Guide
How to measure land area by walking
Walk around the field with your phone and the GPS draws its outline. A few habits make the difference between a rough and a good figure.
Step by step
- Open Distance Measure Pro and choose Area on foot.
- Go to a corner of the field and wait until the GPS signal is found.
- Press Start and walk along the boundary, all the way round.
- When you come back near the start, the phone vibrates: the loop is closed. Press Stop, then save.
The area and the perimeter grow as you walk, with their margin of error.
For a better result
- Start in the open. Give the GPS a minute under a clear sky before the first step.
- Walk steadily. Standing still is ignored, so stops do not spoil the measurement, but a smooth pace gives a smoother outline.
- Keep to the boundary. The area is that of the path you walk; a metre inside all the way round makes a smaller field.
- Watch the quality. After saving, the measurement is rated Good, Fair or Poor, with the reason.
When walking is not the best way
For a plot with a few straight sides, Corner by corner is more precise: you stand still at each corner and the app averages your position. For a field you can see on the satellite photo, drawing it on the map needs no walking at all.
By car or tractor
The same works driving along a large field: the app measures at any speed and rejects impossible jumps.
