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1994-12-05
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1
Transit Directions 1.11a 11/25/94
by
Peter Neuendorffer
Contents
Introduction 1
The Directions Engine 3
Database (setting up the city) 4
General: (do this first) 5
Main menu: 6
Core: 7
edit line 8
Other: 10
edit route 11
Stop names option 12
With this software it is easy make a setup that provides
travel directions for the transportation system of a large city.
At it's simplest, you enter route names and the names of the
stops on each route. Many customizing features are included. It
handles up to three separate cities or metropolitan areas.
REGISTRATION:
This software is sold on a try before you buy basis.
If you use it after 30 days you must pay for it by sending
$40.00 to Peter Neuendorffer, 1399 Commonwealth Ave Suite 11,
Allston MA 02134.
Telephone support is provided with registration.
Each city can have up to 600 bus routes, 10 subway lines,
and the bus routes may be used to describe commuter rail or other
forms of transportation. The "worst case" it handles is four bus
routes, or three subway routes, or two bus routes to the subway
followed by two bus routes.
You can use the mouse to operate the program, where Left
Click is Enter, and Right Click is Escape (always used to go
back.) No special memory is required, but a hard drive is
required. Copy all the files into a dedicated subdirectory on
your hard drive, move to that directory, and run Btran.exe
MD C:\btran
(insert shareware disk in A:)
COPY A:\*.* C:\BTRAN
C:
CD \BTRAN
BTRAN
The program comes with the Boston MBTA included. The
software is much more than just Boston directions though. You
enter where you are starting, and where you are going, press
Enter or click on Go (alt-g) and get directions. You can set up
your own system for another city or area (Page-Up then choose
Database, and choose YOUR SYSTEM1.) To configure for monochrome,
run BTRAN MONO. Run BTRAN COLOR to change back to color. To run
the software, run BTRAN from the program directory.
2
Introduction continued:
This manual will give a general description of Transit
Directions, then describe how to set up your own database using
the General, Core, and Other options in the database menu. Again,
to get to the database from the opening screen, click on Page Up
or press Page Up, then choose Database, and choose a blank slot
("Your System") or the MBTA database for practice. The refresh
MBTA option will restore the MBTA example database if you have
changed it. Remember you can set up a similar database for your
city.
In this software, Left Mouse Button Click = Enter, which
chooses a menu item, or completes words you have typed. Right
Mouse Button Click = Escape, to return to where you were before
in the program, or to cancel a word(s) you have typed. Thus if
you were deep in the database, repeated presses of Escape or
Right Mouse Button Click would back you out of the Database back
to the directions engine.
To Get Directions:
Enter where you are starting (a place)
Enter where you are going (a place)
then Enter, Left-Mouse Click
or Alt-G, left click on "GO"
for Reverse Route, select the menu, choose Reverse
for nighttime travel, select the menu, choose Time
3 3
The Directions Engine.
In this manual, I call the main front end of the program
the "directions engine." It gives directions for travel. It uses
the data of stops and routes you name in the Database to provide
the route on your transportation system. This is the opening
screen that says "Where Starting" and "Where going" at the bottom
of the screen. The "database" (which can be hidden) is where the
places and route information is stored.
At the front of the program is the directions engine.
This is deceptively simple looking. You type in where you
are starting and where you are going and get directions. You
can set this up for your own city or area as described in the
bulk of this manual starting at page four.
A word about how it processes the directions. If someone
asks for a stop or place ending in "street," or "station", and
there is no stop by that name, the word "street" or "station"
is ignored. This is because often people ask for directions in
that format. Also, the database allows 100 substitute or "clone"
places that it translates. In Boston, for example, if the user
asks for directions to the Museum of Fine Arts, the database
knows to give directions to the museum stop. You make this
"alias" yourself for your city. The engine is expecting exact
names for subway (CORE) stops, like "Harvard", but bus stops may
be a fuzzy match.
Directions are given for the shortest trip, tailored to
the time of day. The user sets the time of travel by pressing
Page Up (Left Click on Page-up-menu) and selecting time. If set
to daytime (default), all routes are shown. But if set to
nighttime, only routes are used that run during the day. You may
set to Weekend travel to make sure your bus routes run on the
weekend. The user can opt to "Ignore" certain routes- in the case
of MBTA, the subway. Reverse gives the reverse trip directions.
