Report a problem from the map

When you come across a fallen tree, a broken plank or an eroded section, there's nothing to write down on paper. The phone starts from the exact spot where you're standing, attaches the task to the right trail, takes the photo, and keeps everything even without a signal. Plan on less than a minute: four screens, one required field.

Where: mobile app, the Field view — the home screen, + button at the bottom right.

3:36

The flow at a glance

1. Tap +, then Task.
2. Choose the type of problem.
3. Confirm the location: your position, snapped to the nearest trail.
4. Take a photo — or skip it.
5. Check the form, then tap Add.

The only required field is the name, and it comes already filled in. Everything else can wait and be edited later.

Before you start

No + button? There are three possible causes. Your role isn't allowed to create tasks — see understand roles. The place's subscription is read-only — see manage your subscription. Or the app doesn't have access to your location: a banner reading Location access needs to be activated. appears instead, with the Turn on location button — see location settings.

The trails are already on your phone. The search for the nearest trail uses your GPS and the trails saved on the device: it works deep in the woods, with no signal.

1. Open the + menu

The Field view shows your trails, the tasks already reported, the structures on record and your position.

Tap the + button. The map fades out and a fan of choices opens above the button.

Each entry only appears if your role and your plan allow you to create that kind of item. A volunteer who only reports will often see just Task.

In the My planning view, the same button offers Task and To-do. The difference: a task is placed on the map, with a type and a position; a to-do has neither — a reminder, a materials order, a call to make.

2. Choose the type

Choose the type that describes the problem, not the work to be done: Fallen Tree, not "chainsawing". That's what keeps filters and statistics readable at the end of the season. The list is specific to your place and to the active activity: an administrator can adapt it — see manage task types.

As soon as you tap a type, a wheel spins in its circle: the app finds your location and looks for the trails around you, within 20 to 100 metres depending on GPS accuracy, widening up to 200 metres if needed. The other types fade out while it searches — a second or two.

Pick Segment only if the problem runs along a length of trail, like fifty metres of erosion. The flow changes a little: see report a stretch of trail.

3. Confirm the location

One trail found. Its name appears in the left tab, and the marker is placed on the track, at the point closest to you. Drag it: it stays snapped to the trail. That attachment is what makes the task show up when you filter by trail, and in that trail's reports.

Several trails found. At a junction, the app places a marker on each one: tap the one on the right trail. You can also tap the trail tab: it lists the nearby trails with their distance from you, and its last row, Use other trail, opens the full list of trails for the activity. After picking from that list, tap the map to place the marker on the track.

No trail, or a problem off the trail. Tap Current location. The marker goes back to your GPS position and can be placed freely: tap the map or drag it. The task will be saved without a trail — perfectly fine for a parking lot, an access bridge or a materials drop.

Two messages can stop you:

The problem may already be reported

If a task of the same type already exists near your marker, on the same trail, an orange button appears at the bottom right of the map, with a sound and a vibration.

Tap it: the Similar tasks detected screen lists the tasks found, and each one opens with a tap. If it's the same problem, close the creation with the X — nothing is saved — and complete the existing task instead. If it isn't, carry on as usual: the button warns you, it doesn't block anything.

This check queries the server: with no signal, the button doesn't appear. The check then happens when the task is sent, and any duplicate is shown to you on the sync screen — see work offline.

4. Take the photo

The camera opens right away, full screen.

The flash switches on at the top left, and the zoom is adjusted by pinching the screen or with the buttons above the shutter.

The photo isn't required, but it's often the most useful information for the person who will do the work: they'll know what to bring. A wide shot for context, a close-up for measuring.

If you've denied access to the camera, a screen offers to turn it on. You can still attach photos later, in the form.

5. Fill in the form

The form opens, with the keyboard on the name.

Write a name that people will recognize in the field. "Spruce across the trail, 200 m past the footbridge" is better than "Fallen Tree". That's the name someone will read on their phone, in the woods, three weeks from now.

The Annotate pill, on the map, is for drawing the extent of the problem, if your plan includes it: a flooded area, a detour to open. See annotate on the map.

Scroll down for the rest of the form.

The mobile form has no due date field: that field belongs to to-dos.

If you set the status to In progress on a trail tracked in a condition board, the app offers to set its condition to Under Construction. See publish trail conditions.

6. Add

Tap Add, at the top right. The button stays greyed out while the name is empty; if a photo is still being prepared, it waits and goes through on its own as soon as the photo is ready.

The creation screen closes and you're back on the map.

Can't see it? The map only shows the types turned on in the top row. Turn on your task's type, or switch to the list with the pill at the top right. See read a task on mobile.

The task is immediately visible to the team: on the web, in the kanban, and on the team's phones open on that place.

Changing your mind along the way. Every screen has an X at the top left, and there's no back button: the X abandons the whole creation. On the form, if you've changed anything, the app first asks whether you want to save.

Report a stretch of trail

With the Segment type, you don't place a point: you mark out a portion of trail.

If a trail is found near you, it's chosen automatically. Otherwise, the Select a trail screen offers you the list, with a search field.

To begin with, the whole trail is selected. Tighten the start and the end until they cover the damaged portion, zooming in on the map for more precision. Next leads to the photo, then to the form.

Three differences from a point:

• the name comes in empty: write one, otherwise the button stays greyed out;
• the button is called Save instead of Add;
• the description comes before the estimated time.

Without a connection

Nothing changes in the flow. The type, the trail search, the photo and the form all work offline; only the similar-task alert waits for the connection to come back.

When you save, the task is kept on the phone and the creation closes normally. A confirmation appears at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds.

The task goes to the server as soon as the connection is back — you have nothing to redo. You can follow what's left to send on the Synchronization screen, reached from your account settings. See work offline.

Three tips

1. One problem, one task. Two trees in two places are two tasks: each will be done, tracked and closed at its own pace.
2. Place the marker on the problem, not on yourself. If you photograph the tree from ten metres away, drag the marker over to it.
3. An incomplete task beats no task at all. The name and the photo are enough in the moment; the assignee, the project and the materials can be sorted out later, back indoors.