PlanARoute

Use it to plan tour or any multi-stop journey

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Best Practices for using PlanARoute
 

Protect your data from loss by regularly syncing or backing up your device using itunes.
 
It is easier to create a large complex route if you build it from a smaller simpler route.

For complex routes (8 pin locations or more) it is recommended that you build the route incrementally.  That is, add a few pins at a time, generate the route, check the resulting route and make any changes to the existing pins, and once satisfied with the results, add more pins and repeat this process until the complete route is created.

If a route cannot be generated for a particular mode (Car, Walk or Bike) then 1) try a different mode or 2) adjust the precise location of a pin or 3) use the Point to Point mode.  Routes cannot always be generated for all three modes of transportation. Sometimes fine tuning the precise location of a pin is required to produce a route. So if a route cannot be produced for your desired travel mode, try slightly moving the location of a problem pin.  It's easier to identify the problem pin if you build a route a few pins at a time. Or, if you already have a large number of pins, yet cannot determine which pin is causing the problem, temporarily remove that pin from your route by tapping on the "green path" button (displayed when viewing the detail information for a pin). The "green path" button will turn red, and will not be included in the route path. Then try generating the path again and if the path can be generated, you have identified the problem pin. Tap on the "red path" button (turning it green) and adjust the precise location of this pin until the path can be generated.  A point to point route (which simply connects pins) can always be generated. 

PlanARoute will always attempt to generate a route whenever you delete or reorder the pins in a route.  If you have a complex route with many pins this behavior may confuse you.  So while modifying complex routes, it is recommended that you temporarily set the value of "Calculate Route" to "No".  Then tap "Menu", followed by tapping "Edit" and make whatever changes you want to the route. Upon exiting the "Edit" screen the route pins will be displayed without actually generating a route and without displaying a route path.  This makes it easier to view the order of the pins, which makes it easier to make any additional changes to the route if you are not satisfied with the route as it is currently displayed.  Repeat this process of "Edit" followed by display until you are satisfied with your route, then tap on the "Route" button to display the finalized route with route paths. You can set "Calculate Route" to "No" by tapping the "Settings" button on the bottom right corner of your map.

If a pin cannot be moved or if after selecting a pin the arrow does not appear then  1) double tap the "Home" button at the bottom of your device  2) close as many other apps as possible  3) reopen PlanARoute and  4) the problem should be fixed.

For users running iOS 6.x, the language that is used for the written directions is determined by your device's Region Format.  Supported Region Formats are: Canada, Chinese (Taiwan, China, Hong Kong SAR China), Denmark, Dutch (Netherlands, Belgium), French (Canada, France), Germany, Greece,  Hindi (India), Hungary, Indonesia, Irish (Ireland), Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway (Bokmal), Portugal, Russia, Spanish (Latin America, Spain), Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.  If your device is not set to one of these supported values the language used to generate written directions will default to English.

For users running iOS 5.x the language that is used for the written directions is determined by your device's Language setting. 

Read all the other instructions on this page on how to use PlanARoute. 

If this app or any other app on your device freezes, and doesn't restart even after closing the app (by double tapping the "Home" button and closing this app), then try rebooting your device.  To reboot your device 1) Press and hold the "Sleep/Wake" button for a few seconds until the red "slide to power off" slider appears, and then slide the slider and 2) Press and hold the "Sleep/Wake" button until the Apple logo appears. When the Apple logo disappears your device will have been rebooted.  Start your device and start PlanARoute, It should work properly. 

If you are still having a problem, then email us a screenshot of your device. To take a screenshot on your device, just press the "Home" and "Sleep" buttons at the same time.  The screenshot will be placed in your Camera Roll.  Close PlanARoute, go to the Camera Roll, and email that screenshot along with a description of the problem to planarouteapp@gmail.com.

