All major features of Streets & Trips application can be invoked by a shortcut key and even the power users don’t make the best use of the available shortcut keys in Streets & Trips. You can quickly accomplish routine tasks by using the keyboard shortcuts.

A keyboard shortcut is a key or set of keys that performs a predefined function. For example, in Windows, pressing ALT + ESC switches among loaded applications.

The following are the shortcut keys that I use most often.   I would consider these as the most useful and they'll help you to effectively and efficiently plan your trip.  If I missed your favorite let me know and I can added to the list.

For a list of all the available shortcut keys in the application, press F1 from Streets & Trips and read the help topic ‘keyboard Shortcuts’ under the Window Features section.

This CD makes a great companion for Street & Trips (any version).  It contains over 50,000 locations that are focused on the needs of today’s active RV’er.  It includes categories such as:

• private campgrounds
• public campgrounds
• military campgrounds
• rest areas
• truck stops
• shopping locations
• RV friendly restaurants
• casinos
• Elks Lodges that support RV parking
• mountain passes
• public golf courses

It is designed to work with Microsoft Streets & Trips releases from 2004 and later.

On the CD you’ll find Streets & Trips Template files (.stt) loaded with various POI, icons that can be used for custom pushpin symbols,  CSV files which can be imported in to show multiple categories on one map.

What impressed me the most was the huge amount of information for each location!  For example - campgrounds have the usual name, address and phone number but also Affiliation (Good Sam, etc), price, details on the campground sites (wifi, pull thru’s, big rigs, etc), quality rating, directions, contact email address, website, Web Map URL etc.   In fact the information overloads our information balloons and in order to view all the data you need to do the “click and drag down” selecting all the balloon contents.

Like with any other points of interest that you import into Streets & Trips they become available in the “find nearby places” searches along side the built-in POI.

Microsoft Streets & Trips comes with over 1.5 million points of interest so why do I need this?

• you are looking for more detailed information
• you additional categories that are of special interest to RVers
• your copy of S&T is several years old and could benefit from a fresh set of POI.

Learn more at: http://www.rvdirections.com

Aerial photography dramatically improves the usefulness of map data. Good aerial photos can provide details about communities, structures, vegetation and other features that will help in understanding an area. Especially when you are driving to a new city / town aerial imagery helps you to see how the streets and the neighborhood look like, you can imagine yourself driving thru the road and when you actually drive there the place will look quite familiar to you.

In this post we will see how to use Microsoft's aerial imagery and Bird’s Eye View to help us while planning trips using Streets & Trips.

1. Search for a city or any address from the FIND box
   

2. click Show in Live Search Maps    (note: older versions may have a different icon for this)

Live Search Maps will open in your default web browser and show you photo imagery of the same area.  This is great because it saves you from having to do another search and pan and zoom to the same location.  Streets & Trips does this all for you. 

If Birds Eye View image is available for that area then select Bird’s Eye from the top navigation bar, this will display the same map area in bird’s eye view.

Note:

1. You must have an Internet connection to use this feature.
2. Bird's eye view is available for many major metropolitan areas including US and Canada
3. This feature is available in Streets & Trips from version 2006 and newer.

If it passes, Maine would become the first state in the nation to ban RVs from commercial parking lots. Similar bills in Montana and Nevada were defeated after protests from RVers, according to a press release by the Escapees RV Club, a Texas-based club with 32,000 members nationally.

It would not just be WalMart's that would be affected.  If it passes it will apply to any publicly accessible parking lot. This will include casinos, truck stops, and even dirt or gravel boondock parking areas throughout the state.

View a PDF of the bill here.

What do you think? 
Would you stop RVing through Maine because of this?
Have you taken advantage of parking for free on commercial parking lots?
If so, how often to you end up going into the business (ie Walmart) to make a purchase during your stay?

[via]

Someone recently asked me if Microsoft Streets & Trips showed seasonal road closures?  I thought I post the answer here.

YES IT DOES! :D

This comes as part of the free monthly construction updates that are downloaded from the web through the application.  If you plan a route you can quickly see if there are any seasonal road closures (in addition to construction projects) by review the  itinerary in the directions pane.  The road closures are clearly marked in a purple-ish color on the map.

Construction updates are currently available for the following products:

• MapPoint 2006, 2009
• Streets & Trips 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Download the construction update for May today!

