How-to guide

• No installation is required.
• Extract the downloaded ZIP file to a local folder, then double-click VHelper.exe.
• You can keep several versions, each in its own folder.

• VHelper needs the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8, which Windows 10 and Windows 11 include. On older systems, install it from Microsoft’s .NET Framework 4.8 page.
• If Windows shows an unknown publisher warning, confirm you downloaded VHelper from trananswers.com, then choose to run it.
• Some corporate security tools block ActiproSoftware.Docking.Wpf.dll, a legitimate user-interface component. Ask your IT department to allow it.
• Still stuck? Email support@trananswers.com with your Windows and VHelper versions.

1. Open Help → Register (or press F1) to show the Activate VHelper window.
2. Email the serial number shown there to support@trananswers.com. If your firm has a firm-wide license, you can create the key yourself on the Account page instead.
3. Enter the activation key and click Register. VHelper shows when your license is valid until; no restart is needed.

1. Choose Vehicle routes in the toolbar at the top of the map, or click Add on map (the green +) above the routing table in Network Objects.
2. Right-click a link to place a static routing decision (with this tool, a right-click inserts; Ctrl + right-click opens the menu).
3. Click the links or connectors where routes should end. VHelper previews the shortest path as you point, and a box beside the pointer shows the link number and name, the position, and the route length. The pointer turns into an X where a click can’t add anything.
4. Click away from the roads, or press Esc, to finish this decision and start a new one. Press Esc again to go back to Select.

New decisions and routes appear in the routing tables, ready for their relative flows.

Choose Vehicle routes in the toolbar at the top of the map first; in Select, nothing on the map can be moved.

• Click a route’s destination marker, or select the route in the routing table, to select it. Its path is highlighted in yellow.
• Change the path: drag the highlighted route onto another link or connector. VHelper shows the new path before you let go. Press Backspace to remove the last point you dragged it through.
• Move the destination or the routing decision: drag its marker along the road or onto another link.

Use route guards. With the Vehicle routes tool on and a route selected, click its path (a click, not a drag) to set a guard; click the guard again to remove it.

• Dragging the route then recalculates only the part between the guards around where you grabbed it. Everything outside keeps its path, even where a shorter one exists.
• Moving the destination recalculates only the part after the last guard.

Guards are editing aids for the current session; they aren’t saved in the network file.

• In the routing tables, select them and press Delete, click the trash buttons, or right-click and choose Delete.
• On the map, with the Vehicle routes tool on: select one and press Delete, Ctrl + right-click it and choose Delete, or drag it off the network and let go.

Deleting a decision also deletes its routes. Press Ctrl + Z to undo.

In Network Objects, choose Vehicle Routes to show the routing tables.

• Relative flows: the routes table has one column per routing time interval, for example RelFlow 0–3600. Click a cell, type a number, and press Enter. With several routes selected, the value goes to all of them. To paste from Excel, click the first cell and press Ctrl + V.
• Names: edit the Name cell of a decision or route.
• Vehicle classes: in the decisions table, clear AllVehTypes or click the Vehicle Classes cell, choose the classes, and click Apply.

Static routing is editable; partial and parking routing are shown read-only.

1. Choose Links in the toolbar at the top of the map.
2. Hold the right mouse button where the road starts.
3. While holding it, tap the left button to add a bend; a box beside the pointer shows the number of lanes and the length.
4. Release the right button where the road ends. Esc cancels.

To draw a connector, start on one link and end on another. It joins as many lanes as the narrower link has, on each link the lanes nearest where you started and ended.

When you release a link, the Link dialog opens, as in Vissim: set its number, name, number of lanes and their widths, link behavior type, display type and level, then click OK to add it, or Cancel to add nothing. It starts from the last link you drew, or else the selected link, which the new link also copies the rest of its attributes from. The new road is selected, so you can name it or change its lanes in Network Objects right away. A right-click without dragging still opens the map menu. Available for .inpx networks.

• Choose Links in the toolbar at the top of the map, then click a link or connector; its points appear as small squares.
• Drag a point to its new position. Connector ends follow their links, and signal heads, detectors, routing decisions, and other objects on the road keep their place.
• To add a point, right-click the link or connector where you want it (or Ctrl + right-click and choose Add Point, as in Vissim); the road keeps its shape until you drag the new point.
• To remove a point, drag it onto another point: it snaps there, ringed, and the road is shown without it (and without any points between the two). Release to merge them, or keep moving to cancel the merge.
• Press Esc to go back to Select.

