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1993-02-14
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AutoMap for Windows
by David McDuff
OKC-PC User's Group
Have you ever pulled out the road atlas and tried to figure out how
far it is from point A to point B? Well, if you read enough charts
and make a few measurements you may get fairly close. But what about
this, how l ong will it take to get there? That's where things get
tough. Fifty-five on this highway and sixty-five on the next, and
what about stops?????
Well, you get the point. Wouldn't it be nice to have your trusty PC
give you all the answers? How about a program that lets you; Plan
road journeys; Find quickest, shortest, and alternative routes;
Select your preferred type of road; Enter speeds for all types of
roads; See color maps; Avoid construction; Zoom in on maps for extra
detail; Have four maps on the screen at once; Paste maps and
directions into other applications; Print maps and directions to
take with you on your journey. Now, let's talk about how the program
works. Each map window has an intuitive tool bar along the top with
icons that handle most menu functions. When the window size is
reduced, the map dynamically sizes with it. When the icons don't fit
on the top of a window, they can be scrolled back into view. Up to
four map windows can be opened at once with the standard Windows
attributes of sizing, tiling, and cascading. The icons offer the
following functions: Go to a place; Add more detail; Remove detail;
Add places (not roads); Remove places; Distance line (as the crow
flies); Print Maps; Set trip start; Set finish; Set Vias (stops);
Calculate Route; Zoom in; Zoom out; Select databases; Copy to
clipboard. The program breaks down to two major areas. Calculating
trips and displaying maps.
Calculating Trips
To start your trip you need to define your route. This can be done
graphically, by pointing, or from dialogue boxes. The dialogue
boxes offer more accuracy, as they are backed up with database
information to check your text choice. If you type a city that is
not understood, you are given a list of possible choices (with
state.) Choices can be places other than large cities (the default);
they can be: National parks; Small towns; Mountains; Natural
features; Canadian towns; Mexican towns; and more. The define
journey dialogue box has buttons that take you to settings for
speed, road preferences, and how to avoid roads. You are given
slide bars to define what kind of roads you prefer.(Figure 1) The
speed settings box offers speed settings for six types of roads
with four conditions. (Figure 2) The end result of all these
settings produces a very readable table of directions. (Figure 3)
Using Maps
When the programs starts you are viewing North America with some
major cities and a good part of the interstate system. (Figure 4)
States all have a small icon that calls database information such
as population, etc. when clicked. Clicking on a highway brings up
the avoid road dialogue box. Other databases include almost all
geographic features you can think of. The level of control for
feature and overlay display on your map is two dimensional (ie: not
just parks but which type of park to display.) Needless to say,
turning on all the possible features when looking at the US view
renders a near useless map. This is where multiple windows come in
handy. Tiling your screen with several maps lets you see different
features side by side, instead of on top of each other. Requirements
Windows 3.0 or above, running in Standard or Enhanced Mode (Does not
run in Real Mode). Minimum 2MB RAM. Hard Drive Required (uses 3MB).
Reality
I ran the program on a co-processed 386/40 with 20MB of RAM and an
accelerated SVGA card. With four maps and lots of features, etc., it
was no speed demon but it was fast enough.
Useful?
No doubt this program is useful. Whether you are a personal or
business traveler you will enjoy the "what if" scenarios in planning
a trip. If you are realistic in setting the preferences, the trip
directions and times are remarkably accurate. The printed quality of
the maps leaves a little to be desired, but the trip directions make
a great companion to a regular road map. If you like to travel, you
will love AutoMap. (also available for DOS without a few features)
ful tool for all travelers.