Bristol Maps for Desktop¶
Bristol Maps has a native desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is a separate program from the phone and tablet app, built for a full-size screen – planning ashore, a wheelhouse machine, or a second display alongside your tablet.
Getting It¶
Downloads: bristolfleet.com/mapsdownload
Builds are published for:
| Platform | Format |
|---|---|
| Windows (64-bit and ARM) | Installer |
| macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) | Portable archive |
| Linux (64-bit and ARM64) | Portable archive |
There are two channels, Stable and Beta. Stable is the one to run on the boat.
The app updates itself. Help > Check for Updates looks for a newer build, and it also checks periodically on its own. If you pick “Remind Later” it stops asking for the rest of that session and asks again on the next launch.
Not the same as the Mac App Store app
On an Apple Silicon Mac you can also install the iPad app from the App Store. That is a different program with its own local data. The native desktop app is the one described on this page.
Signing In and Subscriptions¶
The desktop app uses the same Bristol Maps account as your phone. Sign in and your subscription follows you across. The desktop subscription window says it directly:
Already subscribed on iOS or Android? Sign in with the same account and your subscription will activate automatically – no extra purchase required.
If you do not have a subscription yet, the desktop app takes payment through Stripe rather than an app store. A Stripe subscription unlocks your phone and tablet too, once you sign in there.
No in-app store purchase on desktop
There is no App Store or Play Store billing on Windows and Mac. If a desktop install tells you your subscription has expired, renew on the website and sign back in to refresh – there is no “Restore Purchase” button to press here.
Desktop installs count against your account’s device limit like any other install.
What It Shares With Mobile¶
The desktop app is built on the same shared code as the mobile app, so the data and most of the day-to-day features carry across:
- Map with your downloaded offline imagery, basemaps, and ENC charts
- Waypoints, Routes, and Boundaries – synced with your account
- Logs – log entries sync both ways
- Groups, Fleet Chat, and Voice / push-to-talk
- AIS vessel tracking
- Fleet view with Tenders and Freight
- Downloads (called Overlays in the View menu) for offline imagery
- Tides and Weather windows
- Announcements
- AI Assistant
- Pots & gear – strings, pots, set-line tracks, pick mode with the heads-up plot, and dragger sharing. See Pots & Gear
- Depth recording and bathymetry
- Engine gauges
- Area requests – draw an area you want imagery for and submit it
Waypoints, routes, logs, gear, and group data all sync through your account, so work done on the desktop shows up on the tablet and the other way round.
Layout¶
The desktop app uses a tabbed sidebar rather than the mobile app’s bottom tabs. Any tab can be opened in its own window with Open in New Window, or removed from the strip with Hide Tab – handy on a multi-monitor wheelhouse setup.
The top menus are File, View, Data, and Help. View also has Night Mode and a dark/light theme toggle. Help opens this documentation, the AI Assistant, and Contact Us (a pre-addressed email to support), plus Check for Updates and About.
What It Does Not Have¶
Being honest about the gaps:
| Not on desktop | Why / what to use instead |
|---|---|
| Fish tickets, deliveries, and sales | These are mobile-only. Use the phone or tablet app – see Fish Tickets |
| App Store / Play Store purchase and restore | Desktop billing goes through Stripe |
| Bluetooth N2K Bridge connection | Desktop connects to a bridge over Wi-Fi/TCP or USB instead. There is no Bluetooth path on desktop |
| Built-in GPS | Desktop machines have no GPS chip. Feed position in over NMEA, or from a USB or network GPS |
| Background location sharing or string-track recording while closed | The app has to be running |
| Renaming a pot string | The desktop Gear Management window shows the name read-only. Rename on the phone or tablet and it syncs back |
| Pot import, Clear All, and the gear search, filter and statistics cards | Mobile-only parts of Gear Management. Export to GPX or JSON is on desktop |
| Siri “Drop Crab Pot” and the Android “Drop Pot” shortcut | Use + Add Pot in the GEAR STRINGS sidebar, or right-click the chart |
| Pot label and icon-size settings | Settings > Pots & Gear has no string-label or icon-size controls |
| “Pick” filter in Logs | The desktop Logs view has no tag chips. Pick entries still sync and appear in the list |
Feature parity moves as releases ship. If something you rely on is missing, email support@bristolmaps.com.
Where Your Data Lives¶
The desktop app keeps its database and downloaded imagery in a per-user application data folder – on Windows this is under your roaming profile. The app manages this itself; you do not need to touch it. If you move or reinstall, sign in and re-download your imagery.