Moving from FATMAP to CalTopo
FATMAP is retiring October 1st. Per Strava’s announcement in June 2024, all FATMAP account data will be deleted after October 1st (our condolences to all the FATMAP users out there). Luckily it is easy to move your data to CalTopo before it disappears- just follow the simple steps below.
And a note before we begin: all these steps are easier on a computer although they can be accomplished on a mobile device.
First log into your FATMAP account at fatmap.com/my-data/tool and choose “Request My Archive”. UPDATE: This tool will now be available until November 1st. Depending on how much data you had, it may take a while for the archive to be ready so be patient. Once your archive is available, select “Download My Data” to download the data to your device.
You can request your archive using FATMAP’s tool. Once your archive has been prepared, download it to your device.
Your archive will be downloaded as a zip file. Unpack the zip file and find the folders labeled “activities” and “routes”. These folders contain your data in GPX format although there may also be some waypoints or other data in the main folder.
Log into CalTopo and select “Import” and then “Choose Files”. Find the FATMAP folder and select the GPX files you would like to import into the map.
Once you have unpacked the zip file, log into CalTopo and import the GPX files into a new or saved map.
You can import multiple files into the same map. If you are working with a new map, make sure to save the map so that you don’t lose any data and can access and update the map at a later time. And the best part? Now you can use CalTopo’s powerful mapping tools to interact with all of your carefully documented activities, routes, and waypoints from FATMAP!
Now that’s a nice looking map!
If you’re new to CalTopo, it can be a little intimidating at first. Here are a couple tips for organizing your imported data in CalTopo to help you get started:
- Import the data into an unsaved map and then save it OR import the data into an existing saved map. As long as the data is part of a saved map, you will be able to access that data from either the web or mobile app. If you’ve never created a map in CalTopo, make sure to check out Making your First Map.
- Create maps for specific adventures, trips or areas. Many mapping programs display all your data at once on the main map. In CalTopo, by default only the data for the map that you are currently viewing is displayed. If you have a ton of data saved to one map (think hundreds of markers, routes and/or tracks), it can make the map harder to navigate as well as impact the overall performance. Consider organizing your imported data into individual maps by adventure, trip or area. This can make your maps and data much more useful and easier to use- think lean and mean (and useful!) maps. Copying to a New Map covers how to move data from one map to a new map and can be a helpful tool for dividing and organizing your maps, especially after a big import.
- Create folders to organize your data within a map. Folders are the organizational rockstars of CalTopo. You can create meaningful folders to organize your data, move map objects between folders as needed and adjust folder visibility. Learn more about creating and using folders in your maps in the Folders section.
If you have any questions, let us know in the comments below or send us an email at help@caltopo.com. Happy mapping!
Yes, yes, all very nice and useful, but the change in licensing is no small matter. At least €50 a year. Wow, that’s taking advantage of the dead, like a vulture would.