9. Menus and Toolbars

This chapter describes all the menu items of Little Navmap. You will find most of this functionality on the toolbars as well which are not be described separately. Keyboard shortcuts can be seen on the menu items. See Keyboard Shortcuts.

Menu and toolbars docked in default positions.

9.1. Tear off Dropdown Menus

Toolbar buttons and the drop down menu button the Flight Plan Route Description allow to tear of the menu by clicking on the dashed line on top of it.

This will move the menu into a separate window and allows to quickly change several options at once.

The state of the tear off menus is not saved.

The drop down menu button for the userpoint categories for map display and how the menu can be teared off into its own window.

9.2. File Menu

9.2.1. New Flight Plan

Erases the current flight plan and shows the flight plan table.

You have to use Context Menu Search, Context Menu Map or Flight Plan Route Description dialog to create a new flight plan.

9.2.2. Open Flight Plan

Opens a flight plan with one of the following formats:

• LNMPLN. This is the default format of Little Navmap which supports all flight plan features like remarks. See Little Navmap LNMPLN Format for information about this format.
• PLN: FSX, FS9, FSC or MSFS.
• FLP
• FMS: X-Plane FMS 11 or FMS 3
• FlightGear FGFP
• Garmin FPL

The type of file is determined by content and not file extension. See Flight Plan Formats for more information.

An opened flight plan file will be reloaded on start up (reload and centering can be switched off in the Options dialog on Startup and Update and User Interface).

You can also drag and drop files from a file manager like Windows Explorer or macOS Finder into the Little Navmap main window to load them. Single flight plans and all allowed formats for loading as well as aircraft performance files are accepted.

Warning

Always save a copy of the flight plan in LNMPLN format to be able to reload all information. Exporting to and reading from other formats like X-Plane FMS might result in information loss.

9.2.3. Append Flight Plan

Adds departure, destination and all waypoints to the current flight plan.

Using Append Flight Plan allows to load or merge complete flight plans or flight plan snippets into a new plan. All waypoints are added at the end of the current flight plan. Then you can use the Delete selected Legs and Move selected Legs up/down context menu items to arrange the waypoints and airports as required. See Context Menu Flight Plan.

All current arrival procedures will be removed when appending a flight plan. The new flight plan will use arrival and approach procedures from the loaded plan, if any are present.

The appended legs are selected after loading the flight plan.

9.2.4. Recent Flight Plans

Shows all recently loaded flight plans for quick access. You can clear the list by selecting Clear Menu.

9.2.5. Save Flight Plan

Saves the flight plan into the current LNMPLN file. This format allows to store all flight plan attributes of Little Navmap.

Little Navmap opens the Save as dialog (see below Save Flight Plan as LNMPLN) if departure, destination or any other value used in the flight plan name has changed. This helps to avoid overwriting LNMPLN files with wrong plans after reversing direction, for example.

You can disable this behavior in the options dialog on page Flight Plan by unchecking Avoid overwriting Flight Plan with not matching departure and destination.

9.2.6. Save Flight Plan as LNMPLN

Saves the flight plan to a LNMPLN file. This format allows to save all flight plan attributes of Little Navmap.

See Little Navmap LNMPLN Format for information about this format.

Save Flight Plan as PLN changes the current file name in Little Navmap which means that all further saves will go into the new LNMPLN file.

Little Navmap proposes a new file name based on the pattern set in options on page Flight Plan.

Tip

You can save the flight plan files in any place. I recommend a directory in Documents like Documents\Little Navmap\Flight Plans.

You can also use the folder which is suggested by the Directories dialog.

Warning

Always save a copy of the flight plan in the default LNMPLN format to be able to reload all information. Writing to and reading from other formats like X-Plane FMS might result in information loss. See Flight Plan Formats for more information.

9.2.7. Reset all for a new Flight

Opens a dialog which allows to reset functions in Little Navmap for a new flight. See Reset all for a new Flight for more information.

9.2.8. Export Flight Plan as MSFS 2020 PLN

Saves a flight plan for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

Little Navmap can read and write this format.

This does not change the current file name and type. Further saves will still use the same LNMPLN file name and format as before.

See also Flight Plan Formats.

9.2.9. Export Flight Plan as P3D or FSX PLN

Saves a flight plan for FSX or Prepar3D.

Little Navmap can read and write this format.

This does not change the current file name and type. Further saves will still use the same LNMPLN file name and format as before.

See also Flight Plan Formats.

9.2.10. Export Flight Plan as X-Plane FMS 11

Saves the flight plan using the new X-Plane FMS 11 format.

Little Navmap can read and write this format.

See Flight Plan Formats for more information on limitations.

This does not change the current file name and type. Further saves will still use the same file name and format as before.

Store FMS files into the Output/FMS plans directory inside the X-Plane directory if you would like to use the flight plan in the X-Plane GPS, the G1000 or the FMS.

9.2.11. Export Flight Plan as FlightGear FGFP

Flightplan format which can be loaded into the RouteManager of the free flight simulator FlightGear.

Little Navmap can read and write this format.

A deactivateable warning dialog will be shown when saving.

See Flight Plan Formats for more information on limitations.

This does not change the current file name and type. Further saves will still use the same file name and format as before.

You can save the files into any directory and load it within FlightGear.

9.2.12. Show Flight Plan in SkyVector

Opens the default web browser and shows the current flight plan in SkyVector. Procedures are not shown.

Note that the flight plan will not be displayed if a small airport is unknown to SkyVector.

Example: ESMS NEXI2B NILEN L617 ULMUG M609 TUTBI Z101 GUBAV STM7C ENBO. Note missing SID and STAR in SkyVector.

9.2.13. Export Flight Plan to Other Formats

9.2.13.1. Export Flight Plan as HTML Page

Saves the flight plan table as shown to HTML file which can be viewed in a web browser. Icons are embedded in the page.

9.2.13.2. Export Flight Plan as GPX

Exports the current flight plan into a GPS Exchange Format file which can be read by Google Earth and most other GIS applications.

The flight plan is exported as a route and the flown aircraft trail as a track including simulator time and altitude.

