GoGIS FAQ: Mobile GIS on Android & Apple

Direct answers about importing GIS files, collecting field data, working offline, using forms, Geometry Operations, and exporting data with GoGIS.

What is GoGIS?

GoGIS is a GIS app for Android phones and tablets, iPhone, iPad, and supported Macs. It is designed for field mapping, GPS data collection, asset inspection, soil sampling, reference data review, and working with GIS files away from a desktop GIS; on Mac it is useful for reviewing files, organizing layers, and exporting data on a larger screen.

GoGIS focuses on practical field workflows: import your data, inspect it on the map, collect or edit records, attach photos or forms, then export the result for use elsewhere.

Does GoGIS run on Mac?

Yes. GoGIS can also run on Mac, which is useful when you want to review GIS files, organize layers, inspect attributes, or export data on a larger screen.

Field collection is designed for Android phones and tablets, iPhone, and iPad, where GPS, touch mapping, photos, and field forms are most useful.

If I buy GoGIS, can I install it on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac?

Yes. GoGIS is purchased through the App Store and is tied to your Apple account.

That means you can install GoGIS on your compatible iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices using the same Apple account, without buying a separate copy for each device.

If I buy GoGIS on Google Play, can I install it on more than one Android device?

Yes. Google Play lets you install a purchased app on any compatible Android device signed in to the same Google Account, without paying again.

Google Play and the Apple App Store manage purchases separately, so buying GoGIS through one store does not unlock it in the other.

Does GoGIS run on Android?

Yes. GoGIS runs on Android phones and tablets with the same project structure, GIS formats, forms, imagery, editing, and export workflows used on Apple devices.

Store purchases are managed separately by Google Play and the Apple App Store, but project files and Field Sync are compatible across the two platforms.

Can I open shapefiles on an Android, iPhone, or iPad device?

Yes. GoGIS can import zipped shapefiles directly on Android phones and tablets, iPhone, and iPad.

A shapefile should normally be provided as a ZIP containing the related files, such as .shp, .shx, .dbf, and preferably .prj. GoGIS imports the geometry, reads the attributes, and lets you view, search, style, and export the layer. See the shapefile guide for the full workflow.

Can GoGIS open GeoPackage files?

Yes. GoGIS can import GeoPackage files on Android phones and tablets, iPhone, and iPad.

GeoPackage is a modern GIS container format that can hold one or more vector layers in a single .gpkg file. GoGIS can import those layers so you can view features, inspect attributes, and work with them on-device. See the GeoPackage guide.

What GIS file formats does GoGIS support?

GoGIS supports common mobile GIS formats including zipped shapefiles, GeoPackage, GeoJSON, KML, KMZ, and CSV files with coordinates.

Format support depends on the type of data and the workflow, but the goal is to let you use files from government GIS portals, desktop GIS exports, consultants, field crews, and cloud storage without needing a desktop computer in the field.

Does GoGIS work offline?

Yes. GoGIS is built for offline fieldwork.

Imported layers are stored locally on the device. GPS, attribute viewing, data collection, measurements, custom forms, Related Forms, and cached basemap tiles can all work without cell service or Wi-Fi. For more detail, read Offline Maps for Fieldwork.

Can I save USGS and GSI imagery for offline use?

Yes. GoGIS can save tile basemaps for offline use before you leave cell service.

Supported sources include USGS aerial imagery and topo tiles in the United States, GSI map imagery in Japan, and custom tile servers. Open the map area you need, download it while you still have a connection, and keep mapping with those saved tiles in the field.

Can I overlay my own drone or aerial imagery?

Yes. GoGIS can import your own imagery layers — drone orthophotos, aerial photos, satellite imagery, and scanned maps — and overlay them on the map on top of the basemap.

You import a georeferenced image, GoGIS prepares it as map tiles on the device, and the imagery draws in its real-world location. This is separate from the built-in USGS and GSI basemaps: it is for imagery you supply yourself, such as a drone survey of a specific field or site.

What imagery formats does GoGIS support for import?

GoGIS imports georeferenced GeoTIFF files and raster MBTiles. GeoTIFF is the common output from drone mapping tools and desktop GIS, and MBTiles is a portable tile package.

