Métro: user guide

Contents

Version
Registration
Installation
User Guide
Strange behaviours
How it works
Acknowledgements
History

Version

This version of "Métro" is numbered 1.3.4. Always check on the "Tatami et Bouts de Ficelle" web page (in english) that you got the latest release.

Registration (kinda')

If you like this software, don't forget to send us a mail (to Patrice Bernard & Frank Van Caenegem), it is our only reward for this work and it does not cost you a penny, does it ? You can also send me your comments and suggestions or even tell us about any bug you may discover (Patrice for the program and Frank for the subway data).

You are free (and encouraged) to redistribute this software through any channel provided that: (1) the program has not been modified in any way and (2) it is offered free of charge. As usual, this software is provided "as is" with no warranty of any sort.

You could (and should!) help us make Métro better: see §History.

Installation

Attention! the databases coming with versions older than 1.2.0 cannot be used with this new release of the program. It is strongly recommended that you delete any version of Métro older than 1.1.2 before installing version 1.3.x ("Memory" icon on your Pilot, then "Delete" button).

You should have received "Métro" as a compressed file named "metro.zip". This file contains the software as well as all the subway networks (more than 130 of them):

Networks list (most are subways, some of them contain streetcar or train lines as well):

Notes : (1) Brussels exists in french (bruxelles.pdb) and flamish (brussels.pdb); (2) operating time-aware networks; (3) cyrillic version available; (4) "nordic" sort order version available; (5) the Tokyo networks goes far beyond the city limits (more than 100 km!); (6) the S2 line is missing in Hamburg because it runs very infrequently; (7) korean version available; (8) "Places of Interest" included; (9) Bus network (for tests); (10) chinese version (big-5) available; (11) The Rhein-Neckar database contains many cities, among them Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg (many more to come); (12) an "extended" version of Paris is available (paris-ext.pdb), including the complete suburban railway network.

With the installation utility (HotSync) you got with your Palm Pilot, select one and only one version of the software (.prc files) and at least one subway network (.pdb files). Then "synchronize" your Pilot.

When "Métro" is installed on your Pilot, launch it (through its icon), go to the "Options" menu and select "Network". In the list, select the network you want to use (if you loaded more than one) and confirm your choice with the "OK" button.

User guide

Route search

• The easiest solution : you write down the names of the departure and arrival stations (you need only enter the first letters, Métro will complete the names for you) then "tap" on the "Go!" button.

• Assisted solution : "tap" on the "Fr.:" (from) button, a list appears with all the stations. Just "tap" on the one you're looking for, it is displayed as the departure station. When you "tap" on the "To:" button, you can do the same for the arrival station. Finally, "tap" on the "Go!" button.

• Intelligent assistance : same as above but before you "tap" on one of the buttons, enter the first few characters of the name of the station. The position in the list is updated to the name closest to your entry.

• Permanent assistance : after the list is displayed (as above)), simply enter text in the Departure or Arrival field. The position in the list is updated to the name closest to your entry.

In some cities, you can search a site instead of a subway station (how do I go to the Eiffel tower, for example). These sites appear in bold in the stations list.

Back

The "Back" button is a simple way to compute your route back from Arrival to Departure without having to enter the names of the stations again.

Clear

The "Clear" button resets the "Métro" GUI : it clears the departure and arrival station, the stations list and the result field. It also optionnaly resets the current time.

Timing

This feature is available only with some of the databases (currently New-York, Chicago, London, Oslo & Bremen). When using these cities, the day of the week and time are displayed on screen. You just have to "tap" these fields to change your travel time. The "clear" button ca noptionnaly reset the current time.

On the current day and time, some lines may not operate; "Métro" takes this into account to compute a route.

Lines

The "Lines" popup list gives you the list of stations for any line. You may click on one of these stations to enter it in the "From" or "To" field (depending on the one where the caret is).

In some cities, the first item in the "Lines" popup list is "Interesting places". It contains a list of the tourist sites known to the program: you can use it to get directions to go to a place when you don't know the nearest subway station.

In cities where the operating times are managed, some lines may not operate on the selected day or time. In this case the line name is crossed out in gray in the list.

