How to Import a GPX File and Animate Your GPS Track
GPX is the standard file format that fitness and outdoor apps use to store GPS recordings. If you have tracked a hike, ride, run, ski day, or road trip in Strava, Garmin Connect, Komoot, AllTrails, or a handheld GPS, you can export it as a .gpx file and animate the exact path you traveled in Mapimator. The importer reads recorded tracks, planned routes, and waypoint exports, with no conversion tools needed. There are two ways in: Animate a GPS Track builds a complete animation for you, and a Route sticker with Travel Mode set to File gives you full manual control. Both need a Pro plan.
5 min read · Updated October 2, 2026
Watch the walkthrough
The video uses the quickest route: Animate a GPS Track on the start screen builds the whole animation from your file, stops included.
What you'll learn
- Export a GPX file from Strava, Garmin, Komoot, or AllTrails
- Turn a track into a ready-made animation with Animate a GPS Track
- Or upload the file to a Route sticker yourself
- Smooth a jittery recording with Path Rounding, then style and animate the line
Step-by-step guide
- 1
Export the GPX file from your app
Every major platform has an export option on the activity or tour page. Strava: open the activity, click the "..." menu, and choose Export GPX. Garmin Connect: open the activity, click the gear icon, and choose Export to GPX. Komoot: open the tour on the website and choose Export GPX. AllTrails: open the trail or recording and choose Download route, then GPX track. Save the .gpx file to your computer.
- 2
Quick way: Animate a GPS Track
On a new project, click Animate a GPX track in the start panel at the bottom of the map. In a project that already has slides, open the wand icon next to Add Slide in the storyboard and choose Animate a GPS Track (GPX/KML). The dialog accepts .gpx, .kml, .geojson, and .json files. On a free account it shows an Upgrade to Import Track Files button instead of the file picker.
- 3
Pick a vehicle and duration
Click Choose a .gpx / .kml / .geojson file and select your file. The dialog shows the track's name, its distance, its number of points, and how many named stops it found. Under Vehicle choose Trace only (a plain line), Car, Moto, Bike, Walk, or Boat. Under Duration enter a length in seconds (10 to 180), or leave it empty to pace the animation by distance. Named waypoints become pauses along the way and town-name pins, and you can untick Pause at the named stops along the way or Show town names on the map. Click Generate Animation to get an overview shot, a close-up on the start, a view for each named stop (up to five), and the arrival, with the route drawn between them.
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Or add a Route sticker yourself
For full control, click Start with an empty map, then click Route in the toolbar above the map. A route is added at the map center and a small bar opens beside it; click More to open its settings on the right. You will replace its shape with your file in the next two steps.
- 5
Switch Travel Mode to File
In the route's settings, find Travel Mode above the Style and Timing tabs and click the last button, File (upload icon). A file picker appears below the tabs. On a free plan you see an Upgrade to Upload Route button in its place.
- 6
Upload your GPX file
Choose your .gpx file. The route redraws to follow your track, the camera frames it, and the start and end markers move to the first and last points of the recording. A green Route file loaded banner shows the number of points, and a note under the picker reads Imported followed by the point count and your file name. The picker goes back to No file chosen, which is normal. If a file contains both a recorded track and a planned route, the recorded track wins. A waypoint-only export is connected point to point in order. Click Remove on the banner to take the file out again.
- 7
Smooth the track if needed
Raw GPS recordings can look jagged. The Path Rounding slider, in the Line section of the route's Style tab, starts at 60%. Drag it higher for a smoother line, or down to 0 to keep the exact recorded path.
- 8
Style the line
The Line section sets the line's color, opacity, and width, and White outline turns the outline on or off. The Travel Mode tabs other than File change the vehicle that rides the track. The imported line itself stays.
- 9
Animate the draw-on
On the Timing tab, under Animation, keep the effect on Draw Path to draw the line on as the slide plays, or choose Fade In, and set Duration and Delay to fit your story. Add more slides and move the camera along the route to follow the journey from start to finish.
Pro tips
- The file needs at least two points with coordinates. A GPX that holds only heart-rate or elevation samples, with no track points, cannot be animated.
- Recordings with more than 2,000 points are thinned evenly on import, keeping the first and last points, so the shape holds and the animation stays smooth.
- The File tab also accepts .kml (Google Earth, My Maps) and .geojson files, so you can mix sources in one project. A .kmz file is a zipped KML and cannot be read directly: in Google Earth, save the place as KML instead.
- One track per route sticker: to show several activities, export each as its own GPX and add one route per file.
- For a multi-day trip, upload each day as its own route and reveal them slide by slide for a day-by-day story.
- Mapimator reads exported files rather than connecting to Strava or Garmin directly. Export first, then upload.