For GeoTIFF, use a standard 8-bit RGB or RGBA display image, such as the RGB orthomosaic from a drone processing tool. Common compression (LZW, Deflate, and JPEG-in-TIFF) is supported. Very large 16-bit analysis rasters, such as raw multispectral or elevation products, are meant for processing rather than display, so export an 8-bit RGB version for use as an imagery layer.

Does imported imagery work offline?

Yes. Once you import an imagery layer, GoGIS stores its tiles on the device, so the imagery draws in the field without cell service or Wi-Fi — the same as the rest of your project.

You can adjust each imagery layer's opacity to blend it with the basemap, reorder layers, and show or hide each one, so your own imagery sits in context with your other GIS data.

How does Field Sync work?

Field Sync lets two nearby GoGIS devices exchange project changes directly. It supports Android-to-Android, Apple-to-Apple, and Android-to-Apple sync for small crews, paired field devices, or one person keeping a phone and tablet aligned without requiring a cloud account.

Each device packages the records it has changed, transfers that package to the selected peer, receives the peer's package, and applies the incoming records on-device. The sync is per-record, so new features, edits, deleted records, folders, layer definitions, photos, related form definitions, and related form entries can move as part of the project state.

For best results, keep GoGIS open on both devices until both sides report that sending, receiving, and applying changes are complete.

Can two people edit the same record?

Yes, but GoGIS does not currently do a per-field merge. If two devices edit the same record before syncing, the newer record version wins when changes are applied. That keeps the workflow simple and predictable, but teams should coordinate when editing the same asset or inspection record.

Can I edit attributes in a table or grid?

Yes. GoGIS can open a layer's attributes as an editable grid — the same kind of attribute table you would use in desktop GIS — on Android phones and tablets, iPhone, and iPad. Tap a cell to edit its value inline, and the change is saved to the layer. It works in the field and offline, the same as the rest of your project.

Can I update an attribute for many features at once?

Yes. In the grid you can select multiple features, choose a column, enter a value, and apply it to every selected feature in a single step. The selection stays active afterward, so you can make another change to the same set without reselecting. This is a faster alternative to opening each feature's form one at a time, and it is the kind of bulk edit that usually requires a desktop GIS.

Can I undo a bulk edit if I make a mistake?

Yes. Right after you apply an edit, GoGIS briefly offers an Undo. Tapping it restores every affected feature to the value it had before that edit, whether you changed one cell or many features at once. Undo applies to the edit you just made, so it is there for the moment you notice a mistake rather than as a long edit history.

Can a single edit span features from more than one layer?

Yes. A grid selection can include features from different layers. When you apply a value, GoGIS writes it only to the features whose layer actually has that column, so you can update a mixed selection in one step without disturbing layers the column does not belong to.

What are Geometry Operations in GoGIS?

Geometry Operations are analysis tools that run on the device: Buffer, Intersect, Difference, and Dissolve, plus a live Interactive Buffer. They write a new layer (or append to an existing polygon layer) that you can style, filter, Intersect again, or export.

The same four tools live in two places. On a layer’s menu they run on the whole layer. On the Tools menu they run on the selected features. That is the difference between “cut every parcel in the county against soils” and “what soils sit under this field?”

What is the difference between Interactive Buffer and Buffer?

Interactive Buffer is the live HUD on the map. Select a point, line, or polygon, open it from the Tools menu, and drag the distance. The ring or inset updates as you move the slider so you can feel out a setback before you save. Points and lines only grow; polygons can grow or shrink. A negative distance is an inset — for example, pulling a parcel inward by 50 feet to sketch a building setback.

Buffer, under Geometry Operations, is the sheet that writes a real output layer. Use it when you want circles around every well, corridors along a stream, or rings you will later Intersect or Difference. It can dissolve overlapping buffers into one outline, carry attributes, stamp a source ID, and add an area column. Default names lead with the operation so they stay readable on a phone: Buffer_Wells, then Buffer_Wells_2 if that name is taken.

How do I use Buffer? What are some examples?

Select the features (or open Buffer from the layer menu), enter a distance in feet or meters, and run. Points become circles, lines become corridors, polygons grow or shrink.

Wellhead protection. A point layer of wells, buffered 100 feet (or 30 meters), gives you a protection zone around each well. Turn on dissolve if two wells are close enough that their rings should become one outline.

No-spray corridor. Buffer a stream or ditch 50 feet and you have a strip you can Difference out of the adjacent fields.

