How to configure DayZ Expansion maps and markers

By Niko Catarino

Updated 5 October 2026

Configure map access, GPS HUD, compass and markers on your DayZ Steam PC server with Expansion Navigation. Check an unrestricted test configuration first. Add item gates one at a time and verify the combinations players will use.

Merge the examples into your installed release’s generated settings. The reviewed March 2026 public source predates Navigation’s July update. We did not inspect an installed Navigation package or profile, or run a player map session.

Install the Navigation module

Choose original DayZ-Expansion-Navigation, Workshop ID 2792984722. Its requirements are CF 1559212036, Dabs Framework 2545327648 and Core 2291785308. A Bundle installation contains Navigation, so omit the duplicate separate module.

Prepare keys and the mission through Expansion installation, including its CF storage warning. In VXPanel, stop the test service, select Mods and search the required IDs. Review Installed mods and client scope against the author’s list. The Mods reference covers those controls.

With the shown folder names, add this client-required argument to your working manual launch command:

"-mod=@CF;@Dabs Framework;@DayZ-Expansion-Core;@DayZ-Expansion-Navigation"

Add Groups for party locations, Missions for airdrop markers or Quests for objective markers. Configure the underlying feature through its own procedure; loading the map module does not create the party, drop or quest.

Edit the active mission’s MapSettings file

Preserve the stopped test service’s mission, profiles and saved world. Initialize the chosen packages, retain the startup log and stop before editing. The source places Navigation’s settings file at:

mpmissions/dayzOffline.<terrain>/expansion/settings/MapSettings.json

Confirm which mission the service selects. The inspected loader moves an older profile-side MapSettings.json into the mission. Locate the active file before editing; a second copy under profiles can mislead a later configuration change.

The reviewed MapSettings schema is 5. Preserve the m_Version generated by your installed release and use Files and SFTP to edit. Treat each JSON block as field edits to an existing file or marker record, retaining other fields.

Establish map access before adding item gates

Apply this baseline patch to the existing settings in the test mission:

{
  "EnableMap": 1,
  "UseMapOnMapItem": 1,
  "CanOpenMapWithKeyBinding": 1,
  "NeedMapItemForKeyBinding": 0,
  "EnableHUDGPS": 1,
  "NeedGPSItemForKeyBinding": 0,
  "ShowPlayerPosition": 1,
  "CanCreateMarker": 1,
  "CanCreate3DMarker": 0,
  "NeedPenItemForCreateMarker": 0,
  "NeedGPSItemForCreateMarker": 0,
  "EnableServerMarkers": 1,
  "EnableHUDCompass": 1,
  "NeedCompassItemForHUDCompass": 0,
  "NeedGPSItemForHUDCompass": 0
}

The supplied input preset binds map toggle to M and GPS to N. Hold N for HUD visibility and tap N for mode selection. Inspect the client’s active bindings if its profile or another mod changed those keys.

Under this baseline, keybind access needs no map or GPS, the player arrow is enabled and personal map markers need no pen. Player-created 3D markers remain off. Check server-marker visibility as a separate behavior from personal marker creation.

Test each inventory requirement in isolation

The reviewed input handler uses different checks for the map and GPS HUD:

Control	Check in the inspected code
NeedMapItemForKeyBinding: 1	A map or Expansion GPS satisfies the map-toggle item check.
NeedGPSItemForKeyBinding: 1	GPS HUD and mode controls check recognized GPS inventory.
ShowPlayerPosition: 2	The player arrow checks for a compass. A GPS alone does not meet this condition.
NeedPenItemForCreateMarker: 1	The double-click creation path accepts the enabled pen condition when a pen is present.
NeedGPSItemForCreateMarker: 1	The double-click path accepts the enabled GPS condition when GPS is present. With both flags enabled, either qualifying item passes the reviewed branches.
NeedCompassItemForHUDCompass / NeedGPSItemForHUDCompass	Inventory conditions for the enabled HUD compass. Test one selected condition before combining settings.

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For an item-based policy, enable one gate, restart and compare inventories without and with the required item. Then test the next gate. For both marker flags, include no item, pen only, GPS only and both: the reviewed else if branches do not impose a two-item requirement. Check the physical map’s Open map action through UseMapOnMapItem as well as the M binding.