Available for .inpx networks.

1. Choose Links in the toolbar at the top of the map.
2. Ctrl + right-click the link where it should split and choose Split Link Here…, as in Vissim 2026.
3. Check the position, the new link's number and whether a connector joins the two parts, then click OK.

The new link has the same lanes and attributes. Objects, routing decisions and route destinations stay on the part they are on, and routes and public transport lines over the split carry on through the connector and the new link. Undo it with Ctrl + Z.

• On the map: choose Links in the toolbar at the top of the map, click the link or connector, and press Delete. Or Ctrl + right-click it and choose Delete Link.
• In Network Objects: choose Links / Connectors, select the rows, and press Delete, click the trash button, or right-click and choose Delete.

As in Vissim, the connectors joined to a deleted link are deleted with it, and so are the routing decisions on it (with their routes), the routes that end on it, and the objects on them: vehicle inputs, data collection points, signal heads, detectors, conflict areas, and so on.

When more than the link goes, a panel lists it while the map shows it in red. Choose Delete (or press Enter) to go ahead, or Cancel (Esc). It also warns when a deleted detector belongs to a signal controller, whose logic may still use it. Ctrl + Z brings it all back.

Routes that only pass over the link are kept, as in Vissim, but their path is broken. Diagnostics lists them. To fix one, right-click it in the routes table and choose Repair route, which gives it the shortest path again, or drag it with the Vehicle routes tool.

Available for .inpx networks.

In Network Objects, choose Links / Connectors, then double-click a cell:

• Name, Lanes and user-defined attributes: type the new value and press Enter.
• Behavior Type, Display Type and Level: pick one from the list.
• On connectors, Lane Change Distance: type it; Lane Change Distance Per Lane: click the checkbox; Lane Change Distance Distribution: pick a distance distribution, or None. On links these cells are hatched, as in Vissim, since Vissim uses them on connectors only.

Lengths, lane change distances and lane widths are in the network’s unit, metric or imperial, as the column header shows: (m) or (ft).

With several rows selected, the value goes to all of them. A new number of lanes adds or removes lanes on the left, so lane 1 stays the rightmost lane.

The Lanes pane beside the table lists the lanes of the selected links and connectors, as Vissim’s Lanes list does. Edit a lane’s Width and its own Behavior type (Vissim 2020 and later) and Display type (Vissim 11 and later), where (the link’s) uses its link’s, click Blocked vehicle classes to close it to some classes, and, as in Vissim, check No lane change left – all vehicle types or pick classes under No lane change left – vehicle classes (and the same to the right). Lane 1 has no lane to its right and the leftmost lane none to its left, so those cells are off. Add a lane on the left with the green +, or select lanes and press Delete (or the trash button) to remove them.

As in Vissim, removing a lane takes the objects on it, and a connector left without lanes. A panel lists them, and the map shows them in red, before anything changes. The lanes left of a removed lane are renumbered, and connector ends follow.

• Choose Vehicle inputs in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Vehicle Inputs.
• Right-click a link to add a vehicle input at its start (with this tool, a right-click inserts; Ctrl + right-click opens the menu). Click an input to select it, drag it to another link to move it, or drag it off the network to delete it. Press Delete to delete the selected input.
• In Network Objects › Vehicle Inputs, edit the input’s Name, and in the time interval table its Volume and VehComp. With several intervals selected, a typed volume goes to all of them; to paste a column of volumes from Excel, click the first Volume cell and press Ctrl + V.

A new input has a row for each vehicle input time interval, with a volume of 0 and the vehicle composition your other inputs use most.

• Choose Signal heads in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Signal Heads.
• Right-click a lane of a link or connector where the signal head goes. The Signal Head dialog opens, as in Vissim: number, name, lane and position, SC - Signal group and type, the secondary signal group (an OR signal group or, in Vissim 2026 networks, a flashing yellow arrow signal group), rate of compliance, discharge record, block signal and amber speed, and vehicle classes. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing. A signal head can be added before its signal group exists, as in Vissim.
• Click a signal head to select it, drag it along its road or to another lane or road, or off the network to delete it. Double-click it to open its dialog, and press Delete to delete the selected one.
• In Network Objects › Signal Heads, edit the Name, Position, SC - SG and Type of one or several signal heads.