Road or pipe setback. Buffer a centerline to see the ground that sits inside a right-of-way or a construction offset.

Field-edge drift. Buffer a field polygon outward to see a spray-drift zone, or inward (negative) to leave an unsprayed margin along the boundary.

How do I use Intersect? What are some examples?

Intersect is polygon-against-polygon. The Tools-menu version cuts the selected polygons against another layer in full and writes one feature for every overlapping pair. You choose which attributes each side contributes. A typical default name looks like Intersect_Fields_Soils.

Soils under this field. Download SSURGO soils from Reference Data, select one or two fields, Intersect against Soils, and keep field_name from the field and soil_type (or map unit) from soils. You get one piece per field/soil pair — not thousands of pieces for the rest of the county.

Floodplain on a site. Select a project parcel and Intersect it with FEMA flood zones to see which parts of that lot sit in the 100-year floodplain.

Wetlands in a timber stand. Select the stand, Intersect with wetlands, and you have the wet acres inside that stand, with both stand ID and wetland type on each piece.

Intersect does not look at a selection on the other layer. Soils, flood zones, and wetlands are used in full; only the subject side is scoped to what you picked.

How do I use Difference? What are some examples?

Difference subtracts another polygon layer from your subject polygons and returns the remainder. Attributes come from the subject side. A typical name is Difference_Fields_Wetlands.

Sprayable acres after a well setback. Buffer the wells first, then Difference those rings from the field. What comes back is the field minus the protection zones.

Plantable ground. Difference wetlands (or a conservation easement) out of a parcel so the leftover polygon is the ground you can actually work.

Buildable lot. Difference a floodway, a stream buffer, or a right-of-way out of a tax parcel to see the remainder a building could sit on.

Like Intersect, the other layer is subtracted in full. If you started from the Tools menu, only the selected subject polygons come back, already cut. If you started from the layer menu, every feature in that layer comes back, cut where it overlapped.

How do I use Dissolve? What are some examples?

Dissolve merges polygons. Group by an attribute, or merge everything into one outline. It can write an area column and a count of how many pieces were merged. Names look like Dissolve_Parcels or Dissolve_Fields_owner.

Who holds what in the county. Open Dissolve on the parcel layer and group by mailing address. Every parcel that shares the same tax mail-to becomes one feature, so a landowner with twenty scattered lots shows up as a single shape. That is a fast way to see an owner’s holdings without selecting them one at a time. Mailing address is the usual proxy on assessor data — it is not a legal owner ID, but it is the field that is actually on the layer.

Acres per soil after an Intersect. Intersect fields with soils, then Dissolve the pieces by soil type. Four field/soil pieces that share two soil types become two polygons, each with the combined area of that soil.

One work area. Select three adjacent parcels you are treating as a single job and Dissolve them with no group-by so they become one polygon.

Overlapping well buffers. After buffering wells with dissolve off, you can Dissolve the rings so a cluster of close wells becomes a single protection zone.

Can I run Geometry Operations on selected features instead of a whole layer?

Yes. That is what the Tools menu is for. Select the features, open Tools, then Geometry Operations, and pick Buffer, Intersect, Difference, or Dissolve. The panels are the same ones the layer menu uses; only the input is the selection.

Selected features must be from the same layer, or from layers that share the same geometry type and the same user-facing attribute names and types. You cannot mix a point well with a polygon field, or two field layers that do not share a schema. GoGIS ignores its own gogis_* columns when it compares schemas.

Intersect and Difference still ask you to pick the other layer from the layer list, the same way the layer-menu tools do. The selection only scopes the subject side.

Do Geometry Operations work offline?

Yes. Buffer, Intersect, Difference, Dissolve, and Interactive Buffer all run on the device. You can download soils or flood data while you have a connection, then cut and buffer in the field with no cell service.

Can I collect GPS field data with GoGIS?

Yes. GoGIS can collect GPS field data on Android phones and tablets, iPhone, and iPad.

You can create or edit points, lines, and polygons, fill attribute forms, capture photos, scan barcodes, add signatures, and export the collected data. This makes GoGIS useful for inspections, site visits, field inventories, crop scouting, utility work, environmental surveys, and soil sampling. See GPS Field Data Collection.

Does GoGIS show GPS accuracy while I collect data?

