FAQ

Does KynoPlan need an internet connection — and where is my data?

Not for normal use. There is no user account and no cloud sync; your training data lives on the device. Only individual features you invoke yourself need the internet: weather, maps, place search, dictation and crash reporting — plus handwriting recognition, which downloads its language model once and then works on the device. That is exactly why backups matter: there is no copy in the cloud we could bring your training back from.

Details in the privacy policy.

Do I really have to add a dog first?

Yes. Everything in KynoPlan hangs off a dog — tracks, diary, appointments, evaluations. Only the name is required; breed, date of birth, sex and notes can follow whenever you like. Papers and documents only appear in the editor once the dog has been saved: open it again afterwards via ⋮ → Edit.

More in Getting started.

What is the difference between a note and a diary entry?

A note is a lasting property of the dog — "afraid of thunderstorms", "switched food". A diary entry belongs to one day and one training session. Rule of thumb: if it holds regardless of the date it is a note; if you want to read back in six months how that particular Saturday went, it is an entry.

Where do I find help for the exact screen I am on?

Around twenty screens carry a ? icon at the top. It opens an explanation of that screen — more detailed than this website and always matching your installed version. Not every screen has one; Backup & Restore, for instance, does not, which is what this guide is for. The short coachmark tips are a separate switch under Settings → Tips & help.

More in Help and contact.

Why does the home screen show only one reminder when several apply?

By design — nobody reads stacked banners any more. The home screen therefore shows at most one reminder at a time; once that is dealt with, the next moves up. Tapping ✕ only postpones a banner. To switch them off for good: the watch reminder under Settings → Watch app, the backup reminder under Backup & Restore.

Why doesn't the app detect dropped articles on its own?

Because a dropped article leaves nothing in the GPS signal — your path looks the same there as everywhere else. So mark it at the moment you drop it. Angles are the other case: they do show up in your path, which is why there is live detection during recording (Settings → Search & tracking) and retrospective detection via Detect events in the track summary.

More in Laying and searching a track.

I forgot to stop — can I cut off the end?

Yes: Trim track… in the track's ⋮ menu. Set the marker with the slider and choose Delete before or Delete after; length, duration and counters are recalculated, and you confirm first. It helps at the start too, when the walk to the starting point was recorded as well. Whatever was in the removed stretch goes with it, markers included — and cutting from the front moves the start time along, so the duration stays honest.

I pressed "Lay a track" instead of "Search" by mistake — is the run lost?

No. Convert to search… in the track's ⋮ menu turns the recording into a search run after the fact, so it ends up where it belongs. The menu entry is only there while the track has a recording but no search run yet.

Can I search the same track a second time?

Yes — but each track has exactly one search run: the new one replaces the old one along with its markers and figures. The laid path itself is untouched. The app asks before the second search; the prompt is brief, but that is exactly what it means. If the first run still matters to you, share or export it beforehand.

How do I find articles the dog left lying on the track?

Follow me in the ⋮ menu of a recorded track walks it on foot with the map centred live — your position as a direction arrow in the middle, the map turning the way you look. Handy for finding lost articles on a track you had to break off. Nothing is recorded while you do it.

Do I have to keep the phone in my hand during a search?

No. Recording and searching continue as a foreground service — you can pocket the phone and concentrate on the dog. Found articles, deviations and notes can also be added later in the summary, and with a Wear OS watch you mark them from your wrist.

Why won't the app let me leave the screen during a search?

So that an accidental Back cannot abort a running recording or search: the Back gesture is intercepted and the app asks you to stop the search first. The same care applies to unsaved changes — with a new appointment or a new template, the app asks before anything is discarded.

Do I have to dismiss the confirmation dialog every time I stop?

No — press and hold the Stop button. A bar fills and the session ends immediately. Let go early and it counts as a plain tap, so the usual confirmation dialog opens; nothing is lost either way. If you never hold, you never notice the shortcut.

Why does the "article ahead" alert disappear before I can tap "found"?

It disappears once the dog is a little way past the article — the same rule the angle alerts follow. An alert that stays invites a late tap, and the find would then be recorded in the wrong place. While the alert is up, Article found puts the marker on the article rather than at your current position anyway. If you miss it, add the find later in the Events tab.

What does "accuracy" in the search tab mean?

It is a value from 0 to 100 giving the share of search points that lay within the tolerance around the laid track — so it is not an average deviation in metres. It is computed after the search, not during it. Whether the tolerance is derived from GPS accuracy or fixed is a setting under Settings → Search & tracking; in GPS mode the slider acts as a lower bound.

