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**Eric Frost** · #1 (**permalink**) 09-19-2004

MapPoint Programming Challenge

Come up with the best solution and get recognition in the next newsletter as well as receive your choice of a Large MapPoint Mug or a AutoRoute 2004.

Some collections of stops cannot be Optimized. If this is being done programmatically, execution hangs.

A minimal example of a route that will not Optimize can be downloaded here:
http://www.mp2kmag.com/downloads/florida_ptm.zip

The route will calculate fine, but when you try to optimize, it returns an error "Unable to get directions from ... move one or both of the stops, and try again".

Specifically, it is the route up on Hilton street that is preventing it from Optimizing, if you shift it even slightly it seems to be fine.

So working Interactively, this is not really a problem. But programmatically from Excel, I am having trouble finding a way to trap for this condition.

Stops can be tested and those that that are totally unroutable (stuck behind a one-way road or on a mini-road network not connected to the main road network) can be caught as an error is generated from this condition. You can then shift the individual stop's position until it works.

Optimize does not generate a trappable error in the same way, it just hangs.

Here's the same minimal route in Excel, the code is included below.
http://www.mp2kmag.com/downloads/florida_xls.zip

When you run it, you see MapPoint uses cpu for several minutes, then just gives up.. there is no error generated, it just hangs. (hit ctrl-alt-del and kill mappoint to get back to excel).

How is it possible to detect this hanging or have it trigger and error and continue program execution without user intervention?

Good luck!
Eric

Code:

Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
  'This will prevent the waiting for ole application warning from popping up
  Application.DisplayAlerts = False

  Set oApp = CreateObject("MapPoint.Application.NA.11")
  oApp.Visible = True
  Set objMap = oApp.NewMap
  Set objRoute = objMap.ActiveRoute

  For i = 2 To 5
    objRoute.WayPoints.Add objMap.GetLocation(Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(i, 2), _
      Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(i, 3)), Worksheets("Sheet1").Cells(i, 1)
  Next
  
  Stop
  'The route can be calculated i.e. all the stops are routable
  objRoute.Calculate
  
  Stop
  'It is this Optimize that hangs and unfortunately doesn't generate an error trappable
  'by Excel. The error only appears when working interactively with MapPoint.
  objRoute.WayPoints.Optimize

  'Set back to true
  Application.DisplayAlerts = False
End Sub

Anonymous · #2 (**permalink**) 01-28-2005

Hey All,

Did anybody come up with thoughts on the programming challenge? ("Some collections of stops cannot be Optimized. If this is being done programmatically, execution hangs.") I see no posts here... we'd much like some help with this one as it has us banging our heads.

-Tom

**Wilfried** · #3 (**permalink**) 01-29-2005

Hi Tom,

A workaround could be to create the mappoint component in a thread and execute it invisible. Or maybe the object model. After a certain timeout then kill the thread.

However: I really dont know if the component or the object model or both are thread safe.

**Eric Frost** · #4 (**permalink**) 01-29-2005

Oh, that's good I am not the only one. The best we have come up with is to have a separate (asynch) thread running to check for a failed (0 cpu usage) and hanging instance of MapPoint.

Eric

rskrzydlo · #5 (**permalink**) 03-07-2005

I use Visual foxpro to program rather than VB, but I am sure that you have the similar error trapping code to mine. In Visual Foxpro I had a similar problem where one location in the route created the error message that Mappoint was unable to find driving directions to that point. I simply put in an "ON ERROR" snippet that allowed me to perform other logic when this happened. In my case, I was looking for distances between 2 points so my on error section changed the calculation of distances from the calculate command to the distance as the crow flies which is less accurate but still close enough for my purposes.

In your case, once you trap the problem with "ON ERROR" you can perhaps put in code to look for a nearby location that is calculable.

At the very least, you are not stuck in limbo.

Ralph Skrzydlo
www.technologix.ca

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Handling Route that Calculates but does not Optimize

Handling Route that Calculates but does not Optimize

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