Yes. GoGIS can show live GPS accuracy while you collect points or navigate to sampling locations.

When a point is collected, GoGIS can store the accuracy with the record so you can tell later how reliable that observation was.

How do I use a Bad Elf GPS receiver with GoGIS?

Bad Elf support is currently documented for iPhone and iPad. Android external-receiver support will be listed after compatibility is confirmed.

Pair your Bad Elf GPS receiver with your iPhone or iPad in Bluetooth settings. Once it is paired and connected, GoGIS detects it automatically.

GoGIS then uses the receiver’s live location and accuracy for mapping, collection, and navigation instead of the device’s built-in GPS. There is no receiver setup required inside GoGIS.

Can I make custom data collection forms?

Yes. GoGIS supports custom data collection forms.

Forms can be set up for repeatable, structured field entry instead of typing free-form notes every time. Depending on your form design, you can collect text, numbers, dates, pick-list values, photos, barcodes, signatures, GPS-derived values, formulas, and conditional fields. See the custom forms guide.

Can GoGIS calculate values in a form?

Yes. GoGIS forms can calculate values from the current form, the base feature attributes, or related records attached to the same feature.

For example, a spray form can calculate Total Cost from acres, rate, and unit cost. An inspection form can calculate Days Since Last Inspection from a previous related entry. A related form can also show a read-only reference value, such as acres from the base feature or a planted date from another form.

Can forms show or hide fields based on answers?

Yes. Conditional visibility rules can keep phone-sized forms focused on the questions that matter right now.

For example, choosing Leak from an issue pick list can reveal leak-specific questions while hiding vegetation or access questions. A Days Since calculation can hide the rest of a follow-up section until enough days have elapsed since the previous visit.

What are Related Forms?

Related Forms let one GIS feature have many repeatable records attached to it.

For example, one asset can have many inspections, one meter can have many readings, one field can have many scouting visits, and one sampling project can have many sample records. The parent feature stays on the map while the repeated records stay linked to it. See Related Forms for mobile GIS.

Can GoGIS collect photos with GIS features?

Yes. GoGIS can collect photos as part of field data workflows.

Photos can document field conditions, assets, damage, samples, inspection evidence, or site notes. They are most useful when paired with GPS, attributes, and consistent forms so the exported data is easy to interpret later.

Can I digitize lines and polygons on a phone or tablet?

Yes. GoGIS can digitize points, lines, and polygons on Android phones and tablets, iPhone, and iPad.

You can use this for mapping boundaries, drawing field observations, sketching work areas, outlining features, or creating new GIS geometry directly in the field.

Can GoGIS handle large shapefiles?

Yes. GoGIS is designed to handle large spatial datasets on mobile devices.

Large county parcel layers, infrastructure layers, and environmental datasets can be used on-device, although performance depends on device model, layer complexity, geometry size, and the number of visible layers. Read Loading Large Shapefiles for tips.

Can I use GoGIS for soil sampling?

Yes. GoGIS can support soil sampling workflows on Android phones and tablets, iPhone, and iPad.

You can work with fields, grids, GPS sample points, forms, barcode values, and exports for later processing. See Mobile Soil Sampling.

Can GoGIS import reference data like FEMA flood zones, wetlands, soils, and minerals?

Yes. GoGIS includes reference data import tools for several public datasets.

Reference sources can include FEMA flood data, wetlands, soils, minerals, rivers, and other public layers depending on region and availability. Some services require you to zoom in closely before importing because public GIS servers may time out or reject very large requests.

Can GoGIS export GIS data?

Yes. GoGIS can export GIS data for use outside the app.

Export options can include common formats such as GeoJSON, KML, shapefile, and CSV depending on the layer and workflow. Related Form exports keep child records connected to the parent GIS feature using a shared GoGIS ID. See Linking Related Form CSVs.

Does GoGIS require an account or subscription?

No. GoGIS is designed as a one-time purchase with no subscription required.

You can use local GIS files, offline maps, GPS, forms, and exports without creating an account. Some optional collaboration or cloud workflows may depend on app features and future services, but the core field GIS workflow does not require a subscription.

Where can I download GoGIS?

You can download GoGIS from Google Play for Android phones and tablets, or from the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and supported Macs.

Choose GoGIS on Google Play or GoGIS on the App Store.