Can you switch a route planner from miles to kilometres?
Yes. In Route by Zaweba choose View > Miles or View > Kilometres, or set your units in Settings, and every distance in the directions follows.
Yes. Route by Zaweba shows distances in miles and yards by default, and you can switch to kilometres at any time from the View menu, which has Miles and Kilometres, or from Settings. The change applies to the turn-by-turn directions, the distance of each leg and the running totals.
Having both on the View menu and in Settings is deliberate. View is for switching quickly while you look at a route; Settings is where you set the units you want to keep.
Why the choice matters
Most British drivers think in miles, and road signs agree, so miles and yards are the natural default. Plenty of people think otherwise. You might be planning a trip in Europe where signs are in kilometres, working for a firm that reports in kilometres, or simply more used to metric from another country or job. A route planner that only spoke one way would make you convert in your head every time you read a direction.
Where the units show up
Each leg of a route has English turn-by-turn directions, with the distance and time for that leg and running totals. Those distances follow your choice. Click any direction to see it on the map.
It is worth settling on one unit before you hand anything to someone else. The PDF route sheet has a summary, a stops table and directions per leg, and a driver who thinks in miles will read it more easily if you planned in miles too. If you print sheets for drivers who think differently from you, check the units first.
What does not change
Fuel cost is worked out from fuel economy in miles per imperial gallon and fuel price in pounds per litre, both entered in Settings. Those inputs stay in those units whatever you choose for distances, and the cost is shown for the route or round. So if you change the display to kilometres, keep entering your mpg as before.
Routing itself is not affected. Fastest or shortest, avoiding motorways, tolls or ferries, and the order Optimise order picks are all the same in either unit. Only the way the numbers are written changes.
Switching units
To switch for the moment, open View and choose Kilometres, or Miles to switch back. The directions and totals update straight away.
To set your preference for the long term, open Settings and choose the distance units there. Settings is also where you set where map regions are kept, fuel economy and price, whether new routes avoid motorways, and the memory used for preparing maps.
Other things worth setting up at the same time
While you are in Settings, it is worth checking the fuel figures, because a fuel cost in the right currency and for the right vehicle is one of the most useful numbers Route gives you for a round. And the View menu also has Light theme, if you prefer a light map to the dark one.
There is no account to sign in to and nothing stored online, so your choices live on your PC and stay as you left them.
A planner that fits how you think
Units are a small thing until they are wrong. Being able to switch with one click, and keep the setting you prefer, means the directions read naturally whether you think in miles, kilometres or a bit of both. Route by Zaweba lets you choose, and keeps the maps, the routing and the directions on your own PC whichever you pick.
