Frequently asked questions (and frequently given answers) for printing route maps

 

This document summarizes a technique for creating printable and downloadable route maps for rides. This procedure has been tested in Windows XP and Vista using Internet Explorer.

1. Identify a shared route at http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com or http://bicycling.com/ that you want to produce a printable map of and note the tripId from the address bar.

Example the address shows http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=171378 and you would use 171378 as the Trip ID.

Note: Help for creating your own routes on those sites is available at trimbleoutdoors.com/dyn/myaccount/maphelp.aspx. You may create routes from uploading GPS data or by drawing on maps. Turn-by-turn instructions add to the usability of your routes and may be added to any route. See the tutorials for how to add navigation instructions.

2. You will need an application called "RoutePrint". Run this file from http://ABCDesertFoothills.org/files/Route%20Maps/_ReadMe/RoutePrint.hta.  Run this program (either by opening it from the web or saving it to your computer and running it from there. 

3. Enter the Trip ID in the upper frame and click the "Load" button. The trip will display in the left hand frame as it appears on TrimbleOutdoors.com or Bicycling.com. Click the "Build" button to create a customized version of the route in the right hand frame. Specify the output file path in the upper frame and click the "Save" button to save the RoutePrint file. You should be able to launch this file and have it display in your web browser where you can print it.

4. Create a route map folder on this Yahoo Group. Name the folder after the ride. Example" "Desert Foothills Century". Use the description field to help describe the folder of rides.

5. Add the file created in step 3 to the route map folder (created in step 4). Use the description field to help describe the ride. Any memeber of this yahoo group should be able to launch this file and have it display in their web browser where they can print it.

Note: when viewing the route map in Internet Explorer (or other browser), the map is zoomable and may be panned. You may use the browser's "File->Print Preview" and can turn on or off headers and footers.