Help Center
A reference guide to the Create page: what each button, setting and option does, where to find it and its default value. In the editor, click the small i icon next to an option to open its explanation.
Open the editorThe left column (the Stops drawer on mobile) holds your itinerary, from the first stop to the last.
Search for a city or a place and add it at the end of your route.
Type at least 2 letters in the Add a place row, at the bottom of the list, then pick a suggestion: it becomes the next stop. The field keeps the focus so you can chain destinations with the keyboard.
On a computer, the Pick point button next to it lets you click directly on the map instead. A route holds up to 50 stops.
Adds a stop exactly where you click on the map.
Click Pick point, then click anywhere on the map: a stop is added at that spot, named after the nearest place, and the mode turns off. Click the button again before touching the map to cancel.
Useful for a viewpoint, a beach or a trailhead that the search does not find. Available on computers.
Adds a final stop identical to the first one to close the loop.
Appears under the list once you have at least 2 stops and the last stop is not already your starting point. One click adds a copy of the first stop at the end, so the animation brings you back to where you started.
Drag a stop by its handle to move it, or delete it with the bin.
Grab the dotted handle on the left of a stop and drop it at its new position: the route, the distances and the animation update right away. With the keyboard, focus the handle, press Space, move with the arrow keys, then press Space again (Escape cancels).
The red bin removes the stop. Clicking the name centers the map on that stop and opens its details.
Changes the name displayed on the map and in the video.
Open a stop, then click the pencil. Press Enter to confirm or Escape to cancel. An empty name keeps the previous one.
This name is the one shown in the city labels and in the current destination banner.
The country of the stop, detected automatically.
The country is filled in when you add a stop. Change it if the detection is wrong, near a border for example, or choose None.
It drives the flag next to the name, the country count in the route summary and the Color visited countries option.
Keeps the stop in the list but takes it out of the route.
The stop stays in your list, struck through, but it is skipped by the line, the distance, the travel time and the animation. Uncheck the box to bring it back.
Handy to test a variant of your trip without losing a stop.
Photos or videos shown when the vehicle arrives at this stop.
Add photos or videos to a stop: when the vehicle arrives, the animation pauses and shows them in grid order. Photos share the Photo display time set in the Labels tab; each video extends the stop by its own length, 15 s max.
To go faster, the photo icon next to the bin adds photos without opening the stop; its badge shows how many media items the stop has.
Each photo can weigh up to 8 MB and is resized to 1280 px to keep your project light. A video can weigh up to 60 MB: it stays in this browser, on this device, and shows as file to re-add if you open the project elsewhere. The preview plays it muted; the sound is in the exported video. Hover over a thumbnail to remove it.
Total distance, travel time, elevation gain, stops and countries.
The box under the list adds up your trip: total distance, estimated travel time based on the speed of each transport, elevation gain on ground legs with a small elevation profile, and the number of stops and countries.
Excluded stops are not counted. The distance unit follows the setting of the Overlays tab.
Between two stops, a small pill shows the transport, the distance and the estimated time. Click it, or click the line on the map, to open the leg menu.
How you travel on this leg: car, plane, train, boat and more.
Pick the transport of the leg that starts at this stop: car, van, plane, motorbike, bike, train, bus, boat, walk or extras. Each mode has its own speed, line color and default vehicle.
Ground modes follow the real road network and boats a sea route when that option is on, walks always take the most direct footpath, planes draw an arc. If no road links two stops, the editor offers to switch to plane.
Choices
What moves at the tip of the line: a vehicle, an arrow, a dot or the arrival pin.
Under the transport modes, pick what moves at the tip of the line on this leg. The first row offers markers that work with every transport: None, Arrow (pointing the way you travel), Dot and Arrival pin (the pin of the last stop). Then come the vehicles of the selected transport: models tagged 3D are real 3D objects that turn with the route; the others are flat icons.
The transport still sets the color, line type, speed and routing of the leg, whatever the marker. The size of vehicles and markers is set in the Path tab.
Draws only the line on this leg, with no vehicle or marker.
