dbett

I don't have the manual handy, so figured I'd ask...

Is it possible to have the navi calculate a route to an address via another point. I'm planning on going up to the Boston area tomorrow (from Baltimore) and am considering taking the scenic route - up I-83 to 84.

Thanks.

zeezz

you can use the 'today's destinations' feature to put another point on there, i believe... i don' tthink you can specify a particular road to be included though.

bluenoise

You have a couple of options:

1. You can do as zeezz suggests and add additional destinations along your intended route using the "Today's Destinations" feature.

2. You can just take the route you want and the navi will automatically adjust to compensate for your deviation from its proposed route.

3. After it calculates the route for you, check out the four other possible routes to see if any of them match your desired one. If one does or comes closest, choose it.

chavez

What do you mean four other possible routes? Where does that come up?

1995hoo

Say "show routes" when you first ask it to plot a route to your destination, instead of saying "OK." Depending on how far you are going, it will show from three to five possible routes (Direct Route, Easy Route, Maximize Freeways, Minimize Freeways, Minimize Toll Roads). "Minimize Freeways" is not available for trips of over 100 miles, which is a little annoying IMO because sometimes you might just get bored with the Interstate. Anyway, using "show routes" will show you what the different routes are in different colors.

You can then switch the method used to plot the route either before you have it begin the route guidance (use the "change method" option on the destination display screen) or while your trip is underway (say "Menu" and then tell it which method you want to use).

The options it gives you won't vary that wildly from "Direct Route" and "Maximize Freeways"—it's still going to stay relatively consistent on the general routing. For example, the Navi doesn't know that the main highways to the Jersey Shore will be at a standstill tomorrow, so it doesn't know to consider alternatives.

The best option for the original poster is to put two locations into "Today's Destinations." I'd pick somewhere up in the Scranton area and enter that—say, a McDonald's or a gas station just off I-81 near the junction with I-380. Then put in your final destination in Boston, also in "Today's Destinations." When you go to select your destination, the "Today's Destinations" list will sort in the order that makes the most sense to the Navi under the idea that you're treating them as a sequence of stops (which in this case you are). If for some reason you dislike the order, you can re-order them. zeezz is right that you cannot designate particular roads for the Navi to use—it doesn't matter if you know that the New Jersey Turnpike near the Meadowlands will be at a standstill before a Springsteen concert, because if the Navi sees that route as the most direct it will route you that way and you either have to use the "Detour" option or just ignore it and go up the Garden State Parkway instead.

I recommend doing all this before you start driving because it involves paying a little more attention to what you're doing than it does just to say "Find nearest ATM."

azurepalm

A workaround for via: You can choose to do "avoid streets" on whatever it is suggesting to you right now and keep doing it until it finds your desired street.

dbett

Thanks guys.

I ended up using a series of "Today's Destination" entries. I used the map entry method to set destinations at sections of the highway right after certain intersections I wanted to pass through. I was careful to zoom in enough to make sure I was selecting the proper side of the road.

It worked pretty well to get a custom route. I was initially worried about how the transition between destinations would work. But as soon as I got through the intersection, and to the "destination" the screen popped up with a new button to proceed to the next destination. Hitting that button and then ok on the next screen immediately calculated a route to the next point.

In addition to that extra work, the main downside was not having a time/distance to the final destination.

So it's not as nice as the Garmin 2720 unit I used in my old car (which is now in my wife's minivan). But it works pretty well.

Thanks again.