The Map

The Map feature helps you keep track of your assets by quickly showing you where they are and what they are doing.

The Map feature is a core tool in MyGeotab for managing your fleet activity. Use it to view the current locations of your assets, dispatch assets, find assets near key places, and find drivers.

The Map can be used with a number of different filters to help you quickly find the assets that matter the most to you. You can filter the Map by the following:

  • Specific assets, drivers, or asset types

  • Groups

  • Powertrain and fuel types

  • Status, whether driving, stopped, or not communicating

You can also reduce visual clutter by using map layers. This helps you to focus on the information you need, while still providing additional context when you need it. Customizable map layers include assets, labels, events, zones, weather, traffic, and routes. If you create custom combinations of map layers for specific purposes, you can save them as map views to easily access them at any time.

If map markers are enabled in your database, assets on the Map appear as shapes with status colors and badges that show asset type, status, and alerts without selecting each asset. For more information, refer to Map markers.

When you select an asset on the Map, you can view more details about the vehicle in the side panel. These include the current driver, location, and status. You can also perform quick actions such as sending messages, sharing locations, and dispatching.

Note:

If you have more than 50 assets in your database, the Map remains blank until you have selected assets to view from the Search box, or zoom in to an area with 500 assets or fewer.

Regional map variations

The visual appearance of the Map can vary depending on your geographic region.

Your region is determined by the database country selected in your system settings. If you don't have a database country selected, your region is determined using your IP address. Regional map differences can affect political borders, place names, and geographic labels.

Administrators can update a database's region by selecting a database country on the System Settings page, or choose to enable regional maps based on user location.

Changing your map region

Learn how to change the way your Map region is determined in your database.

Regional maps may have variations in political borders, place names, and geographic labels. You can choose to set your map region based on your database country or your users' locations.
  1. Click the Profile icon in the top toolbar and select System Settings.
  2. Select the Map tab.
  3. Under Map Labels, select whether you want users' map region to correspond with the database country or user location.
  4. Click Save.
To learn more about setting your database country, see the System Settings help article.

Map icons

The Map uses a variety of icons to quickly indicate information about your fleet.

The Map feature uses icons to indicate asset behavior such as driving and stopping. Icons are can also be different depending on the type of vehicle. For example, electric vehicles are marked with a charging icon when they are stopped and plugged in.

To make the map easier to read, large numbers of vehicles in a small area are shown with a cluster icon labeled with the number of vehicles in that area. If you want to see particular vehicles in the cluster, you can zoom in to show individual icons.

If map markers are enabled in your database, assets appear as markers instead of the icons described in this topic. For more information, refer to Map markers.

The following icons are the most commonly used icons on the Map:
Icon showing the arrow symbol that indicates a driving asset.DrivingShows a currently driving asset. Hovering over the icon shows the asset's location and current driving speed.
Icon showing the symbol that shows a stop inside a company zone.Stopped inside zoneShows the location of an asset stop inside one or more company zones. Hovering over the icon displays the address of the zone and the asset's arrival time. If the stop shows the current location of the asset, it is labeled with the asset name and driver.
Icon showing the square symbol that indicates a stop outside of a company zone.Stopped outside zoneShows the location of an asset stop outside of company zones. Hovering over the icon displays the address of the stop and the asset's arrival time. If the stop shows the current location of the asset, it is labeled with the asset name and driver.
Icon showing the crossed-out cloud icon that shows an asset is not communicating.Not communicatingShows the location of an asset that is not communicating with the database. Hovering over the icon shows how long the asset has been unable to communicate.
Icon showing the lightning symbol indicating a vehicle is charging.ChargingShows an electric vehicle that is currently charging. The vehicle's state of charge (SOC) is displayed next to the vehicle name.
Icon that shows the solid blue circle indicating an asset with low frequency communication.Low frequency communicationIndicates an asset with low frequency communication.
Icon showing the exclamation mark symbol indicating an asset has active events.EventsShows the asset has active events.

Map markers

Map markers replace uniform dots on the Map with shapes, colors, and badges that show asset type, status, and alerts without selecting each asset.

Previously, every asset on the Map appeared as the same dot, regardless of its status or type. To find out more, you had to click individual assets. Map markers show the most important information directly on the Map, so you can see what is happening across your fleet without selecting each asset.

Note:

Geotab is rolling out map markers gradually, so this feature may not be available in your database yet. Databases without map markers continue to show the icons described in Map icons.

What map markers show

Marker element

What it shows

Asset type

A distinct icon shape for each type of asset, including cars, trucks, trailers, heavy equipment, and asset trackers. You don't need to set anything up.

Status

A color that shows whether the asset is moving, stopped, idling, or location-only.

Engine fault and maintenance alerts

A badge on the marker for critical engine faults and maintenance alerts. You don't need to create custom rules to see these alerts on the Map.

Driver and hours of service (HOS) status

A badge that shows the current state of the driver and their HOS compliance.

Linked assets

A +1 or +N badge that shows how many assets are attached to the asset. You can open the connections from the asset overview panel.

Bluetooth beacons and electric vehicles

Markers also show range information for two types of assets:

  • Small asset Bluetooth beacons show a range-based ring that indicates the estimated proximity of the beacon. Use the ring to find tools and equipment more quickly.

  • Electric vehicles (EVs) show a ring that indicates the remaining battery range when the charge becomes critically low. Use the ring to see how far the vehicle can travel before the charge reaches zero.

