Frequently Asked Questions

It is completely natural to look for an app in the store first, as that is what we are all used to! However, Gismatrix is built as a Progressive Web App (PWA), which means it is installed directly from your web browser rather than through a traditional app store.

What is a PWA? A PWA is a modern technology that combines the easy access of a website with the powerful features of a traditional native app (including the ability to work completely offline). By delivering the app directly through the web, we can provide instant updates without waiting for store approvals, and the app takes up significantly less storage space on your device.

Supported Browsers: Gismatrix is fully supported on all operating systems (Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux) when using Safari or any Chromium-based browser (such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Opera).

How to install Gismatrix: Installing the app is actually faster than downloading it from a store. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Open a supported browser on your device and navigate to https://app.gismatrix.com.
2. On a mobile device (phone/tablet):
   • Automatic prompt: The browser will usually show a prompt at the bottom of the screen saying "Add to Home Screen" or "Install App".
   • In-app menu: You can also tap the three-dot menu in the bottom right corner of the Gismatrix application. If the app is not yet installed, you will find an "Install Gismatrix" button there.
   • Browser menu: If neither of those appears, open your browser's menu (the share button on Safari, or the three dots on Chrome/Edge) and manually select "Add to Home Screen" or "Install app".
3. On a computer (PC/Mac): Look at the right side of your browser's address bar. You will see a small install icon (usually a screen with a downward arrow). Click it and select Install.

Gismatrix uses advanced local device storage to ensure fast and reliable performance. Because the Brave browser has very strict default privacy settings, it may restrict storage space, automatically clear your data when you close the app, or show a "no available space" error. To ensure the application works flawlessly and your data is not lost, you need to mark Gismatrix as a trusted site in your browser. You can do this in a few simple steps:

Step 1: Turn off Brave Shields for Gismatrix

• Open the Gismatrix app in your Brave browser.
• Look for the Lion icon (Brave Shields) on the right side of the address bar and click it.
• In the pop-up menu, toggle the switch off (the switch will turn gray and display Shields are DOWN for this site). This prevents the browser from aggressively blocking the app's core storage functions.

Step 2: Check Storage Permissions (if necessary)

• On the left side of the address bar, click the site information icon (usually a tune/sliders icon or a padlock) right next to the app's URL.
• Select Site settings from the drop-down menu.
• Scroll down to find On-device site data (or Storage) and make sure it is set to Allow.

After completing these steps, simply refresh the page. Gismatrix will now be able to safely store data without storage restrictions or the risk of automatic deletion.

It can certainly be frustrating when the app cannot load data and suggests checking your storage, especially when you know your phone or computer has plenty of space left! This happens because of how web browsers manage data.

For security and performance reasons, web browsers (like Chrome, Safari, or Edge) do not allow web applications like Gismatrix to use all the available space on your device. Instead, the browser assigns a strict storage limit or "quota" to each website. Even if you have several gigabytes of free space on your hard drive, the browser might restrict Gismatrix to using only a small fraction of it, which prevents the data from loading.

How to fix this:

• Clear site data: You can free up the space allocated specifically to the app by clearing your browser's cache and site data in the settings.
• Free up general space: Because browsers calculate this quota based on a percentage of your total free disk space, freeing up more overall space on your device can sometimes prompt the browser to automatically increase the app's limit.

It might seem unusual for a web app to store a large amount of data on your phone or computer, but this is actually one of Gismatrix's core strengths! Gismatrix is built with an "offline-first" architecture.

To ensure you can work seamlessly even when your internet connection is unreliable or completely unavailable, the app always downloads and stores all vector layers locally. You also have the option to store raster layers for offline use.

This robust local storage guarantees that all vital functionalities remain available completely offline. This includes:

• Advanced spatial analysis: Running complex spatial SQL queries directly on your device (such as st_intersects).
• Full editing capabilities: Modifying both cartographic (spatial) geometries and attribute data without any lag.
• Extended offline work: You can confidently work in the field without internet access for a week or more.

Yes, absolutely. Because Gismatrix is an "offline-first" application, all the data processing and map rendering happen locally on your device, not on a remote server.

• Hardware dependence: The speed at which maps draw and update depends entirely on your phone or computer's processor (CPU) and graphics capabilities.
• The 4GB Memory Limit: You might wonder why the app can't load an unlimited amount of data if your computer has 16GB or 32GB of RAM. The reason is that web browsers (like Chrome, Safari, or Edge) impose a strict memory limit on the JavaScript engine that powers web applications. This cap is typically set at around 4GB of RAM, regardless of how much total memory your device actually has.
• Practical limits and millions of records: It is important to emphasize that Gismatrix has absolutely no problem handling database tables containing millions of records. The browser's limitation simply means that a maximum of roughly 500,000 vector features can be visible on the screen (and loaded into memory) at any one time. As you pan the map to explore a new area, the app dynamically loads the new data while seamlessly clearing the previously viewed area from memory to prevent crashes.

To ensure you can work seamlessly with huge amounts of data without hitting the browser's 4GB memory limit, Gismatrix uses a combination of smart rendering strategies and built-in memory management:

• Zoom Layering (Scale-Dependent Visibility): You can configure each layer to only appear at specific zoom levels. For example, detailed building footprints will only render when you zoom in closely. This prevents the app from trying to draw hundreds of thousands of polygons when you are zoomed out to a country-wide view.
• Intelligent Garbage Collector: Gismatrix features a highly optimized, automatic memory manager. It constantly monitors the browser's memory pressure. If it detects that RAM usage is getting too high, it automatically runs in the background to "clean up" unneeded data. For instance, it instantly removes vector features that are currently outside your screen's view or clears layers that have been hidden for a while, freeing up space for new data as you pan the map.