WorkWorksheets
Route Optimisation and Ordering
How worksheet ordering modes and route optimisation work, including manual reordering, automatic sort modes, and navigation links.
Worksheet order matters twice: it affects how the team reads the worksheet on screen, and it affects whether the route and navigation links make practical sense in the real world. Work Planner gives you both manual and automatic ways to shape that order.
Order By Options
- Manual: Opens the reorder popup so you can drag worksheet items into the exact sequence you want.
- Round Order: Uses the stored order from the linked round when you want the worksheet to follow the route sequence already maintained there.
- Round Name: Groups or sorts by round names instead of using the numeric route order.
- Due: Useful when date priority matters more than geography.
- Address 1 and Postcode: These are simple location-based ordering choices for teams that prefer a rough geographical sort without using route optimisation.
Manual Reorder Popup
- Drag items up or down: This is the hands-on way to shape the route when local knowledge matters more than any automatic rule.
- Save Order: Stores the dragged order as the worksheet order.
- When manual is best: Use it when the team already knows the smartest visit sequence or when access restrictions and local timing beat a postcode sort.
Route Optimisation Banner
- Route optimisation is running: Work Planner is waiting for Mapbox to return the best stop sequence.
- Route optimisation could not be completed: Something about the worksheet stops or addresses stopped Mapbox from finishing the route cleanly.
- This optimised route is out of date: The worksheet changed after the last optimisation, so the saved route and navigation links may no longer match reality.
- Route optimisation is ready: The worksheet order reflects the optimised stop sequence and the navigation buttons are ready to use.
What the Optimised Route Shows
- Summary line: Stop count, distance, and total route duration help you judge whether the route still looks sensible.
- Starting from: Shows the origin location used for the route calculation.
- Last optimised: Useful when you are trying to work out whether the saved route is recent enough to trust.
- Navigation buttons: When available, you can open Next Stop in Google Maps, Next Stop in Apple Maps, Open Full Route in Google Maps, or Open Full Route in Apple Maps straight from the worksheet.
What Can Make the Route Stale
- Moving items: Splitting work across worksheets or moving items in and out can leave an old optimisation behind.
- Address changes: If the stop locations change, the route summary and map links may no longer match the worksheet.
- New items being added: A route that made sense before the worksheet changed may need running again.
Related articles
- Move Items Popup: Often the next thing to revisit after the worksheet has been reshaped.
- Worksheet Detail Screen: Shows where the ordering controls and route banner live.
- Print, Email, and SMS Actions: Worth checking once the worksheet order is settled and ready to send out.
- Add to Worksheet Flow: Useful if the worksheet order needs changing because new jobs or quotes are still being added from Planner.