# microsoft autoroute, alternative??



## Ggohd (Dec 26, 2015)

I have used ms autoroute for years as a planning aid and visual display for POIs since about 2006. Currently running 2010 unfortunatley on Win 10, coz that's what they force you to have now.
All of a sudden it's stopped working, tells me a cd drive can't be accessed, as it ran from my hard drive don't see why it should matter. Anyway, it suggests a reload from the cd, did that , same result.
Have Microsoft fed in a bug, trying to drive us onto online services?. Well, most of the places I go you can't get online readily and there is no way to a view a map with imported POIs displayed.
Of course I have all my POIs on the gps, but the display is totally useless for planning purposes and the links in the POIs don't work either.
I wonder if anyone knows of a mapping program, covering Europe, which allows the import of POIs and which could replace autoroute.
All very well to look at aire, gas and other locations on a phone, but a wifi connection is needed, so sitting in a remote spot planning tomorrows route has become much harder.
I've tried using the Garmin software, Basecamp, found it lumpy, hangs a lot and not a patch on Autoroute for display of POIs
Any IT specialists out there have any ideas??


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Dec 26, 2015)

Ggohd said:


> I have used ms autoroute for years as a planning aid and visual display for POIs since about 2006. Currently running 2010 unfortunatley on Win 10, coz that's what they force you to have now.
> All of a sudden it's stopped working, tells me a cd drive can't be accessed, as it ran from my hard drive don't see why it should matter. Anyway, it suggests a reload from the cd, did that , same result.
> Have Microsoft fed in a bug, trying to drive us onto online services?. Well, most of the places I go you can't get online readily and there is no way to a view a map with imported POIs displayed.
> Of course I have all my POIs on the gps, but the display is totally useless for planning purposes and the links in the POIs don't work either.
> ...



I`ve been playing around with Google maps for the same reason, it looks promising


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## oldish hippy (Dec 26, 2015)

is there a way to load it on mem stick  i use one to load windows the prog i use is called rufus dont think it any good for autoroute but there might be a answer out there


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Dec 26, 2015)

You can add import POI`s to google maps too then edit or add more, and save as many versions as you want, they work on your android phone or tablet, offline or online, like I said, I`m just getting into it


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Dec 26, 2015)

oldish hippy said:


> is there a way to load it on mem stick  i use one to load windows the prog i use is called rufus dont think it any good for autoroute but there might be a answer out there



I`ve not ried to save one to a stick but I`m sure it can be done as its saved as a file on my drive


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## overboard (Dec 26, 2015)

I am also running windows 10 on my Surface pro 3 and I had Yahoo hijacking my home page which I could not shift. My cooling fan was running when it should not have been. Also had problems accessing web pages. I downloaded the trial version of malwarebytes, ran it and it cured my problems. Also it improved battery life a lot. Problem must have been a number of viruses.


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Dec 26, 2015)

You can also add your own images to your POI`s, good thing is, you don`t need internet for it, but its handy if your working at home or with internet access to see the street views


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## colinm (Dec 26, 2015)

Have you tried running it in compatibility mode?


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## Ggohd (Dec 26, 2015)

colinmd said:


> Have you tried running it in compatibility mode?


First thing I tried, fraid no luck


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## Deleted member 9849 (Dec 26, 2015)

This is the best offline mapping application I have ever used but Microsoft discontinued support for Autoroutes back in April so eventually I think it will become defunct.I have it loaded on a 10''netbook running win7 with a load of european poi.Fortunately it is still working and with the aid of a gps dongle can pinpoint your position and provide navigation,although I prefer copilot on a smartphone for a satnav.I don't think there is anything better for route planning and custom poi with their own individual icons.

I have also been trying to find an alternative for when autoroutes eventually bites the dust.
Maps.me is good downloaded on a hudl2 but the custom poi icons are not a patch on A/R.I also have osmand+which I do like,it has a highly detailed map and shows promise but downloading the custom poi is an absolute pain and requires a degree in computer science.I have followed the instructions on here kindly provided by member Morphology but still haven't managed to get the gpx files to show on the app,they are showing as downloaded in the osmand directory but still no joy.If the osmand developers could make the app more user friendly then I think it could be the best alternative to Autoroutes. 

I intend to continue to use A/R until it eventually dies and hope some IT expert with entrepreneural skills sees a gap in the market for an A/R replacement with easily downloadable custom poi with their own separate icon and develops an app specifically for european motorhomers.I would be prepared to pay good money for it........are you listening Morph?


