Mobile, install and offline maps
Install SCAD Maps as an app, download venue maps for use without a connection, and know exactly what works offline.
SCAD Maps is built for people who walk around a site with a phone. It installs like an app, adapts its layout to small screens, and keeps working when the network does not. This page explains how to install it, how to download the event maps so the map draws without mobile data, and what you can and cannot do while offline.
Install on your phone#
SCAD Maps is a web app you can install; there is nothing to download from a store. Installed, it opens full screen without the browser’s address bar, has its own icon, and starts faster.
| Device | How |
|---|---|
| Android (Chrome) | Open the menu and choose Install app (or Add to Home screen). |
| iPhone and iPad (Safari) | Choose Share, then Add to Home Screen. |
| Computer (Chrome, Edge) | Choose the install icon at the right of the address bar. |
When a new version is available, a message at the bottom says A new version is available with a Reload button. It stays until you press it, so the app never restarts while you are in the middle of something such as recording a voice note. Reload when you reach a good moment.
Small screens#
On a phone the navigation moves to the bottom of the screen, panels open as sheets that rise from the bottom, and long-press replaces right-click. Everything on the map is reachable with one thumb. Pinch to zoom is always available, and you can enlarge or shrink the text under Appearance; see Settings and appearance.
Download the event maps#
By default the map loads its background pictures over the network as you pan. A venue download stores them on your device ahead of time, so the map draws instantly and uses no mobile data on site.
- While you are on good Wi-Fi, open Map setup (press L, or choose Layers).
- Find the Offline maps section and choose Download Maps.
- Pick a Quality and choose Download. The button shows the size before you start, and a progress bar tracks the download. You can Cancel at any time.
- When it finishes, the map is ready for offline use. It is listed under Downloaded.
Choosing a quality#
| Quality | What you get |
|---|---|
| Very low, Low | Zoomed-out detail only. Small downloads. |
| Medium (default) | Good for walking around the site. |
| High | More detail when zoomed in. |
| Full offline map | Every zoom level in one archive. The largest download; offered only when the event’s maps are available in that form. |
Higher qualities include everything below them. A quality your instance cannot offer is greyed out with a short reason. When the full tier is offered it replaces the smaller ones. If you zoom in further than you downloaded, the map enlarges the stored pictures rather than asking for new ones, so it looks softer but never blank.
Use the downloaded maps#
Two switches at the bottom of the panel control how the downloaded maps are used:
- Use downloaded maps only (no tile data) stops the app from asking the network for map pictures at all. The badge on the Download Maps button reads Offline while this is on and Live when it is off. Use it on a congested or expensive connection.
- Fetch missing tiles over data lets the app fill in any picture you did not download instead of leaving a blank patch.
The panel also shows how much storage you are using. Delete removes one download, Delete all offline maps removes them all, and Purge & cleanup all caches asks for confirmation, then wipes everything stored on the device (downloaded maps, cached notes and areas, other cached files) and reloads the app. Anything not yet sent is lost, so use it only when you are online and synced. When the organiser publishes updated plans, download again: the new version replaces the old one, so storage does not keep growing.
Working offline#
Your own position still works without a connection, because it comes from your phone’s GPS. Notes, tasks and areas that you have already seen are kept on the device, and the status bar shows Offline.
| You can | What happens |
|---|---|
| Read notes, tasks and areas you loaded before | They appear on the map from the device copy. |
| Create a note (text) | Saved on the device with a Saved on device marker, and sent when you are back online. |
| Create or update a task | Queued and sent when the connection returns. The status bar shows how many items are pending. |
| Write chat messages | They wait and are delivered on reconnect, without duplicates. |
| Read chat you opened before | Available from the local copy. |
| Search | Looks through what your device already holds. See Search. |
The status bar’s sync pill tells you where you stand: Synced when everything is delivered, N pending while items wait to be sent, and Offline when there is no connection. Pending items go out by themselves as soon as the connection returns, and a note that was never sent can be removed from its pin before that happens.
Photo and file limits#
Uploads are checked and re-encoded on the server, so each format has its own ceiling. Each person also has a total upload allowance (50 MB by default) so a single account cannot fill the storage. The status of your allowance is shown when you attach files.
| Kind | Limit per file |
|---|---|
| Photo (JPEG, PNG, WebP) | 2 MB |
| Document (PDF, text, CSV) | 10 MB |
| Voice note | 1 MB, kept for 7 days |
Limits can be changed by whoever runs your instance, so your figures may differ.
Battery and location tips#
- Leave High-accuracy GPS off unless you need it; see People and location.
- While you share your location, the screen is kept awake where the browser allows it, which uses battery. Turn sharing off when you do not need it.
- Use Use downloaded maps only to save mobile data.