Guided Tour to PC Miler
Guided Tour: Change the Trip Parameters
NOTE: Do not change trip parameters the first time you take the Guided Tour,
EXCEPT WHEN
PROMPTED. Changed parameters alter generated routes and calculations, and may
make the tour
hard to follow. Parameters should only be adjusted once you are familiar with
the basic operations of
PC*MILER.
The routes that you generated in the Guided Tour were mostly calculated using
default trip
parameters. However, you can choose from a variety of criteria that will give
your routes much more
flexibility and efficiency. Please take this opportunity to fully examine the
options listed below. We
suggest that you generate some sample routes with modified parameters, so that
you can see for
yourself how these changes will affect driving directions and calculations.
To change a trip’s parameters, first click on the Options button in the route
entry window. Then click
on the appropriate tab (General Options, Costs and Time, or Road Speeds).
General Options:
-
Assign your trip a name by typing it in the Route Name field.
-
Change the route type by selecting Practical or Shortest. Either of these route
types can be
combined with Toll Discouraged and\or National Network or 53' Trailer. (Note
that
National Network and 53’ Trailer routes are mutually exclusive, you must pick
one or the
other.)
-
Activate routing between countries by checking Borders Open, or keep routing
within a
country by deselecting it.
-
As you have already seen in the Tour, clicking on Use Custom Roads tells
PC*MILER to
include avoid and favor preferences in route calculations. (Open the Custom
Roads Manager
from the Tools menu to view all the currently designated preferences. Remember
that Enable
State Avoid/Favors must be checked in the State tab for state preferences to be
active.)
-
Designate how the order of states appears in the State/Country Distance report
by selecting
Alphabetical or Route.
-
Change the distance calculations by selecting Miles or Km.
Costs and Time:
-
Assign costs for empty and loaded miles by clicking on the appropriate field
under Trip Costs,
and enter your own cost per mile.
-
Under Stop Costs, change a trip leg from loaded to empty by clicking the mouse
on the check
box next to Loaded.
-
Assign costs per stop by typing an amount in the $/Stop field, and designate
stop time by
typing stop duration in the Hours/Stop field. If the stop is counted as on-duty,
check the On-
Duty check box.
-
Designate stop time by typing stop duration in the Hours/Stop field.
-
Specify the stop time by selecting On-Duty with the mouse, and type in the
number of driving
hours allowed before a break is required. (This facilitates drivers’ compliance
with DOT
Hours of Service Regulations.)
-
Type in the length of the break time in the for _____ hours field. (This
facilitates drivers’
compliance with DOT Hours of Service Regulations.)
-
Add a Border Wait time for expected delays at international borders.
Road Speeds:
-
To set new road speeds by state, select a state or province from the pick list
(use the up and
down arrow keys to scroll to the state) and type new speeds in the appropriate
field.
-
Click OK in the Options dialog to save any changes you make. Cancel will close
the dialog without
saving changes.
-
To generate a route with new parameters, click on the Run button in the route
entry window.
-
To change PC*MILER’s defaults for these parameters, select Default Options… from
the Route
menu.
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