Most of us are familiar with the “road hit detect” feature in Streets & Trips.  If you zoom down to street level you can click on a road and you can see what the street address is for that location.

There is a lesser known feature called “area hit detect” which can be very useful for knowing about the location hierarchy for areas other than roads (like parks or when you are zoomed too far out to see roads).

In past versions up to  2008 - “area hit detect” was done by double-clicking on a blank space on the map. 

In versions after 2008 – double-clicking was added as a new way to zoom in the map.  Although this improved the general usability of the software – we lost “area hit detect” in 2009.   All this to say that it is back in 2010 using Ctrl+shift+double-click.

Now you can always know what Country, State, City, and County you are clicking on!

You may have heard rumors that the Microsoft AutoRoute product was dead but apparently it was just hibernating.

What is AutoRoute?  It is trip planning and navigation software much like Microsoft Streets & Trips but with European maps.  In fact, it contains maps for 43 countries! It will be available in 3 languages – EN-UK, French, and German.

The last version of AutoRoute was released in 2007 so there are 3 years of new features available in 2010.

Here is how 2010 compares to 2007:

Availability date:

For download: NOW (links at bottom of this post)
Avail in stores: TBD
Download additional UK Points of Interest here.

Trial files for AutoRoute 2010 (International English version) are ready for downloading.

Instructions:

1. Please download ALL three files listed below to a directory on your machine, making sure to put them all in the same location.
2. Once the downloads are complete, run the setup (setup.exe) file and the installation of your AutoRoute 2010 free evaluation will begin.
3. Note: The download files are large, so use a high-speed internet connection.

• AR2010 pt1
• AR2010 pt2
• AR2010 setup

NEW --> DOWNLOAD THE AR2010 Megafile HERE - AR2010_POI_Files_From_MSDownloads.zip (7.4MB)

Many travelers and Streets & Trips enthusiasts have asked for additional POI categories.  Great idea!  We’ve added 5 new categories for the 2010 release.

1. Pharmacies
2. Post offices
3. National parks
4. Community centers
5. Ferry terminals

These new categories (as well as the other 50+ categories) can be turned on/off from the Categories dialog.

Then click on the “Find nearby places” toolbar button and they will show up on the map.

Here is another little improvement that will improve the usability of Streets & Trips 2010.  We added the ability to rename your route points.   What a great idea – can’t believe this wasn’t included in previous versions.

Now you can send places on the map or routes that you created in Streets & Trips to your GPS navigation device. When you send data directly to your GPS navigation device, Streets & Trips sends the name, latitude, and longitude of the location. Additionally, if the information is available, Streets & Trips also sends the address, phone number, description, and Entertainment Online coupon.

You can send data directly to your GPS navigation device using either of the following methods:

• Wirelessly, through MSN Direct, if you have an MSN Direct-enabled GPS navigation device. For more information, visit MSN Direct Services, and then click Send to GPS.

• Through a USB connection, when you don't have MSN Direct. To use a USB connection, you must have a Garmin navigation device and you must install the Garmin Communicator Plug-in

Note: both methods above require an internet connection

How to Send a location to your GPS navigation device?

1. Open the map that contains the location that you want to send to your GPS navigation device.
2. In the map or in the Find nearby places pane, select the location that you want to send to your GPS navigation device, and then, on the toolbar, click Send to GPS device .
   
   
   
3. If you have an MSN Direct-enabled GPS navigation device, click Send wirelessly with MSN Direct.
   
   - Or -
   
4. If you do not have MSN Direct but you do have a Garmin navigation device, click Send with USB.
5. Click Next, and then follow the on-screen instructions. (Separate download of free plug-in may be required)
   
   

You can also send a route to your GPS navigation device by selecting the route and then, on the toolbar, click Send to GPS device .

Note: To check if your GPS navigation device is compatible with MSN Direct service, visit MSN Direct Service Compatibility. You must be connected to the Internet to view this website.

Note: Garmin devices such as the Nuvi 885 support routes via MSN Direct.  These devices have a “Send to GPS” button.

In an earlier post we showed how you can send data to your personal navigation device using Garmin’s POI Loader, which transfers the Pushpin data (waypoints) that you have created in Streets & Trips. In this post we will see how you can transfer the route that you have created in Streets & Trips to your Garmin Nuvi device provided that your Garmin device supports Multi point routing.

1. Start Streets & Trips application and create a route,

2. Then Export the route into a .gpx file by selecting the ‘Export to GPX file’ menu from under the Data menu. And save .gpx the file to the local machine.

3. Plug-in your Garmin Nuvi device and then browse to the.gpx file (exported from S&T) on your local machine, copy the file and paste it into the GPX folder in your Garmin device.

4. Now unplug the Garmin device from your computer. And wait for it to boot up. Then Select <Tools>

5. Scroll down and select <My Data>

6. Now select <Import Route from File>

7. And Select the <Route.gpx 1> file you just transferred to the Garmin Device. And click <Import>

8. Once the route is successfully Imported then go back and select <Routes>

9. Select the Route you just Imported.

10. That’s it, now you can see the route in your Garmin device

Even though you have transferred the route successfully from Streets & Trips to your Garmin device you may not get the same directions in your Garmin device as seen while planning your route using Streets & Trips. So review the route in your Garmin device before navigating on your route.