The crossed-out eye hides the vehicle or marker on this leg: the line draws itself on its own. Click the crossed-out eye again, or pick another marker or a vehicle, to bring it back.
Your own image travels along the route.
The dashed button with a picture icon lets you pick an image (8 MB max). It replaces the vehicle on this leg, then appears in the vehicle list of every leg so you can reuse it. A photo of you, your pet or your car works great, ideally with a transparent background.
The small cross on the thumbnail removes it.
Applies this vehicle, or this marker, to every leg.
With a vehicle selected, the button sets the same transport mode and the same vehicle on all the legs of the route in one click. With an arrow, a dot, the arrival pin or no marker, it applies that marker everywhere without changing the transports: each leg keeps its color, line type and routing.
You can still adjust a single leg afterwards.
Speeds up or slows down this leg only.
Changes the pace of this leg from x0.25 to x4. The hint below shows how many seconds the leg lasts on screen. The global speed of the Camera tab applies on top.
The cross gives the leg back its automatic duration. Useful to rush through a long flight or linger on a scenic road.
A color for this leg only.
Overrides, on this leg, both the global line color and the color of the transport. The cross goes back to the global color.
Solid, dashed or dotted line for this leg.
Global follows the Line type setting of the Path tab. Solid, Dashed and Dotted apply to this leg only: dotted for a walk or a ferry crossing, for example.
Photos or videos shown during the journey, without stopping.
Unlike media on a destination, media on the road are shown while the vehicle is moving: the animation does not pause. They glide gently across the frame, see Media drift on the road in the Labels tab.
Photos: 8 MB max each. Videos: 60 MB max. Videos are stored in this browser, on this device: if you open the project elsewhere, the video shows as file to re-add.
The bar under the map lets you play your animation before exporting it.
Plays your animation on the map, with music and sound effects.
Click Preview to check your trip while you edit it: camera moves, labels, photos, music and sound effects included. Click Stop to go back to editing.
The intro, the outro and the video format are checked in the Final preview of the export page. The button stays disabled until your route has at least 2 stops. Every setting you change shows up in the next preview, without reloading the page.
Rewinds the animation to the beginning.
Brings the animation back to the first stop. If a preview is playing, it keeps playing from the start. The same button exists on the export page, where the preview starts again from the intro.
Available from 2 stops.
Scrub through the animation and spot each stop.
Drag the slider to jump to any moment of the animation. The counter shows the elapsed time and the total duration, and each dot marks the arrival at a stop. If the preview is playing or you moved the slider, the export page picks up at that moment, and the other way round.
The total duration depends on the distance of each leg, the global speed, the segment speeds and the pauses at stops.
Frames the whole route on the map or the globe.
Moves the map back so that every stop fits on screen. Handy after zooming or panning by hand.
On mobile, the button is in the bottom bar.
Opens the export page to download your video or image.
The Export video button opens a dedicated page where you choose the output: MP4 or WebM video, animated GIF, PNG image or PNG sequence.
That page is also where you pick the format (square 1:1, vertical 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, or horizontal 16:9 for YouTube), the quality up to 4K (Pro plan), the frame rate, and optional intro and outro cards. The video is rendered in your browser and downloaded directly: nothing is uploaded.
The top of the settings panel manages the project as a whole.
The title of your project.
Used as the name of the project in your Dashboard and as the file name of your exports. Up to 120 characters.
It is also suggested as the title of the intro card on the export page.
Clears all stops and starts from scratch.
Removes every stop and every setting to start a blank trip. If your route is not empty, a confirmation is asked first. Consider saving or exporting your project before.
Restores all default settings but keeps your stops.
Puts every setting of the panel back to its default value: map style, labels, animation, camera, audio, watermark, logo and so on. Your trip name, stops, photos and transport modes are kept; vehicles go back to the standard icon of their transport. A confirmation is asked first.
Saves the project to your Dashboard.
Stores the current project in your account: you will find it in the Dashboard, on any device. The route needs at least one stop.