Customizing marker signals

You can choose up to two signals, shown through an icon and color, to display on each marker. The Map applies default signals automatically, so you don't need to change any settings. Available signals include the new idling, HOS, and driving statuses.

How markers change as you zoom

Markers change from dots to pins based on how much space is available on the screen between assets, rather than at a fixed zoom level. As a result, if you have a smaller fleet, your markers keep their full detail at lower zoom levels.

Accessibility

Markers use a high-contrast, color-blind-safe palette that stays readable against map backgrounds.

What map markers change for your organization

  • Map users see shapes, status colors, and badges without any required setup.

  • Administrators no longer need to use group colors to tell assets apart on the Map. Groups and group tags stay the same.

  • Drivers see no changes in the Geotab Drive app or in driver-facing workflows.

  • Integrators see no changes to existing application programming interfaces (APIs), data feeds, or third-party integrations.

Map actions

The Map supports a variety of actions to help make managing your fleet easier.

The following actions are available by clicking on a specific road on the Map:

  • Dispatch vehicle here: Send a vehicle from your fleet to this location.

  • Nearest: Locate up to 50 of the closest assets to the selected asset location.

  • Find address: Display the street address of your selection. If no street address is available, the application shows latitude and longitude.

  • Show street view: Opens the street view of the location in Google Maps. (Note: This opens a new window.)

  • Add square zone here: Create a zone at this location. The zone will be an editable square centered on your selection. You can then name the zone and change its size and shape.

  • Update posted road speed: Edit the road speed for a specific road.
    Note: The field pre-populates with the current speed limit from community map data (OpenStreetMap) or a statutory default where no posted value exists. Speed limits sourced from commercial data providers do not pre-populate this field.

  • Area Activity: Explore what activity occurred in a selected area during a specific period of time.

The road options menu showing the available actions when you click on a road segment.

The following actions are available by clicking on an asset on the Map, or by selecting it in the asset panel:

  • Trip: View the Trips History for the selected asset.

  • Edit: Edit the asset on the Asset Edit page.

  • Message: Send a message to either the asset or the asset's current driver.

  • Share: Share the asset's location using a share link.

  • Dispatch asset: Dispatch the asset to a new location by sending a message with the new destination. Click More to access this action.

The asset panel on the Map showing the available actions when you select an asset.

Viewing assets on the Map

Viewing assets on the Map allows you to quickly see where your assets are in near real-time.

  1. Navigate to the Map in the main navigation.
  2. Locate your asset using one of the following methods:
    1. Search for an asset by name using the search bar.
    2. Open the Filter to filter the map by group, asset type, or status to see groups of assets.

      An asset as it appears in the Map feature.

Viewing drivers on the Map

Viewing drivers on the Map allows you to quickly see where your drivers are in near real-time.

  1. Navigate to the Map in the main navigation.
  2. Locate your drivers using one of the following methods:
    1. Search for a driver by name.
    2. Open the Filter to filter the map by group or driver.
Note:

If you have more than 50 assets in your database, the Map remains blank until you have selected assets to view from the Search box, or zoom in to an area with 500 assets or fewer.

Viewing routes using the Map feature

Learn how to view your routes without leaving the Map feature.

  1. Navigate to the Map in the main menu.
  2. Open the Layers menu and select Routes.
  3. Select the route or routes you want to view on the Map from the flyout list.
    The Map showing a highlighted route.
    Note: Selecting a route from the list automatically toggles the Routes layer to On, regardless of your previous settings.
The Map automatically snaps to the last selected route.

Saved map views

Saving map views lets you quickly revisit key areas or locations without needing to reapply filters.

The Map feature allows you to save views in order to quickly snap the map to relevant places and zoom levels. Saving map views also allows you to quickly reapply combinations of filters. Once you have saved a view, you can set it as your default Map view so that it loads automatically when you open the Map.

When saving a new map view, you can choose whether or not to include the following filters in the saved view:

  • The map area and zoom level

  • Any filters you have applied, such as groups or asset types.

  • The sort option you have applied.

  • The Update list with Map control.

  • Your selected map layers and options

This gives you total control and flexibility to configure views that meet your needs, such as saving a particular set of filters regardless of location, or saving a view of a particular location showing key layers.

You can manage your saved views by selecting Map in the main menu and clicking Saved views > Manage views in the toolbar.

Saving new map views

Learn how to create a new Save View on the Map.

  1. Select the Map in the main menu.
  2. Configure the following options on the Map to your preferences:
    1. Location and zoom level
    2. Assets
    3. Filters
    4. Layers
  3. Select Saved views > Save current view.
  4. Review the save options to select the appropriate map options you want included in your saved view.
    The Save Map popup window showing the options available for saving a view of the map.
  5. Enter a name for your saved view in the View name field.
  6. Select whether or not your saved view will be the default view when you open the Map by checking Set as default.
  7. Click Save.
The Saved views dropdown on the Map page will automatically update with your new saved view.

Setting your map view to the previous last view

Learn how to configure the Map to open to the last view you were using in a previous session.

  1. Select Map in the main menu.
  2. Select Saved views > Manage views.
  3. Open the Default view dropdown and select Last view.
    The Saved Views Manager showing a list of saved views and the default view dropdown.
  4. Select an alternative default view that will display when the last map view is not available.
  5. Click Save.
When you open the Map, it will now automatically open to your last view.