System is a switch for when there is more than one major area present. If you
choose Database, you may change the routes for MBTA, or set up a
new city of your choice. See the end of the manual for a discussion
of the Stops option.
To try out the Directions Engine when the fully
functioning MBTA database is loaded (shipped with this product),
try these typical requests. The revere trip is done by choosing
Reverse from the Main Menu (pgeup.) These examples are provided
in case you are not familiar with Boston place names.
Where Starting Where Going The Directions
Cambridge Boston ?
Wellington Boylston ?
Gloucester Downtown Crossing ?
Kenmore Watertown ?
Waverley Square Watertown Square
Central Dudley Station
Airport Porter
Long Wharf Charlestown
Cleveland Circle Quincy Marketplace
4
Database
To get to the database, choose the Menu with Page Up, then
choose database. To lock the database from further use, you
use a trick from DOS. If a file is present in the Transit
Directions named Database.key (any file by that exact name)
the door to the database is open. If there is no such file
present, the door is locked. Thus you can prevent people using
the program to get directions in your city from changing the data
for the routes. To create this key, any text file renamed to
"Database.key" will do. A quick way to create this key from DOS
is to type
copy con database.key <ENTER>
hello
<Control-Z>
(hold down the control key
then press z at the same time.
To set up your own city's routes, choose "Your System1"
from the database menu (PgUp/Database.) To work with the MBTA
database for practice, choose the MBTA database. To get back to
the directions, press escape. You will quickly discover that if
you choose your city, the directions engine ("where starting",
"where going" at the bottom of the opening screen) doesn't know
any directions.
So go back into the database. First you must complete one
task before adding routes and stops. This is the "General" setup
which appears on the menu to the right. An online description of
what to do is in the "Help" option on the menu.
When leaving the Database, choose <Y>es (Click on Yes or
type the y key, to make your changes stick. To cancel all changes
you may have made in the database SINCE THIS TIME YOU HAVE ENTER
IT, choose <N>o (Click on No or type the n key.) You may restore
the original MBTA database from the Database Choose menu on the
way in at any time. However, you cannot restore your backup of
your own city. To get help on any option, choose the option and
press F1 or click on the word Help at the top right of the screen
in the database.
Many of the options in the database have a similar menu
interface. You choose New in these options to add an item.
Pressing enter on other existing options brings up the question
"Delete this Item?". Answering Yes deletes the item.
TO GET STARTED:
You have to give the database several key pieces of
information in General. Eventually, you can Lock this area. Then
you can go on to add your routes. Other than General information,
any and all stops, routes, names, and features can be changed
again at any time for your city's directions database. In fact
you can leave the database, and check out the directions that are
given even though you haven't finished putting in the routes.
5
Database General setup
What to fill in:
Here are the items you must complete in General. You don't have
to do it all at once, but you must choose Lock before you can go
on to Core or Other areas to enter routes.
System name: The name of your city or area
examples: Detroit Metropolitan Mars
Core System? Answer yes for Core if you intend a central
system like a subway, or inner city buses.
Core Name This is the vehicle name, which will be
be used by the directions engine as well
examples: subway downtown bus
"Take the Red subway...."
Other System? Answer yes if you want a network of
routes, like buses.
Other Name The vehicle name. examples: bus
Special System? Like buses, different mode of travel.
Special Name: example: commuter rail rail highway
Special2 System? like Special, but for specialty routes.
Special2 Name example: boat cable car balloon
To RECAP:
Core is for subway
Other is for bus
Special is for rail
Special2 is for odd routes.
6
Database Main Menu Options
Core routes are entered in from the CORE menu selection.
Other, Special, and Special2 routes are all entered - in the same
way- from the OTHER menu selection.
Aliases are used to indicate points of interest that are not
stop names, like theaters of museums. Or to provide the
directions
engine with the knowledge that a stop in the subway may be called
something different. Actually, now that I think of it, Aliases
are defined in the main database menu and apply to any stop on
the current System (City.) DO NOT USE ALIASES to redirect or
rename stops. And always refer to the stops when setting up your
routes, not the alias names.
Alias Stop name
Museum of Modern Art W 64th Street (or wherever)
View Stop names allows you to see the stop names in your CORE
(subway) and OTHER (other forms of transportation like bus
and rail) routes. Page up and down through the stop names,
which are arranged alphabetically. To a list of stops for a
particular line or route, choose CORE and Edit line, and
choose a line. Or choose OTHER, edit route, and enter in the
route number.
