A track is a file made up of a sequence of location points ordered by time. When these points are joined, a path is generated that reflects a route in detail, precisely indicating the way the path goes. Tracks are the basis for planning and navigating your routes.

Types of tracks

We generally classify tracks in two ways:

• Routes: These are tracks we use to orient ourselves during an outing. They can be downloads from the internet, routes shared by other users, or paths created by ourselves in Land.

• Activities: These are tracks we have recorded during a real outing, registering the exact path we took and saving our “trail” step by step.

See more differences between Routes and Activities

Compatibility with track files

Land and TwoNav are compatible with most track file formats, allowing you to work with routes from very diverse sources. If you want to know in detail which formats you can open, check the article:

Track compatibility

Enriched tracks (roadbooks)

A roadbook is a track that includes additional embedded information in the form of roadbook points, that is, waypoints embedded in the track. These points act as indications during navigation: turn warnings, intersections, water sources, summits, dangerous areas, etc. Roadbook points usually contain an icon, a title, an explanation of the place or the maneuver to be performed, and in some cases, attached photos or videos.

Additionally, a roadbook can contain variants to offer you alternative paths on your routes. These paths can be shortcuts to shorten the route or detours with optional visits.

Learn more about roadbooks

Tracks made up of waypoints

Sometimes, a track can be composed only of roadbook points, without a detailed path connecting those points. In this case, navigation is done by 'waypoints', such as in orienteering races where the route is not defined, we simply know the waypoints but not the path to reach each of them.

If you want to learn more about how to create tracks for waypoint navigation, check the following articles: Creating tracks with waypoints in Land and Creating tracks with waypoints in TwoNav

Important: Old files with the extension *.RTE (routes) worked this way, as they were simply a sequence of waypoints. In current versions, *.TRK files can also contain only roadbook points, functioning equivalently to the old *.RTE files.

Actions on tracks

In the Land and TwoNav sections you will find multiple articles to thoroughly learn how to create and analyze tracks. Among the most common actions you will find: creating a track from scratch, editing an existing track, analyzing the recorded data, or navigating a track on your TwoNav device.