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Profiles (Settings)

Overview​

OsmAnd offers a variety of default profiles tailored for different activities, including driving, cycling, walking, and more specialized activities like skiing and boating. These profiles are designed to enhance your navigation experience according to the activity you are engaged in. Each profile includes configurable options, enabling you to adjust settings and incorporate additional plugins to match your preferences.

  • Certain profiles, such as Skiing and Boat, have additional features that become available only when the corresponding plugins are enabled.

    • Plugins can be activated by navigating to Menu → Plugins → Ski map view or Nautical map view.
    • Enabling the plugins provides the profiles with the essential features to meet the specific requirements of these activities.

  • It's important to note that some profiles, such as Truck, Motorcycle, Moped, Train, Aircraft, Boat, and Horseback riding, are not activated by default.

    • To access and use these profiles, you need to manually enable them in Menu → Settings → App profiles.
    • This method helps maintain an organized and relevant list of profiles by activating only those required for specific activities.
  • Menu → Configure profile (Browse map or any other profile)
  • Menu → Settings → App profiles

Profiles Settings Android

Profile Configuration​

Applying settings to a specific profile only

All settings apply exclusively to the currently selected application profile.

Profiles Settings Android Profiles Settings Android

This section contains all settings related to appearance, navigation options, map display, settings menu, and profile screen.

Free Cloud Backup​

Menu → Configure profile

Favorites folder functions android

OsmAnd allows you to back up your application profile settings to OsmAnd Cloud, ensuring that your configurations are securely stored and easily restored across Android, iOS, and Web versions. This backup feature protects your settings in case of device failure or app reinstallation. You can benefit from this special plan by using OsmAnd Start.

You must have an OsmAnd Cloud account to use the Free Settings Backup. If you have an OsmAnd Pro subscription or an active OsmAnd Cloud account, the promotion banner will not be displayed.

General Settings​

This section contains settings for the application theme and compass button, map and profile data units and formats, external input devices, and many other settings to create the optimal configuration for your chosen profile.

Appearance​

Menu → Configure profile → General settings → Appearance

Profiles General Settings Appearance Android

  • App theme. Allows you to set a day and night theme for the app, which can be applied to one profile or all at once. This option does not change the map mode settings.

    • Dark theme
    • Light theme
    • System default
      Applies the system theme. By default and for all new users, the map style corresponds to the light or dark theme selected in your device's system settings.

  • Map orientation. Allows you to choose the map orientation mode for the selected profile.

    • Manually rotated
    • Movement direction
    • Compass direction
    • North is up

  • Screen orientation. Sets and locks the screen position in the OsmAnd application. This feature is not supported on iPad.

    • Portrait
    • Landscape
    • Same as device

  • Screen control (Android). Opens the screen control menu, where you can select options for the device screen while navigating to save device battery consumption.

Units & Formats​

Profiles General Settings Units & formats Android

In the Units and Formats section, you can adjust measurement units and formats to align with your personal preferences and regional standards, ensuring all data is displayed most conveniently and familiarly.

Driving regionAutomaticAccording to the device location.
Europe, Asia, Latin America, and similar
  • Right-hand traffic
  • Kilometers/meters
United States
  • Right-hand traffic
  • Miles/feet
Canada
  • Right-hand traffic
  • Kilometers/meters
UK and similar
  • Left-hand traffic
  • Miles/meters
Japan
  • Left-hand traffic
  • Kilometers/meters
India
  • Left-hand traffic
  • Kilometers/meters
Australia
  • Left-hand traffic
  • Kilometers/meters
Units of lengthKilometers/meters1 km / 1000 m
Miles/feet0.62 ml / 3281 ft (1000 m)
Miles/meters0.62 ml / 1000 m
Miles/yards1094 ya / 0.62 ml (1000 m)
Nautical miles/feet, Nautical miles/meters0.54 nmi / 3280.84 ft / 1000 m
Coordinate formatDD°MM.MMMM′Example: 50.12333° 19.93233° (Lat Long)
DD°MM.MMM′Example: 50°7.393′ 19°55.941′ (Lat Long)
DD°MM′SS″Example: 50°7′23.6″ 19°55′56.4″ (Lat Long) 23°27′30″
UTM Standard34N 5552876 423678 (Zone Northing Easting) . OsmAnd uses the UTM Standard, which is similar but not identical to the UTM NATO format.
MGRSExample: 34U DA 23678 52873 . OsmAnd uses MGRS, which is similar to the UTM NATO format.
Open Location CodeExample: 9F2X4WFJ+7W (Open Location Code represents area 9m x 14m)
Swiss Grid (CH1903) (Android version only)Example: 2 215 227.87, 830 915.9 (Swiss coordinate system)
Swiss Grid (CH1903+) (Android version only)Example: 4 215 227.87, 1 830 915.9 (Swiss coordinate system)
Angular unit (Android) / Angular measurement units (iOS)Degrees 180°All angular values have readings from 0° to 180° and from 0° to -180°.
Degrees 360°All angular values have readings from 0° to 360°.
MilliradiansAll angular values have milliradian value.
Unit of speed (Android) / Units of speed (iOS)Kilometers per hour90 km/h
Miles per hour55.92 mph
Meters per second30 m/s
Minutes per mile1.073 min/m
Minutes per kilometer0.667 min/km
Nautical miles per hour (knots)48.59 kn
Distance during navigationPreciseFor precise measurements, choose how distance information is displayed in the navigation widgets, such as the distance to a point, the next turn, or a specific lane.
Round upFor better readability, the numbers displayed in the navigation widgets (distance to a point, next turn, or lane) will be rounded down to have fewer digits.
For examples: 3672 m → 3.6 km,  462 m → 400 m,  184 m → 150 m,  47 m → 40 m,  18 m → 15 m.