The route has departure and destination elevation and cruise altitude set for all waypoints. Waypoints of all procedures are included in the exported file. Note that the waypoints will not allow to reproduce all parts of a procedure like holds or procedure turns.

Note

Do not forget to clear the aircraft trail ( Delete Aircraft Trail or Reset all for a new Flight) before a flight to avoid old trail segments in the exported GPX file. Or, disable the reloading of the trail in the options dialog on Startup and Update.

9.2.13.3. Export Flight Plan as vPilot VFP

Export the flight plan for the VATSIM vPilot online network client.

Flight Plan Online Network Export will appear before where you can add all needed information.

9.2.13.4. Export Flight Plan as IvAp FPL

9.2.13.5. Export Flight Plan as X-IvAp FPL

Export flight plan format for IVAO online network clients IvAp or X-IvAp.

Flight Plan Online Network Export will appear before where you can add all needed information.

9.2.14. Export Options

Sub-menu with several actions that affect export to most flight plan formats. This does not affect the saving of fliight plans to LNMPLN.

Warning

Note that saving flight plans with one or more of these methods has limitations:

• Several approach leg types like holds, turns and procedure turns cannot be displayed properly by using just waypoints or coordinates.
• Speed and altitude limitations are not included in the exported legs.

9.2.14.1. Export Waypoints for Approaches

9.2.14.2. Export Waypoints for SID and STAR

Save procedure waypoints instead of procedure information if checked. This affects all flight plan export formats except the native LNMPLN format.

Use this if your simulator, GPS or FMC does not support loading or display of approach procedures, SID or STAR.

Procedure information is replaced with respective waypoints that allow to display procedures in limited GPS or FMS units.

9.2.14.3. Export Waypoints for Airways

Enabling this function will omit all airway information in the exported flight plan formats. A chain of waypoints will be exported instead of waypoint/airway/waypoint triplets.

9.2.15. Multiexport Flight Plan

Exports all selected flight plan formats at once. You have to configure paths and select formats for exporting before by selecting Multiexport Flight Plan Options below.

Disabled if no flight plan format is selected for export.

See Flight Plan Multiexport for details.

9.2.16. Multiexport Flight Plan Options

Opens a dialog which allows to configure paths and select formats for flight plan exports with the Multiexport Flight Plan function above

See Flight Plan Multiexport for details.

9.2.17. Add Google Earth KML

Allows addition of one or more Google Earth KML or KMZ files to the map display. All added KML or KMZ files will be reloaded on start up. Reload and centering can be switched off in the Options dialog on Startup and Update and User Interface.

Due to the variety of KML files it is not guaranteed that all files will show up properly on the map.

9.2.18. Clear Google Earth KML from Map

Removes all loaded KML files from the map.

9.2.19. Work Offline

Stops loading of map data from the Internet. This affects the OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap and all the other online map themes as well as the elevation data. A red Offline. indication is shown in the status bar if this mode is enabled.

You should restart the application after going online again.

Note that this function does not affect the download of weather information. You can disable this in the respective menus separately.

Warning

Enabling this function unintentionally will result in a blocky or fuzzy map display if online maps are used.

This is because the map download of new image tiles is blocked.

9.2.20. Save Map as Image

Saves the current map view as an image file. Allowed formats are JPEG, PNG and BMP. The image does not include the map overlays.

Map Image Export will show up before saving which allows to select the image size.

9.2.21. Save Map as Image for AviTab

Saves the current map view as an image file for AviTab. Allowed formats are JPEG and PNG.

Map Image Export will show up before saving which allows to select the image size.

The saved file is accompanied by a calibration file in JSON-Format. It has the same name as the image with an additional .json extension.

The files have to be saved to .../X-Plane 11/Resources/plugins/AviTab/MapTiles/Mercator.

See here in the AviTab documentation for more information how to load the map image: Map App - Mercator.

9.2.22. Copy Map Image to Clipboard

Copies the current map image to the clipboard. The image does not include the map overlays.

Map Image Export will show up before copying the image which allows to select the image size.

9.2.23. Print Map

Allows to print the current map view. See Print Map for more information.

9.2.24. Print Flight Plan

Opens a print dialog that allows you to select flight plan related information to be printed. See Print Flight Plan for more information.

9.2.25. Quit

Exits the application. Will ask for confirmation if there are unsaved files.

9.3. Flight Plan Menu

9.3.1. Flight Plan

Opens and raises the flight planning dock window and flight plan tab. Also activates the flight plan table for quick navigation. Same as Window -> Shortcuts -> Flight Plan or pressing F7.

See Window for a full list or shortcuts.

9.3.2. Fuel Report

Opens and raises the flight planning dock window and Fuel Report tab. Same as Window -> Shortcuts -> Fuel Report or pressing F8.

See Window for a full list or shortcuts.

9.3.3. Undo/Redo

Allows undo and redo of all flight plan changes. The last action is shown in the menu item like Add Waypoint, for example.

9.3.4. Select a Start Position for Departure

A parking spot (gate, ramp or fuel box), runway or helipad can be selected as a start position at the departure airport. A parking position can also be selected in the map context menu item Set as Departure when right-clicking on a parking position. If no position is selected the longest primary runway end is selected automatically as start.

The start position selection dialog for EDDN.

9.3.5. Edit Flight Plan on Map

Toggles the flight plan drag and drop edit mode on the map. See Map Flight Plan Editing.

9.3.6. New Flight Plan from Route Description

Opens a dialog with the ATS route description of the current flight plan that also allows to modify the current flight plan or enter a new one.

Flight Plan Route Description gives more information about this topic.

9.3.7. Copy Flight Plan Route to Clipboard

Copies the route description of the current flight plan to the clipboard using the current settings from Flight Plan Route Description.

9.3.8. Calculate Direct

Deletes all intermediate waypoints and connects departure and destination using a great circle line.

This function does not delete procedures from the current flight plan but will rather connect procedure exit and entry directly, if any.