• Choose Vehicle attribute decisions in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map in Network Objects › Vehicle Attribute Decisions, and right-click a lane.
• The dialog opens: pick the attribute it sets (Vissim's vehicle attributes and your user-defined ones are listed with what each is), then the new value as a formula (for example [DESSPEED]*0.9) or a distribution, when it is active, and which vehicles. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Drag one to move it, double-click to open it, or press Delete.

• Choose Parking lots in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Parking Lots.
• Hold the right button on a lane where the lot starts, drag along the lane, and release where it ends (a right-click without a drag gives 30 m).
• The Parking Lot dialog opens: type, lane, position, length and space length (real parking spaces count their capacity), dynamic assignment, the parking maneuver and what makes drivers choose it. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Drag a parking lot to move it, double-click it to open its dialog, or press Delete. Names, positions and lengths can also be typed in its list.

• Choose Public transport stops (the bus) in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Public Transport Stops.
• Hold the right button on a lane where the stop starts, drag along the lane, and release where it ends (a right-click without a drag gives 20 m).
• The stop's dialog opens: number, name, lane, where it starts and its length. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Drag a stop to move it, double-click it to open its dialog, or press Delete (lines that stopped there no longer do). Names, positions and lengths can also be typed in its list. Boarding passengers are kept as the file has them.

• As in Vissim, conflict areas are made wherever two roads overlap; you don't draw them. Choose Conflict areas in the toolbar at the top of the map: all of them show, passive (yellow) ones too.
• Right-click a conflict area to step it: A has the right of way (A green, B red), B has it, undetermined (both red), passive (yellow).
• Links you drew or reshaped get passive conflict areas where they now overlap other roads when the tool turns on.

• Choose Priority rules in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Priority Rules.
• Right-click a lane for the stop line (red), then right-click a lane for its conflict marker (green). The Priority Rule dialog opens: the stop line beside the conflict marker, with their lanes (or all lanes), positions, vehicle classes, the signal condition, and the gap time, clearance and speed. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Shift+right-click adds another conflict marker to the selected rule. Drag a stop line or marker to move it, double-click to open the dialog, or press Delete.

• Choose Sections in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map in Network Objects › Sections.
• Right-click each corner, then double-click (or press Enter) to close it. As in Vissim, the section is added at once, with no dialog; type its name in the Sections list.
• Drag a corner to reshape it, drag inside to move it, or press Delete. Backspace takes back the last corner while drawing; Esc cancels.

• Choose Pavement markings in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Pavement Markings.
• Right-click a lane where the marking starts. The Pavement Marking dialog opens: pick the type from its samples (arrow, diamond lane, U-turn, Roundabout US, zebra crossing or a user-defined image), then its directions or image. The preview shows it as the map will. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Arrows, diamonds, U-turns and roundabout arrows keep Vissim's size; zebra crossings and images take any length and width.
• Drag a marking to move it, double-click it to open its dialog, or press Delete. Names, positions and lengths can also be typed in its list.

• Choose Obstacles in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map in Network Objects › Obstacles, then pick its shape beside the button.
• Polygon: right-click each corner, then double-click (or press Enter). Rectangle: right-drag along one side, release, move for its width and click. Circle: right-drag from its center to its edge.
• The Obstacle dialog opens: level, display type, z-offset, height and obstacle distance, with the shape's size. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Drag a corner to reshape it, drag inside to move it, double-click it to open its dialog, or press Delete.

• Choose Public transport lines in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map in Network Objects › Public Transport Lines.
• Right-click the road the line enters on (as in Vissim, it always enters at that road's start), then right-click where it ends. Its way and the stops on it show as you move.
• The PT Line dialog opens: vehicle type, desired speed, color and timing, its departures (add a series: every so many seconds, from, to), and which stops on its way it serves and how long it dwells there. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Drag its entry or destination to re-route it, double-click to open it, or press Delete.

• Choose Data collection points in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Data Collection Points.
• Right-click a lane where the point goes. As in Vissim, it is added at once, with no dialog, selected, and shown in Network Objects › Data Collection Points.
• Type its Name and Position in the list. On the map, drag it to move it, or press Delete; a deleted point also leaves the data collection measurements that count it.

