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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: bristolmaps.com/desktop/downloads/

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
  • Gear management and gear track lines
  • 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.

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 while closed The app has to be running

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.

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