Tip

You can calculate a flight plan between any kind of waypoints, even user-defined waypoints (right-click on the map and select Add Position to Flight Plan to create one). This allows the creation of snippets that can be merged into flight plans.

9.3.9. Reverse Flight Plan

Swaps departure and destination and reverses order of all intermediate waypoints. A default runway is assigned for the new departure start position.

Procedures are removed by this function.

This function also removes all airway references since the result would not be valid due to one-way restrictions.

9.3.10. Calculate Flight Plan

Opens the flight plan calculation dock window which allows to automatically generate a flight plan by various criteria.

The altitude from the current flight plan is transferred to the calculation window.

See chapter Flight Plan Route Calculation for more information.

9.3.11. Adjust Flight Plan Altitude

Changes the flight plan altitude according to a simplified East/West rule and the current route type (IFR or VFR). Rounds the altitude up to the nearest even 1,000 ft (or meter) for westerly flight plans or odd 1,000 ft (or meter) for easterly flight plans. Adds 500 ft for VFR flight plans.

The rule can be changed in the options on Flight Plan.

9.3.12. Download Tracks on Startup

Downloads tracks immediately and instructs Little Navmap download tracks on startup.

See Tracks for more information.

9.3.13. Download Tracks

Downloads Oceanic or other tracks which are NAT, PACOTS and AUSOTS.

Tracks are shown on the map and a message is shown in the statusbar once the download is finished.

Tracks are removed when closing the program. Use the function Download Tracks on Startup above to always have tracks available.

See Tracks for more information.

9.3.14. Delete Tracks

Remove downloaded Oceanic and other tracks from the track database.

9.3.15. Track Sources

9.3.15.1. NAT

9.3.15.2. PACOTS

9.3.15.3. AUSOTS

Allows to select the track systems to download. You have to start the download again to see the changes.

See Tracks for more information.

9.4. Map Menu

9.4.1. Goto Home

Goes to the home area that was set using Set Home View in the sub-menu More in the map context menu. It will show the map using the saved position and zoom distance. The center of the home area is highlighted by a symbol.

Note that the symbol is only an indicator for the home view center position and does not have any context menu or mouse actions attached.

The symbol cannot be hidden. Set it at a remote position if you like to hide it.

9.4.2. Go to Center for Distance Search

Go to the center point used for distance searches. See Set Center for Distance Search.The center for the distance search is highlighted by a symbol.

The center symbol cannot be hidden. Set it at a remote position if you like to hide it.

9.4.3. Center Flight Plan

Centers the whole flight plan on the map.

9.4.4. Remove all Highlights and Selections

Deselect all entries in the flight plan table, all search result tables and remove all highlight marks from the map. Use this to get a clean view of the map while flying.

9.4.5. Remove all Ranges, Measurements, Patterns and Holdings

Removes all user features which are range rings, navaid range rings, measurement lines, airport traffic patterns and holdings from the map. This cannot be undone.

A warning dialog is shown before removing all user features.

9.4.6. Center Aircraft

Zooms to the user aircraft if directly connected to a flight simulator or remotely connected using Little Navconnect and keeps the aircraft centered on the map.

Default is to keep the user aircraft and the next flight plan waypoint visible on the map. The mode falls back to simple aircraft centering if no flight plan is loaded or no active leg is present.

You can zoom and move the map around and after a timeout the aircraft and next waypoint are centered again.

You can change the behavior on Simulator Aircraft tab in dialog Options.

9.4.7. Delete Aircraft Trail

The aircraft trail is saved and will be reloaded on program startup.

This menu item removes the user aircraft trail from both the map and the elevation profile.

The trail can be exported together with the flight plan into a GPX file by using Export Flight Plan as GPX.

The aircraft trail is also attached to logbook entries as flown trail and can be saved there.

Note

Always reset your trail before doing a flight to have the correct trail in the logbook entry. The best way to do this is Reset all for a new Flight.

9.4.8. Map Position Back/Forward

Jumps forward or backward in the map position history. The complete history is saved and restored when starting Little Navmap.

9.5. View Menu

9.5.1. Reset Display Settings

Resets all map display settings which can be changed in the menu View back to default.

9.5.2. Details

9.5.2.1. More Details

9.5.2.2. Default Details

9.5.2.3. Less Details

Increases or decreases the detail level for the map. More details means more airports, more navaids, more text information and bigger icons.

Warning

Map information will be truncated if too much detail is chosen. A red warning message Too many objects will be shown in the statusbar if this is the case.

The detail level is shown in the statusbar. Range is -5 for least detail to +5 for most detail.

Tip

You can also quickly change the detail level with the mouse wheel using Ctrl+Wheel.

9.5.3. Airports

9.5.3.1. Force Show Addon Airports

Add-on airports are always shown independently of the other airport map settings and zoom level if this option is selected.

Enabling this function allows to see even small add-on airstrips in continental zoom levels, for example.

Add-on airports are highlighted with a yellow ring which is independent of this function. You can disable the yellow ring in the options dialog on page Map Display by unchecking Highlight add-on airports.

Example: Force Show Addon Airports on a higher zoom level:

Off: Only large add-on airports are shown on the map with a yellow highlight.

On: All large add-on airports and additionally small add-on airstrips are shown on the map with a yellow highlight.

9.5.3.2. Show Airports with hard Runways

Show airports that have at least one runway with a hard surface.

9.5.3.3. Show Airports with soft Runways

Show airports that have only soft surfaced runways or only water runways. This type of airport might be hidden on the map depending on zoom distance.

9.5.3.4. Show empty Airports

Show empty airports. This button or menu item might not be visible depending on settings in the Options dialog on Map. The status of this button is combined with the other airport buttons. This means, for example: You have to enable soft surfaced airport display and empty airports to see empty airports having only soft runways.

An empty airport is defined as one which has neither parking nor taxiways nor aprons and is not an add-on. These airports are treated differently in Little Navmap. Empty airports are drawn gray and behind all other airports on the map.

This function helps the user to avoid airports that have no scenery elements.

Airports having only water runways are excluded from this definition to avoid unintentional hiding.