• Choose Vehicle travel times in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Vehicle Travel Times.
• Right-click a link or connector where the measurement starts, then right-click one downstream where it ends. The way between them is shown as you point; Esc cancels.
• The Travel Time Measurement dialog opens, as in Vissim, with both sections and the distance between them. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Drag a selected measurement's start or destination to move it, double-click it to open its dialog, or press Delete. Names are typed in its list.

• Choose Queue counters in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Queue Counters.
• Right-click a link or connector where the queue counter goes. As in Vissim, it is added at once, across the road, with no dialog; it is selected and shown in Network Objects › Queue Counters.
• Type its Name and Position in the list. On the map, drag it to move it (off the network to delete it), or press Delete.

• Choose Nodes in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Nodes.
• Right-click each corner of the node, then double-click (or press Enter) to close it. Backspace takes back the last corner and Esc cancels. Or Ctrl + right-click and choose Add New Node for a square node there.
• The Node dialog opens, as in Vissim: number, name, use for evaluation, dynamic assignment and mesoscopic simulation, and visualization. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Click a node to select it and show its corners: drag a corner to reshape it, or drag inside to move it. Double-click it to open its dialog; press Delete to delete it.

• Choose Desired speed decisions, Reduced speed areas or Detectors in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in their Network Objects list.
• Desired speed decision: right-click a lane where it goes. Reduced speed area or detector: hold the right button where it starts, drag along the lane, and release where it ends (a right-click without a drag gives a default length).
• The object's dialog opens, as in Vissim: the time a desired speed decision or reduced speed area applies and each vehicle class's desired speed distribution (and deceleration; right-click the table to add a row); a detector's port number, signal controller and type. OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Click one to select it, drag it to move it (off the network to delete it), double-click it to open its dialog, or press Delete. Names, positions, lengths and port numbers can also be typed in their Network Objects lists.

Priority rules are listed in Network Objects › Priority Rules, with the conflict markers of the selected rule beside them; they are edited in Vissim.

• Choose Stop signs in the toolbar at the top of the map, or Add on map (the green +) in Network Objects › Stop Signs.
• Right-click a lane where the stop sign goes. The Stop Sign dialog opens, as in Vissim: its number, name, lane and position, and on the RTOR tab the signal group it is connected to (vehicles then stop only while that group is red). OK adds it; Cancel adds nothing.
• Click a stop sign to select it, drag it along its road or to another lane or road, or off the network to delete it. Double-click it to open its dialog, and press Delete to delete the selected one.
• In Network Objects › Stop Signs, edit the Name, Position and SC - SG (signal controller and group) of one or several stop signs.

Dwell time distributions (toll counters) are set in Vissim; VHelper keeps them as the file has them.

Press Ctrl + Z to undo and Ctrl + Y to redo (as in Vissim; Ctrl + Shift + Z also redoes), or use the Undo and Redo buttons on the main toolbar. Their tooltips name the edit they’ll undo or redo.

Edits are written to your file when you save (Ctrl + S). An asterisk (*) in the title bar means there are unsaved edits.

• In the Analysis sidebar, open Run Vissim › Current Network and click Simulation Parameters…, or click the link in Evaluation › Configuration.
• The dialog is laid out like Vissim's, with a live summary of the duration, start and end, runs and seeds, and checks each value before OK.
• In an .inpx network every parameter can be changed; the change is one edit you can undo, saved into the file. In an .inp network, only the number of runs and the random seed can change, for runs you start from VHelper.

Click Save As on the toolbar and choose Vissim 2025, 2024, 2023 or 2022 network in the file type list; it lists only the versions older than the network's. VHelper writes a copy in that version's format, leaving out or converting what it doesn't have, and continues with the copy. Give the copy its own name, such as "<name> (Vissim 2022).inpx": it won't overwrite the open network. For VISUM, save for Vissim 2022.

A network from Vissim 2025 or later may have connectors that older versions can't represent; VHelper warns you before saving.

• Click Open or press Ctrl + O.
• Drop an .inpx or .inp file anywhere on VHelper.
• Pick a recent or pinned file on the start screen, or from the arrow next to Open.

Opening a large network shows progress, and you can cancel it; the network you had open stays open.