 

Main Menu

Tap the "Menu" button in the top left of the map screen to view the main menu.  The options available from the main menu are:

  1. "Erase the Route" will remove all the pins and reset the map so that you can create a new route.
  2. "Select a Route" will display all your current routes, that you can select and display on your map.
  3. "List Places in Route" will display a list of all the locations in the current route.
  4. "Save Route as" will prompt you for the name to give to your current route so that you can retrieve it again in the future.
  5. "Merge Route" will list all your current routes which could be added to your current route.  The locations added to your current route will have their "path" flag set on Red.  This means they will be added to your map, but will not be included in your route path.  You can individually change the "path" flag to Green for those locations you wish to include in your route path.
  6. "Email Route" will generate an email consisting of a screen print of your route, and TXT, GPX and KML attachments.  The TXT attachments can be used to load your route onto other iOS devices that have PlanARoute.  The GPX attachment can be loaded onto a GPS device.  The KML attachment can be loaded into Google Earth.
  7. "Save Route Image" will save your map and route image to your camera roll whee you can print it or email it.
  8. "Favorite Places" displays a list of all of your favorites.
  9. "Photo Albums" will list all your albums.  From each album you can select any photo which has geolocation data, and it will be plotted on your map with it's address automatically generated.  Use this feature to recreate a journey from your photos.
  10. "FAQ" displays a screen explaining how to use PlanARoute.

 

 

  

How to create a new route
  1. If there are pins on your map then (1) Tap the "Menu" button, then (2) tap the "Erase the Route" button. This will reset the map.
  2. Add a location (pin) by (1) touching the map,  or (2) entering an address or search term in the Search Field, or (3)  tapping the "Bookmarks" icon and selecting a Contact, Favorite or Camera Roll photo or (4) by dropping a pin at the current location.  Locations can also be added by selecting a photo with geolocation data from your "Photo Albums" which are listed under "Menu".
  3. To move a pin, touch it and hold, then drag it to the new location.
  4. To delete a pin, (1) touch it and hold, (2) tap the arrow, (3) tap the "Trash" button. If an arrow doesn't appear when you tap a pin, then (1) close all other apps (freeing memory) and (2) try again.
  5. Once two or more pins have been added to the map then tap the "Car", "Walk", "Bike" or "*---*" button at the bottom of the screen. The route with directions will be generated with a default name of "Current Route".
  6. Once a route is created, the directions are automatically saved, and can viewed even if you are not connected to the internet.
  7. If a route cannot be generated for a particular mode (Car, Walk or Bike) then 1) try a different mode, 2) select a different directions service (MapQuest or Apple) from the settings screen or 3) adjust the precise location of a pin. Often, a slight repositioning of a pin will allow the route to be generated.  A "*---*" (Point to Point) route can always be generated, even if your device is not connected to the internet.
  8. For complex routes (8 pins or more) it is recommended that you add pins and generate a route one pin at a time.
  9. Pin Locations can be temporarily removed from the generated path and directions by tapping on the "Green Path" button while editing a location. The button will change to "Red Path" and the location will continue to be displayed on your map, but will not have directions generated for it.   Use this feature to display locations of interest to you that are near your path (train stations, rest rooms etc.) while not plotting a path to that location. Or use it to temporarily eliminate a location from your route's path, while not permanently deleting that location from your route. The temporarily eliminated location will be displayed with a red background while locations included in your route's path will have a green background.
  10. Routes can also be created by importing GPX or KML data as an attachment to an email sent to your device. Just tap on the GPX or KML attachment and the data will be automatically imported into PlanARoute.  If your GPX or KML data has elevation data you can also create a elevation chart.

 

 

How to add a Contact to your route

  1. Tap the "Bookmarks" button at the top right of the screen.
  2. Select a Contact from the resulting popup list.
  3. Tap on the address of the contact you wish to add to your route.

 

How to modify information about a pin location

Tapping on an individual pin will display detail information about the pin that can be viewed or modified.  After tapping a pin you will be able to:

  1. Change the name of the pin.
  2. Tap the "Contacts" button to add the location to your Contacts address book.
  3. Tap the "Globe" button to view the location in Apple or Google Maps.
  4. Tap the "Heart" button to add the location to your Favorites library.
  5. Tap on the "Green Path" button to change it to "Red Path" which will temporarily remove this location from your route, but the location will continue to be displayed on your map.
  6. Tap the "Photo Albums" button to add or change the photo attached to this location.  The selected photo is pointed to in your photo albums, not copied into PlanARoute, saving space on your device.
  7. Double Tap on the photo to view slide show of all the photos attached to pins in your route.
  8. Add a note to this location by typing in the notepad area.
  9. If the location was added while not connected to the internet, then the address will be unknown.  In this case the "?" button will be displayed.  Tap this button while connected to the internet and the address will be looked up and placed in the address area.
  10. Tap the "Trash" button to delete this location.