Photos, intro and outro cards, logo, icons and settings are included. Videos and imported music stay on the device where you added them: the confirmation window lists them, and you will need to add them again on another device.
The confirmation window shows the trip name: edit it if needed before confirming, and it also replaces the name in the editor.
Without saving, your trip is still kept automatically in this browser, but only on this device.
The base map: format, style, terrain, labels and visited countries. The tabs follow the order in which you build your video.
Flat map or 3D globe.
The flat map (default) suits road trips and regional routes. The 3D globe shows the curvature of the Earth and shines on world tours and long flights.
Choices
The basemap: light, dark, satellite, details, night, vintage or watercolor.
Each thumbnail previews the style. Details is the default. Satellite shows real imagery, Night shows city lights seen from space, Vintage and Watercolor give an illustrated look.
Choices
Shades the mountains and raises the terrain in 3D.
Show relief shades ridges and valleys, and raises the terrain in 3D once the camera is tilted (with the Cinematic preset, for example). Off by default.
The Height slider exaggerates the relief from x1 to x3 (x1.5 by default).
The language of the place names on the map.
Auto follows the site language. Local language shows each name in the language of its country. You can also force one of the 12 languages offered, for example to publish a video in French.
Show or hide city names, country names, roads, points of interest and water labels.
Each switch controls a layer of the basemap. Everything is visible by default except points of interest. Hiding roads and points of interest gives a cleaner map for long trips.
Choices
Fills the countries of your trip with color, with a counter.
Colors every country where you stop and shows how many countries you visited. Options: a different color per country or a single fill color, opacity, border and country names.
The High level camera preset turns this option on.
Sub-option of Color visited countries
Also colors the countries the route crosses without stopping.
When on (default), the countries crossed by the route between two stops are colored too and added to the counter. Turn it off to count only the countries where you actually stop.
Sub-option of Color visited countries
Color the countries as the vehicle passes, or from the start.
On pass (default) colors each country when the vehicle reaches it, in sync with the animation. Always visible shows every colored country from the first second.
How stops look on the map and how long the animation stays at each one.
The style of the markers placed on each stop.
Pick one of the 18 styles, some of them animated. The choice applies to every stop of the route.
How city names appear on the map.
Choose how stop names make their entrance: fade in, bounce, grow, spin, stamp, jelly, swing, skid, confetti or typewriter (default). Pulse and glow keep the names moving in a loop. Plain display shows them without an effect, None hides them completely.
Choices
Show every city name at once, or reveal them as you arrive.
Show all on the map: every name is visible from the start. Appear on vehicle arrival (default): each name shows up when the vehicle reaches the stop, which builds suspense. To hide the names, choose None in Label animation.
Choices
The typeface of the city names.
Default, Serif, Rounded, Condensed, Monospace or Handwriting. Each option is previewed in the list. The font applies to the labels of the map and of the exported video.
Choices
A short break on each stop, even without photos.
By default, the animation only stops where there are photos. With this option, it also pauses briefly on every other stop, except the departure. Set the Pause length from 0.5 to 8 seconds (1.2 s by default).
How long the animation pauses on a stop that has photos.
From 2 to 10 seconds (2 s by default). The photos of the stop are shown during this pause; a video lasts as long as the clip, 15 s max. Stops without media are not affected: see Pause at every stop.
The gentle movement of the photos and videos added on the road.
None keeps the media still, Slow (default) makes them glide softly across the frame, Fast gives them more motion.
Choices
The route line and the settings shared by all vehicles. The vehicle or marker of each leg is chosen in the stops column.
Cars, bikes and buses follow the real roads.
On by default: ground legs follow the actual road network instead of a straight line, and distances and travel times are computed on the road. Turn it off for straight lines.
Walking legs are not affected: they always take the most direct footpath, or a straight line when there is none.
Turning it back on computes the routes again.
Planes draw an arc instead of a straight line.
On by default: air legs follow a curved trajectory, like the routes on an airline map. Turn it off for straight lines.
Other transports are not affected: boats follow a sea route, or a straight line when none is found.