X-Plane and 3D airports

The function can be extended to X-Plane airports which are not marked as 3D. This can be done by checking Consider all X-Plane airports not being 3D empty in the Options dialog on Map. All airports not being marked as 3D will be shown in gray on the map and can be hidden like described above if enabled.

An airport is considered 3D if its source file contains 3D in the gui_label.

The definition of 3D is arbitrary, though. A 3D airport may contain just a single object, such as a light pole or a traffic cone or it may be a fully constructed major airport.

9.5.4. Navaids

9.5.4.1. Show VOR Stations

9.5.4.2. Show NDB Stations

9.5.4.3. Show Waypoints

9.5.4.4. Show ILS Feathers

9.5.4.5. Show Victor Airways

9.5.4.6. Show Jet Airways

Show or hide these facilities or navaids on the map. Navaids might be hidden on the map depending on zoom distance.

9.5.4.7. Show Tracks

Show or hide Oceanic or other tracks which are NAT, PACOTS and AUSOTS.

This function is disabled if no tracks are downloaded.

See Tracks for more information.

9.5.5. Airspaces

This sub-menu and toolbar allow the selection of individual airspace categories.

Airspace data sources can be selected in menu Scenery Library -> Airspace Libraries.

Note that airspaces are hidden at lower zoom levels to avoid overlaying with the airport diagram.

You can tear off the drop down menus from the toolbar by clicking on the dashed line on top of the menu.

Airspace selection toolbar with all drop down menus.

9.5.5.1. Show Airspaces

Allows to enable or disable the display of all airspaces with one click. Use the menu items below this one or the toolbar buttons to display or hide the various airspace types.

The airspaces toolbar contains buttons each having a drop down menu that allows to configure the airspace display like showing or hiding certain airspace types. Each drop down menu also has All and None entries to select or deselect all types in the menu.

9.5.5.2. ICAO Airspaces

Allows selection of Class A to Class E airspaces.

9.5.5.3. FIR Airspaces

Allows selection of the Class F and Class G airspaces or flight information regions.

9.5.5.4. Restricted Airspaces

Show or hide MOA (military operations area), restricted, prohibited and danger airspaces.

9.5.5.5. Special Airspaces

Show or hide warning, alert and training airspaces.

9.5.5.6. Other Airspaces

Show or hide center, tower, mode C and other airspaces.

9.5.5.7. Airspace Altitude Limitations

Allows filtering of the airspace display by altitude. Either below or above 10,000 ft or 18,000 ft or only airspaces intersecting with the flight plan altitude.

9.5.6. User Features

9.5.6.1. Range Rings

9.5.6.2. Measurement Lines

9.5.6.3. Traffic Patterns

9.5.6.4. Holdings

Hides or shows the respective user features.

Note that the menu item to add an user feature is disabled if the respective user feature is hidden on the map. The menu item is suffixed with the text hidden on map if this is the case.

9.5.7. Userpoints

Allows to hide or show user-defined waypoints by type.

The menu item Unknown Types shows or hides all types which do not belong to a known type.

The type Unknown shows or hides all userpoints which are exactly of type Unknown.

You can tear off the drop down menu from the toolbar by clicking on the dashed line on top of it.

See Userpoints for more information on user-defined waypoints.

9.5.8. Show Flight Plan

Show or hide the flight plan. The flight plan is shown independently of the zoom distance.

Note that the flight plan is also hidden in the elevation profile if you switch it off here.

9.5.9. Show Top of Climb and Top of Descent

Hides the climb and descent slopes as well as the top of climb and top of descent indicators when disabled. This affects the map and elevation profile display but not the altitude calculation in the fuel report or elevation profile.

9.5.10. Show Missed Approaches

Show or hide the missed approaches of the current flight plan. This does not affect the preview in the search tab Procedures.

Note

This function changes the active flight plan leg sequencing: Sequencing the active leg will stop if the destination is reached and missed approaches are not displayed. Otherwise sequencing will continue with the missed approach and the simulator aircraft progress will show the remaining distance to the end of the missed approach instead.

9.5.11. Show Aircraft

Shows the user aircraft and keeps it centered on the map if connected to the simulator. The user aircraft is always shown independently of the zoom distance.

The icon color and shape indicates the aircraft type and whether the aircraft is on ground (gray border on ground).

User aircraft in flight.

A click on the user aircraft shows more information in the Simulator Aircraft dock window.

More options to change the map behavior while flying can be found here Simulator Aircraft.

9.5.12. Show Aircraft Trail

Show the user aircraft trail. The trail is always shown independently of the zoom distance. It is saved and will be reloaded on program startup.

The trail can be deleted manually by selecting Map -> Delete Aircraft Trail in the main menu.

The length of the trail is limited for performance reasons. If it exceeds the maximum length, the trail is truncated and the oldest segments are lost.

The trail can be exported together with the flight plan into a GPX file by using Export Flight Plan as GPX.

9.5.13. Show Compass Rose

Show a compass rose on the map which indicates true north and magnetic north. Aircraft heading and aircraft trail are shown if connected to a simulator.

The rose is centered around the user aircraft if connected to a simulator. Otherwise it is centered on the map view.

See Compass Rose for details.

9.5.14. Attach Compass Rose to Aircraft

The compass rose is centered in the current view if not connected to a simulator.

Once connected, the compass rose will be attached to the user aircraft and follow its position.

This can be disabled with this menu item which detaches the rose from the user aircraft and keeps it centered on the screen.

9.5.15. Show AI and Multiplayer Aircraft or Ships

Shows AI and multiplayer aircraft or ships on the map. Multiplayer vehicles can be displayed from e.g. FSCloud, VATSIM or Steam sessions.

The icon color and shape indicates the aircraft type and whether the aircraft is on ground (gray border).

AI or multiplayer aircraft from the simulator.

This includes aircraft that are injected by the various online network clients. A click on the AI aircraft or ship shows more information in the Simulator Aircraft dock window in the tab AI / Multiplayer.

Multiplayer aircraft/client from an online network. See Online Networks. A click on the online aircraft shows information in the Information dock window in the separate tab Online Clients.