 

How to modify the locations in a route

Tap "List Places in Route" from the main menu. A list of all the locations in the current route will be displayed.  On the top of the screen will be displayed the route's name, total distance and mode of travel.  Each row in the table contains a location's name, address and distance.

From this screen you can:

  1. Tap "Edit" to change the order or delete locations in the current route.
  2. Tap any location to view and modify information about that location. 
  3. If there are many locations in your route, you may want to go to the info settings screen and set the value of "Display Path" to "Hide". This will prevent PlanARoute from using bandwidth and processing time by automatically calculating your route. Once you are satisfied with your route, then press the "Car, Walk, Bike or *----*" button from the main screen and the route will be generated.

 

How to modify the map settings

Tap the  button at the bottom right corner of the map.  Settings allows the user to customize how the route and map are displayed.

The display characteristics that can be modified are:

  1. Measurement (Kilometers or Miles)
  2. Directions (MapQuest or Apple supplied directions)  If one service cannot generate your directions then try the other.
  3. Map Display (Standard, Satellite or Hybrid) 
  4. Pin Display (Pin, Title, Distance or Title & Distance) for the type of label to display on a pin.
  5. Car Route - Calculates either the Fastest or Shortest driving directions.  (iOS 5.x users are limited to Fastest directions)
  6. Display Path - Set to Hide if do not want to temporarily hide the display of the route or if you do not want PlanARoute to use bandwidth and processing time while you are deleting and reordering the pin locations in a complex route.  Once you are satisfied with your route, and tap on Car, Walk, Bike or *---*button from the main screen, the route will be generated and this value will be set to Show.
  7. Pin - Default is Show.  Tap on Hide to hide all the pins except the first and last pin.  The route path will still be shown.  Use this option if you have many pins in your route, and you want to view a less cluttered view of your route.
In addition, other options on the settings screen allow for:
  1. Drop Pin - will drop a pin at your current location.
  2. Reverse Order - reverses the order of the locations in a route.
  3. Show or Hide Distance Slider - displays or hides a slider that shows various distances along your route's path.
  4. Close Path - adds directions from the last pin location to the first pin location thereby closing the loop.
  5. Show or Hide Elevations - displays or hides an elevation chart on the map.

 

How to email or print a route

Emailing your route makes it easy to sync your routes with other iOS devices.   Use this feature to print your map by emailing it to a device that has a printer.

Tap "Email Route" from the main menu. An email will be generated consisting of:

  1. A table with the current route's locations name, address and distance.
  2. A screen print of the current map and route.
  3. An attachment called "PlanARouteGPX.gpx" that can be loaded onto a gps device or another device that has PlanARoute.
  4. An attachment called "PlanARouteKML.kml" that can be loaded into Google Earth or another device that has PlanARoute.
  5. An attachment called "PlanARouteLocations.txt".  If the recipient has PlanARoute on their device they can tap on this attachment and the route will be automatically imported into PlanARoute. Use this feature to sync routes among your devices and the devices of your friends and associates.

If you would like to print or save the image of your map, just email it to yourself, and use the print or save option from within your email app.

 

How to view step by step directions for your route

Tap the "Settings" icon at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. 

When the "Settings" popup appears, tap on the "Step by Step Directions" button.

Written directions will appear on the screen.  Tap on any step, and that step will be displayed on the map, in a Green Color.  Tap on the "Forward" or "Reverse" buttons to step through all of the steps in the Route.

 

Display of selected Photo

When you tap on a photo in any location that has a photo a full screen version of the photo will be displayed.

You can also select any pin on your map and the photo will be shown full screen.

You can scroll forward or backward through all your photos in your route by simply swiping forward or backward on the displayed photo.