the route, from the other iOS device’s Mail app, tap and hold the attached GPX file, tap “Share”, then from the second row of app icons select “inRoute” (this may be under the “More” button at the far right).
150 locations is the route limit with inRoute Pro. However, you can save multiple routes, each with up to 150 locations. If you can break up your trip by region, day, etc., you can save trips of any size.
- Save the first route with up to 150 locations using the “Save” button under the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu). Optionally, note the Arrival Time of the route (under the Turns list, last row); to keep timing accurate between multiple routes, you may want to use this as the Departure Time for the next route.
- Clear the route: map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New”, then “Remove Route”.
- Add the next set of up to 150 locations to a route, and optionally set your new Departure Time either from step 1 or based on the new day of travel.
When complete, repeat the save/clear procedure above for any further routes needed for your trip. Routes are saved to Favorites. When loading a route from Favorites you can choose to leave the previous route’s pins on the map, but only up to 150 at a time will show an active route.
In version 8.2 or higher (released 06/20/2023), to search along a route, first make sure there’s a blue route line showing on the map (i.e., at least a Start pin and a Dest. pin need to be set with the map’s pins). Then, tap the Search button, and several predefined route search options will be shown. For older versions, see below.
Note: Searching a route can lead to many blue pins on the map. To remove them all, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New” and use the “Remove Non-Route Pins” option. Or, remove specific pins with the map’s Draw icon, drawing around them and using the “Remove from Map” option under the 3-dots icon at the top-right (or “Remove Non-Route Pins”, available with version 8.2, released 06/30/2023).
In version 8.2 or higher (released 06/20/2023), you can plan to drive a certain number of miles or hours per day (e.g., 8 hours) by selecting the Search button and choosing from one of the predefined route search options, such as “Search Every X Hours”. You will be prompted to select the number of hours to travel, and the category to search for (Hotels, Campgrounds, etc.). In the search results list, you can then add the places you want to the map. See below for older versions.
To set a place as an overnight stop (e.g. leave at 7 am), first add the pin to your route by setting it as a WayPt. Then, tap the Route button, tap the waypoint in the list, and set a “Leave at…” layover of 7 am (no “full days” should be added to leave the next morning).
If there were any intervals with no search results, you can use the “Search X Hours from a Pin” option, to easily vary the number of hours from the pin where there were no search results. You will be prompted to select the pin to search from, and you can change the search by +/- 0.5 hours (7.5, 8.5, etc.), or more as needed, to find search results. See below for additional options.
Additional options
You can also find places to stop near a particular time (or near sunset) using inRoute’s charts. Tap the “Distance/Time” label at the bottom to switch to viewing a chart against time. Sunset markers are shown on the chart and, as with any point on the charts, they can be tapped to briefly flash that point along the route on the map so you know where the time occurs. Zoom in on the chart near the time you wish to stop and the map will adjust to show that same area (or vice versa, zooming in on the map). Then tap the search field and select the “Route shown” or “Map” options and enter a search for “hotels”, “campgrounds”, etc, to find places to stay overnight.
There are three options for showing alternate routes:
1) Standard Avoidance/Custom Routes: To show routes avoiding certain criteria or to show custom routes by weather, elevation or curviness, open the “Route” screen, then select “Route Profile”. Avoidance options are shown at the top, along with an option to use those avoidances for all legs of the route (enabled by default). Custom Routes are shown below. Custom Routes initially appear as grey lines on the map and are not active. You must select the route’s label or the grey route line on the map to activate it, changing it to a blue line. The images shown for each Custom Route type are also used for the route’s label on the map (where total route time and distance is shown).
2) Customize Routes with the ALT Button: You can show all available alternate routes for each leg of your route by tapping the ALT button on the green Start pin or any waypoint (alternates may not be available on some legs). Some alternates may use your preferred route, but they’re commonly used alternates so they generally don’t add more than about ~25% to the leg time. After selecting an alternate (if available), tap the “Next” button and repeat for the next leg, building up your route.