Note that, in X-Plane, ship traffic is not available and AI aircraft information is limited.

The displayed vehicles are limited by the used multiplayer system if Little Navmap is not connected to an online network like VATSIM or IVAO. Multiplayer aircraft will disappear depending on distance to user aircraft. For AI in FSX or P3D this is currently about 100 NM or around 200 km.

Smaller ships are only generated by the simulator within a small radius around the user aircraft.

Little Navmap limits the display of AI vehicles depending on size. Zoom close to see small aircraft or boats.

On the lowest zoom distance all aircraft and ships are drawn to scale on the map.

Aircraft labels are forced to show independently of zoom level for the next five AI/multiplayer aircraft closest to the user that are within 20 NM distance and 5,000 ft elevation.

All aircraft icons can be customized: User, AI and Multiplayer Aircraft Icons.

9.5.16. Show Map Grid

Show a latitude/longitude grid as well as the meridian and antimeridian (near the date line) on the map.

A 30, 5 or 1 degree grid is shown depending on zoom factor.

9.5.17. Show Country and City Names

Show country, city and other points of interest. Availability of these options depends on the selected map theme. See Theme.

9.5.18. Show Hillshading

Show hill shading on the map. Availability of these options depends on the selected map theme. See Theme.

9.5.19. Show Minimum Altitude

Toggles the display of minimum off-route altitude grid on the map.

The minimum off-route altitude grid provides an obstacle clearance altitude within an one degree grid. The altitudes clear all terrain and obstructions by 1,000 ft in areas where the highest elevations are 5,000 ft MSL or lower. Where the highest elevations are above 5,000 ft MSL or higher terrain is cleared by 2,000 ft.

The large number is 1,000 ft and small number 100 ft minimum altitude.

MORA grid: 3,300, 4,400, 6,000, 9,900 and 10,500 ft.

9.5.20. Show Airport Weather

Shows icons for airport weather where a weather station is available. Select source for display with Airport Weather Source below.

See Airport Weather for an explanation of the symbols and Airport Weather for more information.

9.5.21. Wind levels

Enables or disables wind aloft display for different layers as well as at flight plan waypoints. Select wind data source for display with Wind source below.

See Winds Aloft for an explanation of the wind symbols and Winds Aloft for more information.

9.5.22. Show Sun Shading

Enables the display of sun shading on the globe. This works in both projections Mercator and Spherical.

You can change the time source with the Sun Shading Time menu below. The shadow darkness can be changed in the dialog Options on Map Display 2.

See Sun Shading for more information.

9.5.23. Sun Shading Time

You can choose between three time sources for the sun shadow.

9.5.23.1. Simulator

Uses the time of the connected flight simulator and falls back to real time if not connected. Updates the shadow if the simulator time changes.

9.5.23.2. Real UTC Time

Use real time.

9.5.23.3. User defined Time

Allows to use the user defined time as set by using Set User defined Time below.

9.5.23.4. Set User defined Time

Opens a dialog to set an user defined time in UTC as a source for the sun shading.

See Set User defined Time for more information.

9.5.24. Projection

9.5.24.1. Mercator

A flat projection that gives the most fluid movement and the sharpest map when using picture tile based online maps themes like OpenStreetMap or OpenTopoMap.

9.5.24.2. Spherical

Shows earth as a globe which is the most natural projection. Movement can stutter slightly when using the picture tile based online maps themes like OpenStreetMap or OpenTopoMap. Use the Simple, Plain or Atlas map themes to prevent this.

Online maps can appear slightly blurred when using this projection. This is a result from converting the flat image tiles to the spherical display.

Spherical map projection with Simple offline map theme selected.

9.5.25. Theme

Allows to change the map theme which defines the look and feel of the background map.

Custom map themes are prefixed with a * in the drop down box in the toolbar and with the word Custom in the menu.

Tip

Also check out the Little Navmap Support Forum at AVSIM, Little Navmap Downloads - Map Themes and LittleNavmapOFMTheme for more map themes.

Note

Please note that all the online maps are delivered from free services therefore fast download speeds and high availability cannot be guaranteed.

In any case it is easy to deliver and install a new online map source without creating a new Little Navmap release. See Creating Map Themes for more information.

9.5.25.1. OpenStreetMap

This is an online raster (i.e. based on images) map that includes a hill shading option. Note that the OpenStreetMap hill shading does not cover the whole globe.

View at an Italian airport using OpenStreetMap theme and hill shading.

9.5.25.2. OpenTopoMap

An online raster map that mimics a topographic map. Includes integrated hill shading and elevation contour lines at lower zoom distances.

The tiles for this map are provided by OpenTopoMap.

View at the eastern Alps using OpenTopoMap theme. A flight plan is shown north of the Alps.

9.5.25.3. Stamen Terrain

A terrain map featuring integrated hill shading and natural vegetation colors. The hill shading is available worldwide.

Map tiles by Stamen Design, under CC BY 3.0. Data by OpenStreetMap, under ODbL.

View showing Stamen Terrain theme.

9.5.25.4. CARTO Light

A very bright map called Positron which allows to concentrate on the aviation features on the map display. The map includes the same hill shading option as the OpenStreetMap.

Map tiles and style by CARTO. Data by OpenStreetMap, under ODbL.

9.5.25.5. CARTO Dark

A dark map called Dark Matter. The map includes the same hill shading option as the OpenStreetMap.

Map tiles and style by CARTO. Data by OpenStreetMap, under ODbL.

9.5.25.6. Simple (Offline)

This is a political map using colored country polygons. Boundaries and water bodies are depicted coarse. The map included in Little Navmap has an option to display city and country names.

9.5.25.7. Plain (Offline)

A very simple map. The map is included in Little Navmap and has an option to display city and country names. Boundaries and water bodies are depicted coarse.

9.5.25.8. Atlas (Offline)

A very simple map including coarse hill shading and land colors. The map is included in Little Navmap and has an option to display city and country names. Boundaries and water bodies are depicted coarse.

9.6. Weather Menu

9.6.1. Airport Weather Source

Selects the source for the airport weather symbol display on the map. See also Airport Weather and Weather.