All versions of Streets & Trips allow you to add pushpins to your map.  This a great way to personalize your trip with annotations that are meaningful to you.

There are a variety of built-in standard pushpin symbols but you can also create your own custom symbols and use them just as you would standard symbols.

Step 1: Creating a custom symbol

Note: sometimes you can find images on the web that will work but remember to respect copyright laws :D

MapPoint supports the following file formats for custom symbols:

• Uncompressed Windows bitmap (.bmp) file format with a maximum size limit of 128 × 128 pixels and color depth of 16 or 24 bits

• Windows icon (.ico) resource file format with a maximum size limit of 128 × 128 pixels and a color depth of 16 or 24 bits

• Windows cursor (.cur) file format with a maximum size limit of 128 × 128 pixels and a color depth of 16 or 24 bits

If needed you can use Microsoft Paint (built into the Windows Operation system) to convert your JPG, PNG, or GIF to a BMP format that will work in Streets & Trips just make sure that Save As…24-bit Bitmap as shown below.

Step 2: Importing your custom symbol

Click on the small down arrow next to the Red pushpin on the Standard Toolbar to display the pushpin chooser.

Click on “Import custom symbol…” and browse to your custom image and click OK.

Your custom symbol is imported into Streets & Trips and added to the list of available symbols. You can use a custom symbol the same way as any standard pushpin symbol.

Save this map file and your new custom symbol gets saved with the map.  That way if you share it out to a friend they can see your new custom symbol too!

As always, don’t forget to refer to the help files if you need more details on using custom symbols in your maps.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have a question or a suggestion for future posts.

In our recent product demos we noticed that people were surprised to see that one can search for Points of Interest along the route apart from the usual search around a Point, and this blog entry demonstrates the ways of doing it.

You can use Streets & Trips to find more than 1.5 million businesses and attractions throughout North America, including hotels, restaurants, convention centers, gas stations, retail businesses, campgrounds, rest areas, and more. You can find information around a point, entire route, selected driving instruction, start point, end point or between route segments. These businesses and attractions appear on the map.
 

1. Create a route between 2 places

2. On the Tools menu, click Find nearby places.

   – or –

   On the Standard toolbar, click Find nearby places .

3. Click Categories.

4. In the Categories dialog box, click the Restaurants or the Places tab.
   
   

5. Select the check box next to each category of restaurant or place that you'd like to see on the map, and then click OK.

   Tip   To quickly select just a few categories, click Clear all, and then select the check box next to each category that you'd like to see on the map.

6. In the Search box at the bottom of the Find nearby places pane, select the radius in which you want to search.

7. Click Refresh to display a list of nearby places.

8. Click a place name in the results list to see its location on the map.

   
    
   

NOTE:

1. Streets & Trips has detailed information, such as the address and telephone number, for many points of interest. To display this information, right-click the point of interest, and then click Show information in the menu. Or expand the categories from the Find nearby places and double click the point of interest.

2. In the Around list, select what the search should be centered on. If you select Point, the search is centered on the point that you selected on the map. If you select Current location, the search is centered on your location as determined from your GPS device.

3. In the Sort list, select whether you'd like to see the results listed in alphabetical order by name or by distance (how far they are) from the selected point on the map

4. Whenever you make a change to the settings at the bottom of the Find nearby places pane or move the map, you will need to click Refresh in order to update the list of places.

As most of you know Microsoft Streets & Trips provides monthly construction updates that you can download for free.   Even if you don’t have the latest version of the software we still offer construction updates for several versions back.

How do I get it?

Create a route and click on the link in the directions pane:

or from the Route menu – click “update construction information”.

For more information about these monthly updates view this earlier post.

We’ve been having a great week at the FMCA show meeting with so many RV folks who are using Streets & Trips for trip planning and navigation.

I’ve got a good list of feedback from our users to take back to Redmond and share with the rest of the team. 

If you are in the Central Georgia area come to Perry and come say “Hello”.  Our booth is #921 and the show runs until 5pm on Thursday.

For more information see the FMCA website.

 Note about the picture:  Despite the pouring rain, I took a road trip down to Plains, GA.  It is the hometown of the 39th US President Jimmy Carter.  I believe this huge smiling peanut monument was created in 1976 for his campaign.  It is on display and obviously worth a trip to Georgia to see it…we’ll at least worth a little drive if you are already in Georgia.