The camera comes down on each city of arrival.
On by default: at each arrival, the camera zooms in on the stop before taking off again. Turn it off to keep the camera at altitude for the whole trip.
This option is part of the camera presets: changing it may switch the preset to Custom settings.
Hides the route lines: only the vehicle and the stops remain.
The vehicle still travels from stop to stop, but no line is drawn behind it. The line color, type and width settings are hidden while this option is on.
One color for every line of the route.
By default, each transport has its own color. Pick a color to apply it to all the lines; Reset goes back to the color of each transport. A color set on a single leg still takes priority.
Solid, dashed or dotted lines.
Automatic (default) adapts the style to each transport. Solid, Dashed and Dotted apply to the whole route, except the legs that have their own line type.
Choices
The thickness of the route line.
From 1 to 12 px (4 px by default). A thicker line reads better on a phone screen.
The size of vehicles, arrows and dots on the map.
From 10% to 200% (100% by default). Increase it for a vertical video watched on a phone, reduce it on a very zoomed-in map.
The pace of the animation and how the camera moves.
The overall speed of the animation.
From x0.5 to x3 (x1 by default). It applies to the whole trip, on top of the segment speeds. A faster animation gives a shorter video.
Ready-made camera moves, applied in one click.
A preset sets several camera options at once. The active preset is highlighted; Story zoom is the default. If you change an option by hand and no preset matches anymore, the panel shows Custom settings.
The 11 presets:
Choices
The camera follows the vehicle and zooms in and out on the way.
On by default: the camera stays on the vehicle and adapts its zoom to the length of each leg. It cannot be combined with Frame the whole route: turning one on turns the other off.
Softens the zoom swings between stops.
Reduces how far the camera pulls back on long legs and how close it gets on arrival, for a steadier, calmer video. Off by default.
A fixed wide shot where the whole route stays in frame.
The camera no longer moves: the entire itinerary is visible and the vehicle travels across it. Turning it on disables Follow vehicle with auto-zoom.
Music and sound effects, heard in the preview and included in the exported video.
A soundtrack for your video.
30 tracks in four families: Moods (Upbeat, Lo-fi, Ambient, Electronic, Ukulele, Acoustic guitar), Cinematic & emotional (Cinematic, Epic, Inspirational, Piano, Suspense), Upbeat & party (Festival, Tropical house, Reggae, Rock, Funk, Jazz, Hip-hop, Country) and World music, typical of a country (French accordion, Spanish flamenco guitar, Italian tarantella, Greek bouzouki, Irish jig, Brazilian bossa nova, Argentine tango, Mexican mariachi, Japanese koto, Indian sitar, Arabic oud). You can also keep No music (default). Listen plays the selected track and Music volume sets its level (60% by default).
The music plays in the preview and is included in MP4 and WebM exports. GIF and PNG exports have no sound.
Sub-option of Background music
Use your own audio file as background music.
Select Upload your sound in the music list, then choose an audio file (20 MB max). The file stays on your device.
It is kept in this browser and still there after a reload, but it is not part of your account save: on another device or in a private window, you will need to pick it again.
A wind sound of your choice during each leg.
Plays a whoosh while the vehicle moves between two stops. Pick the sound in the list (classic whoosh, gentle breeze, wind gusts, jet engine, ocean waves, swift swoosh, train rhythm); No whoosh, the default, turns it off. Listen plays it as it will sound in the exported video, which makes it rise and fall on each leg; the map preview plays it without that rise. Its level is set with Effects volume (70% by default).
A short sound of your choice at each arrival.
Plays a pop each time the vehicle reaches a stop. Pick the sound in the list (classic pop, bubble, click, bell, marimba, video game coin, sparkle, drum) and hear it with Listen; No pop, the default, turns it off. Its level is set with Effects volume.
What is displayed on top of the map: distance, elevation, current destination, watermark and logo.
A counter of the distance traveled, updated as the vehicle moves.
Off by default; in the top left corner once enabled, and you can then place it at the top or bottom of the frame (left, center or right). The unit follows the Distance unit setting.