To remove a database city entirely:
1. choose Remove.
2. Answer "Yes" to "Are you sure?" twice
(no or cancel cancels this)
3. Exit the database with escape and answer YES
to "Save Changes?" If you answer no, the database
removal will be cancelled. If you choose Yes,
however, your database has been erased, only
for the current city. To re-chooses the MBTA
database, choose Page Up Menu, MBTA Base, Enter,
Escape.
7
Database Core Setup (subways)
To get a feel for all the database options, choose the MBTA
database from the Database Choose menu (Page Up from the opening
screen, choose Database, choose MBTA.) When you change data,
remember you can reset the database to where it was upon entry by
choosing No to answer "Save Changes?" on the way out. When you
choose Alt-X (or click on the word Quit on the top right of the
screen,) to Quit the program, you are also asked this question.
Be aware the question is almost always asked, even if you didn't
change anything.
To Add a New CORE (subway) route, choose Add Line
To Edit any CORE (subway) route, choose Edit Line
(see below)
To Delete any CORE (subway) route, choose Delete Line
To choose stops where the user cannot "change directions" choose
No Turn. A no turn stop means a stop on the subway where people
can't easily change from one line to another. Transfer is locked
out at the No Turn stops you specify. Be careful not to lock out
a key transfer point on the Subway.
Near Stops indicate stops of your choosing which are very
close to each other geographically, but not both on the same
subway line. The point is that the directions finder can find
shorter directions if it knows enough to make the "connection."
This is optional, and if incorrectly entered, can cause incorrect
directions to be given. These stops should be within short
walking distance of each other.
Hide Number of Stops allows you to suppress the stop number
display in the directions engine.
Edit Line is described on the following page.
8
Database CORE (subway)
Edit Lines
You edit your CORE (subway) routes, adding and deleting
stops as you go. You can go in and out of the database at any
time, saving your work as you go by answering "Y"es to "Save
Changes?" You can make changes in the CORE routes even if buses
are present, and you may move between the CORE (subway) and OTHER
(bus or rail) sections.
Select a line with Edit Line. To back out, use the Escape
or Right Mouse button. Add stop allows you to add a stop to the
line. Each stop is added on the end. In the database, stop names
may be typed in lower case if you want, as the engine will
capitalize everything when giving directions.
The directions engine makes connections between routes when
two routes share one or more Stop Names. Thus it knows that bus
route No. 1 and the Red line Subway connect at Harvard, because
Harvard is a stop name on both routes. So make sure you spell a
stop the same way in different bus or subway route lists.
To insert a stop, select Insert and enter the index (number
in the large box) of the item to insert BEFORE. Or select Insert
with the Left Mouse Button, and select the stop to insert before
by Left Clicking when the mouse pointer is over the stop. You
delete a stop in the same way, answering "Y"es to are you sure
(You can left click on Yes No boxes as well.)
You can change a stop name with Edit Stop. This particular
option is disabled if there ore any OTHER (bus) routes present.
In that case you must delete the stop, then insert the new one
in the same place. This is done to avoid confusion about what
happens when stops are moved around.
What happens when you add or remove a stop. Think of what is
happening as that you are saying "THIS STOP IS NOW A SUBWAY STOP"
The geographical place you are referring to was always there. You
have just built a subway station in effect at that place. If the
place you add is Main Street, and there are already buses going
into and out of Main Street (OTHER area stops,) all these buses
will now automatically "connect" when giving transportation
directions.
If you delete the Main Street stop, the buses would still
go in and out of Main Street, but they would no longer connect to
the CORE (subway) at that place. So you add and delete subway
stops any time without affecting the bus stops. But different
directions may result as you add CORE (subway) stops.
Core routes have to connect in three legs maximum, although
10 separate subway lines are allowed. It is unusual for a subway
system to have isolated routes, but this is possible in this
system. However, I expect all your subway stops to connect in at
most 3 legs per trip. Express tracks do not have to count as an
extra line, and are described in Core Edit Line Options below.
9
Database Core (subway)
Edit Line: Options
Access these options from Edit Line, Options. These are
optional. You can change the color that this particular line will
display in the directions engine. (This is different than in the
Other area, where you can only select a color for the type of
vehicle: bus, etc.)
