Until now had to be manually entered addresses. Either by typing the address, by clicking on the map or by importing. Now, third-party programs can directly add addresses and calculate routes.
No API yet
We have had many questions for an API, a programmable interface. This allows programmers of other websites or applications to seamlessly integrate our route planner. They want to send addresses and receive the fastest route.
Unfortunately, we can (yet) can't offer this because of the conditions set by Google. We use the Google Maps API for geocoding and -decoding locations and addresses, and also largely for the distances. Google however has set the restriction that data may not be used outside the application .
Direct linking
We therefore introduced another way to enable systems to link up with our route planner. With a direct link addresses can be sent directly and the optimal route is calculated automatically.
Why is this useful? For example, if you are a real-estate broker and you want your visitors to pick the houses themselves. You send the addresses they want to visit from your website. Potential buyers are given the fastest route for the tour. An excellent service!
How it works
It's really easy to use. You put the addresses that need to be visited in the URL. The addresses must be encoded are (spaces as %20 or +, commas as ,) and separated by dollar signs ($). An address like “Street Number, Zipcode City, Country” works best. There is a maximum of 20 addresses for this service.
The URL should be::
http://www.routexl.nl/?q=<address1>$<address2>$<address3>$<address>
For instance: link
Such a URL is easy to create for websites with addresses in a database. If the user opens the URL, RouteXL recognizes the addresses, searches the locations on the map and optimizes the route. After that, it can be printed, downloaded or shared through social networks.