You can also select your own closed lines (if temporarily closed for example): with the stylus, just "cross out" the line name in the list (draw a neat horizontal line from left to right). Repeat the action to cancel your choice. When a line has been so closed, its name is crossed out in black in the list (not to confuse with the time management above). This feature is a work in progress: the personal closed lines are not saved between uses.

Results

After a search, the results lists displays 1 or 2 different routes for your request: the shortest route and the route using the least number of connections. If they are the same, only the shortest is displayed. Sometimes, both may take the same time and number of connections but have some difference.

Since the list is displayed in a text field you can copy and paste the results to another application.

Options

Preferences

In the "Options" menu, the "Preferences" item has two choices :

• Check the "Route with statistics" box to include the total number of stations and connections in the calculation results.
• Check the "'Clear' resets time" box if you want the "Clear" button to aumatically set the travel time to the current day and hour.

Network

The "Network" option shows the list of cities you have installed with "Métro". Select one city in the list and tap the "OK" button to look for a route in that city subway. Or use the "Delete" button to erase the selected database from your Pilot's memory (you cannot delete the database currently in use).

The "?" button shows the information on the selected city, along with the names of the people who created or contributed to the database.

Another button appears in the window when the soft is installed on a Pilot with an IR interface : "Beam". Using it, you can transfer a database from your Pilot to another one where "Métro" is installed. The actual transfer is realized only if the database you send is not already present on the receiver.

About

This options displays general options on "Métro".

Strange behaviors

In some instances, you may think the behaviour of the software is not correct. It is possible that it is a "feature" (more or less voluntary). Here are the known cases :

• When you install a version of "Métro" with a different language from the current one, the program may not be updated, you have to erase the older version to install the new one.
• Sometimes, the software will advise to connect between different stations (you may even have to walk, between Orsay museum and Solférino in Paris, for example): this is in accordance with the informations we gathered.
• Express trains (those trains that don't stop in every station) and partial service (train that stop before the end of a line) are not taken into account in this version. That may sometimes result in weird routes, when express lines are involved. I'm working on that problem.
• The lines with multiple branches in their middle (such as the Northern Line in London, with its City and Charring Cross branches) are not so well managed either.
• If your desktop computer is a Macintosh, you may get serious crashes with MetrO, because the format used for the metro.zip file is not compatible with some utilities for Macintosh. In this case, use Stuffit Expander to unzip the file. Or just send me a registered copy of "Stuffit Deluxe" (for Windows), which will let me deliver MetrO as an .sit file!
• Directions in New York are not given as New-yorkers expect them (that is, "uptown" or "downtown"): it will be corrected in a future version. The same is true in London.

If you have ideas for making "Métro" better of you find other errors, let me know about it.

How it works

Computing

A little explanation on the inner workings of Métro to help you understand its current limitations.

To compute the best route, the program uses an estimate of the time needed to run each route. But to avoid filling the memory with too much data (the timetables), the times used are quite simplified.

There are only two variations: one average time for a travel between 2 stations on a subway and one average time between 2 stations on an express or streetcar line. For example on Paris, the times used are 1'30 for the first (subways) and 3' for the second (RER and streetcars).

For the connections, it's just about the same: one time for a "standard" connection and one average time for a "long" connection (between 2 different stations or to an express line, to account for the longer wait). Again for Paris, values are 4' and 8'.

This method, though quite efficient most of the time, brings its limitations (but I'm working on some of them): travel times on express lines are computed with all the intermediate stations (express lines not being yet known to the program) leading to over-estimation; the soft does not make a difference if a line is more frequent than another, so that it may suggest a low-frequency line when there is a better one for the same route.

This point is what makes Métro less adequate for streetcars, railroads or buses (these having other peculiarities making them difficult to use in Métro).

Lines

In the subway lines display, you may have noticed some blank lines and stations listed twice or more. This marks a line with diverging branches. These branches can even be one-way, in which case a special message appears.

5 good reasons to use "Métro"
("fair" competition comparison)

1. The route computing is fast (enough): about 15s for the longest computation and less than 5s in 95% of the cases for the huge Tokyo network; 4s at most and less than 1s in 90% of the cases in Paris.
2. The software uses little of your (precious) Pilot's memory.
3. All the networks are as complete and up-to-date as possible.
4. All the specifics of the Paris subway are taken into account, and much of all the other networks in the world.
5. For complex requests you will be given a choice between 2 routes.