Route Planner Use?

[markannab]

Hi all

I'm brand new to navigators of any kind but have just bought a TomTom XL. The instruction manual is a bit sad as regards detail. I've worked most things out but am totally stumped in one area: The Route Planner.

Could someone explain two aspects to me as outlined below? It would be much appreciated.

1. WHAT IS IT'S BENEFIT?
How does this differ from simply "Navigating to" a location. When would you use it?

HOW DO YOU USE IT?
I set in a Departure and Destination and click "Done". But what now? From what I find, it doesn't immediately set me on the route set (and I don't think it's mean to from what I understand). So where is it stored? How do I re-call it? And again, why would I use this in preference to simply navigating from my current location?

Any help that you can give would be excellent!

Thanks,
Mark.
Australia.

 

[dhn]

You can check out a video of how RP works in this link

 

[markannab]

Hi dhn

Thanks for your reply. I've watched the entire video. Though that's talking about the routes.tomtom.com website - not the in-device route planner, I understand it's basically the same.

Does this then mean that the "Plan Route" feature is simply for you to type in departure/destination points and analyze where it suggests you go, how long it will take you etc?

Or can you effectively lock in the resulting route and use it tomorrow or next week? If this is the case, how is it done? Is it saved in Favourites?

I apologise for being slow here, but wouldn't the only time you'd benefit by setting in a departure location other than your current location be when, for example, you KNOW that tomorrow you'll be leaving from precisely "1 Smith Street, Hillville" (and so set that as your departure point)? Otherwise, Route Planning would be pointless?

Am I on the right track here?

 

[dhn]

My understanding is thar Route Planner cannot save a route for implementation in the unit. That would be with the Itinerary function for those models that have that option.

Since Route Planner supposedly can show traffic, it may assist a user when planning an Itinerary.

 

[markannab]

Thanks for your help.

 

[Racer X]

I was hoping that Route Planner would work like Google Maps where one can alter/force a specific route. It would be great to load that into the GPS.