Builder: outputs and limitsPro
Download .img or a .zip of layers, Send to Garmin with verification, Save Map, the 30 tracks per layer limit, unnamed layers, the map service and the unavailable card, and what is Pro.
Last checked against the live app on 3 September 2026.
Download the finished map to your computer, or send it straight to a connected Garmin. Each layer becomes one .img map file, so you can show and hide them separately on the Garmin.
Download#
Download .img saves one layer, and Download N layers (.zip) saves several layers in one .zip file, because each layer is built as its own map file. A download also includes the companion waypoints file {name}_waypoints.gpx when Device GPX (real symbols) is ticked and the design has at least one waypoint, so your pins come with the map. With that option off, or with no waypoints in the design, you get the map file alone and no waypoints file.
| What you pressed | Toast |
|---|---|
| Download .img | IMG downloaded |
| Download N layers (.zip) | N layers downloaded (.zip) |
| The companion waypoints file | + waypoints .gpx |
Downloading writes nothing to the Garmin, so you can do it with no cable attached, and the map design stays in the builder for you to send later.
Send to Garmin#
- Connect the Garmin on the Device page.
- Open the map in the builder and press Send to Garmin.
- Choose the storage in the picker.
- Wait for the result.
INVIA builds each layer and writes each .img to the map folder. The waypoints file goes to the GPX folder when Device GPX (real symbols) is ticked and the design has at least one waypoint, and it is left out otherwise. INVIA then re-lists the Garmin and checks that every file is there, so the result tells you the map landed rather than only that it was sent.
Where the .img goes depends on how the Garmin connects and not on which model it is, because the two kinds of connection use different folders:
- A Garmin connected over the cable as a device: the MAP folder at the top of the storage you chose.
- A Garmin that connects as a drive:
Garmin/.
A Zumo, an XT and a Tread connect over the cable as devices, so the map file lands in the MAP folder, and the same model connected as a drive lands in Garmin/.
| What INVIA shows | What happened |
|---|---|
| The toast Sent "{name}" to {folder} on {storage}, confirmed. | INVIA re-listed the storage and found every file it wrote. |
| The send window under the heading FAILED, reading Sent, but N not found on {storage}, the device may read maps from a different folder; see the hardware checklist. | INVIA wrote the files. The re-list did not find N of them. |
Only the confirmed result arrives as a toast, so a failed send does not fade away. When the check cannot find a file it wrote, the send window stays open, its bar turns red under the heading FAILED, and the message sits there with a Dismiss button.
The button reads Garmin not connected#
The button reads Garmin not connected until a Garmin is connected, and nothing is sent while it reads that way, so there is nothing to undo.
- Download .img writes to your computer and needs no Garmin, so you can take the file now and copy it across yourself.
- Your map design stays in the builder and nothing is deleted, because no build and no send has started.
- Connect the Garmin on the Device page, then press Send to Garmin again.
A file was not found after the send#
Your saved map design is still in the Map Library, and the maps already on the Garmin stay installed, because Send to Garmin writes files and deletes none. The re-list looked in the folder INVIA writes to, so a file it cannot find points at a Garmin model that reads maps from somewhere else.
- Read the hardware checklist for that Garmin model, because it names the folder the model reads maps from.
- Press Send to Garmin again and choose the other storage.
- If the map still does not appear, press Download .img and copy the file into the map folder yourself.
Save Map#
Save Map keeps the design in your Map Library, layers, tracks, waypoints and options together, so you can reopen it later and send it again without setting it up a second time. INVIA keeps a copy of the files it built for a saved design so a later send of the same unchanged map can skip the build. INVIA has not confirmed that reuse on a Garmin, so plan for a second send to take as long as the first, and open the map on the Garmin to check it arrived.
Saving builds nothing and writes nothing to the Garmin, so a save changes what is in your library and never what is on the device.
Limits#
The builder checks the design before it builds anything, so a rule it cannot satisfy shows as a message on screen rather than as a broken map on your Garmin.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Layer "{name}" has N tracks (max 30 per layer). Split it into more layers. | Move tracks into a new layer, because a layer holds at most 30 tracks. |
| Name every layer first, N unnamed layers (each layer becomes its own map on the device). | Give every layer a name, because each layer becomes its own map on the device. |
| Add at least one track | Put at least one track in the layer. |
| Enter a map name first | Type a name for the map, because Save Map is the only button that asks for one. |
- Nothing is built and nothing is sent while a rule message is showing.
- Your layers, tracks and waypoints stay in the builder, so nothing you set up is lost.
- Fix what the message names, then press the button again.
Building, downloading and sending work with the map name box empty, because only Save Map asks for a name. INVIA then names the map after the layer, or after the only track in the layer, or Custom Map when neither carries a name.
The map service#
Building runs on INVIA's map service, and the page probes the service when it loads, so you learn that building is unavailable when you open the page rather than after you press a button.
When the service is unreachable, the builder is replaced by a card that reads:
- Map builder unavailable
- The map-building service isn't reachable right now.
- Your saved maps are safe, try again in a bit.
The card carries Retry.
The saved designs in your Map Library are not affected, because the service builds files and does not hold your designs. Building needs the service, so press Retry when you want INVIA to probe it again.