Route across multiple levels

A route from a shop on the ground floor to one upstairs has to change level somewhere — via a staircase, escalator or lift. Mapvera handles this with portals: matching points on two levels' path networks that it links together into one continuous journey. Get the portals right and cross-level directions work automatically.

Each level has its own network

Every level is a separate image with its own path network. Draw the walkable lines into each level's artwork just as you would for a single floor — a route can only travel on a level where lines exist. The portals are what stitch those separate networks into one.

How portals link levels

A portal is a point in the path network that carries a special portal ID (Mapvera's portal IDs begin with pf-). When the same portal group appears on two levels, Mapvera links those two points together, so a route can step from one floor to the other at that spot. Each link carries a small floor-change cost, so the router treats going up a level as real effort rather than a free teleport, and it prefers the sensible portal.

Set up a stairwell or lift

1. Place the portal on every level it serves

   In each level's artwork, mark the portal at the exact spot the stair or lift lands on that floor, and connect it into that level's path network so routes can reach it.

2. Give the two ends the same portal group

   The portal point on the ground floor and its twin upstairs must share the same portal group so Mapvera knows they're the same stair/lift. Different stairs use different groups.

3. Add every floor a lift reaches

   A lift serving four levels needs a portal point on all four, all in the same group — Mapvera will link them so the route can get on and off at the right floor.

4. Keep separate stairs in separate groups

   Two different staircases must not share a group, or the router could "jump" between floors at a point where there's actually no way up.

Step-free journeys between floors

Stairs are impassable in step-free mode, so if a route may need to change level step-free, make sure there's a lift portal as well as the stairs. A destination that can only be reached by changing floors via stairs will fail in step-free mode — and Mapvera will tell the visitor exactly that. See "Set up step-free routes" for how stairs are marked and avoided.

Test the whole journey

1. Route between two floors in the preview

   Pick a start on one level and a destination on another and confirm the line draws, changes floor at your portal, and continues.

2. Watch it flip floors

   As the route crosses a portal the view follows it onto the next level — a good visual check that the portal pair linked correctly.

3. If nothing draws, check the portal groups

   A cross-level route that won't form almost always means the two portal ends don't share a group, or one end isn't connected to its level's network. See "Fix 'No route found'".