Kilometers or miles, everywhere in the editor and the video.
Changes the unit of the leg distances, of the route summary and of the live distance counter on the map.
Choices
The elevation curve of the trip, with a cursor following the vehicle.
Draws the elevation profile of your route at the top or bottom of the map, and a cursor moves along it with the vehicle. Flights and sea crossings break the line, since they have no ground elevation.
Off by default; in the top right corner once enabled, and you can then place it at the top or bottom of the frame (left, center or right).
A banner with the name of the stop you are heading to.
Displays the name of the current destination at the top or bottom of the map, updated at each leg. Off by default; once the option is on, choose its position at the top or bottom of the frame (left, center or right).
A text stamped on the map and the video.
On by default with travelstorymaker.com. With a free account, change the text, place it at the top or bottom of the frame (left, center or right), set the opacity, or turn it off.
An image stamped on the map, such as your own logo.
On by default with the Travel Story Maker logo. With a free account, upload your own image, choose its position among six spots at the top or bottom of the frame, its size (32 to 240 px) and its opacity, or remove it.
The Export video button in the editor opens this page, where you set up the file to download. Create, at the top of the page, takes you back to the editor. Everything is rendered in your browser: nothing is uploaded.
MP4 or WebM video, animated GIF, PNG image or PNG sequence.
MP4 is the most compatible video, the one to pick for social media. WebM (VP9) is another video format that can keep a transparent background. GIF gives a silent animation, limited to 15 frames per second and 720 px on the longest side. PNG saves a still image of the whole route. PNG sequence delivers one image per frame in a .zip file, for editing software.
Music, sound effects and the sound of video clips are included in MP4 and WebM exports. GIF, PNG and PNG sequence exports have no sound.
Choices
Removes the base map and keeps only the route line, the markers and the vehicle.
Available in WebM, PNG and PNG sequence: MP4 and GIF do not support transparency. In the preview, a checkerboard shows the transparent areas. Handy to lay the animation over another video in editing software.
WebM transparency is supported by Chrome, Edge, OBS and software that reads VP9 alpha, but not by Safari or the iPhone.
The file resolution, from 540p to 4K.
Fast (540p) exports 2 to 3 times faster: ideal for a first try or for social media. HD (720p) gives good quality. Full HD (1080p) gives a sharp picture, with a longer export. 4K (2160p) is the most detailed and the slowest; it is reserved for the Pro plan.
4K video is only offered when your browser can encode it; it stays available for PNG and PNG sequence. GIF is limited to 720 px, whatever the quality.
Choices
How smooth the video is: 15, 24, 30 or 60 fps.
The higher the frame rate, the smoother the motion, but the export takes longer and the file is heavier. 24 fps gives a cinema look; 60 fps makes fast moves smoother.
Until you pick one, the frame rate follows the quality: 15 fps in Fast, 24 fps above. No effect on GIF, always at 15 fps, or on PNG.
Choices
Square 1:1, vertical 9:16 or horizontal 16:9.
Square (1:1) suits the Instagram and Facebook feed. Reel (9:16) is the vertical format of TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. YouTube (16:9) is the classic horizontal format.
The format is saved with the project: the editor uses the same frame.
Choices
The length of the video and the expected rendering time.
The first figure is the length of the video: the animation with its pauses at stops, plus 2 seconds for the intro and 2 for the outro when they are on. The estimated export time depends on the quality, the frame rate and the number of photos.
It is an estimate: on a less powerful device, or with a very detailed route, rendering can take longer.
2-second title cards at the start and end of the video.
Tick Intro or Outro to add a card. Choose one of the 12 styles (Classic, Cinematic, Minimal, Postcard, Sunset, Passport, Boarding pass, Retro poster, Neon, Journal, Mountain or Topo map), then edit the title and the optional subtitle suggested from your route. You can upload your own image (8 MB max) or pick one from Unsplash; it is placed according to the style. The Use the style’s text button brings back the suggested text.
Each time you change a setting, the preview shows the card for a few seconds. Cards do not apply to PNG export.