You now have the ability in Streets & Trips 2010 to open or close all the balloons for the visible pushpins on the map with just 2 clicks.

1. Right-click the pushpin set
2. click Show all pushpin information or Hide all pushpin information

    Result:  All the info balloons for that specific pushpin set are displayed or hidden.

If you have info balloons open from many different pushpin sets you can close them all at once by right-clicking on ANY balloon and choosing "Hide all information" and all the balloons on the map will close.

This is yet another simple feature (requested by several users) that makes Streets & Trips 2010 easier to use than ever.

Here is a change for all the power users.  Have you ever found yourself trying to import 20,000 addresses from an access database or an excel spreadsheet using the “Import Data Wizard” and you see this error? 

In past versions the maximum number of addresses you could import at one time was 10,000.  If you wanted to import more than 10,000 addresses you could do it but you needed to do multiple batches of less than 10,000 each.

The 10,000 address hard limit has been removed in the 2010 release!  Go Crazy!

Note: no such limit ever existed for importing data using latitude and longitude coordinates. So if you are importing a CSV or XLS file with Name, Lat, Long - this was never limited.

Many people rely on S&T to do their road trip planning.   Have you ever wished you should share this information with your Garmin without having to re-enter all the stops etc? Now you can!! In the 2010 version you can share the data from Streets & Trips to your Personal Navigation Device using the new GPX feature. GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is an industry-standard file format for exchanging GPS information between applications or devices. Click here to learn more about GPX.

You can export: 

• waypoints (pushpins) (no maximum limit)
• routes (where you plan to go)
• tracks (GPS trails - where you have actually been)

If your GPS navigation device has the capability to record data and save it as a .gpx file, you can then import that data into Streets & Trips.

Import / Export GPX menus are listed under the Data menu. Once you have exported a GPX data you can then use the Garmin POI loader and transfer the data into your Garmin device. Garmin POI loader can be installed from here. Once you have successfully installed the Garmin POI Loader, plugin your GPS device to your computer and launch Garmin POI Loader. Then follow the onscreen instructions and select your GPS device from the drop down

Then select the folder in which the GPX file(s) are stored and Finish the wizard.

It will take a few minutes for the data to get transferred and once it is done, you will get a confirmation message.

Now unplug your Garmin device and browse to ‘Where to’ –>‘Extras’ and select ‘Custom POIs’ and now you will see the POI that you had just transferred in to the device.

There are no limits in the number of Pushpins or route points that you can export from Streets & Trips, however there may be a limit in the number of custom POI’s that a Personal Navigation device may accept. In case of Garmin Nuvi it is usually 500 custom points of interest.

The exact route is not transferred even though the route points (waypoints) are exported in order but the receiving device will use its own routing algorithm.  Not a big deal but if you have customized your road preferences in S&T you may see a slightly different route. 

Here is a set of features in 2010 that I’m really excited about .  People have been asking for many of these changes and we’ve listened!

The Problem:

Imagine if you are someone with a huge collection of POI (points of interest) that you collected from somewhere like RV Directions, TruckStopsPlus, DiscoveryOwners etc.  It doesn’t take long before your map gets overloaded with information.

Here is an example of how bad it can get.  The map has all the info but it becomes impractical to use. --->

The Solution:

Actually, when we thought about it there were many ways to fix this.   Here is what we’ve done:

1. Allow the ability to show/hide pushpin sets.  This is great because your default map can contain all of them but you can just turn on (or “show”) the sets you are currently interested in.  For example,  Low on Fuel? – turn on your Flying J set,  Hungry? – turn on your Cracker Barrel set. 

Here is what I do.  I have a save map file (*.est file) with all my favorite poi loaded.  Then I hide them all.

Look how easy it is to do this:

Right-click on the “Pushpins” and click “Hide all pushpin sets” from the context menu that pops up. 
Poof! They’re gone!  Ur…well…hidden to be more exact.

Displaying all the pushpins again is just as easy. 

Notice how each pushpin set says “…(hidden)” to indicate its current state.

Q: What if you want to show a single pushpin set but not all of them?

A: No problem…right click on the name of the individual pushpin set and click “Show pushpin set”

2. Allow the ability to delete the pushpins in the areas you don’t need.  So if you never leave the Pacific Northwest – why keep all the pushpins outside your traveling area?  In the past you could delete each pushpin manually or the entire pushpin set but not partial sets.  Now you can.  Just draw a select box around the area, right-click and choose “delete visible pushpins outside selected area”.  You can also do the reverse – that is – create a select box then choose “delete visible pushpins inside selected area”.  But wait there is more….if you hide a pushpin set then it doesn’t get deleted!  Only visible pushpins get deleted. 

Below: Delete Pushpins OUTSIDE selected area:

Below: Delete Pushpins INSIDE selected area.

I have more to say but I’ll save that for another post.  Please put any questions in the comments.

