Run a Route

Now let’s go on a trip through … Iowa! (The only state with east and west borders formed entirely by rivers, for you trivia buffs.)

To generate a route, you need to enter at least two stops (an origin and a destination). We will enter an origin, a destination, and three intermediate stops. Your cursor should be in the Route 1 window, in the City field.  (If you don’t see this window, click New Route in the Routes tab.) For now, we’ll ignore the Arrival/Departure setting that is available in the route window.

1. As the first step, select the red File menu (upper left corner of the PC*MILER window) > Application Settings > Geocoding and make sure Provide Pick List is checked.  This option displays a pick list when there’s more than one possible match in the PC*MILER database for a location you enter. Click Save to close the window.

2. In the City field of the route window, enter the trip origin as a city/state:  type “sioux city, ia” and click Add Stop or press <Enter>.  Click OK in the pick list that pops up to enter the first match on the list. You entered “Sioux City, IA, Woodbury 51101”.  The Time Zone column to the right of the stop name tells us that the time zone at this location is Central Daylight Time (CDT).

3. Next, type “urbandale, ia” and click Add Stop.  With “Urbandale, IA, Polk 50322” selected in the pick list, click OK or press <Enter> to add this stop.

4. Enter “52585” in the City field and choose “Richland, IA, Keokuk 52585” from the pick list as the next stop.

5. Try PC*MILER’s spelling help when you enter a third stop: type “ma <space> ia” and click Add Stop.  In the pick list, click “Manchester, IA, Delaware 52057” then click OK.  (The cities at the top of the pick list are not in alphabetical order – this is because with multiple matches, PC*MILER will list the most densely populated and popular locations first, with an alphabetical listing of other potential matches underneath.)

6. Use the ZIP Code Helper to enter the last destination on the route: type “50” and click Add Stop.  In the pick list, locations are sorted by postal code. You can scroll down the list to find “Armstrong, IA, Emmet 50514” or use the type-ahead search feature to find it more quickly: click anywhere in the pick list and type “ar”. Click OK to enter your selection.

TIP:  All stop entry pick lists have the type-ahead feature. With the pick list open, start typing a location name and the pick list will bring you to a match.

7. Click the Run button or press the <F10> key to generate your route.

PC*MILER will calculate the mileage for each leg of the trip, along with cost and time estimates, and cumulative totals. If the Tolls add-on is licensed and installed, toll costs will be calculated as well. The route will also be drawn and framed in the Map window.

Next Stop: Search a Location Radius