What Is a GPX File? Tracks, Routes and Waypoints

Someone sends you a file ending in .gpx. You tap it and nothing happens, or the wrong app opens. You don't know whether it's a route to follow or a record of someone's drive. The difference matters.

What a GPX file is

GPX is short for GPS Exchange Format. It's a common file format for location data. It's an open format, which means anyone can use it without paying license fees, and the data can pass between GPS devices and software.¹

Inside, it's a list of points. The minimum a GPX file holds is a latitude and longitude for every point.¹ Latitude and longitude are written in decimal degrees.¹ Location data can optionally include elevation, time and other information.¹

Waypoint, route or track?

A GPX file holds up to three kinds of thing. People mix them up, and that causes most of the trouble.

Here's where each comes from. A waypoint is a point or place on a route or line of travel.² A route is an ordered list of waypoints. In general it describes directions for a trip someone wants to take later.¹ A track is typically a record of a trip already completed or recorded.¹

In GPS use, a route is usually defined as a series of two or more waypoints.² So even a short route is more than one point.

Which one am I looking at?

Ask whoever sent it, or look at what the app calls it when you import it. A route is a plan. A track is a record. Someone else's track shows where they drove, not where you're allowed to drive or whether the road is open today. Check the current rules and conditions with the land manager.

Loading a GPX file

Different apps handle imports differently, so use your app's own help page for the exact steps. The general pattern is the same:

1. Save the file to your phone, from an email or a download.
2. Open it with your map app, or use the app's import option.
3. Look at the line and the pins on the map.
4. Save the surrounding map area for offline use, as described in saving offline maps first.

Step four catches people out. A GPX file holds the line and the points, not the map underneath. If the map around it isn't saved, the line may sit on a blank screen when you lose signal.

Problems and fixes

A track is a recorded trail of points. If a file won't open or looks wrong in your app, check the app's own help page.

Treat any downloaded track with care. It's someone else's record, possibly years old. Compare it with a paper map, and read why both paper and phone matter.