Search line and alarm reserve — what is the difference?

The search line is how far your dog works ahead of you. The alarm reserve sits on top of it and decides how far before the dog reaches the article the alarm should fire; a larger reserve warns you earlier. With the proximity line switched on, the map shows two rings — the inner one where the dog is, the outer one where the alarm fires; at reserve 0 they merge. Both can also be adjusted for one single run on the search-ready screen.

Why can't I edit the bundled FCI samples directly?

Because they are reference material — the layouts as the official IGP and IFH patterns have them. If they could be altered, that role would be gone. Use Copy and edit instead: you get a fully editable copy among your own templates, with a note saying which sample it came from. The samples themselves never change.

More in Designs and templates.

Why can't an article sit right at the start or end of a curve — and why does a curve count as two angles?

Because the entry into and the exit out of a curve are themselves angles. An article therefore needs the same minimum clearance there as at any other angle, and in the counting a curve is one leg plus two angles. Move the article a little further into the leg and it is within the rules again.

The app reports a rule violation and Save seems not to respond.

It does respond — you just have to hold it. The validator informs but never blocks for good: the last word is yours, because out in the field there are good reasons for a track that bends the rules. Since overriding by accident would be too easy, it takes a longer press of about a second and a half, with a visible sweep filling as you hold.

Why don't the steps after the last article count towards the track length?

Because the track conceptually ends at the last article. That the layer keeps walking straight on afterwards is real laying practice, not part of the track — the app marks that stretch as outside (walk-off) and leaves it out of the rule set's minimum length. If the plan has no walk-off leg, the app adds one. Without a rule set the distinction does not exist.

How is the Prädikat arrived at?

KynoPlan derives it from the total, scaled to 100 points: Vorzüglich (V) from 96, Sehr gut (SG) from 90, Gut (G) from 80, Bestanden (B) from 70, and Mangelhaft (MG) below that. FCI-IGP-FH is the exception: there the average of both runs counts, and both have to reach 70 points — otherwise there is no Prädikat at all.

More in Grading.

Why do I deduct points instead of awarding them?

Because that is how FCI grading works: every section starts full and you take away what did not fit — in the three categories Trieb, Technik and Koordination, with −0.1, −0.5 and −1.0. MAX zeroes a whole section, the undo arrow takes back the last step. If you want to be more precise, Aspects attaches the deduction to one individual aspect; either way the report still shows where it came from.

What happens when I switch to manual grading?

You get a paper-style sheet showing the shape of the track, which you write and draw on, plus a single final grade from 0 to 100 — two fingers to zoom and pan, one finger draws. Important: switching discards the other mode's content. The app asks first and says what will be lost; you can switch back at any time from the same ⋮ menu.

Can I pass an evaluation on as a PDF — together with the track?

Yes. Besides a QR code and a JSON file there is a PDF export of the whole sheet: sections, deductions, total, Prädikat and your comments, with the dog's picture in the header. If a track is linked, the app asks "Share with the track too?". Answer Include track and it appends the full track report to the same document; answer Just the evaluation and it leaves that report out. The evaluation itself is in the PDF either way. A manually graded evaluation is exported with the annotated sheet, not just the final score.

Can I change a diary entry's date afterwards?

No. The app sets the date when the entry is created and it stays that way — an entry documents the day it came from. So put a session you are writing up late into the text. Note also that an entry is only saved once there is a note, a sketch or a photo; a tag or a thumbs rating alone is not enough.

More in Training diary.

How does a training goal get onto my training partner's device?

Through the ⋮ menu of a goal, or Share goals… in the overflow menu of the Goals tab — as a QR code or as a file. The recipient chooses which dog the goals belong to, and a sketch travels along unless the QR code would get too large for it; then share the file instead. Diary entries themselves cannot be shared, only goals.

Why doesn't KynoPlan remind me about an appointment?

Because KynoPlan sends no notifications for appointments. If you want a reminder, switch on calendar sync and tick the categories that should be transferred — the reminder is then raised by your phone's calendar app. The connection is off by default; without it, the calendar in KynoPlan is purely an overview.

More in Calendar and appointments.

Why don't my competition dogs show up in the dog list?

Because competition data and training data stay strictly separated, in both directions: competition dogs do not appear in your dog list, competition tracks not in your track list, competition gradings not among your evaluations — and your own training dogs are never offered when you add an entry. Competition data only moves through an explicit export or a restore.

More in Competition Mode.

