Changing the Region

(PC*MILER|Worldwide only) To enter location data for regions outside North America, you can change the region using the =SetDefaultRegion function.

=SetDefaultRegion(regionName) 

regionName is a string and valid values are as follows: NA (North America – this is the default); SA (South America); Europe or EU; Africa or AF; Asia or AS; ME (Middle East); Oceania or OC.

After a region is set using this function, all cells that don’t already contain PC*MILER function calculations will process locations using the new world region. Previous calculations within the spreadsheet will remain the same.

Alternatively, you can edit the “Region” setting in the PCMSERVE.INI file as in the example below. Note that =SetDefaultRegion function setting takes precedence over the setting in the .INI file. 

[Default]

Region=NA

(If it is only “Region=” with no value, the default value “NA” is active.)

Worldwide Country and Postal Codes

With the correct region specified, and PC*MILER|Worldwide data installed, you may specify a country outside North America using its FIPS two-letter abbreviation (for example, ‘Paris, FR’) or a postal code (for example, ‘46001 sp’). A list of state and country abbreviations by region can be found here.

To use another format for the country abbreviation (ISO2, ISO3, GENC2, or GENC3) you will need to either change the format in PC*MILER or add a line to the PCMSERVE.INI file in the OPTIONS section as in the example below.  An .INI setting takes precedence over a setting in PC*MILER.

[OPTIONS]

CountryAbbrevType=ISO2

When you are using European postal codes as stops, you need to enter a country abbreviation to avoid being routed to the wrong country in cases where the same postal code exists in more than one country. Enter the postal code, a comma or space, and the correct two-letter country abbreviation; e.g. “46001 sp” or “46001,sp” for Valencia, Spain.

Canadian and Mexican locations are specified using a province or estado abbreviation after the city name. (Canadian postal codes are available as an add-on.)

Switching the Data Set

The data set that PC*MILER|Spreadsheets uses to calculate routes can be changed using the PC*MILER user interface. To do this, open PC*MILER then select the Map tab > Change Data Set > and choose a map data version from the menu. 

PC*MILER|Spreadsheets must be restarted to activate the new data set.