User Guide & Documentation

To create a search area:

Tap the 'New' icon on the desktop, which opens a map view. Position the map over your intended search area. Then go to the menu (3 dots, top right) and tap 'Set area markers'. Enter a name for the search area and click OK, then select a boundary colour — the colour selected will be permanent. The map will then reappear.

Tap the map to lay the first marker. Long press the marker to make it draggable, then position the marker precisely. Leave a small amount of padding from the edge of the search area. When happy, tap the screen again to lay another marker, position it, then proceed to outline the whole search area, adding a new marker each time.

Then, when there is only a straight line left between the last marker placed and the first marker, tap the first marker. You will then see a message saying 'Polygon complete'. You can then either tap 'Go back' and make an adjustment, or 'Cancel' to remove all the markers and start again, or save the new search area. Tap 'Save' when you are happy with the boundary lines.

You will then see further options to either 'Return To Desktop' or create another new search area.

Depending on whether you have the Legacy or the Supporters version installed, there are up to three different track recording modes: GPS mode, Bearing mode, and Fog of War mode. For Legacy users, only the conventional GPS mode is available. On the desktop tap the GPS icon — this opens the Saved search areas list. Select and open a search area, then from the menu (3 dots, top right) tap 'Start Recording', choose a track colour, then click 'Start'. You can customise the track style and size in GPS settings in the menu. Tap 'Stop Recording' in the menu to stop or pause recording. Recordings are automatically saved.

For Supporters: tap the mode you want to record in, then select and open a Saved search area. Start and stop track recording via the menu. Fog of War mode has its own setting options via FoW options in the menu.

To record a find live at location: in the map menu tap 'Record a find'. You are then given the option to place a findspot marker automatically or manually. Selecting 'Automatic' will place a findspot marker at your current GPS location. Selecting 'Manual' enables you to touch the map to lay a findspot marker and drag it into place for extra accuracy.

You are then given the opportunity to add a find name (required) and, optionally, any find details you care to add. When finished, tap 'Next'.

You are then given the option to 'Add an image' — either from Archive (an image you already have), or use the Camera to take a photo, or 'No' (don't add an image). Make your selection. If an image is added, you will get the opportunity to crop the image to size — click the tick when finished.

If you selected automatic findspot marker placement, a star marker will automatically appear at your current location. If you selected 'Manual', you will need to touch the map to place and position the find marker. When happy, click the tick. You will then see a toast: 'Find recorded'.

Overlays let you pin a scanned or historical map image on top of the live GPS view — perfect for aligning old workings, pits and boundaries with the modern landscape. Open the menu (3 dots, top right) on the map screen and tap 'Import overlay', then choose an image from your phone.

You will then be asked Cropped or Un-Cropped? Choose Un-Cropped if the image is already framed the way you want it (a phone screenshot, for example) — it goes straight onto the map, scaled to fill the screen and ready to position. Choose Cropped to open the trimming template, which matches your screen's proportions: pan and zoom the image inside the frame, then tap the tick when you are happy.

On the map, position the overlay with one-finger drag, pinch to resize, and a two-finger twist to rotate — old maps are rarely north-aligned, so the rotation is there when you need it. The slider along the bottom blends the overlay's transparency so you can see both images at once.

When the alignment is good, tap the padlock (left of the slider) to lock the overlay to the map — it will now move and scale with the map as you pan and zoom, staying geographically true. The map stays flat bird's-eye while an overlay is active, and rotation is locked while the overlay is locked, so the alignment can't drift. Tap the padlock again to unlock and fine-tune.

Tap the bin (right of the slider) to remove the overlay — you will be offered the chance to save the image to the Documents/ToTai/Overlays folder for future hunts. One overlay can be active at a time, and if you leave the map with an overlay still in place you will be asked whether to save it first.

Grid overlays — instead of an image, you can grid the interior of your search area. Open the menu (3 dots, top right) and tap 'Grid overlay': a grid is dropped over the inside of the area's boundary polygon, sized to fit. Two fingers resize and rotate it until the squares suit the ground you are working. The padlock and bin are available immediately — tap the padlock to fuse the grid to the map so it pans, scales and rotates with the imagery, and tap it again to unlock and adjust. The bin deletes the grid outright; grids are not saved, so the map is clean next time you open the area. A grid and an image overlay cannot be used at the same time — selecting one replaces the other.

Pathfinder is a very useful tool. I recommend you use it. Primarily designed to help you find new lines between old ones, but it can also guide you back to findspots or your car.

On an open map screen, long press the screen to call out the Pathfinder. Long press the marker to pick it up, then set a line or destination. A compass needle will show you the precise direction to take. Look ahead, pick a distant on-line target to aim at, and start walking towards it.

Tip: It also helps to have an in-line middle target. Just keep them both in line. Continually update the middle target as you proceed. This will help you achieve perfectly straight lines.

Your track logs and find records are valuable data. Back them up regularly through ToT Central. Open the app and tap the Sync icon on the home screen. Choose Database Only (lightweight — finds and search areas, no images) or Full Backup (includes photos — Supporters only). Tap Upload to ToT Central and sign in when prompted. Your data is securely stored and can be restored to any device from the same screen using Restore from ToT Central.

Sometimes you don't know exactly what you've found until you get home and clean it. To edit a find's details later, go to your 'Finds Gallery', select the item, and tap the pencil icon in the top right. From here, you can retitle the item, update its classification (e.g., from 'Unknown Metal' to 'Roman Coin'), add new cleaned-up photos, and append detailed field notes.

Tect O Trak monitors your GPS signal while track recording is active. If no new track points are recorded for 60 seconds — even though recording is switched on — the app will sound a triple alert tone and display an on-screen warning. This helps prevent the frustrating situation of walking a long leg only to discover recording silently failed.

A single confirmation beep also sounds when the first GPS point of a new recording session is successfully captured, giving you an audible "all systems go" before you put your phone away.

To enable or disable: go to Settings and tick or untick "Lost GPS signal alert (Experimental)". The setting defaults to On. It is marked Experimental because GPS behaviour varies across devices and Android versions — if you find it fires false alerts on your handset, simply turn it off.

Pro tip: Switch on GPS and open Tect O Trak at least 5 minutes before you start detecting. Walk around so the GPS can get a solid fix before you begin recording — you should hear the confirmation beep within the first minute of walking.