The “miler” in PC*MILER reflects that the application was launched in the early-1990s as a way to generate mileage for freight rating and billing. (It also ran on a Personal Computer. See what we did there?)
Even now, in its 34th version, it remains the transportation industry’s standard for generating miles between locations. (Or kilometers, if that’s how you roll.)
Over the years, PC*MILER has grown to become a feature-rich routing and mapping software available in multiple platforms—installed desktop software; a web application; and web APIs. Each provides a convenient way to calculate distances between origins and destinations, throughout the world.
It’s all about the Base
PC*MILER is released annually in numbered versions. Each version includes an enhanced routing algorithm and new map data. Because many companies also use PC*MILER to plan and optimize truck routes, we release map data updates throughout the year to account for roadway changes. These updates can occasionally change the miles between locations returned by PC*MILER.
That’s why the “Base” map data at the time of release is what shippers and carriers use when generating mileage in PC*MILER for rating. It ensures they’re comparing axles-to-axles when, say, they refer to “PC*MILER 34 miles.”
- PC*MILER desktop is shipped with the Base data set for the version you have installed. It defaults to that data, unless you download a data update. (Don’t worry, you can easily switch between data sets for varying business needs).
- PC*MILER Web premium customers can set Default Options or Route Options to use Base data from the version of their choice—from PC*MILER 18 to PC*MILER 34.
- Similarly, premium customers using our Web APIs can set the dataVersion parameter to retrieve miles (or kilometers) from PC*MILER 18 and higher.
Choosing the "Current" or "Latest" data set in any PC*MILER application includes all map updates. That's ideal for route planning, but be sure you are using a Base data set for rating.
Want to take a test drive of PC*MILER?
Request a free 15 day trial of the desktop app, try PC*MILER Web, or visit our developer portal to get a free, trial API key that allows you to test features such as our Mileage Report.