Offline Tile Cache
Embedded Files
Pre-download Google Map Tiles for the area you'll be flying so the app's map keeps working without internet during a mission. Cached regions are also what the on-drone reference builder uses, so you'll do this even when operating online.
Why pre-cache?
Field operations often happen in places without reliable internet. The Plan and Fly tabs both render maps; without cached tiles, those maps go blank when you lose connectivity. By drawing a region and clicking Download tiles while you're still online, you guarantee the map renders regardless of network state in the field.
The on-drone reference builder also uses tile caches as its input. To build a reference (used by the VPS subsystem), you cache the area first, then point the builder at it. See Hardware checks > Build a reference.
Find the Tile Cache Card
On the Plan tab, the right-hand column has the Offline Tile Cache card. It's collapsible — click the header if it's closed.
Set your API key
Paste your Google Map Tiles API key into the Google Maps API Key field. The key is stored in local storage (browser-side) so you don't have to re-enter it on every launch.
If you don't have a key yet, see Installation & first launch > Get a Google Map Tiles API key.
Choose a zoom level
Download
Click Download tiles. The card changes to show a progress bar (X / N tiles) while the backend fetches each tile from Google's API. A typical 100-tile download takes 30–60 seconds on a good connection.
When the job finishes, the new region appears in the Cached Regions list at the bottom of the card, marked active. Active means it's the region the Plan and Fly maps will use for tile rendering when offline.
Switching between cached regions
Cached regions are saved across sessions. Click the row of any previously cached region to make it the active one. The map immediately re-renders against that region's tiles. To force the live Esri tile source instead (e.g. to re-orient yourself), click the Esri only button on the active region row.
Exporting a region
Click Delete on a region row to remove it. The tiles are removed from disk on the laptop side; the drone is not affected. Deletion is immediate — there is no confirm step.
Tips for field operations
Cache a region before you head into the field. Field cellular is unreliable; you don't want to be downloading tiles on a hotspot during pre-flight.
Cache slightly more area than you think you need — drone path planning sometimes wants margin.
If you have multiple operating areas, cache each one separately. Switching between them is a single click in the Cached Regions list.
The total cache size is shown per region (e.g. "169 KB"). At zoom 19, a 100-tile region is roughly 3 MB. There's no practical limit on how many you cache.
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