3) Customize Routes by Dropping Pins: If the ALT button does not have a route along your preferred road, then you can drop a pin at a midpoint along it by long pressing on the map. You can drag dropped pins (purple) as needed to place them along your preferred road (the pin lands where the pin’s pointy bottom is positioned when released). Finally, add the pin to your route by setting its WayPt checkbox. It may also help to designate any of these dropped waypoints as “Vias” so they are not announced during navigation (under the Route button, tap the waypoint to access the Via setting, or use the “Select” or “Edit” button to choose multiple waypoints at once and set them all to Vias with the “Actions” button).
There is a RV route type at the top of the “Route” screen. You will see three options: Driving (Car icon), RV Routing (Motorhome icon), and Walking (Pedestrian icon). Once RV Routing is selected, an “RV Route Profile” option will appear where you can input your RV’s description. Routes will then avoid known clearance/weight restrictions.
inRoute uses Apple’s map data for search and directions by default, and the steps below can be used to report a problem to Apple starting within inRoute.
For a problem with map pin data, such as an incorrect label or address:
- Within inRoute, show the map pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the Share icon on the top toolbar, then “Show in Apple Maps” to transfer the pin to Apple Maps
- In Apple Maps, Select “Report an Issue” on the pin’s details screen (near the bottom, you may need to slide up the bottom pane).
For a problem with route directions, such as not showing a faster route between two locations:
- On the map, select the first location of the leg with the incorrect directions, then show the pin’s details (select its name/ETA popup)
- Select the “progress” row, and the leg starting at that location will be highlighted in red on the map.
- On the top toolbar select “Share Leg”, then select “Show in Apple Maps”. Apple Maps should open showing the same leg; if not, verify Apple Maps is using the same criteria for avoid tolls/highways. If the route is still different, please go to the last step below.
- Verify there are no traffic incidents (red minus icons) along the route that may be responsible for the irregular directions. If not, select the Info icon in Apple Maps, then “Report an Issue”.
- If the route is different in Apple Maps, please share the leg to us instead using the “Mail Leg” option on the share screen (instead of “Show in Apple Maps” above). Provide a detailed description of the problem, and send to support@inroute.com.
There are a few options to more quickly add locations to a route:
- Draw icon: Instead of adding each pin/address to the map and immediately setting it as a waypoint, just add each pin to the map only. When you’re done adding the pins to the map (blue pins by default), then tap the Draw icon at the lower-right of the map, circle all the blue pins on the map with your finger, and tap “Add to route” from the 3-dots icon at the top-right. All the pins will be set as waypoints at once.
- Uncheck Start/Destination: inRoute only calculates a route if you have at least a Start and a Destination pin set with the map’s pins. Unchecking one of those, for example the red Destination pin, while adding/removing waypoints will avoid recalculating the route with each change.
- Import from a spreadsheet: You can enter a list of addresses into a spreadsheet and import them all at once. During import, a route will automatically be created. See Can I import from files or other apps? for more details
To delete a Favorite, you can swipe left on a row in your Favorites (on Mac, right-click), and then tap the “Delete” button that appears.
To organize your Favorites, tap the “Select” or “Edit” button from the top toolbar, enabling multiple selection and showing additional tools for organizing your Favorites. 4 additional icons appear on the top toolbar (trash, new folder, move to new folder, and a Globe for dropping selected items back to the map).
Additionally, while organizing your Favorites with the “Select” or “Edit” button on the top toolbar, an Info icon will appear next to each item in your Favorites, that when tapped allows you to rename an item.
You can change non-route pin colors (default blue) and waypoint pin colors (default orange), in one of two ways:
1) Select the pin on the map, then select its name/ETA popup, and tap the pin icon on the details screen to pick a new color.
2) To change multiple pins at once, select the map’s Draw icon, draw around the pins, and use a “Set Color…” action to change their colors.