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## silverfox uk (Dec 26, 2015)

*Map for POI.*



Johnnygm7lsi said:


> I`ve been playing around with Google maps for the same reason, it looks promising



I use my.maps app on my iPad with the wild camping poi added. It works off line and you can zoom in to a very detailed map. Used this summer in Norfolk and worked great, used with a GPS you can view the area with maps.me and then get directions on GPS. Hope this helps.


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## Johnnygm7lsi (Dec 27, 2015)

I`ve just been havin a mess around with google MyMaps, created a map, added some POI`s and it seems to work ok, name the POI`s, give them different colours, you can select loos taps wc spots, click a POI and it navigates to it, tells u the mileage and optional routes, and if you add a new POI it updates it and saves it on my laptop, phone and tablet, open it on the tablet and it will navigate for you, although I prefer my satnav for that, but it gives you the cordonates for the satnav


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## Morphology (Dec 27, 2015)

@Wakk44 - I take it your have copied across the file favourites.gpx (from wherever you got it (Eg., my web site?)  and overwritten the one on your device?

Have you fully stopped and re-started Osmand?

- Settings->Application Manager
- Find Osmand in the list
- Click the [Force Stop] button
- Ignore the warning

Re-launch Osmand from the usual app tiles.

Once it has re-started, do the following to display POIs:

- Menu
- Configure Map
- Put a tick next to Favourites

To choose which POI sets to display:

- Menu
- My Places

You should see a list of categories of favourites, the [+] icon can be tapped to expand / collapse the list

Tap on the 3 vertical dots on the Right Hand Side and you'll get a menu where you can choose whether to display that category on the map, choose its colour, re-name it etc.

If this doesn't work for you, then my suspicion is that you haven't found the current live Osmand install directory on your device.

Osmand will initially install itself on the device itself but, if you choose to move it to the SD card, or change where it stores its maps, it may leave some garbage behind in the original install directory, so maybe it's possible you have chosen the wrong location?

Morph


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## Morphology (Dec 27, 2015)

wakk44 said:


> I would be prepared to pay good money for it........are you listening Morph?



Yes Sir!

One way of prolonging Autoroute may be to run Windows XP or 7 as a virtual machine within Windows 10. I did this with my dad's PC recently. He had an old XP PC but has various old bits of software that won't run on Windows 10 (or he has lost the install disks for).

Using the free VMWare converter, I converted his old Windows XP PC to a virtual machine, that he can now 'play' within Windows 10 using the Free VMWare Player.

This way he can still access all his old programs. The virtual machine can 'see' USB devices on the host, so should be able to access eg GPS receivers etc.

In order to do this, you unfortunately do need access to the old physical machine. My dad was replacing rather than upgrading his PC, so I could convert the old physical one to a virtual machine and play it within the new one.

Being able to choose individual colours for POI sets within Osmand might not be quite as good as assigning a custom icon (I do badger the developers from time to time to suggest they consider doing this, and they may yet do so), but I find it's a pretty good compromise.

Screenshot below shows the various categories of POI from the Wildcamping list converted and imported into Osmand, and each category (Car Park Urban, Car Park Rural, Layby, Other etc) given a different-coloured dot.

Morph


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## Ggohd (Dec 27, 2015)

Thanks to all for the comments. 
By some miracle, after two reboots, autoroute has started working again. All the gpx files are present.
I don't want to connect a gps to it, I just want to view POIs in an area I am heading for and maybe do some rough route planning.
So there is no confusion I have had this machine for two years and up graded?? to Win 10 a few months ago. Autoroute worked fine. Yesterday autoroute just stopped working and came up with a caption which said something like "dvd is not present in the drive from which it was loaded" or something like that. For some reason Windows does not allow me to copy and paste the caption. Anyway it's working, phew !!
However I do wonder how long it will be possible to get away with running a discontinued program and long term a replacement will be needed. I needed to run a navigation and AIS program in a boat and had to resort to buying an XP2 machine, that was fine as it is lashed to the control panel and is used for nothing else. maybe I will have to do the same for autoroute in the van.


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## iampatman (Dec 27, 2015)

I use Maps.me on my tablet with all western and Southern European countries loaded and have 31 different poi sets loaded, everything from ACSI sites to European LPG locations, wild camping locations and all the trips we have taken with notes regarding the locations we have stopped at. I use it for route planning and, if I wanted to, could now use it as a Sat Nav whilst driving. It is by far the most useful app I have on my iPad and it is regularly updated with new features. 
Here is a screen shot showing the different trips we have made and another showing some of the POIs which are loaded. 



