Using a point layer for your stops or barriers

You can use a point layer in the ArcMap table of contents for defining stops or barriers. For example, you could use this option if you want to find the quickest delivery route that visits all your stores. Or perhaps you want to find the most efficient way for your sales representatives to check in with the most valued customers in their territory. You could select those customers in the layer, use the selected customers to define your stops, then calculate the route.

Steps:

1. Click the Find Route button on the Tools toolbar.
2. Add a routing service following the instructions in one of the following topics.
   • To add a file-based network dataset: Adding a file-based routing service
   • To add an ArcGIS Online routing service: Adding an ArcGIS Online routing service
   • To add an ArcGIS Server routing service: Adding an ArcGIS Server routing service
3. To see the nearest address listed for each stop or barrier that you assign, add an address locator following the instructions in one of the following topics.
   • To add a file-based address locator: Adding a file-based address locator
   • To add an ArcGIS Online geocoding service: Adding an ArcGIS Online geocoding service
   • To add an ArcGIS Server geocoding service: Adding an ArcGIS Server geocoding service
4. Click the Stops or Barriers tab, click the Get Points button, then click Get Point Feature(s).
5. Click the drop-down arrow to choose the point layer you want to use to define your stops or barriers. If you want the route to use every point in the layer, click Get All Points. If you want to use only selected points, click Get Selected Points.
6. Click the Add Stops or Add Barriers button to add the points to the Stops or Barriers list.
7. To move a stop up or down in the listed routing order, select the stop in the list (the corresponding stop on the map is highlighted in yellow), then click the Up or Down arrow buttons.
8. To remove a stop or barrier, click the stop or barrier in the list and click the Remove button.
9. If you want the route to end at one of the stops previously listed, check the Return to check box in the Stops tab and select the desired stop.
10. Click the Find Route button to calculate the route and display it on the map.
11. Click the Directions tab to see detailed directions for your route that include the driving distance and driving time.

Tip:

If you want the order of the stops on the route to be determined by the most efficient travel route, click the Options tab and check Reorder stops to find optimal route. If you want the route calculated using a specific order of the stops, make sure the Stops list reflects that order.

Tip:

After adding a stop, you can rename it by clicking the stop in the list and clicking the Properties button. In the Stop Properties dialog box, you can also set a stop duration and a time window for the stop. This will affect the total driving time of the route, but only when the Use trip start option is enabled in the Options tab.

Tip:

The Use trip start option in the Options tab can be used to enable certain data-dependent functionality, such as historic and real-time traffic, and time-dependent turn restrictions. For example, if historic traffic information is available in the routing service, set the trip start time to the time and date that you will be driving. The route solver will include the traffic information for the specified time slice when it calculates the route.