To remove all pins, tap the map’s More icon (on Mac, the File menu), then “Clear/New”. You can choose to remove the route and/or all the non-route pins.
Or, to remove several pins, tap the map’s Draw icon, draw with your finger around the pins to remove, then under the 3-dots icon at the top-right, tap “Remove from Map” (or “Remove Non-Route Pins”, available with version 8.2, released 06/20/2023).
A single pin can only be set as a waypoint once, but you can add an additional pin at the same location to create a route with the same location multiple times. One easy option is to drop a new pin near the original with a long press on the map. You can press and hold near the middle of these purple dropped pins to drag them and precisely place it near the original pin location (the pin drops where the sharp bottom is located when released).
After adding it to your route, you could use the same pin name as the original pin, e.g. “Hotel X”, by changing it on the pin’s details screen (tap the map pin, then tap the popup that shows name/ETA).
Since these two pins are next to each other but you don’t want to visit them in order, disable “Optimize Waypoint Order” under the Route button and instead drag the waypoint up/down in the list to reorder it.
A map pin can have both its Start and Destination checkboxes set to create a loop back to that pin.
Tap the map’s Share icon (or on a Mac, the File menu), then “Print Route” to print the route and current map display.
If you are not using an AirPrint compatible Wi-Fi printer you can also:
- Email the route: tap the map’s Share icon (on Mac, the File menu) > “Mail Route”, which includes the same route itinerary as the Print option.
- Create a PDF file: The iOS print dialog includes the ability to print to PDF files: tap the map’s Share icon > “Print Route”, then pinch/zoom-in on the print preview until it zooms full screen, and tap the Share icon on the toolbar to save a PDF to your Files app, email, etc. On a Mac, a PDF option is available directly from the print dialog.
You can set departure times for your route and for its waypoints under the Route button. By default, the route’s departure time uses the time zone at the route’s Start pin. You can instead use a different time zone by tapping the “Time Zone” button shown when setting the route’s departure time.
Waypoint departure times can be set by tapping a waypoint in the list, then the “Leave at” tab, and these also use the time zone at that waypoint’s location. For example, setting a “Leave at” time of 07:00 means you plan to depart from the waypoint at 07:00 local time. To make planning across time zones easier, the time in the route’s departure time is also shown when setting the time for a single waypoint.
Calculated arrival/departure times for the route are shown under the Turns button, or on the map by showing a pin’s details. By default, arrival/departure times are shown in local time zones for each route location. At the top of the list, a “Time Zone” button allows changing these times to use the route’s departure time zone instead.
Dropped pins cannot be moved once they’ve been added to a route, as indicated by the change in pin color (no longer purple). However, you can add another dropped pin with a long-press on the map. Alternately, removing the pin from your route may change the pin back to purple, so long as another dropped pin has not been added to the map (only one draggable pin can be on the map at a time).
If the forecast does not appear accurate, first verify the route’s Departure Time is correct (shown near the top-left of the chart). Weather data along the route are based on when you’re expected to be at that area (Departure Time + Drive time + Layovers you’ve set). If the forecast does not appear accurate, please contact us so we can look into it further: map’s More icon > Contact Support (on Mac, the Help menu).
There’s an “Undo” option available under the map’s More icon (on Mac, the “Edit” menu) for most changes to the map. Places added to the map are also automatically saved periodically.
Your routes are also automatically saved as Recents after every change: to access, tap the map’s More icon, then “Recents” (on Mac, “Recents” are available on the sidebar).
For additional help restoring map pins, contact us using the “More” button (on Mac, the Help menu), then “Contact Support”.
For countries using the metric system, inRoute defaults to temperature in °C and lengths in meters/kilometers; otherwise temperatures in °F and lengths in feet/miles are used (the UK defaults to length in feet/miles and temperature in °C). However, units can be manually overridden by tapping the map’s More icon, then “App Settings” (on Mac, the inRoute menu > Preferences…).