The following options are available:

9.6.1.1. Flight Simulator

FSX, Prepar3D or X-Plane. Display for FSX/Prepar3D and on remote connections is slower and might cause stutters when scrolling.

Display for X-Plane remote connections is not supported except by sharing the X-Plane METAR.rwx weather file on the network.

9.6.1.2. Active Sky

Use Active Sky as source for weather display.

9.6.1.3. NOAA

Most up-to-date option for weather (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

9.6.1.4. VATSIM

Same as NOAA but weather information might be older than NOAA. Use this for online flying in the VATSIM network.

9.6.1.5. IVAO

Same as NOAA weather but information might be older. Use this for online flying in the IVAO network.

9.6.2. Wind source

Choose the source for winds aloft forecast data here. This will affect the calculation of top of descent, top of climb and fuel planning. See also Winds Aloft and Weather.

A manual wind setting for cruise altitude can also be used. See Buttons.

The selected wind source is shown in the tab Fuel Report in the Average wind line as well as in all tooltips on wind barbs.

9.6.2.1. Manual Wind

This is the same function as the Manual Wind button in the Fuel Report tab.

This menu item overrides the wind source and allows to set the average wind direction and speed manually. Two input fields are shown in the Fuel Report tab if this is checked.

9.6.2.2. Disabled

No wind will be downloaded and processed.

9.6.2.3. Flight Simulator (X-Plane only)

Uses the global_winds.grib file which is downloaded and used by X-Plane. This file uses only two wind layers and is therefore less accurate than the NOAA option.

9.6.2.4. NOAA

Downloads weather files from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is the most accurate option since it downloads data for several wind layers.

9.7. Userpoint Menu

See Userpoints for more information on user-defined waypoints.

9.7.1. Userpoint Search

Raise the dock window Search and the tab Userpoints where you can edit, add delete and search user-defined waypoints.

9.7.2. Import CSV

Import a CSV file that is compatible with the widely used format from Plan-G and adds all the content to the database.

Note that the CSV format is the only format which allows to write and read all supported data fields.

See CSV Data Format for a more detailed description.

9.7.3. Import X-Plane user_fix.dat

Import user-defined waypoints from the file user_fix.dat. The file does not exist by default in X-Plane and has to be created either manually or by exporting from Little Navmap.

The default location is XPLANE/Custom Data/user_fix.dat.

The imported userpoints are of type Waypoint which can be changed after import using the bulk edit functionality.

The format is described by Laminar Research here: XP-FIX1101-Spec.pdf.

See X-Plane user_fix.dat Data Format for more information.

9.7.4. Import Garmin GTN

Reads user-defined waypoints from the Garmin user.wpt file. Refer to the manual of the Garmin unit you are using for more information about format and file location.

The imported userpoints are of type Waypoint which can be changed after import using the bulk edit functionality.

See Garmin user.wpt Data Format for more information.

9.7.5. Export CSV

Create or append user-defined waypoints to a CSV file. A dialog asks if only selected userpoints should be exported, if the userpoints should be appended to an already present file or if a header should be added.

Note that the exported file contains extra columns compared to the Plan-G format. The description field supports more than one line of text and special characters. Therefore, not all programs might be able to import this file. If needed, adapt the file in Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc.

Userpoint export dialog with tooltip help on first option.

9.7.6. Export X-Plane user_fix.dat

Only selected userpoints or all can be exported. The exported data can optionally be appended to an already present file.

Not all data fields can be exported to this format. The ident field is required for export.

Also, you have to make sure that the user waypoint ident is unique within the user_fix.dat.

See X-Plane user_fix.dat Data Format for more information about limitations.

9.7.7. Export Garmin GTN

Only selected userpoints or all can be exported. The exported data can optionally be appended to an already present file.

Not all data fields can be exported to this format. The ident field is required for export. Some fields like the name are adapted to limitations.

See X-Plane user_fix.dat Data Format for more information about limitations.

9.7.8. Export XML for FSX/P3D BGL Compiler

This export options creates an XML file which can be compiled into an BGL file containing waypoints.

The region and ident fields are required for this export option.

See the Prepar3D SDK documentation for information on how to compile the BGL and how to add this to the simulator.

9.7.9. Clear database

Remove all user-defined waypoints from the database.

A CSV backup file named little_navmap_userdata_backup.csv is created in the settings directory C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\ABarthel before deleting all user-defined waypoints.

Little Navmap also creates a full database backup on every start. See Userpoints.

9.8. Logbook Menu

9.8.1. Logbook Search

Raise the dock window Search and the tab Logbook where you can edit, add delete and search logbook entries.

See Logbook for more information.

9.8.2. Show Statistics

Shows the logbook statistics dialog. See Logbook Statistics.

9.8.3. Import CSV

Import logbook entries from a CSV file. The entries are added to the logbook database.

9.8.4. Export CSV

Allows to export the full logbook or the selected entries to a CSV (comma separated value) text file which can be loaded in LibreOffice Calc or Microsoft Excel. See Import and Export.

9.8.5. Import X-Plane Logbook

Import the X-Plane logbook file .../X-Plane 11/Output/logbooks/X-Plane Pilot.txt into the Little Navmap logbook database. Note that the X-Plane logbook format is limited and does not provide enough information to fill all Little Navmap logbook fields.

See X-Plane Import.

9.8.6. Convert Log Entries from Userpoints

Automatically converts all legacy log entries that were collected as userpoints and copies them to the new logbook.

See Conversion for details.

9.8.7. Create Logbook entries

Little Navmap creates logbook entries for each flight automatically if this menu item is checked. A logbook entry containing only departure is created on takeoff and finalized with destination and more information on landing.

Note

Always reset your trail before doing a flight to have the correct trail in the logbook entry. The best way to do this is Reset all for a new Flight.

See also Logbook.

9.9. Aircraft Menu

This menu contains functionality for aircraft performance profiles which allow fuel planning and traveling time estimation.

See Aircraft Performance and Aircraft Performance Edit for more information.

