The Great Trossachs App

User Guide

1)About The Great Trossachs App

The Great Trossachs App is designed to help you find out more about The Great Trossachs Forest National Nature Reserve. Included in the app is information on all the trails, places to eat as well as well as details about local points of interest. Using mapping and GPS technology the app enables you to find out where you are in The Great Trossachs Forest NNR and provide interesting facts about where you are.

2)How to use the map and the information pop ups

Press the map icon to open the map. The map of The Great Trossachs Forest NNR will be displayed and a number of information pins are overlain on the map. Either use the zoom buttons or pinch and scroll to navigate around the map to the desired location. To open the points of interest pins, press the centre of the pin to reveal the information:

Press the ‘x’ in the pop up to close the point of information.

3)How to find out more information from the pop ups

Some of the points of interest provide more information and links to websites for further information. To access this information press the three dots to the bottom right of the point of interest text box

To return to the map screen press close at the top left of the screen

4)How to use the information filters

Whilst in the map screen, it is possible to turn off the different points of interest by using the filters option by pressing the filters button at the top right of the map. This opens the filter menu.

Each category of interest can be turned off or on by checking or unchecking the category in the list. To update and return to the map, press ‘apply filter’ at the bottom of the screen.

5)How to use the where am I/ get location feature

To enable the where am I feature of the app, the location services must first be enabled on the phone (this feature is not usually available for tablet devices). To enable location services go to settings, privacy and then location services.On first use of the app, a prompt will remind you to turn on location services.

Then in the map page of The Great Trossachs App, press the arrow button. A text box will then appear informing you that the app is determining your location.

A red pin will then show on the map denoting your location.

Please note this pin will not move with you – it just shows your location when the arrow button was pressed.

6)How to use the track location/ gps feature

To enable the gps feature, the location services must first be enabled on the phone (this feature is not usually available for tablet devices). To enable location services go to settings, privacy and then location services. On first use of the app, a prompt will remind you to turn on location services.

Then in the map page of The Great Trossachs App, turn on the gps feature by pressing the button with a dot surrounded by a circle. A prompt will ask you whether you want to enable pop ups (geofencing).

When enabled, a blue dot will appear on the screen denoting your location and will trace your route. A red box at the bottom of the screen also confirms that pop ups have been enabled.

Please note, in some areas of The Great Trossachs Forest the GPS signal may be poor and in these locations it is possible the app may run slower or crash.

To disable this feature press the dot surrounded by a circle button and confirm you want to turn off the pop ups. The red notification box will disappear.

7)How to access points of interest whilst tracking your route

Whilst using the gps feature (blue dot on the map) it is not necessary to have the phone ‘on’ to access the information contained in the points of interest. Your phone can be on standby enabled, and the GPS will continue to trace your route. When in this mode, the app will notify you when you have passed a point of interest by displaying the text, vibrating and playing a sound.

Please note, as long as the app is running in the background, this feature will continue to notify you as you pass points of interest. For long periods of use this will drain the battery of your mobile device.

To disable this feature press the dot surrounded by a circle button and confirm you want to turn off the pop ups. The red notification box will disappear.

8)The data we will gather and how we will use it

No personal data will be obtained or used in this app.

The data we will collect will be used to help monitor app usage, and also to improve its performance and content in the future. We will collect information on the points of interest that have been opened, summary location information and time spent accessing and using various parts of the app.

There will be an option of providing feedback on the app, via an email address. This can be found in the ‘About Trossachs’ section.

It is possible to opt out of this statistical data collection in the setting sections of the app.