TSP Solver 3.05 · User guidePríručka

Introduction

TSP Solver works with the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP): search for a very short route that visits all points exactly once and returns to the start. It is useful for logistics, route planning, PCB drilling, CNC/laser workflows, robotics, and drone path planning (2D and 3D).

The app includes LKH, Robopol Refined, and a quality-focused hybrid method, and supports both straight-line (air) distance and road distance based on real road networks.

Quick start

1. Choose distance type: Air (points) or Road (addresses).
2. Add points by clicking on the canvas, or import points from a .txt file.
3. Select a method and speed/quality profile suitable for the job.
4. Click Calculate to compute and draw the route.
5. Export points / image / SVG or save the project as .json.

The workspace

The left sidebar contains project, dataset and system tools. The canvas occupies the centre; the right panel holds the route summary, algorithm selector, Calculate button and Route Details.

• Unique points: counts distinct coordinates, matching Route Details. Duplicate input records do not increase this count.
• Gold marker: identifies the first input point before calculation, then the actual route start/finish or mTSP depot.
• Route Details: contains coordinates, removed duplicates and calculation time, with Copy, Clear and Export controls.

Layout & fullscreen

The 3.05 workspace uses a compact sidebar, canvas and results panel. On a narrow screen the results move below the canvas and the navigation opens with the menu button.

1. Click the expand icon in the upper-right corner of the canvas.
2. The canvas fills the screen; the fullscreen menu provides access to the original tools.
3. Use the fullscreen button again to return to the workspace.

For large datasets, use Visual Config → Appearance → Canvas → Skip Drawing. The calculation continues while point and route rendering is skipped.

AIR 3D (x, y, z)

Enable Air 3D beside the distance selector. Points then include height z and the solver uses three-dimensional distances.

1. Set the Z slider for points added manually; its range is −1000 to 1000.
2. Import x y z coordinates, or use Random Gen with a constant Z or a uniform height range.
3. Calculate the route, then use Show 3D View to open the interactive view inside the canvas.
4. Drag to rotate and use the wheel to zoom. Exit 3D returns to the 2D canvas; the checkbox controls whether calculations use 3D coordinates.

TXT import accepts 2D and 3D coordinates. Export includes Z when 3D mode is enabled or a point has non-zero Z. See Data import / export for delimiters and numbering.

Program menu

Function buttons

• Add points
• Delete points
• Remove lines
• Clear all
• Calculate

Algorithms

Performance

• Profiles: Fast prioritizes response time, Balanced provides the default trade-off, and Heavy prioritizes quality.
• Scaling: calculation time depends on point count, geometry, selected method, profile, and hardware.
• Quality: no single profile is best for every dataset; compare results when the route is business-critical.
• 3D support: 2D and 3D (x, y, z) with interactive visualization.
• Road distance: computes routes on real road networks, exportable to Google Maps.

Settings (recommended)

File operations

Import / Export data

Import points

Accepted coordinate formats (AIR 2D/3D):

• x y (2D) or x y z (3D), separators: space / comma / semicolon
• x, y or x, y, z
• x; y or x; y; z
• n) x y / n) x y z (numbered, delimiter ))
• n: x y / n: x y z (numbered, delimiter :)
• n, x y / n, x y z (numbered, delimiter ,)

Numbering is recognized only when it has an explicit delimiter (), :, ,). This prevents breaking valid 3D files where the first coordinate is an integer.

The first row is highlighted before calculation. After calculation, the gold marker follows the actual route order. Repeated coordinates are counted once.

Decimals must use dot (.), not comma.

Export points

Exports route points to .txt. The exporter preserves your coordinate delimiter (space/comma/semicolon) and numbering style when possible.

• If AIR 3D is enabled (or any point has non‑zero Z), export uses x y z.
• Otherwise export uses x y.

Multi-vehicle (mTSP) TXT format

When a multi-vehicle route exists, TSP Solver exports a structured .txt file (for machines/tools) with explicit sections. The format starts with a header and then contains POINTS and ROUTES.

• # TSP_SOLVER_TXT 1
• # mode: air or # mode: road
• # depot: 1, # vehicles: k, # objective: MINSUM|MINMAX|MINMAX_SIZE
• POINTS section: id x y [z] (AIR) or id lat lon "address" (ROAD)
• ROUTES section: V <vehicle_id> cost=<cost> stops: id id id ...

IDs in the structured export are 1..n (by point order in the file). Routes reference these IDs.

Random points

Generates points using the selected distribution. Click Calculate afterwards to solve the route.

Open System → Visual Config or the canvas Config button. Appearance has two tabs: Canvas for theme, colours, point size, route width, Skip Drawing and the faint grid; Interface for page and panel colours.

Open System → Method Config or the gear in the right panel. Algorithm settings has Routing, Robopol Refined and LKH tabs. Confirm algorithm changes with Apply settings.

Actions: Create / Delete / Calculate

TSP Art

Turn an image into a continuous route. The screenshots below were supplied by the author and show the complete 3.05 interface, including the selected algorithm and result.

1. Open Dataset → TSP Art Gen, select an image and enter the number of points.
2. For a quick first preview, start with a few thousand points. Increasing the point count adds detail and increases conversion and calculation time.
3. Select LKH-3.0.10. In Method Config → LKH, choose DELAUNAY, Runs = 1 and Maximum trials = 1. Move type = 3 and both patching values at 0 reduce search effort further.
4. Click Apply settings, then Calculate.
5. Use Appearance → Canvas to adjust the background, point and route colours. Export the image, points or SVG as required.

The examples use 50,000–100,000 points for detail. They are illustrations, not a runtime guarantee for other computers or datasets.

Examples & screenshot reference

Points on an image

1. Choose File Op. → Import Image.
2. Add points to the template, choose an algorithm and Calculate.
3. Export the image, points or SVG, and use Save As to keep the project.

Coordinates from TXT

1. Prepare coordinates using a supported delimiter.
2. Choose Dataset → Import Points, then Calculate.
3. Compare Unique points with Route Details, then export the result.

Each image below shows the full 3.05 application window. Click to open it; use 1:1 for the original resolution.

Road distance (maps)

Road mode calculates routes on real road networks (geocoding + routing).

You can also enable Multi-vehicle (mTSP) for Road mode via Method Config → Routing (vehicles, objective, depot, min/max stops). AIR 2D is supported too; AIR 3D should be verified on smaller jobs before larger runs.

1. Select Road.
2. Enter addresses (one per line).
3. Click Geocode.
4. Click Calculate to compute the route.
5. Use Show Map to open an interactive preview.
6. Use GOOGLE MAPS export to open the route in Google Maps (navigation / send to phone).

License / editions

Use Info → License Key to activate purchased features. Editions typically differ by point limits, import/export permissions, and road‑route capabilities.

• Demo: limited points/features (intended for evaluation).
• Basic: suitable for smaller projects and travel use cases.
• Professional: full feature set with expanded limits; practical scale depends on hardware, memory, and selected mode.

Browser requirements

A modern browser, an internet connection and WebGL for the 3D viewer. Calculation runs on the server; no desktop solver installation is required.

Notes & tips

• Use complete addresses for better geocoding accuracy (street, number, postal code, city, country).
• For large AIR datasets, start with the Robopol Refined Fast profile and enable Skip Drawing when needed.
• Export SVG for vector editing and clean scaling (Inkscape/Illustrator).
• Decimals must use dot (.), not comma.