How to enter coordinates and navigate to a point in the field
You have a coordinate and need to find it in the field. The key is entering it in the right CRS and checking tolerance.
Field takeaways
- Know whether coordinates are degrees or metres.
- TUREF/TM, UTM, ED50 and WGS84 must not be mixed.
- Phone GPS can guide roughly; precise stake-out needs RTK or total station.
- Tolerance, control and photo records matter.
- MapLab Survey keeps target points, guidance, notes and exports together.
1. Understand the coordinate before trusting it
A coordinate is not just two numbers. Latitude-longitude is in degrees; in TM or UTM systems E and N are metres; ED50 still appears in older data. Enter the value into the wrong system and the app takes you to the wrong place with full confidence — the precision of the navigation cannot repair the identity of the coordinate.
2. Create the target properly
Pick the correct coordinate system in the project, enter the target, and keep it on its own layer. The point name should describe the job — Axis_A12, Parcel_Corner_3, Borehole_05 — and the description should carry the source file, the date and the EPSG code where known.
3. Approach, then switch to fine mode
At distance, map guidance is enough. As you close in, the delta E/N, distance and bearing readouts take over. Walk the last metres slowly and steadily — the position settles better in motion than when turning on the spot. Phone GPS brings you within a few metres; setting a peg at centimetre level takes an RTK fixed solution with control points, or a total station.
4. No tolerance written, no peg driven
"We got close" is not a stake-out. The job's horizontal and vertical tolerances must be set in advance. Inside tolerance: mark the point, photograph it, leave a note. Outside: re-measure or check the design. And when the reading will not settle — near walls, trees, pylons — step away from the obstruction, let it stabilise, and return, rather than chasing the number.
5. The record is the product
Store the as-set position, the photo, the time, the crew and the control note. When exporting CSV, DXF or the report, leave the difference between the design coordinate and the set point visible. Professional stake-out is much more than finding a point in a field — it is leaving a trail.
See it in action
MapLab Survey | Professional Mobile GIS, GPS Surveying & Land Measurement App
Visit the YouTube channel ->Try these steps on your own phone.
MapLab Survey handles RTK/GNSS point capture, drawing, area and volume calculations and coordinate conversion, then exports to DXF, KML/KMZ, GeoJSON, Shapefile, GeoPackage, NCZ or CSV. Capture, calculation and export work offline. Live NTRIP corrections and online basemaps need a connection.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the point in the wrong place?
Usually the CRS or coordinate unit is wrong.
Can a phone navigate to a coordinate?
For rough approach yes; precise stake-out needs RTK or total station.
What should be recorded?
Target coordinate, residual, tolerance, control, date, crew and photo.
Technical references
The field guidance in this article is aligned with the technical and official references below.
Related: Stake-out · Stake-out report · TUREF, UTM, ITRF selection · MapLab Survey