Pat


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## Deleted member 9849 (Dec 27, 2015)

Morphology said:


> @Wakk44 - I take it your have copied across the file favourites.gpx (from wherever you got it (Eg., my web site?)  and overwritten the one on your device?
> 
> Have you fully stopped and re-started Osmand?
> 
> ...



Hi Morph,
Yes I've done all that and followed your instructions to the letter but the poi still wont show on the map.The app is on the SD card.Connecting the Hudl2 to my laptop and using it as a file manager I have several gpx poi data sets stored successfully in the osmand directory but still can't get them to show on the map.I have the show favourites ticked but still no joy.The version is Osmand+2.2.4.I think I'm going to try a complete uninstall and re-install and start from scratch as I'm fast losing the will to live.
Shame because of the Autoroute alternatives I have been playing with Osmand+ does seem to be have the best features albeit a bit complex although if I can get it to work properly I think it's possible for anyone with low/intermediate computer skills(me)

to become accustomed to Osmand.


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## Deleted member 2636 (Dec 28, 2015)

This whole business of Software comparability is a total pain

I like a year Planner called Sidekick - absolutely brilliant and works like a Sasco wall chart
Likewise, Autoroute 2006

I use these all the time and so I bought a cheap Notebook PC off Fleabay running XP - cost me £35 - end of problem


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## Morphology (Dec 28, 2015)

wakk44 said:


> Hi Morph,
> Yes I've done all that and followed your instructions to the letter but the poi still wont show on the map.The app is on the SD card.Connecting the Hudl2 to my laptop and using it as a file manager I have several gpx poi data sets stored successfully in the osmand directory but still can't get them to show on the map.I have the show favourites ticked but still no joy.The version is Osmand+2.2.4.I think I'm going to try a complete uninstall and re-install and start from scratch as I'm fast losing the will to live.
> Shame because of the Autoroute alternatives I have been playing with Osmand+ does seem to be have the best features albeit a bit complex although if I can get it to work properly I think it's possible for anyone with low/intermediate computer skills(me)
> 
> to become accustomed to Osmand.



When you say _"I have several gpx poi data sets stored successfully in the osmand directory"_ that's a bit puzzling, as you can only ever import one favourites.gpx file at a time, and is *has* to be called favourites.gpx and it has to overwrite the favourites.gpx file that is on your device, and to have to stop and re-start Osmand for it to import and index the newly-dropped favourites.gpx.

Morph


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## oldish hippy (Dec 28, 2015)

Customer Feedback & Support - Maps Pro for Windows could try this


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## Deleted member 9849 (Jan 4, 2016)

First of all a big thank you to Richard(Morphology)for the help and advice on this thread.Following his instructions I have managed to get some poi onto osmand.I am also using maps.me which is a good offline mapping app.Most of my poi data sets are on maps.me mainly because I find it easier to load them compared to osmand.I prefer osmand for zooming in to see the incredible detail of the map and also the wikipedia description which is useful when in far off places.I find that osmand is excellent for finding distances on the map too,for example checking the distance from a site to a nearby town,beach or other interesting place.Another feature I like to use is to mark my current location as a favourite,useful when in a far off strange town and finding where we locked up the bikes ,senility is creeping on 
For navigation my preference is copilot on a smartphone,if I want to navigate to a nearby point of interest then I simply get the coordinates from osmand or maps.me and input them into copilot which is very user friendly.
There is a place for all 3 of the navigational apps I have mentioned,I have put most of my poi sets onto maps.me simply because I find it much easier and intuitive than osmand,we aren't all IT experts,I just want something that is user friendly and not too complicated.


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## mossypossy (Jan 4, 2016)

Just installed Microsoft AutoRoute 2007 on my windows 10 machine

First attempt failed

Then I right clicked on the disk installer "run as administrator"

All works fine for me


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## Deleted member 9849 (Jan 4, 2016)

mossypossy said:


> Just installed Microsoft AutoRoute 2007 on my windows 10 machine
> 
> First attempt failed
> 
> ...



Forget to mention that I still have Autoroutes 2013 installed and working well on my 10''Samsung netbook running win7.It is still superior to any app for route planning and poi databases in my opinion.I think you'll find that the gps dongle is incompatible with win10 and therefore you can't find your current position on the map.It's still working fine however even though microsoft withdrew support for Autoroutes last year and long may it continue.If only a developer could come up with a similar programme designed specifically for motorhomers with easily installed points of interest,it would be the answer to my needs.


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