You can mark certain stops in the line as Express stops,
emulating a subway that has a separate express track, as in New
York City which stops at selected stops. Choose Options/Express
and toggle a stop on or off with the mouse, or enter the index
(number displayed) of the stop. When directions are found for
this route up front in the directions engine, the user is
prompted with a box on the screen to press F. The express trip
(if any) is displayed for the current directions.
Carsign is used to tailor the "sign" that the subway
directions display. In the case of Boston, several Green Lines
share a number of stops. So it is necessary to mark small ranges
of travel (start and end stops) for certain car "signs". Go into
the MBTA database and choose one of the first four lines, and
choose Options Carsign to see the use of this. The smaller ranges
are preferred over the larger ones by the directions engine. The
direction of travelled is determined by which stop you name
first.
Directions works similarly to Carsign, but enables you to
set up a range of travel for a Directions display, such as
"Inbound" or "Outbound". The order of the range specifies the
direction.
IMPORTANT: Every time you add, delete or insert a stop in CORE,
all items for Carsign and Directions display are
cleared for this line. It is a good idea to set up
your subway tops for the line BEFORE you set up the
custom "carsign" and "direction" display options in
Core/Edit Line/Options.
10 10
Database Other Setup (buses, rail)
OTHER routes can be up to 600 lines. They can be three
types of transportation. The type of vehicle, be it bus or
commuter rail or balloon is as specified when you defined your
city in the General Setup. A reminder that the General setup must
be locked before you can add places and routes in OTHER or CORE.
If your special system is defined, you enter in the route
number starting with the special letter, as in C1 for special
route c1. For the plain other routes, which are probably buses,
you do not use a letter for the route number. For special2, you
use the special2 letter defined by you in the General Setup.
Thus route 5 might be bus number 5, route C10 might be
commuter rail route, and B5 might refer to a balloon route.
You access your routes by choosing Edit Route, and
entering the route number. This number can be suppressed when the
directions are displayed, but you must at least use a number in
the database to reference the routes.
Features of the Other menu (choose Other from the Database
main menu) include changing the text color that each type of
vehicle will display in the directions engine. You can opt to
suppress the route numbers for OTHER, SPECIAL or SPECIAL2 routes
when the directions are displayed. You can also opt to suppress
the display of the number of stops for a given trip. This is
useful for buses, as the buses may stop frequently ,but you have
only entered in key stop names. The number of stops refers to
the order of a stop in a route, not the weighted "BUS PLACE"
(which is described below.)
Editing Other routes is described on the next page. This
is where you add stop names for buses etc.
11
Database Other Edit Route
Select the route from Edit Route by typing in the number you
want for the route. Route numbers beginning with the Special
Letter signal that it is a special route, and route numbers
beginning with the special2 letter indicate that it is a special2
route. See information on this above in General Setup.
A special term is BUS PLACE. This places the stop in order
in the route. It is a relative distance. That is, a route with
two stops Pleasant and Hart has an index 1. for pleasant and
index 2. for hart. These numbers go up by ones. But the BUS PLACE
might be 1 for pleasant and 10 (TEN!) for hart. This would make
the stops farther apart. The directions engine is looking for
shortest distances, and will see those stops as being "10" apart
instead of the usual "1" distance.
Command What to Do
Add stop Enter a stop name
Give the BUS PLACE to
locate the stop in the
route and indicate the
relative distance for a
bus place of 1. You can
accept value for BUS PLACE
if you are unsure.
Access some route numbers
in the MBTA base to see
examples. You insert a
stop by specifying the
bus place of the stop to
insert before
Delete Stop Specify the index of the
stop to delete, or click
on the stop name with the
mouse
Edit Stop Specify the index of the
stop to edit, or select
stop name with the mouse.
Number Place Adjust This "pushes up" or
down the entire list
from a given stop by the
amount of "bus place"s
you specify.
Stops menu from the Main Menu 12
Use this to find stop names in the directions database. Certain
options will be present depending on the type of routes available.
You can page up and down thorugh subway stop names, or select
a particular subway route, or page up and down through bus/commuter
stop names (showing the numbers of the routes that each is on)
and you can select particular bus routes.
For each option, you may press F2 or click on "Note stop name",
and enter in a stop name of your choice. This stop will be fed
back into the current active line in the directions engine
(Where Starting, Where Going.)
