Switching from Microsoft Streets & Trips to Route4Me

Route4Me’s Marketplace enables you to configure your own custom subscription and include only those features and functionalities that accommodate the particular needs of your business or business model. For more convenience, you can choose among various industry-specific packages of preselected modules which are focused on solving the unique problems inherent to specific industries. Customizing your subscription plan allows you to gain more control over your operations, as well as eliminate unnecessary and undesired expenses.

How to Switch from Microsoft Streets & Trips to Route4Me

Switching to Route4Me is fast and easy, all you need to do is download or copy your Microsoft Streets & Trips routing data and import it into your Route4Me account. To do so, first, create a new Route4Me account using the Marketplace. You can get a free trial for 7 days without any payments or attachments.

 

Next, on the Microsoft Streets & Trips main screen, go to “Data” and then select “Export to GPX file.” After exporting a GPX file with your routing data, open the corresponding file and then copy addresses or latitude and longitude coordinates from it. After that, format the copied routing data into a spreadsheet and upload it into your Route4Me account.

 

Formatting Files for Uploading to Route4Me

To import routing data into your Route4Me account, first, format it into a spreadsheet. For a spreadsheet to be successfully processed, it should contain a header row and data rows. The header defines the type of information you are importing, while the corresponding data rows contain the actual information you input into the system. The only mandatory column is the “Address” column which should include the street name and number, city, state, and zip code. Currently, Route4Me supports CSV, XLS, and XLSX upload file formats. You can learn more about spreadsheet requirements on this page.

 

Importing Your Routing Data into Route4Me

To start planning routes using the downloaded Microsoft Streets & Trips data, first, go to “Plan New Route” from the navigation menu.

 

Next, select one of the corresponding import methods. Route4Me offers multiple methods for importing your data into the system. You can upload spreadsheets with thousands of addresses or contacts, and Route4Me will do all the computing and processing for you, delivering corrected and geocoded route destinations. Route4Me allows you to upload scanned documents, import files from various cloud-based storage services, or pick addresses right from the map using Route4Me’s Interactive Map Editor. Select “Upload a File” to use the formatted spreadsheet.

 

After that, specify the preferred route parameters and then click on the corresponding button to proceed.

 

Then, either drag and drop the file/spreadsheet into the corresponding window or click “Browse File to Upload” and then upload the file from your device. Currently, Route4Me supports CSV, XLS, and XLSX upload file formats. For the most accurate results, it is recommended to use CSV file format spreadsheets.

 

Once you uploaded the spreadsheet, Route4Me processes the imported data and displays it in the corresponding window. For the system to process the data automatically, select the “Auto (attempt detection)” option respectively.

 

Alternatively, you can manually match column titles to the data contained in the corresponding columns.

 

Next, click “Continue to Review.”

 

In the “Verify Addresses on Map” window, you can view all imported and processed addresses on the map, as well as check their geocoding statuses. Green colored dots indicate that the corresponding addresses were successfully geocoded with “High Confidence.” Addresses that have yellow colored dots next to them should be reviewed and fixed accordingly.

Geocoding is the process of giving/assigning latitude and longitude values/coordinates to street addresses for accurate location detection and precise GPS tracking.

 

After reviewing the imported addresses, click “Finish Import” to plan the route.

 

Once the route is planned, it is optimized and then opened in the Route Editor where you can modify it, as well as added to the Routes List with all your routes.