9.9.1. New Aircraft Performance

Creates a new performance profile with default values, shows the fuel report and opens the edit dialog. A profile with 3 NM per 1,000 ft for descent and climb rules and no fuel consumption is default. Red warning messages will be shown since the profile is not complete.

9.9.2. Open Aircraft Performance

Loads a LNMPERF aircraft performance profile and shows the fuel report. You can also load a profile by dragging the file from a file manager like Windows Explorer into the main window of Little Navmap.

9.9.3. Save Aircraft Performance

Saves the current profile. Opens a file dialog if not saved before.

9.9.4. Save Aircraft Performance as

Allows to save the current profile using a new filename.

9.9.5. Recent Performance Files

Shows all recently loaded aircraft performance files for quick access. You can clear the list by selecting the sub-menu item Clear Menu.

9.9.6. Edit Aircraft Performance

Opens Aircraft Performance Edit for the current performance profile.

9.9.7. Open Aircraft Performance and Merge

Opens a file loading dialog and subsequently Aircraft Performance Merge which allows to merge or copy data from the opened file to the current aircraft performance.

9.9.8. Merge collected Aircraft Performance

Opens Aircraft Performance Merge which allows to merge or copy data from the collected aircraft performance to the currently loaded aircraft performance.

See also Aircraft Performance Collection.

9.9.9. Restart Aircraft Performance Collection

Resets all collected values for aircraft performance to zero and starts the performance collection over.

See also Aircraft Performance Collection.

9.10. Scenery Library Menu

9.10.1. Flight Simulators

One menu item is created for each flight simulator installation or database found. These menu items allow switching of databases on the fly.

The menu shows the simulator name as a disabled menu item if only one flight simulator was found.

The loaded AIRAC cycle is shown only for X-Plane and Navigraph data since the information is not available for FSX, P3D and MSFS.

Note

You have to set the base path to the X-Plane directory in the Load Scenery Library Dialog first to enable the X-Plane menu item.

This menu is synchronized with simulator selection in Load Scenery Library. Once a database is successfully loaded, the display, flight plan and search will switch over to the newly loaded simulator data.

Note

Note that Little Navmap does not keep you from using a X-Plane scenery database while being connected to FSX/Prepar3D or vice versa, for example. You will get unwanted effects like wrong weather information if using such a setup.

Parking positions in flight plans might change when switching between scenery library databases. This can happen if airports have parking positions with different names or missing parking positions.

The program might change a loaded flight plan if you switch between different databases. This can happen if a departure position is set in the plan which does not exist in the other database. Click New Flight Plan before switching to avoid this.

9.10.2. Navigraph

This sub-menu also shows the AIRAC cycle if a Navigraph database is found in the database directory.

See the chapter Navigation Databases for more information about scenery databases and the three different display modes below.

Note that airspaces are not affected by this selection. See Airspace Libraries below.

9.10.2.1. Use Navigraph for all Features

Completely ignores the simulator database and takes all information from the Navigraph database.

Warning

Airport information is limited in this mode. This means that aprons, taxiways, parking positions, runway surface information and other information is not available. Also, smaller airports might be missing. Runway layout might not match the runway layout in the simulator if you use stock or older airport scenery.

9.10.2.2. Use Navigraph for Navaids and Procedures

This mode blends navaids and more from the Navigraph database with the simulator database. This affects the map display, all information and all search windows.

This is the default and recommended mode for all simulators.

9.10.2.3. Do not use Navigraph Database

Ignores the Navigraph database and shows only information read from the simulator scenery.

Warning

Navdata read from FSX, P3D or MSFS has limitations. The airway network might not be correct and procedures can have errors.

9.10.3. Airspace Libraries

Enables or disables various airspace databases for display.

9.10.3.1. Simulator

Toggles display of simulator airspaces. These also change when changing the simulator database in the Scenery Library menu.

See also X-Plane Airspaces and FSX, Prepar3D and MSFS Airspaces.

9.10.3.2. Navigraph

Shows the airspaces from the included or updated Navigraph database. This is independent of the selected simulator.

9.10.3.3. User

Selects user airspaces for display. This source is independent of the selected simulator.

See also User Airspaces and Load User Airspaces.

9.10.3.4. Online

Selects the online centers for display. Only enabled if connected to an online service like VATSIM or IVAO.

9.10.4. Load User Airspaces

A directory selection dialog will show up when running this function the first time. Select a directory containing OpenAir airspace files with file ending .txt. All files in the directory will be read recursively into the user airspace database.

See also User Airspaces.

9.10.5. Load Scenery Library

Open the Load Scenery Library dialog. See Load Scenery Library for more information.

9.11. Tools Menu

9.11.1. Flight Simulator Connection

Opens the Connect dialog allowing Little Navmap to connect directly to a flight simulator, the Little Xpconnect X-Plane plugin, or remotely using the Little Navconnect agent. See Connecting to a Flight Simulator for more information.

9.11.2. Run Webserver

Starts the internal web server of Little Navmap. Access the web page using the menu item Open Webserver Page in Browser below.

See Web Server for detailed information and Web Server for configuration options.

9.11.3. Open Webserver Page in Browser

Only enabled if the web server is running. Opens the web server page in your default browser. The default address is like http://YOUR_COMPUTER_NAME:8965 or http://localhost:8965.

This function might not work depending on your network setup. Enter the computer name as above manually in your browser if this is the case.

9.11.4. Reset all Settings and Restart

This will reset all options, window layout, dialog layout, aircraft trail, map position history and file histories back to default values and restart Little Navmap after showing a warning dialog.

User features like range rings, traffic patterns, holds as well as scenery, logbook and userpoint databases are not affected.

A backup copy of the settings file little_navmap.ini is created in the configuration directory. See Configuration.

Use this function instead of deleting the settings directory if you see crashes or other issues with the program.

9.11.5. Reset all Messages

Re-enable all dialogs that were disabled by selecting Do not show this dialog again or similar messages.

9.11.6. Save Options and State

Saves all options, dialog settings, tab arrangements and the window layout. This is normally only done when exiting Little Navmap.