Other​

Menu → Configure profile → General settings → Other

Profiles General Settings Other Android

The Other section offers additional profile settings, allowing you to customize buttons and input devices, enable or disable animation in navigation mode, and toggle features like full-screen mode, the magnetic sensor, and the Kalman filter. Note that some options may not be available on iOS.

  • External input devices (Android and iOS). Allow you to add other devices, such as WunderLINQ, Keyboard, or Parrot, to control the OsmAnd program using the existing buttons.

  • Volume buttons as zoom (Android). Allows to use or not volume buttons of a device as zoom.

  • Use Kalman filter (Android). Allows to use or not Kalman filter for smoothen rotation of the map with a slower rotation animation though it introduces a small delay (< 1 second) till.

  • Use magnetic sensor (Android). Allows to use or not Magnetic sensor for smoothening rotation of the map with a slower rotation animation though it introduces a small delay (< 1 second) till.

  • Fullscreen mode (Android). Tapping an empty space on the map hides the control buttons and widgets.

  • No animations (Android). Allows to switch on/off animation for navigation mode.

  • Animate own position (Android). Smooth map panning when in motion. Introduces slight delay. Note that the animation takes about 1 second, which creates a slight delay for the My location position to display on the map relative to your location.

Menu → Configure profile → Navigation settings

Navigation Settings Android

We recommend you read the information in the article Navigation Settings, where you can find the relevant settings of the OsmAnd application that can enhance your journey experience.

  • Navigation type. Provides options to select the type of navigation based on your mode of travel and whether you have an internet connection.
  • Route parameters. These settings determine how the app calculates routes to reach your destination.
  • Screen alerts. This navigation setting allows you to enable the Alerts Widget and select which alerts you want to see on the app screen while navigating.
  • Voice prompts. Audio instructions during navigation help you as a driver or pedestrian get to your destination while navigating a selected route.
  • Vehicle parameters. Allows you to select the correct parameter settings to help you avoid problems when navigating a route.
  • Customise route line. With this setting, you can choose the appearance of the route line that will be visible on the map during navigation.
  • Map during navigation. The map is used during navigation to determine your location, plan your route, and land orientation.
  • Animate own position (for iOS is available in this menu). This setting provides a smooth animation of the My Position point moving on the map during navigation. For Android, this item is located in the Other section of the General Settings menu.
  • Detailed track guidance. Allows you to match your route to nearby roads to enhance turn-by-turn instructions. Available settings: Ask every time or Always.
info

There are no navigation settings in the Browse map profile.

Configure Map​

  • Menu → Configure profile → Configure map
  • Menu → Settings → App profiles → Configure map

Profiles Configure map Settings Android

The Configure map menu allows you to customize the map display settings for the selected profile, for example:

Configure Screen​

  • Menu → Configure screen
  • Menu → Settings → App Profile → Configure screen

Configure screen menu Configure screen menu

The Configure screen is a menu that allows you to configure the widgets for the selected profile to be displayed on the map. On this screen, you can enable and configure Informational and Navigational widgets, as well as other items.

Profile Appearance​

Menu → Configure profile → Profile appearance

Profiles Appearance

The Profile appearance settings allow you to customize your profile's name and visual representation. You can also modify the appearance of My location here. While the profile name must be unique, icons and colors can be the same across different profiles. These changes will be applied across various parts of the application, such as the Route preparation menu.

My Location Appearance​

Menu → Configure profile → Profile appearance

My location Appearance

The My location appearance settings allow you to customize how your location is displayed on the map, both when stationary and in motion. Motion is detected by the operating system when it provides a location update with a speed greater than 0 speed.

  • Additional options. You can control how certain location-related visual elements appear on the map and apply them separately or both for the Resting and Navigation positions below the my location icon.

    • View angle. Displays a cone-shaped area that shows the direction you are currently facing.
    • Location radius. Shows a circular area around your icon, representing the accuracy of your current location.

