Tap a screen below to view an explanation of the icons and other user interface elements used on that screen.

When viewing clues, tap the text size control (AA icon) and choose a new size.  You also can increase the size of the font by placing two fingers on the clues text and then spreading them apart.  To make the text smaller, use the pinch gesture.  To return to the default size, triple-tap the text.

The person who lists a box on the Atlas Quest or LbNA web sites sets the location of the box.  They may accidentally or intentionally provide a vague or inaccurate location for a box, and whatever location they store in the box listing will be used by Clue Tracker.  Unlike in geocaching, there is no requirement that the location listed on Atlas Quest or LbNA be precise (for many boxes, only the location of the nearest city is provided).

Therefore, before you set out to find a box you should read the clues and verify that the location shown on the map is correct.  If you determine a more accurate location, you can set a custom location on Atlas Quest (premium membership required).  You may also edit the location of the box within Clue Tracker (see the next FAQ question).

Atlas Quest has a feature that allows you to use a separate password for apps.  Visit this page on Atlas Quest and look for the section labeled “App Security.”  If a password is present, you can choose to keep it and use it within Clue Tracker or you can remove the app password and use your regular Atlas Quest password within Clue Tracker.

Each time it starts, Clue Tracker verifies that your saved data is compatible with the version of the app that is running.  If not, you are asked to delete the data.  This situation may occur if you install an old version of Clue Tracker (for example, if you restore your device from a backup) or if the stored data cannot be read by Clue Tracker.  First, make sure you have the current version of Clue Tracker installed.  If you are still prompted to delete your data, go ahead and do so or contact us for assistance.

Send us email, complete our feedback form, or tap the “Send Feedback” button on the app’s Settings screen.  You may also post questions and comments to the Clue Tracker message board on Atlas Quest.

Send us an email and provide us with the email address that is associated with the Apple ID that you use for the App Store.  We will add you to a list of testers who are notified when we make a new version of Clue Tracker available for testing.  Note that testers will need to install Apple's TestFlight app (and you will be prompted to do so).

To look up a box by its number (unique ID), enter the number in the Box Name field on the Advanced Search tab (e.g., 372100) and then tap the Search button.

There are several reasons why you may not see all of the boxes that are located within the search area:

• A letterbox may no longer be listed, it may have been retired, or it may have been marked inactive.
• Atlas Quest limits the results it provides to outside applications such as Clue Tracker to 100 boxes (this limit is raised to 250 boxes if you log in to Atlas Quest as a premium member).  If some boxes are missing even when you are logged in, try using a smaller search distance (e.g., 10 miles instead of 25 miles).
• A planter may have placed restrictions on a box listing so it is only available when logged in to Atlas Quest.  Log in and search again.
• If you are searching by box name, Clue Tracker tries to find boxes that match all of the words that you enter.  You can relax this restriction by adding a * after one of the words (e.g., Hudson Mills Haiku*).
• If you want to retrieve a box that you have planted or previously found, you must turn off the option that hides plants and finds.  If that option is not visible on the search screen, tap “Search Options” to show the available options.

• If you know part or all of the name of the letterbox(es) you want to find, enter that into the name field on the Advanced Search tab.  Include a city or other location information to reduce the number of results found.
• Try using a smaller search distance.  In addition, you may want to use a street address for the location or a zipcode if you are searching a large metropolitan area.
• For Atlas Quest, you may get better results if you put double-quotes around a phrase that you know appears within a box name (e.g. "County Fair").

To customize the Atlas Quest Search or LbNA search distances, tap the number you want to change to select it and then tap it a second time.  You will be prompted to enter a new search distance.

Clue Tracker allows you to search for boxes using Atlas Quest tag colors.  If, from the Atlas Quest web site, you apply a tag to a set of boxes, you can get them into Clue Tracker by searching by tag on the Advanced Search tab.  You must use the tag color (not the name), and if you choose more than one tag color they will be ANDed together (that is, for a box to be returned it must have all of the tags).

To include WOM boxes and other saved boxes in nearby and location-based searches, turn on the “Include My Saved Boxes” search option.  When this option is enabled, boxes that are saved within Clue Tracker are merged with the results returned from Atlas Quest or LbNA.

If you are viewing search results, you can save all of the boxes by tapping the backpack icon on the toolbar and then choosing one of the three options from the menu that is displayed.

