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Create Your Own Offline MBTiles Map

Learn how to create custom, offline-ready basemaps for Fulcrum by converting your existing GIS data into the MBTiles format.

Kat Kim avatar
Written by Kat Kim
Updated yesterday

Overview

To create offline base maps for use in the Fulcrum mobile application, you must convert your GIS data into the MBTiles portable map package format. It is crucial that the MBTiles file you create is raster-based, as vector-based MBTiles are not currently supported for this purpose.

When creating offline basemaps for Fulcrum, you must ensure the resulting MBTiles file is raster-based, not vector-based. Vector-based MBTiles will not function as an offline basemap.

Recommended Tools for MBTiles Creation

You can use several GIS and mapping tools to load your source data, design the map style, and export it into the required MBTiles format.

TileMill

  • Description: TileMill is a free, powerful, open-source map design studio.

  • Workflow: Load your GIS data into TileMill, design the map appearance, and then export the final output as an MBTiles file.

  • Note: While very robust, TileMill requires some technical familiarity with map design and styling.

MapTiler

  • Description: MapTiler is a user-friendly and feature-rich alternative to TileMill.

  • Workflow: Load your data and follow the simplified interface to generate MBTiles files.

  • Note: MapTiler is often preferred for its ease of use and streamlined process.

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