9.11.7. Files and Directories

9.11.7.1. Open Log File

Shows the log file abarthel-little_navmap.log in the default text editor. This can be used to track down errors or crashes.

See also Logs for details.

Note

Immediately save this log to another file if you’d like to report problems with Little Navmap. The log file might be overwritten if you continue your flight. See How to report a Bug for more information about reporting bugs.

9.11.7.2. Open Configuration File

Shows the main little_navmap.ini configuration file in the default text editor.

See also Configuration for details about the files used.

Warning

There is usually no need to edit this file directly. Editing this file the wrong way might crash Little Navmap.

9.11.7.3. Show Database Files

Open Little Navmap’s database directory in a file manager. See Running without Flight Simulator Installation for more information on copying database files between different computers.

See also Databases for details about the different databases.

9.11.8. Options

Opens the dialog Options which allows to change the user interface, map display, weather and more.

Note

The menu entry which is referenced as Tools -> Options in this manual for Windows and Linux can be found in the application menu at Little Navmap -> Preferences on macOS.

9.12. Window Menu

9.12.1. Shortcuts

A list of menu items that open and raise the respective dock window and tab. See Window for a full list.

Some shortcuts also activate search fields or tables like the airport ICAO search when using Airport Search or pressing F4. This allows to quickly look for an airport or other feature by just pressing a function key.

9.12.2. Map Overlays

Show or hide floating map overlays, like the overview on the top left or the compass on the top right corner of the map window.

You can also right click on a map overlay to hide it from the context menu.

9.12.3. Style

Allows to switch the style of the graphical user interface on the fly. A restart is not needed.

The user interface styles contain a Night mode that can be used for flights in a dark environment. You can also dim the map and elevation profile display for this style in the dialog Options on Map Display 2 (Map Dimming in Night Style at the bottom of the dialog).

The colors for the styles Fusion and Night can be changed by editing configuration files. See Customizing General for more information.

The available styles depend on the operating system except for Fusion and Night which are always available.

9.12.4. Open Window Layout

Opens a LNMLAYOUT file and applies the changes like visibility, position and floating status directly to the dock windows. Size and position of the main window is also restored.

Full screen and normal layouts are both loaded from this file.

See Window Layout for more information.

9.12.5. Save Window Layout as

Saves visibility, position and floating status of all dock windows as well as the size and position of the main window to a LNMLAYOUT file.

Note that the layout for the fullscreen and normal view are save together in this file.

See Window Layout for more information.

9.12.6. Recent Window Layouts

List of recently saved or loaded window layout files. Select one to load and apply the layout.

9.12.7. Reset Window Layout

Reset the main window layout back to default. This involves visibility, position and state of all dock windows as well as the toolbars. All tabs and the statusbar are reset to default as well.

This function can be helpful if a dock window gets lost on multi monitor setups.

Note that the dock windows Search and Simulator Aircraft are stacked in the default layout. You can access both using the tabs at the lower right position of the main window.

See Window Layout for more information on window layouts.

9.12.8. Fullscreen Map

Maximizes the map window and hides all dock windows as well as the toolbars.

See Fullscreen for more information on fullscreen mode.

9.12.9. Keep in Foreground

Forces the main window of Little Navmap to remain in foreground of all other applications.

9.12.10. Show all floating Windows

Raises all undocked (i.e. floating) windows before the main window. This can be helpful if a window got lost. See Dock Windows for more information about floating dock windows.

9.12.11. Allow Window docking

This enabled per default. Disable this if you do not want floating (i.e. undocked) dock windows to snap back into the main window while moving them around.

See also Dock Windows.

9.12.12. Search

9.12.13. Flight Planning

9.12.14. Flight Plan Calculation

9.12.15. Information

9.12.16. Flight Plan Elevation Profile

9.12.17. Simulator Aircraft

9.12.18. Legend

Open or close these dock windows. The map dock window cannot be closed. The whole dock window stack is closed if a dock window is part of a stack. See Dock Windows for more information about stacked dock windows.

Note that the Flight Plan Calculation window cannot be docked and remains in floating state. The altitude from the current flight plan is not copied to the calculation window when using this function.

9.12.19. File Toolbar

9.12.20. Map Toolbar

9.12.21. Map Options Toolbar

9.12.22. Map Projection and Theme Toolbar

9.12.23. Flight Plan Toolbar

9.12.24. Map Airspaces Toolbar

9.12.25. Dock Window Toolbar

9.12.26. Tools Toolbar

9.12.27. Statusbar

Show or hide these toolbars and/or the statusbar.

You can also hide toolbars in the context menu that appears when right clicking on them.

9.13. Help Menu

9.13.1. Contents (Online)

Show the online user manual in the default web browser. The English user manual is shown if it is not available in your language.

You can install additional language packs for Little Navmap which can include a translated manual.

9.13.2. Tutorials (Online)

Shows the online tutorials in the default web browser.

9.13.3. Frequently asked Questions (Online)

Shows the frequently asked questions in the web browser.

9.13.4. Contents (Offline, PDF)

Show the included PDF user manual in the default PDF viewer.

You can install additional language packs for Little Navmap which can include a translated PDF manual.

9.13.5. NavMap Legend

Show the navigation related map legend in the Legend dock window. You can also access the legend here: Legend.

9.13.6. Map Legend for current Map Theme

Show the map theme dependent base legend in the Legend dock window. Note that the legend is not available for all map themes.

9.13.7. About Little Navmap

Show version and revision number for Little Navmap, also contains links to the database directory, configuration file, log file and the author’s e-mail address.

9.13.8. About Marble

Display information about the Marble widget that is used to download and show the maps.

9.13.9. About Qt

Display information about the Qt application framework that is used by Little Navmap.

9.13.10. Donate for this Program

Opens the donation web page in your default browser.

If you would like to show your appreciation you can donate using PayPal.

Donations are purely optional but greatly appreciated.

9.13.11. Check for Updates

Allows to manually check for updates. This will also show updates that were recently ignored by pressing the Ignore this Update on the notification dialog.

See Checking for Updates for more information.