If you are viewing the clues for a particular box, you can tap the backpack icon on the toolbar to quickly save the box (if you see a trash can instead of the backpack, the box has already been saved).  Alternatively, you can tap the clipboard icon and then choose the lists to which you want to add the box.

Note that you may add a box to more than one list.  For example, you may find it useful to have lists based on geography (“Southeast Michigan”) as well as lists that are based on other factors (“Puzzles To Solve”).

View a saved list.  If you do not see a number to the left of each box name, open “Display Options” by tapping the gear icon and change the sort order to “Custom.”  Next, tap the “Edit” button (located in the top-right corner of the screen).  A reorder control (three horizontal lines) will be shown on the right side of each letterbox.  Press and hold on the reorder control and then drag the box up or down, releasing it in the desired position.  When you are done reordering boxes, tap the “Done” button.

First, you'll need to save the letterbox to your device (if you haven't already).  Then view the box’s details and tap the “Edit” button (located in the top-right corner of the screen).  You will then be able to modify the box’s location and add notes that are stored on your iOS device.  You may enter @latitude,longitude in the address field if desired.

Note: if a box has Atlas Quest notes and you edit them, the revised notes are stored on your device and not sent to Atlas Quest (to restore the original Atlas Quest notes, edit the box and remove all of the notes text).

You can also change the location of a saved box from the map view.  Tap the letterbox’s pin to open its map callout, press and hold the pin, and then drag it to the correct location.  You will be asked whether you want Clue Tracker to update the address information to match the new pin location.

While you are out looking for a letterbox, you may want to attach a photo to the box within Clue Tracker (such as of a trail map).  Tap the camera icon, choose Take Photo and snap your photo.  Your photo will appear above the clues for the box.  Tapping on the photo will take you to a new screen which allows you to zoom in to see more details in the photo, share it, or delete it.

From the “Saved Letterboxes” screen, tap the Edit button and then tap the name of the list that you want to rename.  You will be prompted to enter a new name for the list.  Tap Done when you are finished renaming lists.

Clue Tracker supports sharing a list of saved letterboxes via a variety of communication channels including email, text message, AirDrop, and others.  There are two methods for sharing a list of letterboxes:  Box IDs only and All Data.

Box IDs only:  This is a lightweight method that only sends the Atlas Quest and LbNA ID for each box that is shared.  It works well for sharing via a text message (where not much data can be sent) but it does not allow you to share WOM boxes, your photos, or information such as custom locations, notes, and highlights.  After the other device receives the shared list, Clue Tracker will automatically retrieve each box from Atlas Quest and LbNA.

All Data:  This sharing method sends all of the information that Clue Tracker has for each box that is shared.  It works best via communication channels that can handle large amounts of data (such as email or a file sharing service).  The data will be sent as an lbx file (letterbox exchange file) and it will include WOM boxes, custom locations, notes, highlights, and your photos (optional).  After the person receives the shared list, Clue Tracker will display the information sent without retrieving any boxes from Atlas Quest and LbNA.

To share a list of saved boxes, open the backpack menu and tap either “Share This List (Box IDs Only)” or “Share This List (All Data).”  Choose a communication channel and follow the prompts.  Note that as of 2024, due to limitations in the iOS Gmail app, the “All Data” method cannot be used with that app.

If the “Box IDs only” sharing method was used, the recipient will receive a link that contains the IDs.  Tapping the link will cause Clue Tracker to import the list and then automatically retrieve each box from Atlas Quest and LbNA.

If the “All Data” sharing method was used, the recipient will receive an lbx file (possibly as an attachment). 

• For Mail and similar apps, tap the attachment icon to open the iOS sharing sheet.  Next, tap the Clue Tracker icon (you may need to scroll horizontally to see the icon).  Then Clue Tracker will import the list.
• For other apps, you may need to first save the lbx file locally.  Then open the Files app and tap the lbx file to import the list.

When someone gives you clues to a box that is not listed on a website, you can add them to Clue Tracker as a saved WOM (word-of-mouth) box.  From the Saved tab, tap “All” or the name of another list of saved letterboxes.  Then tap the backpack menu and choose “Add WOM Letterbox.”  You must enter a box name; all other fields may be left empty.  Tap Save in the top left corner to save the WOM Box.  After the WOM box has been created, a quick way to capture clues is to add a photo.