@mappingtoolsMapPoint can use your GPS receiver to provide real time navigation instructions, in a similar manner as a Personal Navigation Device (PND) or ‘satnav’.
The simplest way to do this is to use the “navigate to” function on the GPS Pane. Select Start/stop GPS tracking to switch the GPS function on. This will enable the Recalculate route from current location to: section at the bottom of the GPS Pane. Type your destination into this box. The drop-down box will also list recent addresses and searches. Then press Go to start navigation. Here is an example showing navigation towards a pushpin (“Post Office“):
Real time route navigation using MapPoint
Note that the current route direction is displayed using a large font. These directions are also accompanied by spoken directions. They are also on the Navigation Pane which can be opened or closed by selecting Navigation Pane on the Tools menu.
You can also navigate an existing MapPoint route. To do this, create your route and make sure the GPS tracking is switched on (Start/stop GPS tracking on the GPS Pane). Enable the Navigation Pane (on the Tools menu). Then select Reroute from current point on the Tools->GPS menu. You may also need to press the Get directions button on the Route planner to create the full route with directions. Finally, click on your current location waypoint in the route itinerary to initiate real time navigation.
A number of settings that control MapPoint’s real time navigation behavior can be found on the Navigation tab of the Options dialog box (displayed by selecting Options… on the Tools menu). The following navigation settings are available:
- Spoken directions: on/off
- Automatically re-route when off route
- Full screen display during navigation: The resulting larger view is idea for in-car use
- Auto-hide the toolbar during navigation: Results in a slightly larger display area
