How to make a route from a CSV file

Droppath can help you find the fastest route between all the stops in your spreadsheet (Excel file, Google Spreadsheet, Numbers or other). In this tutorial, we are going to cover how to prepare your data and how to import it into Droppath! A CSV file is a list of comma seperated values typically used to exchange data in a formatted way from a spreadsheet application.

1. Prepare your data

   First, you need to make sure the data is in the format the app expects. Droppath supports multiple columns, this will let you import all your data with no data entry required on your phone. The only required column is address, a column that has a complete address (door number, street name, city, state or country at the minimum).

   The complete list of supported columns is in the documentation pages.

   To export your data as a CSV, you will have to refer to your spreadsheet application's documentation. Once you have a CSV file, you can email it to yourself, copy it to your iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or any other method to copy a file to your phone. You can also use the shared clipboard between your Mac and your iPhone (more details below).

2. Import the data

   Now, you are ready to add your stops to your route. You can either add the stops to your current route or create a new one. We'll assume that you are adding to the current route from here, as the only difference is that you need to create a new route first.

   If you used iCloud Drive or Dropbox: The import is done from the Add Destination screen. It can be accessed by tapping on the + button at the top right of the Destinations or the Map tab. From this screen, you can select Import CSV. A file selector will open. From there, you need to navigate to your file.

   If you emailed the file to yourself: go to your email application and tap to open the attachement. You will be presented with a selection of apps to open the file with. Pick Route. When Droppath opens, you will be asked if you want to add the data to the current route or create a new one.

   If you are using the shared clipboard: you can copy data in your Mac's clipboard and paste it directly in Droppath if your devices are configured with the same Apple Id account. The import is done from the Add Destination screen. It can be accessed by tapping on the + button at the top right of the Destinations or the Map tab. From this screen, you can select Paste CSV. In the new screen, paste the data inside the box. Make sure to include the column names.

   If you are using the local clipboard: you can also open your spreadsheet on your phone, copy then paste the data into Droppath. Go to your spreadsheet application and copy the data to the clipboard. Open Droppath and open the Add Destination screen. It can be accessed by tapping on the + button at the top right of the Destinations or the Map tab. From this screen, you can select Paste CSV. In the new screen, paste the data inside the box. Make sure to include the column names.

   The next screen for all types of import will be to present the imported list of addresses. If there were no longitute and latitude columns provided, the app will try to locate the addresses on the map. When this process is done, you will be able to add the destinations by tapping the Add button at the top right.

3. Calculate the optimal route

   To find the optimal way to visit each destinations, you have to calculate the optimal route. This is done from the Destinations or the Map tab by tapping on the (...) button at the top left of the screen and by tapping on Calculate Optimal Route menu item.

   The Route Optimization screen will open. From there, you can set the parameters for the optimization:

   • Vehicle Type
   • Avoid Tolls
   • Avoid Highways

   In addition, there are 3 actions that this screen can perform:

   • Optimize Destination Order: reorders the destinations for the shortest route that visits them all
   • Fetch Directions: if you want to get driving directions in the Directions tab, you must turn this on.
   • Reset Destination Numbers: if you prefer the destination numbers to be in sequential order, turn this on and a new number will be assigned to destinations after the optimization.

4. Start driving!

   You are now ready to drive! If you fetched directions in the previous step, you can find them in the Directions tab.

   At any time, you can launch another app to get directions. In the Maps tab, first select a marker and tap on the slanted arrow button at the bottom right. In the Destinations tab, first tap on a row to open the detail screen and tap on the Navigate button. In the Directions tab, tap on the slanted arrow on the header rows. You can launch one of these third-party apps to get step-by-step directions:

   • Apple Maps
   • Google Maps
   • Waze