Upload a Map Sheet

Where a Map Sheet Can Be Saved

A map sheet can be saved in two places, and where it is saved determines where you can use it.

On a map. When you upload a map sheet to a map, on the web or in the mobile app, it becomes a map object on that map and is listed in the map's Map Sheets folder. It is available whenever that map is open, and anyone who bookmarks that map will have access to the map sheet as well. It does not show up on your other maps. You can also add a map sheet from your account to a map so that people who bookmark the map have access to it.

In your account. A map sheet saved to your account (or to a team account) is stored in the Map Sheets folder in Your Data. It is available on any map: navigate to the area it covers and it will be listed under Your Sheets in the map sheets drop down menu. A map sheet must be saved to your account before you can download it to the CalTopo mobile app.

A map sheet that is on a map can also be saved to your account. On the web you can also upload a map sheet directly to your account. In the mobile app a map sheet is always added to a map first, and you can then save it to your account from there. Learn how to save a map sheet to your account.

Uploading a New Map Sheet as a Map Object

This feature is only available for pro, desktop or team accounts. You can upload a map sheet to a saved or an unsaved map.

How to Upload a Map Sheet

Here is an example of how to use this feature. We’ll walk through uploading a PDF file of a map of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. There isn’t a lot of information about this preserve on any of the base layers available on CalTopo so it makes a good choice to add as a map sheet.

With a map open, click the +Add menu on the left side of the map viewer and select Map Sheet from the bottom of the list.

Click the orange Add menu and select Map Sheet from the list

The map sheet dialog will appear. Name the map, upload the file and select whether or not to share the map sheet publicly. Sharing publicly submits the map sheet for review, as described in Submit a New Shared Map Sheet for Review. The maximum upload size is 40 MB. If you are trying to upload a file larger than 40 MB, creating a custom layer in MapBox is probably a better option.

After selecting a file, the file name shows next to the Browse Files button. You can add your own title. Click Save to upload the file.

Click Save to upload the file. If the file contains geospatial alignment data (such as a georeferenced PDF file), then the map sheet will automatically align. If not, then you receive the following dialog and manual alignment will be required.

If your file does not have geo-info, you will get this warning.

Manual Alignment for an image that does not have geographic information

To manually align your map sheet, match two points on the image with two points on the map. Try to choose very obvious and well established locations on both the image and map so it's easier to align your map sheet. Right-click on the map sheet and select “Mark Point” to mark image points. Right-click on the mapviewer and select “Mark LatLng” to mark corresponding coordinates. As you mark image points and coordinates, move the opacity slider to see how well the map sheet is aligning. You can zoom in/out and remark image points or coordinates as many times as needed. The video below demonstrates the manual alignment process.

Once you are happy with the alignment of your map sheet, press Save.

Map sheets that are added to the map will appear in a Map Sheets folder in the Map Objects menu on the left side of the map viewer as well as in the Map Sheets dropdown menu on the right.

Here arrows indicate the two places on the page where you will see the map sheet listed.

Add a Map Sheet From Your Account to a Map

You can also add a map sheet that is already saved to your account to a map. This is useful when you want to share a map: anyone who bookmarks the map will have access to the map sheet. Click the +Add menu, select Map Sheet, and then choose From Account at the top of the dialog instead of Upload New. This works on both the web and the mobile app. The Share publicly switch is available whether you upload a new map sheet or add one from your account. Turn it on to submit the map sheet for review for inclusion in the shared map sheets database. See Submit a New Shared Map Sheet for Review.

The map sheet attached to the map is independent of the one in your account. A change to the map sheet in your account does not affect the map sheet attached to the map.

Upload a Map Sheet in the Mobile App

You can upload a map sheet directly from the mobile app, on either a saved or an unsaved map. Tap the + (Add) button to open the Add Map Item menu and select Map Sheet from the bottom of the menu.

Tap the + button, then select Map Sheet at the bottom of the Add Map Item menu.

The Add Map Sheet dialog in the mobile app. Choose Upload New to upload a file, or From Account to add a map sheet saved to your account.

• The map sheet must already be georeferenced, such as a geospatial PDF or a GeoTIFF. Manually aligning a map sheet is only available on the web.
• Like on the web, the uploaded map sheet is added to the map as a map object.
• The Add Map Sheet dialog on mobile also has a From Account option for adding a map sheet that is already saved to your account to the map.
• From the map you can then add the map sheet to your account. Unlike on the web, you cannot upload a map sheet directly to your account from the mobile app.

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Saving a Map Sheet to Your Account for Future Use

Currently the map sheet is only added to the map. To save the map sheet to your account, click on the pencil icon to the right of the map sheet name in the Map Sheets folder. A dialog will appear and you can click Save To Account to save the map sheet to your account for future use.

Tap the pencil icon to edit, then use the Save to Account link.

Saved map sheets will appear in the Map Sheets folder of your account. In addition, saved map sheets will also appear in the Map Sheets dropdown menu on the right hand side above Shared Sheets when you are viewing that particular area in the map viewer.

Alternatively you can upload map sheets directly to your account from Your Data. Open the Map Sheets folder and click the orange + (Add) button at the top right of the open folder. A map sheet uploaded this way must already be georeferenced.

You can also save map sheets directly to your account by using the + button at the top right of the open Map Sheets folder in Your Data.

Uploading map sheets via this method will save the map sheet directly to your account but will not automatically add the map sheet to your map. To add it to a map as a map object, see Add a Map Sheet From Your Account to a Map.

If you would like to view the map sheet on your map, navigate to the area where the map sheet is located and then click the Map Sheets drop down menu on the right hand side of the map viewer. Any map sheets saved to your account in that area will appear at the top of the list under Your Sheets. Click the map sheet to display it in your map.

Map sheets saved to your account in an area are displayed at the top of the Map Sheets dropdown menu under Your Sheets.

Submit a New Shared Map Sheet for Review

To share a map sheet with other CalTopo users, turn on Share publicly in the Add Map Sheet dialog when you upload a new map sheet or add one from your account. Turning on the switch does not make the map sheet public right away. CalTopo reviews every submitted map sheet for quality as well as copyright issues before it is included in the shared map sheets database.

When you turn on Share publicly, the dialog asks for more information. You must confirm the copyright statement, that the image is public domain or that you have permission from the author to share it. You can also enter the author, meaning who created the map, and a description.

Turning on Share publicly adds a required Copyright confirmation and Author and Description fields to the dialog.

You can also submit a map sheet file for review at https://caltopo.com/submitmap.

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