Tips

Getting around

  • RouteDoodle works on both desktop and mobile.
  • On a computer: Open the menu with . to find commands and their shortcuts.
  • On a computer: Every shortcut is listed in Keyboard Shortcuts.
  • On a phone or tablet: Add RouteDoodle to your home screen and the map gets the whole screen.
  • Short tutorials show you the Pencil and more, right on the map.
  • On a computer: / finds a location on the map.
  • On a computer: J brings the map back to your doodle after you’ve wandered away.

Layers and map styles

  • On a computer: Q W E toggle the Picture, Wireframe, and Route Layers.
  • On a computer: Shift+Q Shift+W Shift+E show just one layer.
  • On a computer: 0 hides your doodle so you can see the map underneath.
  • On a computer: Hold Space for a clean look at the route line alone — what your art will look like on Strava.
  • On a computer: 1 through 9 are shortcuts for your favorite map styles.
  • On a computer: Drag a map out of the Available Map Styles into Favorite Map Styles to put it on a number key.

Pictures to trace

  • On a computer: S searches the web for pictures to trace. Simple silhouettes work best.
  • Picture Search shows each result as the blue line it will become, so you can pick the one that traces cleanest.
  • Drag any picture onto the map and RouteDoodle traces it into a wireframe. Simple silhouettes work best.
  • You can drag a picture from your desktop or copy-paste a picture into RouteDoodle.
  • Paste a picture’s web address straight into the map to trace it.
  • First doodle? Draw a heart. Simple, forgiving, and looks good.
  • Drawing an animal? Place the head first. A face is the part nobody will mistake for something else, and the body bends around the roads more easily.

Finding a good spot

  • Looking for a good place to draw? See the best cities for GPS art.
  • Dense street grids give you more to work with. An old city neighborhood beats a suburb with cul-de-sacs.
  • On a computer: R paints every routable road on the map, to help you pick a good area to work with.
  • On a computer: Rivers and train tracks cut a neighborhood in half — you cross only where there’s a bridge. Train tracks are the sneaky ones; they barely register on the map. Use R to see where neighborhoods are cut.
  • Not sure you can cut through? Switch to a satellite map style and look.
  • Show the Roads Layer over a Blank map style and look for pictures that pop out.
  • Details disappearing? Try making your doodle larger so there are more streets to work with.
  • On a computer: Right-drag your doodle around the map to hunt for a spot where the roads cooperate.
    On a phone or tablet: Drag your doodle around the map to hunt for a spot where the roads cooperate.
  • Try rotating your doodle. A small change in angle can make the roads fit much better.

Drawing and editing

  • On a computer: P hands you a pencil. Draw straight onto the map and watch the route follow along. Try it: Drawing with the Pencil
  • To start a new line, begin drawing well away from the others. While the pencil is on, a dashed line shows where your stroke would join on. Try it: Drawing with the Pencil
  • Each separate line has its own box. Drag the hand above it to move just that line.
  • Need more control over a bend? Drag a hollow marker between two wireframe points to add another point.
  • On a computer: Shift-click to select a run of points, or Control-click to pick them one at a time.
  • On a computer: An animal’s legs or tail don’t fit? Shift-drag to lasso part of the wireframe, then move, resize, or rotate the selection to nearby streets.
    On a phone or tablet: An animal’s legs or tail don’t fit? Touch and hold, then drag, to lasso part of the wireframe, then move, resize, or rotate the selection to nearby streets.
  • On a computer: Select a point and press DEL or click Remove to delete it. The line stays joined through the points on either side.
    On a phone or tablet: Select a point and click Remove to delete it. The line stays joined through the points on either side.
  • On a computer: X or the Split button cuts a line in two. To join two lines back up, draw with the pencil to connect endpoints, or drag one endpoint onto another. Try it: Working in pieces
    On a phone or tablet: The Split button cuts a line in two. To join two lines back up, draw with the pencil to connect endpoints, or drag one endpoint onto another. Try it: Working in pieces
  • Drag a line’s start onto its end to close it into a loop.
  • To flip a doodle to its mirror image, resize past the other side.
  • On a computer: Points on the red route drag just like points on the blue wireframe.
  • On a computer: Ctrl+Z undoes an edit, so drag things around freely — nothing you try is permanent.
    On a phone or tablet: The Undo button undoes an edit, so drag things around freely — nothing you try is permanent.
  • On a computer: U opens the History: every change you’ve made, with a picture of each. Click any of them to go back to that point.

Following the roads

  • Going for a run? Switch to Run Mode: it takes footpaths and goes either way on one-way streets.
  • On a computer: To change the routing mode for part of your doodle, lasso those points and click a mode button. Ctrl+A selects every point.
    On a phone or tablet: To change the routing mode for part of your doodle, lasso those points and click a mode button.
  • A dashed stretch is a Bird Mode straight line. RouteDoodle draws one wherever it can’t find a road between two points.
  • Bird Mode draws a straight line between two points — for pause-and-resume, and for the shortcuts the map data doesn’t know about.
  • You can ride a bike across a field. Bike Mode won’t route you through one, but Bird Mode will draw the line.
  • RouteDoodle will use parking lots and footpaths if they make the picture work. Check anything odd on a satellite map, or go and look in person.
  • If the directions say "salmon", that stretch goes against traffic. Change the route, or walk your bike on the sidewalk there.

Stats and directions

  • The Comfort score in the stats panel estimates how pleasant the route is to ride.
  • The Span in the stats panel shows how many km/mi your doodle is in the real world.
  • On a computer: Choose which route stats show from the ⋮ beside them.
    On a phone or tablet: Choose which route stats show by touching and holding them.
  • On a computer: Open the elevation chart with V and run your mouse along it to highlight the position on the route.
  • On a computer: D opens the turn-by-turn directions.

Saving and exporting

  • On a computer: M copies a link to your wireframe. Paste it later to load the doodle.
  • On a computer: Shift+M opens a copy of your doodle in a new window, so you can try an idea without losing what you have.
  • Paste or drag a RouteDoodle link onto the map to open that doodle.
  • Drag a route file (TCX, GPX, or FIT) onto the map to load an existing route.
  • On a computer: Ctrl+E exports the route as TCX, GPX, or FIT for a bike computer or watch.

Riding

  • When riding, use an app or device that can read turn directions out loud. That helps you avoid missing a turn.
  • A stretch turns out to be unsafe? Pause your GPS, go around, and resume. Pause-and-resume draws the straight line for you.
  • Want an extra challenge? Make your whole doodle without pausing your GPS.
  • Made something good? Strava has clubs for Strava art, and Reddit has r/StravaArt.

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