There was a nice basic tutorial posted on YouTube yesterday on S&T2009.  Take a look and leave him some comments.

Thank you egibby for posting the video – hope you like the software.

[also on YouTube]

I have been asked how to do this enough times that I need to do a blog post on it.

If you want to use Streets & Trips with your DeLorme GPS including:

• USB Earthmate GPS
• Earthmate GPS LT series
• Earthmate GPS PN series
• Earthmate GPS BT-20

It can be done.  You’ll need to install the DeLorme Serial Emulation Driver so that your DeLorme GPS can be recognized by Microsoft Streets & Trips (and other NMEA 0183 compliant mapping applications).

Note: This driver is not for use with the 64bit version of Windows. This driver is also not supported when coming out of sleep or hibernation mode.

Before installing this update, plug the Earthmate GPS into an available USB Port to allow Windows to recognize the GPS as an HID device.

1. Click here to download the serial emulation driver (file size: 14 MB).
2. Save the file to the desktop.
3. Locate DeLorme Serial Emulator1.1.exe and double-click it.
4. Click Next.
5. Select the "I accept the terms of this license agreement" option.
6. Click Next.
7. Restart the computer when prompted.
   Note: The installation will resume once the computer has restarted.
8. Click Next.
9. Click Finish.
10. Right-click on the DeLorme Serial Emulator system tray icon and select Ports... from the pop-up menu.
11. Select NMEA next to the COM Port you wish to use and close the utility.
12. Open the mapping application.
13. In the GPS Settings, select NMEA as the device and the COM port you selected in step 11 as the COM port the device is connected to.
14. Start the GPS.

For further details and how to configure the emulator please visit the DeLorme link below:

http://www.delorme.com/support/supporttemplate.aspx?id=319

Where: Seattle Qwest Field & Event Center [view map]
When:  February 5th – 8th, 2009
Show Hours: Thurs-Fri 11am – 8pm,  Sat. 10am-8pm and Sun. 10am-5pm
Tickets: $7-10 – buy online and get free parking courtesy of Microsoft Streets & Trips!

We’ve done many RV related shows across the US but this will be our first time in our home town. 

I want to invite everyone in the Pacific NW to come by our booth and say “hello” to the various members of the team.  We love to talk with people and try to answer any questions they have regarding the Streets & Trips software.  It is also a good time to gather feedback from current users of the software.

There will also be a daily seminar “Travel Planning at Your Finger Tips” at 12 noon.

Keith O’Brien from MyPoint…Exactly has put together a video that will walk you through step-by-step how to update your default map template to a new version that includes both the new pushpin icons plus all your old favorites.

Visit Keith’s website and learn how better integrate Computerized Mapping with your business. 

Keith (My Point…Exactly) is also an active member on Marvin’s LaptopGPSWorld Forum.

Keep up the great work Keith!  The video looks great…easy to follow and professionally done.

We had a good time at the FL show meeting thousands of Travelers, Campers and RVers each day.  Many were avid users who have been using Streets & Trips for years and years.  Other folks who had never used it had an opportunity to get a quick trip planning and/or navigation demonstration from one of us on the product team.

I was encouraged to hear comments like “I can't believe how much better the 2009 version is!” and “It's the best release yet!”  (I’m not making this up….really).

We listened to everyone’s suggestions on what they would like to see in future versions.  And, of course, we also received voluminous questions which I’ll try to address the most FAQs here in a future post. 

For all those who came to the Tampa show – Thank You!  Next show will be here in Seattle, WA in February.

The 2009 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is in full swing in Las Vegas this weekend and one of the hottest laptops making its debut is the Sony VAIO P WVGA NetBook that will begin shipping in February.   It has a integrated Verizon EVDO cellular broadband connection as well as real time GPS technology.  The screen resolution is 1600-by-768 and weighs a mere 1.4 pounds but best of all it comes with Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009 installed!

I’d love to have one of these to enjoy the full Streets & Trips navigation experience without needing to plug in a USB GPS (since it used the integrated GPS). The P Series comes with an instant-on OS and starts at $900 USD.  More details at the SonyStyle website.

