How to do everything in Pinsake.

Getting started

Make an account with your email and a password. Pinsake then shows you a recovery key: save it somewhere safe, like a password manager. It is the only way back in if you forget your password, because Pinsake does not send emails.

New accounts get a short welcome and a Getting started guide in the sidebar. It ticks itself off as you go: your first pin, a photo or note, a list, a share link and opening Pinsake on your phone. Hide it with its cross; bring it back from Ctrl K > Getting started guide.

Adding pins

On a computer

• Press Add pin (or N), then click the map.
• Or right-click any spot and choose Add pin here.
• Or search for a place and press Save pin on its card.

On a phone

• Press and hold anywhere on the map.
• Or tap Add pin, move the map until the pin sits on the spot, and tap Drop pin here.

Names that do the work

Type a name and Pinsake picks a matching symbol: "Home" gets a house, "Favourite cafe" a cup, "Castle" a castle. A pin dropped right on a cafe or a shop offers its real name ("Is this A Brasileira?"). Press Undo if you would rather keep a plain pin; once you undo or pick a symbol yourself, Pinsake leaves it alone.

Home, work, family homes, the school run and where you parked are personal places: they skip Want to go and the stars.

Notes, photos and details

Open a pin and press Edit (or E). Changes save as you type.

• Photos: up to 12 per pin, with captions. Tick Show the cover photo on the pin to use the first one as the pin itself.
• Status and stars: Want to go, Been here or Favourite, plus a rating.
• Tags, date and link: tags like #coffee collect pins across lists; search #coffee to find them.
• Details: every pin shows its coordinates, its height above sea level and, with your location on, how far away it is.
• Move: drag the pin on a computer, or press Move.

Lists

• New list in the sidebar. Its name picks a symbol too ("Cafes" gets a cup); tap the square to choose another.
• Numbered lists show 1, 2, 3 on their pins, in your order. Drag pins in the sidebar to change it.
• The eye button hides a list from the map without deleting it.
• Filters (the funnel) show only a status, a colour, a rating, pins with photos or a tag.
• Select (the tick box) lets you move, colour, mark or delete many pins at once.
• Deleted pins wait 30 days in Recently deleted, at the bottom of the sidebar.

Maps, 3D and the globe

• The layers button (or L) switches between Streets, Outdoors, Satellite, Light and the dark maps.
• The cube button tilts the map into 3D: buildings in cities and hills everywhere. A slider in the styles panel makes hills taller.
• Tilt with the right mouse button or two fingers; the compass button turns north back up.
• Zoom right out and the map becomes a globe.
• Units, labels, grouping of close pins and the theme are in Settings.

Routes and tools

The tools button on the map holds:

• Route through a list: walking, cycling or driving, in list order, with the time between stops. Save as line keeps it on your map.
• Find places nearby: 16 kinds, from cafes to cash machines, with opening hours when OpenStreetMap knows them.
• Measure (M), Draw a line (D) and Draw an area (A). Drag the points to reshape them later.
• Save map as a picture for a clean image of the view.

Sharing a list

1. Open a list's menu (the three dots) and choose Share with a link.
2. Switch the link on. It is copied straight away.
3. Send it anywhere. In chats it shows a picture of the list on the map; press Update picture to make a new one.

• People with the link see that one list and nothing else, and cannot change it.
• They can Save to my map if they have an account, or download the places for a GPS app.
• Put this map on a website gives a code for a blog or club page.
• Switch the link off and it stops working at once.

On your phone

Open Pinsake on your phone and sign in with the same email and password. Everything is already there. From a computer, Ctrl K > Open Pinsake on your phone shows a QR code.

Add it to your home screen

• iPhone: in Safari tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
• Android: in Chrome open the menu and choose Install app or Add to Home screen.

It then opens full screen, like an app. It also works without signal: pins you have already loaded show, and changes wait on your phone until you are back online.

Import and export

Bring places from Google My Maps, Google Earth, Google Maps starred places, GPS apps or a spreadsheet, and take everything out again as GeoJSON, KML, GPX or CSV. The Import page has step-by-step help and lets you check a file before you sign up.

Keyboard shortcuts

Right-click the map for Add pin here and more. Shortcuts pause while you type in a box.

Account and privacy

• The account menu (your initials) holds your name, email, password and theme.
• New recovery key replaces the old one; Sign out other devices ends every other session.
• Delete account removes your profile, every list, pin and photo, and turns off your share links straight away.
• Read what is stored and why on the privacy page.

Something not working?

• Forgot your password: on the sign-in screen choose Forgot your password and enter your recovery key.
• Location does not work: allow location for this site in your browser settings, then press the location button again.
• A photo will not upload: photos need a connection. Very large photos are shrunk first; if one still fails, try a JPEG or PNG.
• Offline: the sign in the sidebar says how many changes are waiting. They save by themselves when you are back.
• Map tiles missing: new areas of the map need a connection the first time.