Tour Journaler Help
Version 2.3
Tour Journaler lets you document a walking/food/biking/snowshoeing/etc tour with your pinned locations on a map with breadcrumb trail, photos and notes:
- đź”´ Record tour
- Mark(pin) locations with simple button tap.
- Document with photos and/or notes.
- Recover and resume interrupted tours
- 🗺️ View saved tours
- Pins on the map show marked locations.
- List of Pins, photos and notes.
- Get directions to any pinned location.
- Export photos to the Photos app.
- 📤 Export saved tours (with in-app purchase)
- Word format for enhanced editing.
- PDF format for sharing or printing.
đź”´ Record a Tour

- Launch app and wait for map to zoom to your current location.
- Go to the đź”´ Record tab.
- Change the default tour name if desired.
- Tap Start button
.
- Note that start button turns to Stop button
.
- Proceed on tour — the app records a breadcrumb trail on the map (even with phone in pocket).
- Tap Mark button
whenever you want to pin your current location on the map.
- Colored LED below Pause button shows GPS signal quality:
- 🟢 Green – Strong GPS signal with reliable location accuracy.
- 🟡 Yellow – Weak GPS signal; location accuracy may be reduced.
- 🔴 Red+Blinking – Searching for GPS or no location fix yet.
- ⚪ Gray – GPS intentionally turned off (recording paused).
- 📸 Mark also opens the camera so you can take a photo right away.
- Add notes to photos (or edit later).
- If photo taken more than 150 ft (50m) from last pin, then new pin created on map.
- Tap Photo
to add a photo to the most recent pinned location.
- Tap Pause
to stop GPS and save battery (during lunch and rest breaks).
- Tap Resume
to continue.
- Tap Stop
to end and save the tour.
- If app accidentally dismissed during tour: relaunch app and choose: Resume, Save, or Discard recording
🗺️ View and Edit Saved Tours
- Go to the 🗺️ Tours tab.
- Tap a tour to open it (swipe left to Rename or Delete).
- Edit notes directly in the list.
- Left-Swipe a location/section header to get directions to that location.
- Left-Swipe the text field of a photo to:
- Tap a photo to view catalog of all photos (larger size) for the tour. Get Directions or copy photo to Photo app, for any displayed photo
📤 Export tours to external file (with in-app purchase)
Open a saved tour and tap Share icon in upper right
:
- PDF — best for sharing or printing.
- DOCX — editable in Word (Mac/Windows).
Exports include:
- A map with numbered pins.
- A list of pinned locations.
- Photos and captions.
⚙️ Settings
- Units: miles or kilometers.
- Default export format: PDF or DOCX (with in-app purchase).
- Online help doc
Latest Update (Version 2.3)
- Fixed an issue when editing photo captions in saved tours where the cursor could unexpectedly move to the end of the caption.
đź’ˇ Frequently Asked Questions
Does the app require data?
Yes, data is required for the mapping features (breadcrumb trail on map, pins on map, directions). However, if you were hiking in a remote area without data:
- during recording of the tour, you wouldn’t see the map
- but, after the tour was saved and you returned to a location where you had access to data, the saved tour would show the map, breadcrumb trail and pinned locations.
What if I get a phone call, or need to text message while recording a tour??
No problem… the app continues the breadcrumb trail whether the phone is in your pocket or you’re running a diffferent app. Just keep the app running and switch to the other app(s).
How can I inspect the photo to tell if I captured what I wanted?
Just tap the photo and you’ll see a larger view of the photo and can then zoom & pan.
Can I share my saved tour with someone else?
Yes, if you purchase the Export feature (the in-app-purchase), you can export a saved tour in PDF or Word (docx) format. If you just want to share a photo in a saved tour, then just tap the photo and a button below the photo lets you copy it to the Photos app… from there you can share using built-in Apple ios tools (Airdrop, mail, etc)
What happens if my battery dies or I accidentally swipe the app away while recording a tour?
No problem. Just relaunch the app and it will recognize that it has a tour in limbo. It will ask if you want to resume the tour, save (quit) the tour or discard the tour. If you resume the tour, a resume mark will be placed on the map as if you had paused and now resumed the tour.
Can I enhance my saved tour by adding photos, website info, more detailed notes?
Yes, if you purchase the Export feature (the in-app-purchase), you can export a saved tour in Word (docx) format. Then, use Word to insert other images, text and/or images from web sites, and spend more time getting the description looking and reading just the way you want. You can also stretch the size, and move the photos in the word doc.
If I purchase the Export feature, do I have to purchase it again when there are new versions of the app?
Nope, it’s a one time purchase and that enables that Export feature in the current and future versions of the app.
Bummer, I just realized that I made a mistake on a comment during recording… can I change it?
Yes, any comment during recording or in a saved tour can be edited at any time.
Why am I missing some pins on the map… I know I marked the locations?
Unfortunately, if you see “Location unavailable” for one or more “marked” locations it means that GPS reception was just not good enough at those locations, at those times. I’ve learned to glance at that little LED between the buttons beside the map just before I hit that Pin/mark button… as long as that LED is green or yellow, I don’t get the “Location unavailable”.
Version History
Version 2.2
- GPS LED larger
- Tours are now backed up automatically as you record:
- Recover interrupted tours on re-launch and choose to resume, save, or discard
- Improved reliability if accidental closure of app
Version 2.1
- Bug fix: While zoomed into photos, Pan now works (while recording tour or Saved Tours)
Version 2.0
- Bug fix (Record mode): now can see text in text box next to photos while entering/editing text.
- Record control buttons moved to left side of map to leave room for text editing of photo notes.
- Record mode: confirmation now required to end a tour.
- In Saved Tours, tapping a photo brings up a catalog of all photos for the tour. Get directions, or copy photo to Photo app, for any displayed photo.
Version 1.1
- On launch, map now shows a message while waiting for the first GPS fix.
- GPS indicator now blinks red when location is not available (this should catch the eye better).
For help contact: CellAnalysis1@gmail.com