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About OsmAnd routing

Overview​

Offline OsmAnd routing is based on OpenStreetMap data and provides variety of routes for different purposes. This is a list of predefined routing types which could be extended. The navigation rules are contained in routing.xml file and are used for offline routing. The route type changes automatically, when you change your profile.

You can also create your own routing.xml file and use it for navigation (only for advanced OsmAnd users).

  • Car routing (Truck, Motorcycle) - OsmAnd provides driving instructions for drivers of Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles.
  • Bicycle routing (MTB) - Bicycle routing provides navigation prompts specifically for cyclists and mtb enthusiasts. It can also be used by moped (scooter) drivers.
  • Pedestrian routing - can be used not only for walking around the city, but also during hiking trips.
  • Moped routing - is based on the bicycle routing, though it has it's own features.
  • Public Transport routing - can help you while traveling around the city.
  • Horseback routing - provides equestrians with tools they need to plan and enjoy their horseback riding activities.
  • Skiing routing - allows users to plan and navigate ski tours and other winter sports activities using the OsmAnd mobile app.
  • Train routing - provides an opportunity to use the railroad tracks for navigation.
  • Boat routing - can be used to build a route on rivers, channels, small lakes and in the open sea but only when fairways are marked in OpenStreetMap.
  • Straight line routing - provides a straight line routing (or "point-to-point" navigation) that is recalculated when your location changes.
  • Direct-to-point routing - provides a straight line routing (or "point-to-point" navigation) which stays stable for whole navigation in contrast to Straight line routing (route recalculation is disabled).

Other Routing types​

  • Online routing (Android only) - is an OsmAnd feature that allows users to plan and navigate routes using online services.
  • BRouter routing (Offline, Android only) - uses BRouter app for offline routing.

Customize offline routing​

You can modify the OsmAnd routing algorithm according to your needs. This can be done by updating the routing.xml file:

  • Copy the routing.xml file on your device. Read the Help information carefully. Check out OsmAnd user's routing.xml file as an example.
  • After making the changes, the new routing.xml file can be added to OsmAnd by tapping it and selecting to open it in the OsmAnd app.
  • Select the modified Navigation type for your profile.
note

More info about this possibility you can find in Technical documentation and on OsmAnd Github page.

Avoid specific roads​

caution

Avoid roads function is global and affects all Routing types (except Online routing and BRouter, Android).

There are two possible ways to choose which roads to avoid when calculating a route:

note
  • The road must be marked at maximum zoom, as OsmAnd may misinterpret the tap and block, for example, the incorrect side of two-roadways road or sidewalk.
  • The Avoid specific roads function incorrectly works with Navigation by track option and doesn't impact simplified Markers navigation.

Avoid roads menu​

Avoid roads menu can be reached via Navigation button → Settings → Avoid roads... (Android) or Avoid roads (iOS).

Avoid road menu Android

In this menu, you can cancel the previous selection of the road that should be avoided. To do so, tap on a cross (Android) or a red "-" opposite the road you intend to use for route calculation.

Using Select on map option you can continue to mark roads as invalid for routing on the OsmAnd map.

When you select a road to avoid using Map context menu or Avoid roads menu, the list of roads will be shown above map screen.

Avoid road on the map list Android

Export / Import​

Depending on your device settings and available applications, your whole list of roads to avoid or just one of them can be exported as an .osf file to a different locations. Select the roads you want to export in the suggested list.

Menu → Settings → Actions → Export

Avoid road on the map export Android 1 Avoid road on the map export Android 2

You can import roads to avoid during route calculation from other sources in .osf file format. Also, it can be done using Import option (Menu → Settings → Actions → Import). You can choose to import all data or only few roads to avoid (marking a road with a tick in the list).

Avoid road on the map import Android

note

The most convenient way to synchronize roads to avoid between your devices is to use OsmAnd Cloud (Pro subscription required).

Consider temporary limitations​

Consider temporary limitations option allows taking into account temporary road restrictions when calculating routes. They may include things like road construction or road closures for some reason (an accident, road repairs, natural disasters). Enabling this option can help you avoid unexpected detours or delays. Please note that sometimes this information may be outdated. In OpenStreetMap, this information is usually marked with the tag 'temporary'.

Development settings​

⚠️ Android only
This feature is currently not available for the iOS version of the OsmAnd app.

Development section of the Route parameters settings only visible when Development plugin is turned on.

  • OsmAnd Live data - Allows to disable OsmAnd Live updates for routing. We recommend to use this option on and disable once you experience some issues.
  • Use 2-phase A* routing algorithm - Allows to disable 2nd phase to the default (A*) algorithm to improve the quality of the calculated route. This option should be on and off only in case long routes have obvious issues. Please note that switching off might increase time calculation dramatically and also requires more memory.
  • Smart route recalculation - Recalculates only the initial part of the route, useful for long trips.