  • Custom 3D Icons. If you want to further personalize your map experience, you can create your own 3D icons and add them to the app. To do this, follow the steps below:

    • Create a custom 3D model in MTL and OBJ formats.
    • Create a custom plugin by using pluging example and include your 3D icons with the following paths:
      • ..osmand/models/icon_folder_name/custom_3d_file.mtl
      • ..osmand/models/icon_folder_name/custom_3d_file.obj
    • Alternatively, directly copy the custom 3D files to the OsmAnd folder with the paths above.

  • With the map orientation modes, you can control the display of My location and the behavior of the map during navigation. If you find that the location icon jiggles or rotates even when you are stationary, switch the mode from the Movement direction (Rotate map by bearing) to another mode that is more appropriate for you, or use the settings in the Options section (Menu → Settings → App profiles → Profile appearance → Options). You can read more about bearing here.

UI Customization​

⚠️ Android only
This feature is currently not available for the iOS version of the OsmAnd app.
For unused plugins

To hide all control parameters of unused plugins, disable them.

Menu → Settings → App profiles → UI Customization

Profile UI Customization Android

With the UI customization feature, you can adjust the number of items in actions such as Drawer, Configure map and Context menu actions. Information about the number of added items out of all possible items can be found under the title of each feature.

Drawer​

Profile Drawer Android Profile Reset Android

  • Main visible items. In the Customise UI section, you can reorder hide, and restore items from the Drawer.
  • Reset to default. Tapping it restores the original list of items in the main menu in the drawer. All your changes are instantly undone.
  • Copy from another profile. You can duplicate the element arrangement from another OsmAnd profile to this one.

Configuring the Map​

Profile Configure map menu Android Profile Configure map menu Android

  • Configure map menu. In this part of the Customise UI section, you can reorder or hide items from the Configure map.
  • Reset to default. Tapping it restores the original list of items in the Configure map menu. All your changes are instantly undone.
  • Copy from another profile. You can duplicate the element arrangement from another OsmAnd profile to this one.

Context Menu Actions​

Profile Context menu Android Profile Configure map menu Reset Android

  • Map context menu. In this part of the Customise UI section, you can reorder or hide items from the map context menu.
  • Reset to default. Tapping it restores the original list of items in the main menu in the drawer. All your changes are instantly undone.
  • Copy from another profile. You can duplicate the element arrangement from another OsmAnd profile to this one.

Plugin Settings​

Access to plugin settings

To access the plugin's settings, you must first enable the plugin in the Plugin section of the Main menu.

Menu → Settings → App profiles → Plugins

Profile Settings Plugins Android

Plugins unlock additional features of the application and can be either paid or free. Some plugins have their own settings, others do not. OsmAnd gives you the possibility to configure plugins for each profile separately.

  • Trip Recording. This item opens the trip recording settings for the selected profile, where you can choose any parameters for recording your journeys.

  • Weather. Interactive Weather map layers allow you to monitor the temperature, air pressure, cloud coverage, wind speed, and precipitation in your city or any other location on a global map.

  • Audio / Video Notes (Android only). This item opens audio-video plugin settings for the selected profile. The Audio/Video Notes plugin extends the functionality of OsmAnd by allowing you to create your notes in various formats such as photo, video, or audio and associate them with geographical location or current location.

  • OpenStreetMap Editing. This item opens the OpenStreetMap editing plugin settings for the selected profile. With OsmAnd and the OSM editing plugin, you can contribute to OpenStreetMap.org by creating or modifying POIs, adding or commenting on notes, and uploading recorded GPX tracks.

  • External Sensors. When you tap an item in the Plugin Settings section, the settings of external sensors for the selected profile are opened. The External Sensors plugin allows you to read and record data from wireless external sensors and display it using widgets in the OsmAnd application.

  • Accessibility (Android only). This item opens Accessibility plugin settings for the selected profile. The Accessibility plugin settings allow you to customize the application according to your needs. All settings relate to the navigation process and are set individually for each profile.

  • OsmAnd Development. This menu opens the OsmAnd development plugin settings, where you can configure the OsmAnd application for testing purposes or explore upcoming features. These settings are intended for developers and are not required for normal use of the application.

    Changing the settings of the OsmAnd development plugin affects all profiles.

  • Wikipedia. This menu opens Wikipedia plugin settings. You can select the language in which articles will be displayed and choose whether or not to download images from Wikipedia. Having Wikipedia on your trip enhances your experience by providing information about the places you visit. It works offline and displays relevant Wikipedia articles directly on the map related to points of interest.

Actions​

Profiles Actions Settings Android

Actions with selected profile:

  • Export profile. You can export all settings of the selected profile in OSF format.
  • Copy from another profile. Copies all settings from another existing profile in your OsmAnd application.
  • Reset to default. Returns all settings to the initial state.
  • Delete profile:
    • This action is available only for Android and only for a Custom profile.
    • Default profiles cannot be deleted.
    • To add a profile go to Menu → Settings → App profiles → + New profile.

This article was last updated in October 2024