Many first-time business map users turn to Map Business Online for its routing capabilities, on top of the ability to generate marketing lists, customer visualizations, and market analysis. Many users just don’t need route planning for business. For others, routing is critical.
Based on chats I’ve answered of late, I thought it might be valuable to give new users a jump on basic routing functionality.
The Master Toolbar has a Routing Button. It’s the one with the Car Icon. But to begin routing the applications requires the user plot locations on the map. And just as there are multiple ways to get points on the map like importing a spreadsheet or dropping points on the map, there are multiple ways to access or generate a vehicle route.
More specifically there are three ways to generate a route in Map Business Online:
Route All Rows from an Imported Location Data
Usually, if a user is routing and seeking optimized routing, they are importing a location-based spreadsheet of possible route stops. With an imported dataset geolocated on a Map Business Online map, a user can filter the data or generates spatial queries (radius, polygon or drive time search), that generate a Marketing List in the data window view.
A Marketing List is a set of records, presented in the Data Window view, that are a result of a Map Business Online query. The user assigns a name to that dataset and it is saved in the Data Window as part of the saved map project. It can be deleted or edited as required, all within the Data Window.
Any Marketing List view in Map Business Online includes a button on the Data Window Toolbar described as Add All Rows in the Data Window to a Route – up to 150 stops maximum. Click the Add All Rows button to generate a pro-forma route. The Route window pops up and allows the user to edit stops, select a one-way or round-trip route, or optimize the routing stop order. The Add All Row button is the fastest way to populate a route with multiple stops in the application.
Add All Rows to Route Button
The Route All Rows option is the most efficient way to route in Map Business Online.
Incremental Routing
Route All is practically automatic routing. But a user can also initiate route stops and call up the Route Window by clicking the Route Car associated with plotted points on the map. That Route Car icon is available in two places in Map Business Online for incremental, point-to-point routing.
Data Window Incremental Routing
Looking at any point data set in the Data Window, hover your cursor over the left-most data column until you see a Car Icon appear. Click the Green Car to select that row address as a Start, Stop, or Finish point for your vehicle route. Repeat as required.
Route from a Location Call-out
Imported or manually plotted points on a Map Business Online map all include callouts or labels that show up after a user clicks the point symbol. Each callout, when selected, displays the Green Car routing icon. A user may incrementally select route stops through this process as well. Click the Green Car to select that row address as a Start, Stop, or Finish point.
The Route Window will pop open after the first address is selected for a route. A user can continue selecting points and adding them to the route. Alternatively, a user could select the Plus Sign in the Route window and type in address records to route to. This is a nice way to add stops to an existing route
Route Windows Tools
I have written previously about Routing subjects like optimized routing. Additional business route planning software tools in the Route Window include:
- Route file sharing
- Route address favorites
- Total mileage and time estimates, by route
- Stop reordering and deletion
- Route printing
- Time window support
Rules of the Route
Map Business Online routing is both easy and affordable. Optimization and time windows are advanced features, as is the ability to export to GPX, PDF, XML, and PND device formats.
Routing limits exist and include:
- No more than 150 stops per route
- No more than one saved route on a map at one time
- Every subscription includes a set of routing credits. A one-year subscription includes $1200 in routing credits. These credits are applied to both routing and driving time operations
Routing is a function most people take for granted these days. We all have that functionality on our phones. Map Business Online lets you route to location-based addresses you’ve compiled into a spreadsheet. Pretty straight forward, as long as you don’t have to explain it to great-grandma.
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