The site watermark and logo appear on every card by default. A free account lets you change or hide them, with the same options as in the editor.
Choices
Plays the video exactly as it will be exported.
Click the picture or the play button to play the animation with the intro, the outro, the music and the sound effects. Click again to pause it, and playback resumes where it stopped. Restart plays it again from the intro, and the playback bar lets you jump to any moment.
In PNG, these controls are disabled: the image shows the whole route.
Renders the file in your browser, then downloads it.
The button waits until the map and the route line are ready. While rendering, a bar shows the progress and Cancel stops the export. The file is then downloaded directly. On some browsers, an encoder of about 31 MB is downloaded the first time.
Keep the tab open until the end. If the export is too heavy for your browser, lower the quality or the frame rate, or shorten the trip.
Behaviors of the editor that have no button of their own.
Ctrl+Z to undo, Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y to redo.
Every change to the route can be undone with Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) and redone with Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y, up to 30 actions back. There is no button: the shortcuts work with a computer keyboard.
Your trip is kept in this browser, even without an account.
Every change is saved automatically in your browser: close the tab and come back later, your trip is still there. This local copy only exists on this device and in this browser.
If the browser storage is full, usually because of too many heavy photos, a warning appears: remove a few photos.
When no road links two stops, the editor offers to switch to plane.
When Follow the road network is on and you pick a ground transport between two places with no land route, across an ocean for example, a window opens. Switch to plane changes the transport of that leg; Leave as is keeps your choice, and the leg is then drawn as a straight line.
Collapse the side columns on a computer, use the drawers on mobile.
On a computer, the handles on the edges of the map collapse the stops column and the settings column to give the map more room. On a phone, the map fills the screen and the bottom bar opens the Stops and Settings drawers, next to Recenter and Export.
Load a ready-made trip instead of starting from an empty map.
When the map is empty, a link offers to start from a template. The Templates page gathers road trips, world tours and many more: pick one, it opens in the editor, then adapt the stops and the settings to your own trip.
Some options need an account.
You can build, preview and export a video without an account. A free account unlocks saving to the Dashboard, the watermark and logo settings (including turning them off), coloring visited countries (including through the High level camera preset), sharing a link, the file exports and imports of the File menu, and the timeline import.
In the editor, these options show a Free account lock; in this Help Center, a Sign-in required badge.
Pages beyond the editor: a souvenir passport, a postcard and a trip planner.
Map the countries you visited and build your own travel passport.
The Passport page shows an interactive world map: select the countries you visited and they fill your passport with stamps and travel stats.
Customize it, then download the passport and the world map as images.
Sub-option of Travel passport
Keep your passport in your Dashboard.
With an account, the Save button stores your passport in your Dashboard: find it and edit it again from any device.
Create a two-sided postcard from a photo, a destination and a message.
The Postcard page builds the front from your photo and destination, and the back from your message, the address and a stamp.
Customize both sides, then download the postcard as a high-quality PNG.
Sub-option of Travel postcard
Keep your postcard, photo included, in your Dashboard.
With an account, the Save button stores your postcard and its photo in your Dashboard: find it and edit it again from any device.
Plan your overnight stays and travel time for each stop.
The Planner page lists the stops of your trip with the travel time between them, so you can decide how many nights to spend at each one before animating it.
Options in preparation for the Pro plan. They are not available yet.
Fast cloud rendering, even from a phone.
The video would be rendered on our servers instead of your browser: faster, and possible from a phone or a modest computer. Planned for the Pro plan.
All three formats in a single render.
One export would produce the 1:1, 9:16 and 16:9 versions of your video together. Planned for the Pro plan.
Transparent video for editing (ProRes, HEVC).
A video with a transparent background, ready to lay over your own footage in an editing software. Planned for the Pro plan.
Video hosting with a share page.
Your video would be hosted for you, with a page to share it by link. Planned for the Pro plan.
Licensed music library.
A library of licensed tracks to use in your videos without worrying about rights. Planned for the Pro plan.
