Help & FAQ

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Answers to the essentials, from your first imported track to a complete Signal K setup.

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Trip Report essentials

Which devices can I use?

Trip Report requires macOS 13.7 or later, or iPadOS/iOS 16.4 or later. Mac and iPad provide the full creation and editing workflow. iPhone is a free, read-only viewer for your synced and shared trips.

How do I create my first report?
  1. Create a trip with the + button and choose Sailing, Boating, Road, or Hike.
  2. In Setup, import a GPX track, Signal K logbook data, or supported photos.
  3. Refresh the Tracks card to build stops and legs.
  4. Import and curate photos, then open Report to review the result.
  5. On Mac, export HTML or PDF. On iPhone, export and share a PDF.
What does the trip type change?

Sailing, Boating, Road, and Hike profiles adapt labels, icons, default units, analytics, and report wording. Changing the type does not replace or rewrite the trip's underlying data.

What is free, and what requires a subscription?

Viewing existing, synced, and shared trips is free, including the iPhone viewer. Creating trips, importing tracks or photos, curating photos, Signal K import, and automatic Signal K trip generation on Mac or iPad require an active subscription.

Tracks, stops, and photos

Which track sources are supported?

Import standard GPX files on Mac or iPad. Sailing and Boating trips can also import Signal K logs or use a manually drawn track. Road trips can retrace a route from geotagged photos when no GPX track is available.

How are stops and legs created?

After importing a track, use the refresh button in the Tracks card. Trip Report segments the timeline into travel legs and stops using the rules for the selected trip type. You can then rename stops, adjust assignments, and review each segment on the map.

How are photos placed on the map?

Trip Report matches each photo's EXIF capture time to the GPS timeline, then groups it with the relevant stop or leg. Photos can be imported from files, the Photos library, an album, or automatically from the trip time window. You can manually reassign any photo that needs correction.

Where can I export a report?

Mac exports self-contained HTML bundles and paginated A4 PDFs. iPhone can create and share PDFs from its report viewer. Report export controls are currently unavailable on iPad.

iCloud sync and sharing

Where is my trip data stored?

There is no Trip Report server. Structured trip data syncs through your private iCloud account, while imported project files use iCloud Drive where applicable. You remain in control of which trips you share.

How do I see the same trips on every device?

Sign in to the same Apple Account on each device, enable iCloud Drive for Trip Report, and leave Cloud Sync enabled for the active library. Sync can continue in the background after the trip list first appears.

Can I share a trip with someone else?

Yes. A trip owner can use Share Trip to create a read-only iCloud link. Recipients can view the report, map, photos, stops, and legs. They cannot edit the received trip.

Sailing & boating

Set up Signal K

Signal K import is available for Sailing and Boating trips. Complete these steps on the computer or marine hub running your Signal K server.

Prepare the server

Confirm that Signal K Server is running and that your Mac or iPad can reach it over the same network. The standard server port is 3000.

Install the npm plugins

Install the Trip Report bridge and its vessel-state companion on the Signal K server host:

npm install -g signalk-cruisereport
npm install -g @meri-imperiumi/signalk-autostate

Restart Signal K after installation. In the Admin UI, open Server → Plugin Config or Installed Plugins, then confirm that Cruise Report and signalk-autostate are installed and enabled.

You can also search for the package names in the Signal K App Store instead of installing from a terminal.

Cruise Report package · Auto-state package

Configure logging

In the Signal K Admin UI, review both plugin configurations. Auto-state supplies navigation.state, allowing Cruise Report to detect anchored, sailing, and motoring changes. Cruise Report records start/end changes and periodic underway entries.

  • Set the Cruise Report log timezone to the vessel's local timezone.
  • Keep the default 30-minute heartbeat or choose an interval appropriate for your reports.
  • Confirm that Signal K receives position and navigation data before expecting log entries.

Connect Trip Report

  1. Open Trip Report on Mac or iPad and select the gear button.
  2. Open Charts & Instruments.
  3. Enter the Signal K hostname or IP address and port, normally 3000.
  4. Select Test Connection, then save the settings.

The device must be able to reach the Signal K host. Do not enter localhost on an iPad unless Signal K is running on that same iPad.

Import or generate trips

For one trip, choose Import Signal K in the Tracks card, fetch available dates, and import the dates you need. To create multiple trips automatically, use the wand in the sidebar, review the detected trips, and select Generate Selected.

Automatic generation can also import Photos-library images captured within each trip's configured time window.

Signal K troubleshooting

Test Connection cannot find the server
  • Open http://SERVER-IP:3000 from the same Mac or iPad to confirm network access.
  • Use the server's LAN hostname or IP address, not localhost, when Signal K runs on another device.
  • Confirm that the Cruise Report plugin is enabled, then restart Signal K.
  • Check firewalls, guest Wi-Fi isolation, and VLAN rules between the Apple device and Signal K server.
The server connects, but no dates appear

Open the Cruise Report plugin in Signal K and confirm that it contains logbook days. Check that position data is present and that navigation.state is being produced by signalk-autostate. A day is listed only after at least one entry has been written.

Trip times or dates are wrong

Set the Signal K host clock and the Cruise Report plugin's log timezone correctly, then restart the plugin. Daily files and trip grouping use that configured timezone.