TrueGIS Maps: What It Does, Who It’s For, and How It Works

Reading time: ~7 min

TrueGIS Maps is a lightweight web tool for creating clean, printable maps—fast. It runs entirely in your browser, so there’s no software to install and no signup required. This overview explains the core features, the typical workflows, and a few pro tips to get consistently crisp prints.

What you can do in TrueGIS

• Draw features: Add Point, Line, Polygon, Circle, and Square. The toolbar also includes Clear to wipe your sketch layer.
• Style clearly: Choose fill color and opacity, plus stroke color, stroke opacity, and width. Semi-transparent fills help the basemap stay readable.
• Search & locate: Find places via the search box, or jump to your current position with Locate Me.
• Plan prints to scale: Use presets (e.g., 1:2,500, 1:5,000, 1:10,000, 1:25,000, 1:50,000) and select Landscape or Portrait.
• Preview coverage: Toggle Show Print Area to see exactly what will be included in a scaled export.
• Export quickly or precisely: Quick Print for speed, Scaled Print for accurate map scale.

Who it’s for

• Planners & surveyors: Produce tidy locality plans, site outlines, and simple route diagrams.
• Contractors & SMEs: Mark access routes, hazards, utilities, or delivery corridors and print handouts.
• Students & educators: Create coursework figures without installing heavy GIS packages.
• Anyone who needs a clean map: Annotate an area, keep it legible, and export in minutes.

How a typical session flows

1. Open TrueGIS: head to truegis.co.uk.
2. Find your area: search for a place or click Locate Me.
3. Draw: add points, lines, polygons, circles, or squares to highlight what matters.
4. Style: set fill/stroke colors and opacity; set a stroke width that prints cleanly.
5. Pick scale & orientation: choose a preset and Landscape or Portrait.
6. Preview print area: turn on Show Print Area and adjust the map until the frame covers exactly what you need.
7. Export: use Quick Print for a fast grab or Scaled Print for true scale output.

Quick Print vs Scaled Print

Both options export what you see, but they’re designed for different outcomes:

• Quick Print captures the current view for speed. It’s perfect for field sketches and email-ready screenshots.
• Scaled Print respects the map scale you choose. Use this when scale matters (tenders, drawings, or any print where distances must be right).

For a deeper comparison, see Quick Print vs Scaled Print.

Keeping prints crisp

• Contrast: Use strong contrast between your features and the basemap. Dark stroke on lighter basemaps works well.
• Opacity: Semi-transparent fills (e.g., 0.3–0.5) keep the map readable underneath.
• Width: If lines look too heavy on paper, reduce stroke width before exporting.
• Orientation: Pick Landscape for wide areas; Portrait for tall corridors like rivers or roads.

Performance & privacy

TrueGIS runs on your device—the app is client-side and there’s no account. That keeps things quick and reduces accidental data sharing. If you need to clear sketches, use Clear before exporting or leaving your machine.

Limitations to be aware of

• Session scope: Your edits live in the current browser session unless you export or capture them.
• Basemap options: TrueGIS prioritises a clean, simple basemap for legible prints.

Ready to try it? Open TrueGIS Maps, sketch your area, and export. If you care about true scale, read Printing to Scale in the Browser next.

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