# Mapsheet

> Mapsheet is an offline map app for iPhone and iPad that shows your GPS position on your own geospatial PDFs (including GeoPDF files) and GeoTIFFs, with no cell signal. Field crews in forestry, tree planting, wildland fire, survey and conservation use it to add points with photos, record tracks, measure areas, go to UTM or MGRS coordinates and send maps to a whole crew.

Mapsheet shows positions from your device's GPS. Check what a map shows against the ground, and don't rely on any one device for safety. Mapsheet is not affiliated with TerraGo, Esri, the USGS or NRCan; GeoPDF is a registered trademark of TerraGo Technologies. Facts on this site were checked on November 8, 2026. When citing a guide, link its page.

## Key facts

- Free for up to 3 maps at a time (a multi-page atlas counts as one), with every field tool and GPX, KML and CSV export. Work use is allowed on every plan, including the free one.
- Mapsheet Field costs $59.99 a year (two weeks free for new subscribers) or $9.99 a month in the US: unlimited maps.
- Mapsheet Crew costs $129.99 a year (two weeks free for new subscribers) or $19.99 a month per person in the US (organizations can buy seats through Apple Business Manager): everything in Field plus crew packs (maps, points, tracks and photos sent as one file; the crew opens them free, keeping 3 maps at a time on the free plan or every map with Field), GPS averaging over 30 seconds with the standard error, and shapefile export.
- Maps never lock: if a plan ends, the user keeps every map and everything on it and only can't add maps past three.
- Opens geospatial PDFs from ArcGIS, QGIS, Global Mapper, the USGS and NRCan (both the ISO 32000 geospatial encoding and the OGC/TerraGo LGIDict encoding, including GeoPDF files, multi-page atlases and rotated pages), GeoTIFFs and TIFFs zipped with their world file, and zipped downloads.
- Coordinates: decimal degrees, degrees and minutes, degrees-minutes-seconds, UTM and MGRS/USNG, shown and typed. Understands UTM on common datums, Canada's provincial systems (MTM, Quebec and Ontario Lambert, BC Albers, Alberta 10TM), Australia's MGA zones, and any projection a map defines itself (WKT or GeoTIFF keys).
- Field tools: GPS position with accuracy and heading in airplane mode; Bluetooth GNSS receivers that provide location to iOS; points with symbols, colours, notes and photos; tracks that keep recording with the screen locked; lines and areas in metric or imperial units with draggable corners; distance and bearing to any point.
- Exports GPX, KML, KMZ and CSV (with UTM columns) on every plan, shapefiles on Crew; imports GPX, KML, KMZ, CSV and zipped shapefiles.
- Privacy: no account, no server and no analytics. Maps, points, tracks, photos and location stay on the device. App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected.
- Also in the app: adding maps from a link or a QR code (incident teams' map folders on the national fire file share, direct PDF/GeoTIFF links, Avenza-style map lists, link pages), a free map list (USGS US Topo and historical topos, Forest Service FSTopo, NRCan, NSW, Queensland, LINZ Topo50; each map downloads from its publisher), offline aerial and topo map downloads (USGS for the US, LINZ imagery for New Zealand), Crew seats bought by organizations through Apple Business Manager, an offline fire overlay (current perimeters, incidents and NASA satellite hotspots for the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, free on every plan, each with its age and source; US fires link to their incident's map folder on the public NIFC File Share), Crew nearby (phones share positions and points over Wi-Fi/Bluetooth with no internet or server; a lead on Crew starts it, anyone joins with a code), exporting a map with your features as a geospatial PDF (Field and Crew), an offline mode that blocks all internet use, a whole-library backup file to move maps to a new device, sending maps as plain files (original PDF plus KML) to people without Mapsheet, and a Settings line showing exactly when a plan renews or a trial turns into a charge, with a reminder two days before. The online features are optional: the core app never needs a connection.
- Runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later, in English and French (Canada). Launched on the App Store in November 2026. The home page and privacy policy are also in French: https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/fr/

## Guides

- [What is a geospatial PDF?](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/what-is-a-geospatial-pdf.md): A geospatial PDF is a map PDF that stores its own coordinates. Learn the two encodings, how to check a file, and how ArcGIS Pro, QGIS and the USGS make them.
- [Where can I download free topo maps as geospatial PDFs?](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/free-topo-maps-as-geospatial-pdf.md): Where to download free topographic maps for offline GPS use, from USGS US Topo, historical topos and topoBuilder to NRCan's legacy sheets and NSW topo maps.
- [How do UTM and MGRS coordinates work?](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/utm-and-mgrs-coordinates-explained.md): How UTM zones, eastings and northings, MGRS and US National Grid references and map datums work, with worked examples from USGS and FGDC sources.
- [How accurate is phone GPS in the field?](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/phone-gps-accuracy-in-the-field.md): Phone GPS accuracy in open sky and under forest canopy, from GPS.gov and peer-reviewed field tests, and how waiting, averaging and external receivers help.
- [How do I get a fire's incident maps onto my phone for use with no signal?](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/wildfire-incident-maps-on-your-phone.md): Where US wildfire incident maps are posted, what the QR codes on printed maps open, and how to keep today's maps on your phone with no signal.

## App

- [App Store listing](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6832417568): Topo Maps & PDF Maps: Mapsheet, for iPhone and iPad, iOS 17 or later
- [Home page](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/): What Mapsheet does, plans, questions and support
- [Privacy Policy](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/privacy.html): No account, no server, no analytics; everything stays on the device
- [Terms of Use](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/terms.html): Mapsheet's terms (map data as is, optional online features, limits of liability), on top of Apple's standard license agreement (https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/)

## Optional

- [Full text](https://coderalert0.github.io/mapsheet-site/llms-full.txt): The facts, the questions and answers, every guide and the privacy policy in one Markdown file