We’ve been suffering through a bit of a snowmageddon here in the the Pacific Northwest.  Like most people around these parts I was dreaming of a white Christmas but I am now regretting it.    The problem is we have had much more snow than usual.  At one time I measured accumulations of 18 inches (45.7 cm) on top of my car.  There is not nearly enough snow ploughs to clear the roads so at best they will only hit the main arterials.  In addition, the city will not use salt on the roads and there are plenty of hills that welcome drivers to slide to their deaths or at least have a close call. 

So it is with great anticipation that we will be traveling this weekend to the Florida RV Trade Association’s 2009 Florida RV SuperShow.

Microsoft Streets & Trips will have a booth in building ‘B’ and hope anyone in the area will come by say “hello” and talk directly with the people who work on creating and this product.

Show name: 2009 Florida RV SuperShow [location map]
Dates: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14 - SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2009
Times: WED-SAT 9AM-6PM SUN 9AM-5PM
Admission: ADULTS $8.00 (2 day pass) CHILDREN UNDER 16 FREE
Discounts: WEDNESDAY IS SENIORS CITIZEN'S DAY - $1.00 OFF

Seminars:
Bob Marx: "TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT RV" and "FULL TIME AND EXTENDED RV TRAVEL".
John Holod: ALASKA RV ADVENTURE, RVing THE EAST COAST AND GULF COAST & BAJA ADVENTURE.

Retailers are actively competing for your holiday shopping purchase.  Here is a quick link that will show who has the best price.

Amazon is currently (at time of posting) in the lead with the best price.

Did you hear the breaking news?  We’re in an official recession.  At least we can save money at the pump.  Those road trips don’t look so bad when you are only paying $1.90/gallon for fuel.

I check out the Web site GasBuddy.com to monitor the latest price drops around the country.  I couldn’t believe some gas stations in Independence, Kansas are selling gas at $1.33/gallon!  Makes me want to buy a tanker full.

I wanted to wish you all my US readers a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.    Thanksgiving means being with your family and that means that there is an increase in highway traffic with many motorists traveling to unfamiliar locations.

I did a search for accident black spot areas on the web and aggregated all the data I found together.  It is far from complete but it is a good start.  

• Accident Black Spot Map for ST09
• Accident Black Spot Map for ST08
• Accident Black Spot POI CSV file (for importing into any version)

Drive Safe!

Microsoft Help and Support published a new Knowledge Base article to help any ST2008 users who are unable to download the monthly construction updates.

You may receive the message “Construction information for routes could not be downloaded. Try downloading new construction information again later”.

The fix requires you to run a REG file which is linked to on the KB article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958844

Note:  This only affects Streets & Trips 2008 users.

This week the Microsoft Store opened up and allows you to purchase Microsoft software online and just download the products.

This is something that folks have been requesting for ages.  You can buy a full retail version with the product key without the need to leave your desk!  Talk about convenience.

I haven’t tried it yet but it would make sense to be able to get the key without having to download the software.  I know thousands of you have already downloaded the 60-day free trail from the Microsoft Download site – no need to download it again….just give me the key!

I’d be really interested to hear how this works.  If anyone tries this please let me know in the comments.

By the way,  you can also purchase AutoRoute 2007 and MapPoint is coming soon…

1. Download this zip file that contains the templates
2. Unzip it
3. Copy & paste the template* to the following folder on your computer:

• For users of Windows Vista, browse to ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Streets & Trips\16.0\Templates
• For users of Windows XP, browse to \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Microsoft Streets & Trips\16.0\Templates

Please note: Microsoft modified the location of the default template in S&T 2009. More information about this can be found in the help file. In Vista, ProgramData is a hidden folder. It needs to be made visible in the control panel file options.

* The zip file contains 2 templates: 

• New North American Map.ptt = for MapPoint 2009
• New North American Map.stt = for Streets & Trips 2009

Shout outs to Rob Taylo the CEO of Wifi In Motion!

I met these guys here at the Pomona RV Show and they helped me get WiFi access at the Streets & Trips booth when the 'official' network went down.   Thanks again!

What is WiFi In Motion?

WiFi In Motion is a packaged wireless Internet access solution that includes a high-gain antenna, a 3-watt amplifier, a 3G mobile router, and all the accessories you need to create your own hot spot.

In the past, RVers wanted internet access on the road often had to go with a satellite system.  While they did the job the cost of the needed equipment was $2500-9000.  The WiFi in Motion setup will set you up for under $1000. Check here for prices.

You can install it yourself and typically takes about 1 to 1 ½ hours.