Why can't I enter my own seed for the draw?

Because a draw you can steer is no longer a draw. A seed you type in, or can roll again until it suits, is exactly that lever — so the app generates it itself, and the result is fixed the moment it is drawn. The full-screen shuffle is ceremony over a result that already stands; you can tap to skip it and nothing changes. Every draw is logged, and a second pass via Draw again is possible and marked as such.

Why was no track drawn for some runs?

Drawing only fills assignments set to drawn that have no track yet — fixed assignments are left alone. The levels where the dog runs its own track — IGP-1, IFH-1 and FPr-1 — default to fixed for that reason, though you can still change that on the entry. Substitute tracks are always left out: they exist for a failure and are assigned by hand. If there are fewer tracks than runs, the app reports a shortfall. And Draw again re-draws every drawn assignment, not only the empty ones.

The competition is finalised — can I still get in?

Yes: Reopen competition lifts the lock with one tap and keeps the signature, so finalising again does not demand a new one. "Finalised" means no new entries, tracks or scores. Corrections to a person or a dog, however — a typo in a name, two records merged — do take effect in already finalised events and in their PDF; the app warns first and names the events concerned.

How does the laid track get back to me from the track layer?

You send the planned track with Send to track layer, as a QR code or a file, to their phone; it arrives there in a "track layer job" group, with no event and no setup around it. They record it — the neighbouring tracks sit faintly underneath so they don't cross one — and choose Send recording back. On your device it is matched to the right track automatically, provided exactly one fits; otherwise it arrives as an ordinary recording in the import. A return into an already finalised event is refused — reopen it first.

Can two devices work on the same event at the same time?

Nothing stops you technically, but it is not how this is meant to work. Share competition… is a handover, not a live sync: the event is badged shared for grading, yet it is not locked on your device. What comes back is always the whole event — on import the app asks explicitly, Replace or Import as a copy, and nothing is merged silently. There is no conflict resolution and no partial return, so agree who is editing.

Does the watch work without the phone?

No. The Wear OS app is a remote control and a display: the phone owns GPS and the data, the watch stores nothing. With no session running it shows "Start a recording or search on your phone". And just as honestly: if the connection drops, the watch does not warn you — it keeps showing the last known session with the clock running. When in doubt, what the phone says is what counts; on reconnect it pushes the current state across by itself.

More in Wear OS on your wrist.

How do I get the watch app onto my watch?

If a Wear OS watch is paired but the companion app is not installed yet, the home screen offers it — one tap opens the Play Store directly on your watch. The same route is always available under Settings → Watch app. If it is installed but out of date, the same place offers to update it instead.

How do I move to a new phone?

With a backup. On the old device, under Settings → Backup & Restore, create a .dtbackup file and put it away with Save to file: that keeps the file name and its extension. Plain sharing can leave the receiving app dropping the extension — with Google Drive in particular, that is the reason to take the save route. On the new device install KynoPlan, choose Import backup in the same place and load the file. Media travel with it: photo sketches, diary photos, dog avatars and dog documents.

More in Backing up, sharing, importing.

When restoring, the app asks how the data should be taken over — which do I pick?

This is the most important moment of the whole operation, so read it calmly. On a new, still empty device, Wipe and import is the obvious one. If there is already something on the device you want to keep, take one of the adding options — or Choose what to import… if you only need individual dogs, designs or competitions. Wipe and import is final and is therefore confirmed a second time. If you are unsure, back up the current state first; then a mistake costs nothing. After the import KynoPlan shows a report of what was taken over and what was skipped.

Does KynoPlan make automatic backups?

No. A backup only happens when you start one. All the app does is remind you on the home screen when the last one is a while ago — or when you have never made one and there is already data in the app. One tap leads straight to Backup & Restore; a backup makes the reminder disappear. (This is separate from the backup Android itself performs; the privacy policy covers that.)

Is the backup file encrypted?

No — it is neither encrypted nor password-protected, and it contains everything: dogs, tracks, evaluations, photos and documents. Keep it accordingly, and think about where you put it and how you send it.

Can I pass a single dog on to somebody?

Not as a file of its own — that is what the selection during a restore is for: picking individual dogs, designs, templates or competitions out of a backup, with the chosen dog's designs and training sessions coming along. What can be passed on individually are tracks and designs (.dttrack, QR, GPX, report), goals (.dtgoal), evaluations (JSON, QR, PDF), whole competitions (.dtevent), appointments (.ics) and a dog's documents in their original format — just not the dog itself.