Using OnTimeZone.com data in Streets & Trips or MapPoint

Our data is offered in multiple formats at the "Files/Downloads" link on the navigation bar to the left. These will all work nicely with Microsoft Streets & Trips and Microsoft MapPoint.

There are several ways to use this data in Streets & Trips or MapPoint, each with advantages and disadvantages.

Here are some general traits of the various options:

* Works only with Streets & Trips version 2010 or later.

Native:

Just start with a fresh ".est" file from our download page, or make a new copy of one you already downloaded. Open it and begin designing your route. This only works for starting a new file. To add OTZ data to an existing file you'll need to choose one of the other options.
Files are offered in multiple versions and can be used in all versions of S&T starting with v2007. Earlier versions of S&T are not supported.

Template:

Install a template file (*.stt) from our download page so that when you create a new S&T file the time zone borders are automatically included. More information about how to use templates can be found here, here and here. Just as with the .est files, template files are offered in versions that will work with v2007 and beyond.

Copy/Paste color coded borders into an existing S&T file:

Do this by opening both files at once, selecting and copying each segment from the OTZ file into your existing S&T file. This can be tedious because borders which contain Daylight Saving time exceptions are broken up into multiple colored segments and you can only copy one at a time. You may use either a native or a template file as your source for select/copy.

Copy/Paste single color borders into an existing S&T file:

Easier than the above option, but you lose the in-border segment color coding. The entire border color will still give you a clue:

• Borders which are the same all year will be magenta.
• Borders which contain any portion that only applies in Winter (standard time) will be all dark blue.
• Borders which contain any portion that only applies in Summer (daylight saving time) will be all light blue.

You could copy/paste both winter and summer borders. The differences between them will stand out.

Import our S&T GPX file into existing S&T file:

(only works with S&T version 2010 and later). This option has some unusual traits:
Once you import the file, the borders are permanent in that file. Borders display as dark blue lines 2px wide. That cannot be changed.They cannot be deleted or modified in any way. In effect they become a permanent part of the underlying map display for that particular file.

Choose the dowload labeled "Streets and Trips GPX import format", not "GPX Interchange Format". The former is formatted specifically for the "Import GPX File" data function found in Streets and Trips versions 2010 and later. The latter is a generic GPX file for mapping tools, and will not import properly into Streets and Trips.

Also, be sure to use the "Import GPX File" function and not the "Import Data Wizard".

A note about viewing the borders:

At wider zoom ranges the time zone lines may appear to be significantly off from borders which they are supposed to follow. This is because when zoomed out S&T and MP sometimes uses approximated border data. If you zoom in to the 90 mile range or tighter, most such discrepancies disappear and you will find the time zone lines accurately track the borders. On rare occasions you may need to zoom in as tight as 18 miles to show border data with sufficient accuracy. If you are zoomed into the 18 mile range or tighter and see a discrepancy, please drop me a note to let me know.

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