The April 7 author notes make an enabled HUD compass available while seated in a helicopter. That update is later than the reviewed March code. Include a seated-client observation when this policy matters; ground inventory checks cannot verify the later helicopter behavior.

Add a marker using measured coordinates

Review the settings file’s ServerMarkers entries. Duplicate a generated record or build a complete record from the author’s marker schema. Reserve an unused UID and provide a measured [X,Y,Z] m_Position from your terrain before inserting it.

To label a supply location on the map, merge this patch into the complete marker record while retaining its measured m_Position:

{
  "m_UID": "vykix-supply-hub-1",
  "m_Visibility": 4,
  "m_Is3D": 0,
  "m_Text": "Supply hub",
  "m_IconName": "Trader",
  "m_Color": -1,
  "m_Locked": 0,
  "m_Persist": 1
}

Add all three numeric coordinate components to the record, including elevation; the patch alone lacks m_Position. Measure the point on your terrain rather than copying Chernarus trader coordinates to another map. The inspected defaults use the Trader icon. A location label supplies neither a trader nor an inventory.

The author’s schema marks m_Locked and m_Persist as unused for fixed server markers. Keep the complete record, but check its reload from MapSettings.json to establish persistence.

Visibility flags are 2 for world and 4 for map; this recipe selects the map flag. To enable both representations, use m_Visibility: 6 and m_Is3D: 1 and inspect the client filters. Signed ARGB color m_Color: -1 is opaque white. A zero-alpha color can hide an otherwise valid record.

Allocate distinct UIDs because the inspected loader indexes records by identity. Reused identities can make later lookups ambiguous. The loader also raises a below-ground position to the surface and can save the revised elevation. Inspect the loaded file to retain the position it uses.

Distinguish marker types and integrations

Display type	Where to configure it
Personal map location	Creation switches, inventory conditions and client marker filters.
Fixed server location	ServerMarkers, EnableServerMarkers, record visibility and measured position.
Teammate or shared ping	Groups visibility settings with Navigation loaded.
Supply-drop location	Missions airdrops and that release’s airdrop marker fields.
Objective location	Quest setup and its supported objective-marker fields.

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A client can hide a permitted server, personal or party display through its marker toggles. Check the type’s filter before editing coordinates. Inspect the actual feature too: a drop marker cannot prove crate arrival, and a fixed label does not create an event.

Verify access and marker persistence

Start the test instance and join with matching files. Keep the map, package versions, settings and measured position with this acceptance record:

Behavior	Observation needed
Initial map and GPS	Baseline bindings open both interfaces without required inventory.
Map item check	Compare no item, a map and Expansion GPS with the map gate enabled.
Compass-dependent arrow	Observe the map arrow with and without a compass under ShowPlayerPosition: 2.
Marker inventory combinations	Compare no item, pen only, GPS only and both under the chosen flags.
Measured location	The supply label appears at the map point; this map-only record has no world label.
Filtering and saved configuration	Observe visibility after client toggles and record reload after a normal restart.

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Add the helicopter compass check if your policy depends on it. Join with a player client to check map access and filters; starting the server with no players won’t check those features.

Diagnose a hidden map or marker

Problem seen	First inspection
M selects another map UI	Navigation loading, active mission file, EnableMap, binding and map/GPS item gate.
Map item uses vanilla UI	UseMapOnMapItem and the player’s map action.
GPS HUD remains closed	EnableHUDGPS, active binding and recognized GPS inventory when required.
Position arrow missing	ShowPlayerPosition, compass gate and player inventory.
New marker refused	CanCreateMarker, item-condition branches and selected marker type.
Server location invisible	Complete coordinates, UID, color alpha, visibility flag, server enablement and client filter.
Startup changes elevation	Inspect the saved coordinates and the loader’s below-surface correction.

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After a failed edit, stop and restore the mission settings. Recover compatible profiles and world data from a stopped backup if marker state changed. Find the active path, item conditions and client filter before removing state: deleting profiles or marker.bin loses saved markers.

Related documentation: MapSettings reference.