@mappingtoolsIt is possible to control a number of different route properties and options. MapPoint can find the fastest routes, shortest routes, or routes that use preferred roads. Road speeds and preferences can both be set for different road categories.
All of these options are controlled by the More Route options dialog box. This is displayed by pressing the More options… button on the Route planner pane.
Setting the Route Types
MapPoint can find three different route types: Quickest Routes; Shortest Routes; and Preferred Roads. These are set by the Segments tab on the More route options dialog box:
The Segments tab on the Route Options dialog box
This tab shows a list box which lists each route segment between each pair of adjacent waypoints. Set the route type by select one or more segments, then pressing one of the enabled buttons (Quickest, Shortest, or Preferred roads). In the above image, the Preferred Roads button is disabled, because this is also the current setting for the selected segment.
The Shortest Route option attempts to find a reasonable route that has the shortest distance. Although the true shortest route will probably use lots of minor roads, MapPoint will tend to prefer major roads. Similarly, the Quickest Route option attempts to find a reasonable route that has the shortest travelling time. The Preferred Roads option will result in MapPoint choosing road types according to a set of road preferences. These preferences are set by pressing the Preferred road types button (see below).
Setting the Road Speeds
When calculating driving times and the quickest routes, MapPoint uses a series of road category speeds. These are set on the Driving speeds tab in the More route options dialog box:
The Driving Speeds tab on the Route Options dialog box
This tab lets you change the road speeds for a number of different road categories.
MapPoint 2002 & 2004 both allowed you to enter specific road speeds as mph or kph values. MapPoint 2006 (and later) only have the sliders displayed above. These let you adjust the average speed for a road category relative to an (unspecified) default value. This might be useful to say “faster” or “slower”, but most people wish to set absolute average speeds. This was solved by Paul Larson with his DriveSpeed add-in. This free add-in lets you set absolute numeric speeds for each category.
Setting the Road Preferences
The Preferred roads route type uses a series of preferences for the different road categories. These are set by pressing the Preferred road types… button on the Segments tab. This displays the Preferred Roads dialog box:
Setting the Preferred Road Types
The default preferences are all in the middle. To increase the preference for a specific road type, move the road type’s slider to the right (‘Like’). To decrease it, move it to the left (‘Dislike’). The above example has the preferences set to include a dislike of toll roads, but a strong preference for interstate highways.
