Planning Your Route
Using Microsoft Streets & Trips
Planning your route can be simplified by using Microsoft Streets& Trips. This tutorial will show you the basics on how to plan a route and print maps to refer to in the field.
Begin by double-clicking the Streets& Trips icon on the computer desktop or from the Start Menu click Start/ All Programs/ Microsoft Streets& Trips.
Streets & Trips will open to a map of the U.S. and a legend overview with “Type place or address” highlighted in the upper left portion of your screen.
Click on the little red car icon to begin planning your route.
The Route Planner window will open replacing the Legend and Overview Window. Here you will begin typing in your addresses.
S&T recognizes various ways to input the address but it does not always give you the desired result. One simple way is to type in the address followed by a comma followed by the zip code.
You will then see a pop-up window and a map view confirming that the address you typed yielded the results you expected. Click OK if it is correct. Occasionally, you may see a similar address in another state or some other odd results. If this happens, click Cancel and re-enter the address. Be aware that there are some addresses that S&T does not recognize because of various reasons. In those few cases you may need to consult a more recently updated source such as Mapquest, Zillow, or Google maps.
Once you accept the choice by clicking OK your screen will change and you will see the address in the Route Planner window.
Then, just type in the rest of your address on your route the same way.
After you have typed in all the address for that route, you will notice that they are in a somewhat random order not suitable for efficiency.
You can have S&T route you more efficiently by clicking on “Optimize Stops” at the bottom. You will notice that the order changes into a more efficient route and you can tweak it even further by highlighting the address you want to move and use the up and down arrows to move it further to the beginning or closer to the end of your route.
Once you are satisfied with the route you can click on “Get Directions” and your screen will show an additional window with turn-by-turn directions to each stop along with a summary of miles and the time it would take to drive from point to point. It is NOT recommended to print the directions and try to read them as you are driving.
Instead, you can zoom in to print maps with greater detail that are easier to follow. Again, don’t try to read while you are driving.
First, close the Route Planner window and the Directions window by clicking the small black X in the upper right corner of the individual windows. Your view will change to only the overview map.
Next, zoom in to a close-up of 2 or 3 of your stops. To do this, click on the map near and to the upper left of one of the stops you want to view close up. While holding down the left mouse button drag your cursor over to include surrounding stops to the right. When you’ve made a box around the zoom area, click inside the box to zoom.
The map will then zoom to the area you chose. If you want to zoom in further, just repeat the process. You can also zoom using the zoom controls on the toolbar.
When you have zoomed in to the map detail that you want, print the map using File/Print…
In the Print pop-up window, select Current map view and check Extend view to fit page. Also, check the box above the OK button Print faxable map and then click OK. Your map will then print. Select another 2 or 3 stops and repeat the process until you have detailed maps for all your stops.
WAIT! You are not done yet!
Before exiting the program you want to put your work orders in the same order as your route. Click on the Route Planner Icon (little red car) to bring your addresses back into view.
Take your work orders and put them in the order of the route. In one of the corners of each work order, write the corresponding number as it is listed on the route. This way, you can tell which number on your close-up maps go to which work order.
If your route is going to be used for more than one day, save the file and delete the stops as you complete them.
Just change the number on the work order to match the route. You can re-optimize your stops, zoom in or out as needed and print new maps for each day. This should get you started on Streets & Trips.