Does Streets and Trips need Legend and Overview pane?

I'm just trying to open a discussion on the Legend and Overview pane. Personally I don't think it is useful at all.

Does anyone actually use this pane?

I've seen things like National Parks, etc. in this pane in some installs and not in others.

Does anyone know how these get added? (I'll admit I have not looked into this)

I'm just trying to learn more about this pane and if there's a way that it might be of some use. Otherwise it seems like it could be eliminated. I'm open to any suggestions and ideas.

Curt

We use the Legend and Overview Pane to set the order of my imported POI sets. Since we travel extensively in our RV and utilize several campground membership plans and since a particular campground may honor more than one program, by layering the sets the least expensive alternate is the first one that shows up first.

Hi Crazyst,

Aside from ktracks point. I think any cartologist would say that maps need legends. It helps to interpret the meaning of the various symbols and shadings on the map.

The content of the legends and overview pane is dynamic. That is likely the reason you don't see National Parks in the legends and overview pane all the time. Check it out - start with the default North America view and expand all the categories (Populated Places, Boundaries, Transportation, Miscellaneous). Now zoom in and watch how the content changes. Zoom in to street level and it changes some more to reflect the level of detail that is being displayed on the map.

Crazyst, you may never see Legend & Overview pane ever again, if you don't need it. Just close it, or open another pane instead, for example Route Planner, or GPS Task pane, and then save as template. More details on how to do this can be found in Tips & Tricks for Streets & Trips, tip #15, titled: "Customize what you see when Microsoft Streets & Trips starts".

If you are using many pushpins sets, the "Legend and Overview" window is useful in this situation. It allows to select a specific pushpin sets and then to work on it by using the "Data" menu or right click the pushpins set and then "properties" to modify the pushpin set. You can look the attached picture from S&T 2007 to see what it looks like in the "Legend and Overview" window when you have more than one pushpin sets...

As an example, in some travelling i am importing some POI pushpin sets from excel sheets and you are using this window a lot (example one set for Esso station, one for Shell, one for campground, etc) From there you can change the pushpin global icon, delete a set, etc...

Attached Images

legend.jpg (31.9 KB)

All good input. I did overlook the mulitple pushpin sets. I do use multiple pushpin sets sometimes but not very often.

Thanks for the feedback.

Curt

Hi Crazyst -

Just wanted to throw in my two cents. As with Mistermoonlight, For me, the most important part of the legend and overview is the ability to see the designation of your pushpin sets. I train salesforces how to segment prospects into value ranges, and plot them on S&T with a unique pushpin icon. Having that visual reminder of the specific value range of a pushpin set is key, especially when you've got several sets.

The pic below shows trucking company prospects in the Boston area. Green pushpins have 25 to 49 trucks, blue have 50 to 99, and red pushpins are prospects with more than 100 trucks. Viewing a territory this way is invaluable when scheduling sales calls - and the L&O pane is invaluable in keeping them all straight.

Attached Images

image.jpg (98.6 KB)

My two cents worth; I use Legend and Overview to import pushpin icons, edit & copy and paste pushpins from one map to another.

Regards,

Mike Flannigan