Route Viewer

GPX, FIT, TCX and KML... the four formats watches and route planners actually use.

That covers Garmin exports, Strava bulk archives, AllTrails and Komoot downloads, and the route your coach emailed you. Press Space on any of them in the Finder and you'll see it drawn, with the headline stats. FIT files get proper route thumbnails too.

Yes. There's a Mac app, an iPhone and iPad app, and an Apple Watch app, and one purchase covers all of them.

On iPhone or iPad you can open a route from anywhere via the share sheet, see it on the map, then send it on to Garmin Connect or AirDrop it to your Mac. On the Watch you get the route as a breadcrumb with your position on it, how far you have left, and an arrow pointing back to the line if you wander off.

Needs iOS 17 or macOS 14 and up.

That's Send to Watch, part of Pro. How it works depends on the device:

• Anything that mounts as a USB drive (Edge bike computers, a lot of older watches): plug it in and the course gets written straight onto it, ready to ride.
• Current Garmin watches: AirDrop the course to your iPhone, or hand it to Garmin Connect in your browser. Either way it syncs to the watch wirelessly.

Whatever you started with (GPX, KML, TCX or FIT) gets converted into a watch-ready FIT course, with turn-point cues and Virtual Partner timing.

AirDrop it to your iPhone, then share it to your watch from the app.

Once it's there the route draws as a breadcrumb with your position on it, the distance you have left, and an arrow back to the line if you drift off it.

The free app opens and views everything... map, elevation, heart rate and pace charts, splits, laps and Quick Look.

Pro adds the bits that get routes out again:

• Send to Watch: onto a Garmin or an Apple Watch, as above
• Route converter: any GPX, KML, TCX or FIT becomes a watch-ready FIT course, with turn-point cues and Virtual Partner timing
• GPX export: clean files for sharing, or AirDrop straight to iPhone watch apps

One purchase covers Mac, iPhone, iPad and Watch.

No. There's no cloud storage and no interim step... your files are read on your own device and stay there.

When you send a course to a watch it goes directly, over USB or AirDrop, or through Garmin Connect if that's the route you choose. Nothing passes through me.

A quick checklist:

• Is the format supported? See the formats question above. Renaming a file doesn't convert it.
• Does a sample file work? Download one from this page; if the sample opens, the app is fine and the issue is with that specific file.
• Unusual exporter? Some programs write technically-off-spec files that stricter parsers reject.

Still stuck? Send me a message with the app name, your macOS version, and where the file came from. If the file itself is the problem I'll usually ask to see it. Fixing the parser for real-world files is exactly the kind of bug I want to hear about.

There are a few possible causes of this.

1. Two copies of the app.

If you downloaded the free build from the website and bought from the App Store, there are two 3MF Viewer.app bundles registering the same extensions. macOS elects one. Please delete all copies, empty your trash and install again, either from file or download from App Store.

2. Another app winning the UTI

Sometimes other apps will be installed that will also declare the UTI for files. (e.g., anyone with .3mf files almost certainly has Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer or PrusaSlicer installed, and those declare 3MF document types too, and XCode grabs a lot of formats.) If this is the case (e.g., a .3mf file continues to open with Bambu Studio please let me know.)

3. Extensions switched off

Check in: System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions → Quick Look. You should also see the app you downloaded listed and turned on.

4. Stale QL cache

Open Terminal and type

qlmanage -r cache

Then try again.

If you are still having problems, please contact me for more help.

Apps that have a downloadable version: Download the .zip file and then extract the contents. Copy the .app folder in to your Applications directory.

Apps distributed through the Mac App Store: use the "View on the App Store" button on the app's page here, then click Get (or the price). This will be logged to your account, enabling you to download on any of your devices, and get free updates in the future.

Updates come through the Mac App Store and are free. If you have automatic updates on (App Store → Settings), they install themselves; otherwise open the App Store app and check the Updates section.

Yes. An App Store purchase is tied to your Apple Account, not to a machine. Sign in to the App Store on any of your Macs and download it again at no charge. Purchases can also be shared with your family via Apple's Family Sharing.

Open the App Store app, make sure you're signed in with the same Apple Account you bought with, click your name in the bottom-left corner, and you'll find everything you own ready to download again, free.

Purchases and billing are handled entirely by Apple, so I can't issue refunds myself. Apple makes it easy though... sign in at reportaproblem.apple.com, find the purchase and choose Request a refund.

None. No analytics, no advertising, no tracking SDKs, no accounts. Anything an app processes stays on your Mac, and nothing needs an internet connection to work. The full privacy policy is one short page.

Use the contact form and include:

• your macOS version ( → About This Mac)
• the app version (app's menu → About)
• what you were doing when it went wrong, and what you expected to happen

If a particular file triggers it, say so. Don't try to attach it... I'll reply with a way to send it over. Every report gets read and answered.

Please do... a lot of what's in the apps started as a user suggestion. Send it via the contact form with a line or two about what you're trying to achieve (the why often matters more than the what).