On RouteYou, we do not show route lines on overview maps by default. You only see an icon representing the route. Hover over it with your mouse, and the route line will temporarily appear on the map.
 

Why do we do it this way?

• To prevent the map from becoming cluttered with lines.
• To keep the map display clear and readable.
• To maintain platform performance, especially for groups with many routes.

But… it’s your choice!
 

When you create a group (a collection of routes and/or POIs), you decide whether to permanently show route lines or not.

• Default setting: route lines are hidden.
• Option: check to show them – useful if you want to visually display the route paths.

Want to quickly see where your routes are on the map and how many are in a certain area? Route clusters are perfect for this!
 

Route clusters place a grid over the map. Each cell with routes shows a number representing the count of routes in that area. This gives you a visual overview of route density.
 

When creating a group, this option is unchecked by default, meaning no route clusters are shown. You can easily adjust it:

• Check it to display route clusters.
• Leave it unchecked for a cleaner map without extra info.

This option lets you choose the sort order for your routes, useful if you want to emphasize popularity, recency, or other criteria.
 

Available sorting options:

• Relevance
  Default option. RouteYou calculates a smart mix of factors such as score, views, downloads, recent edits, number of features, themes, multilingual availability, etc. This creates a balanced list of “interesting” routes.
• Alphabetical
  Sorted by name from A to Z.
• Most viewed (all time)
  Routes with the highest total views.
• Most viewed (this month)
  Routes viewed most often this month.
• Most recent
  Newest or recently edited routes at the top.
• Score
  High to low based on the RouteYou route score.
• Length
  Long to short – handy for showing long-distance routes.

Want to show only a selection of routes instead of all routes in your group? Set the maximum number of routes displayed on the map and in the list here.
 

How does it work?

Choose a maximum number (up to 100) and combine it with a sort order. RouteYou will display the top routes based on that sorting.

Example:

• Sort by route length.
• Set maximum to 10.
  You will then see the 10 longest routes in your group.

  This keeps the map clear and shows only the routes that matter most.

Want a route in your group to link to a custom URL instead of the RouteYou detail page? You can!
 

Use the Route link option to specify a URL that opens when someone clicks a route – in the list or on the map. You can direct users to your own website, a campaign page, or an external tool.
 

You can use placeholders in the link that will automatically be replaced with information from the clicked route:

• %id%
  Replaced with the unique RouteYou route ID.
     Recommended: the most stable option.
• %language%
  Replaced with the route language (e.g., nl, fr, en).
• %name%
  Replaced with a URL-friendly version of the route name.
     Warning: if the name changes, the link may break. Use only if you manage all routes in the group.

Example link:
https://mywebsite.com/route/%id%?lang=%language%
 

  This way, you control where users go when clicking a route.

You can group points of interest (POIs) on the map using POI clusters.
 

What are they?

A grid is laid over the map. Each cell containing POIs shows a number: the number of POIs in that area. This gives a quick visual overview of where POIs are and how they are distributed.
 

By default, this option is unchecked when creating a group, which means no POI clusters are shown. You can easily adjust this:

• Check to show POI clusters.
• Leave unchecked for a simpler map without extra information.

This option lets you choose how POIs are sorted in the list. You decide what appears at the top: most popular, newest, or just alphabetical.
 

Sorting options:

• Relevance
  Default option. RouteYou uses a smart mix of factors like score, views, downloads, recent updates, number of features and themes, multilingual availability, etc. This produces a balanced list of “interesting” POIs.
• Alphabetical
  Sorted by name from A to Z.
• Most viewed (all time)
  POIs with the highest total views.
• Most viewed (this month)
  POIs most viewed this month.
• Most recent
  Recently created or updated POIs appear on top.
• Score
  From high to low based on RouteYou POI score.
• Length
  From long to short – useful for showing long-distance routes.

You may not want to show all POIs in your group, only a selection. Here you can set the maximum number of POIs shown on the map and in the list.
 

How does it work?

Choose a maximum number (up to 100) and combine it with a sorting order. RouteYou then shows the POIs at the top of that sort order.

Example:

• Choose sorting by score.
• Set the maximum to 15.
  You will then see the 15 POIs with the highest score in your group.

  This keeps the map clear and shows only the POIs that matter most to you.

Do you want a POI in your group to link to a custom URL instead of the RouteYou detail page? You can!
 

Using the POI Link option, you specify a URL that opens when someone clicks a POI – in the list or on the map. You can direct visitors to your website, a campaign page, or an external tool.
 

You can use placeholders in the URL that are automatically replaced by data from the clicked POI:

• %id%
  Replaced with the unique RouteYou ID of the POI.
  Recommended: this is the most stable option.
• %language%
  Replaced with the language of the POI (e.g., en, fr, nl...).
• %name%
  Replaced with a URL-friendly version of the POI name.
  Warning: if the name changes, the link may break. Only use this if you manage all POIs in the group.

Example custom link:
https://mywebsite.com/poi/%id%?lang=%language%
 

  This gives you control over where users go when they click a POI.

This does not affect how your group is displayed on RouteYou. But if you use a RouteYou plugin to embed your group on an external website, you can choose to show a logo in the header of the plugin.
 

Useful for adding your own branding to the map display on your site!

Only relevant if your group is displayed via a plugin on an external website. You can add extra text here that appears as a legend on the map.
 

Ideal to briefly explain what users see on the map or provide additional context for your routes and POIs.

You can set two types of map boundaries:

• Overview map boundaries
  This doesn’t affect RouteYou itself but is used if your group is embedded via a plugin. It defines which area appears in the mini overview map in the plugin header.
• Map boundaries
  This defines the map view shown when someone opens your group page – both on RouteYou and externally. Useful to immediately show the correct geographic area.

Choose which map style is used to display your routes and POIs, e.g., OpenStreetMap, topographic maps, aerial photos, etc.
 

  You can select one map background.
 

Want additional info on top of your map background? You can activate map layers here, e.g., walking networks, cycling networks, terrain, etc.
 

  By default this option is unchecked when creating a group. 
  You can activate multiple layers at once depending on what you want to display.

With route rules, you can visually distinguish routes in your group based on certain conditions.
 

How does it work?

1. Set a condition (e.g., route type, length, score).
2. Choose an icon and line style corresponding to that condition.

Example:

• Bike routes in blue, walking routes in orange.
• Routes longer than 20 km get a thicker line than shorter routes.
   

  You can easily create visual differences so users quickly see distinctions.
 

ICON SETTINGS

Choose a color from the list or use your own image.
  If you select “Other,” provide three URLs:

• Standard = regular icon.
• Hover = icon when mouse is over it.
• Selected = icon when route is clicked.
   

LINE SETTINGS

• Standard = regular line color.
• Hover = color on hover – entire route highlights.
• Selected = color on click – helps distinguish the active route.
   

DESCRIPTION

You can add a description. It does not appear on RouteYou itself but is visible in the plugin if the group is embedded on an external website.

With POI rules, you control how points of interest in your group are visually displayed based on conditions.
 

Example:

• Give POIs of a certain type a specific color.
   

ICON SETTINGS

Choose a color from the list or use your own image.
 

DESCRIPTION

You can add a description. It does not appear on RouteYou itself but is visible in the plugin if the group is embedded on an external website.