After I select the Start and Stop on my route and let the program route it automatically, if do not like the route that the program gave me I would then drag the route line were a like to travel instead but it creates another stop point which I do not want to put into my route.

If I delete the stop point that it put in it would then re-route back the way it was before, which I did not like.

How can I change my route in Microsoft Streets and Trips without getting another stop point?


Thanks.....

You can put 'Avoid Area' blocks into the route.

Were would I select 'avoid area' for the stop point I do not want to stop at?


Thanks for the reply

You use the "Avoid area" block to force Streets & Trips to avoid an area and force the route through the place you want to go through.

For example, if you want to go from Boise, Idaho to Casper, Wyoming via Salt Lake City, Utah without causing Salt Lake City to become a stop on the route, make Avoid Area blocks that force a route through Salt Lake City as the only possible option.

To create an "Avoid Area" you right-click somewhere on the map and drag a rectangle shape that covers the area you want to force S&T to avoid. Once you have created the rectangle you click the ROUTE menu and you will see a selection has appeared for "Avoid Area". Click that. Then click "Get directions" in the route planner to force a recalculation.

The detour area is shaded and it has grab handles on it so you can click on a a grab handle and drag it to change the shape and size of the detour area if you need to.

If you look at the attachment you'll see a rectangle that is shaded yellow. That is the area to be avoided. It forces S&T to not use any roads that pass through that area. In this case it forces S&T to reroute me down through Salt Lake City but it does it without adding a stop.

At this zoom level it's not obvious, but there are roads inside that yellow rectangle that S&T will use as the shortest route to get from Boise to Casper if I did not block it by using the Avoid Area. Zooming in tighter would show those roads as the preferred direct route.

...ken...

Attached Images

Mappoint Avoid Area.jpg (43.3 KB)

Does it help to think of these routing adjustments as adding 'waypoints' rather than 'stop points'? After all, you aren't actually stopping or adding any time to your route with the insertion.

wheaterguy to:
Using avoid area and drag the route like you have done are the two easier ways to influence the routing. There is another one, but it is unpredictable. You can configure a route segment in the option to suggest like avoid highway, or favor toll road, etc. But you can't predict what kind of routing you will get.

My favorite way is to drag the route segment as you have done (because sometimes the avoid area is buggy and not always working, as one bug i have reported on this forum). The new stop point is not a problem, you just continue driving and do not stop at that point (and that's all). If you want an easier way to identify real stop point, just use pushpin for your real stop point and give them a special name like "1- First Stop at..." (and add the pushpin as stop point, the name of the pushpin will be the name of the stop point). This way you will easily identify the real stop point...

About: "The new stop point is not a problem..."

It's not true. If you use it with a GPS and when you travel, if you need to use an alternative route (by using F3 (when a road is closed or...)) after that Streets and Trips calculate the new route, it will bring you back to your previously configured stop point. (If the alternative route bypasses the stop point) It is stupid and it need to be fixed.