We are very pleased to announce the availability of Microsoft Streets & Trips and Microsoft MapPoint North America! 

The updates in Streets & Trips and MapPoint are largely based on all the great feedback from people using the software and sharing their comments, praises and suggestions.   Your emails, letters and contributions on this blog and other user forums have helped to make the 2010 releases the excellent products they are!

The new release brings great new and exciting functionality to Streets & Trips that is sure to make planning and navigating your next road trip even easier.

Here is a quick list of the new features in Streets & Trips that you can look forward to enjoy!

• New map data from NavTEQ - a world leader in premium-quality digital map data and content.
• 348 pushpin icons! (back by popular demand)
• Ability to share data with your Personal Navigation Device (like your Garmin)
• Full GPX support (import and export)
• Click'n'Drag rerouting
• Improvements to help with pushpin management and control
• Return of the Back (and Forward) functionality
• 5 new POI (points of interest) categories
• Ability to copy latitude and longitude coordinates to your clipboard (ctl+alt+c)
• Ability to rename your route waypoints
• Ability to show or hide individual pushpin sets
• Displays the distance to your next stop as well as your destination
• Ability to search for Highway Exits
• Easy customization of your map view
• Ability to pause Windows Media Player during spoken instructions
• Plus numerous other improvements, tweaks and bug fixes

We will blog about all the new features right here on the Streets & Trips Space blog so come back tomorrow.

oh...one last thing   Here is where you can download the FREE 60 day trial copy.

MSRP: $39.95 for Software only version (green box), $69.95 for Software plus GPS locator (blue box)

To find a lot-long in Streets & Trips you need to,

1. Pan and zoom the map to the desired location
2. Place the mouse cursor over the map area for which you need the lat-long
3. Then press Ctrl+Alt+C from the keyboard.

This will capture the lat/long of the cursor location into the clipboard, you can then past this into a notepad or a email client and share it with others. The copied text will look like this 47.59408°N 122.32092°W or the format can be changed from under Tools – Options (Settings Tab)

As with previous versions, you can search a point on Earth using latitude-longitude coordinates. Streets & Trips allows you to find a place by typing in the lat/long in the Find dialog

Lat/long helps you locate a place where there is no street address, this is especially  useful to find new communities, parks and other rural areas.

Microsoft Streets & Trips has partnered with Entertainment Online to present valuable special offers in many towns across the United States and Canada. These deals are available to you across a variety of categories, including restaurants, hotels, special events, retailers and service providers.

With the high price of fuel and the less than stellar economy, I love getting discounts and saving money wherever I travel.   When we first started working on this feature I was really wondering if there would be enough coupons available to make it worthwhile.  I had no idea how many thousands of coupons there were all over the US and Canada.  I found that browsing through the coupons in Streets & Trips and seeing their locations visually on the map is a much better experience than flipping through a physical entertainment book.

If you’ve never used Entertainment Online coupons, Streets & Trips makes it easy for you to sign up for a free trial membership. If you already use Entertainment Online coupons, you can renew your membership directly from within Streets & Trips.

Streets & Trips gives you the ability to see which Entertainment Online coupons are available for places within the geographical area that you specify. The coupons are displayed as pushpins on the map.

You can easily print the Entertainment Online coupons directly from Streets & Trips to take with you on the road so that you can save money on restaurants, hotels, and more.

Some like the speaking of street names in the spoken instructions others do not.

Some like the application to automatically re-route other do not want the original route to ever be changed.

The new Options dialog will keep everyone happy:

This is one of the first things you need to know about the 2009 version.  I was asked about this several times at the FCMA convention.

Below is a comparison between the new 2009 S&T toolbar (on top) and the toolbar from 2008 (very similar to 2007, 2006 etc).  The toolbar has been cleaned up and the buttons have doubled in size (very helpful for use while in vehicle). 

So where are the Pan and Select buttons?  They are gone! And that is a good thing.  There is no longer a need to click up on the toolbar each time you want to change tools now use LEFT mouse button to drag/pan and RIGHT click to select/draw a rectangle for zooming in or creating an AVOID AREA.

Zoom in on a specific area

1. On the map, position your mouse pointer at the upper-left corner of the area you want to zoom in on.

2. Right-click the map and drag the pointer diagonally until you've drawn a box around the area you want to enlarge.

3. To quit drawing, release the mouse button.

   If the box you've drawn isn't quite where you want it, click outside the box to make it disappear, and then redraw it.

4. Click inside the box.

Note  You can also zoom in on any area of the map by double-clicking the area and shift+double-clicking zooms out the map.

• Traffic updates & road conditions so you don't have to waste time because of a stalled vehicle blocking a lane ahead.
• The MSN direct receiver also provides you with gas station locations and gas price information.  I love this because I like to save money at the pump like anyone else and I don't always know where the cheap gas stations are located outside my area of familiarity.

The wait for the Vista 64bit drivers is over. 

If you are running the 64-bit version of Vista you can now use the S&T GPS hardware.  Simply plug in the puck and follow prompt to search for driver.  Alternatively, you can check for updates on WindowsUpdate and you'll be prompted to download the driver.