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How to Trim a GPS Route in Pacer

Pacer Support
  • Updated

When you record a walk, run or hike using Pacer’s GPS mode, the app traces your route on the map. If you forget to stop recording at the end or start tracking a few minutes too early, your route may include unwanted “tails” that skew your distance and pace.  Trimming lets you keep only the part of the route you care about and discard the rest.

 

This guide explains when trimming is useful and shows how to do it in Pacer on iOS.

 

Note: Trimming functionality is currently available exclusively on iOS Pacer. The corresponding feature for Android Pacer is still under development.

 

When to Use Trimming

  • Forgot to hit “Finish” – You kept walking or got in the car after finishing your workout, and the extra distance shows up on the map. 
  • Started tracking too early – You pressed “Start” before you began walking, so the first few blocks are just you standing still. 
  • Accidentally recorded a GPS drift – The GPS jumped to another location briefly; trimming lets you remove that spike.

 

Note: Trimming only works on saved GPS activities. If you haven’t saved your activity yet, finish and save it first.

 

How Trimming Works

  • Most trimming tools use the same principle: you view your recorded track, pick a start and end point, and delete everything outside that selection.  
  • In other apps (and in Pacer) this involves pulling up the activity details, tapping an Edit or Trim option, and moving sliders to define the new start and finish.  
  • The portion between the two handles is kept; everything else is removed.  

 

Steps to Trim a GPS Route in Pacer

  1. Open your saved activity 
    • Go to the Home tab (shoe icon). 
    • Tap GPS to view your recent activities. 
    • Choose the activity you want to trim. 
  2. Enter edit mode 
    • Tap the three‑dot More button (···) at the top right of the activity summary. 
    • Select Edit Track or Trim Activity.  Pacer will display your route with handles you can move. 
  3. Set new start and end points 
    • Drag the start handle to the point on the route where your real workout began. 
    • Drag the end handle to where your workout finished. 
    • As you move the handles, Pacer highlights the section that will be kept; everything outside the brackets will be trimmed. 
  4. Preview and confirm 
    • Zoom in on the map to ensure the selection covers your actual workout. 
    • Check your distance and time; they’ll update to reflect the trimmed route. 
    • When you’re satisfied, tap Save or Confirm Trim.  This deletes the extra data and keeps the portion you selected. 
  5. Share or edit further (optional) 
    • After trimming, you can update the activity name, add photos or a description, and choose whether to share it on your feed. 
    • Trimmed tracks can often be undone within the editing session, but once you save and exit, the changes are permanent.

 

Tips and Cautions

  • Take your time when setting handles.  On small screens it may help to pinch‑zoom on the map to place the start and end points precisely. 
  • Trimming works best for simple start‑ and end‑point edits.  If you need to delete a section in the middle of your route (for example, you took a detour), Pacer doesn’t currently support trimming mid‑route.
  • Remember that trimming is destructive.  Once saved, trimmed portions can’t be restored.

 

Final Check

After trimming and saving:

  • Review your new distance, duration and map to ensure they reflect only your intended workout. 
  • If the numbers still seem off, you can try trimming again or double‑check that you placed the handles correctly.

 

Trimming makes your GPS activities more accurate and more meaningful, especially when you accidentally record extra steps.  Use it whenever your saved routes include unwanted segments and enjoy cleaner stats on Pacer.