1. Click New network on the toolbar, the start screen or the Project panel, or press Ctrl + N.
2. Choose the Vissim version, the network's name and its folder. VHelper creates it from its template for that version and opens it, placed where the map is.
3. Draw the first road with the Links tool. Vissim's reference point is set where you draw it, so the network's origin is in your study area.

The templates (Vissim 11 and 2020 to 2026) have road-class display types (Road, GP freeway, C-D road, Arterial, Local street, HOV / HOT / Express), named vehicle speed distributions, and 24 freeway and arterial driving behavior presets that combine capacity levels (CAP--, CAP-, CAP, CAP+) with lane changing levels (LC, LC+, LC++). You can also start from OpenStreetMap roads: the import uses the same display types.

• Click Save or press Ctrl + S.
• To save to another file, click Save As .

Click Options or press F4.

• Export › Current View to Image (Ctrl + E) saves what the map or diagram shows; Whole Network to Image saves all of it. Choose the size: the window's detail, 1 or 3 pixels per meter of the network, or your own, up to 12,000 pixels.
• Export › Whole Network to GeoJSON saves the roads for GIS.
• Print (Ctrl + P) fills the page at any zoom and paper size, with every level of the network.

• Scroll the mouse wheel to zoom in and out, or use the + and − buttons in the bottom-right corner of the map.
• Drag with the left mouse button to pan in Select, or hold the middle mouse button and drag in any tool, as in Vissim. The arrow keys pan too.
• To zoom to an area, click Zoom to Area on the main toolbar, beside Zoom All, and drag a rectangle. It works on diagrams too; Esc or a right-click cancels.

Click Zoom All , press Ctrl + W, or press Home on the map, as in Vissim. Page Up and Page Down zoom in and out.

Click the Network objects button at the top left of the map. Each object type has an eye to show or hide it, a label toggle, and a color swatch; click the swatch for colors and label options.

• Press Ctrl + A.
• Or click Display Link in the status bar, or open Options (F4) and change it on the Map Display tab.

Open Options (F4) and turn Show Lane Markings on or off under link display.

• Click Link Color in the status bar and pick from the list, or press Ctrl + T for the next color. Colors whose results aren't loaded yet (link evaluation, calculated demand) are grayed out and skipped.
• Or open Options (F4) and change the link color.
• For speed colors, calculate desired speeds first (Ctrl + Shift + U).
• To color roads by slope, choose Gradient in the Link Color list (status bar, map menu or Options): gray within ±1 %, oranges to dark red uphill and blues downhill.

• Right-click the map and choose More Map Layers › Outline Driving Behavior Changes › Compared with Vissim defaults (or turn it on in Options › Map › Analysis Overlays).
• Links and connectors whose driving behavior differs from Vissim's defaults for its car-following model (Wiedemann 74 or 99) are outlined in magenta; point at one to see each changed parameter, its baseline and its value.
• To compare with one of your network's behaviors instead, choose it in the same menu, where they are grouped by car-following model. It is the baseline for behaviors of its own model; the others are still compared with Vissim's defaults. The choice is saved with the project.
• The freeway and arterial presets of VHelper's templates are drawn as rings around the road instead, with the Gray and Display Type link colors: lane changing inside (LC+ orange, LC++ dark orange), capacity outside (CAP-- dark red, CAP- red, CAP+ green).

Open Options (F4) and turn Draw Arrows to Show Direction on or off under link display.

• Press Ctrl + L.
• Or use the Network objects button on the map: open Links / Connectors and choose link or connector labels.
• To show or hide one link's label, right-click the link and choose it from the menu. Network Objects › Links resets them.

Click Link Label in the status bar and pick from the list, or open Options (F4) and change the label mode. Labels whose results aren't loaded yet are grayed out.

Open Options (F4) and change them on the Map Display tab. Object and label colors for each object type are also on the Network objects button on the map.

• Click Calc Volume or press Ctrl + U.
• Press Ctrl + G to switch between whole-link and segment volumes.

• Click Calc Speed or press Ctrl + Shift + U.
• Change the colors for each speed range in Options (F4).

1. Calculate demand volume (Ctrl + U).
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + B, or turn on Show Volume Bandwidth.

1. In the Analysis sidebar, under Diagrams, click Corridor Diagrams and choose Speed Heat Map….
2. Choose the corridor, the period, and the speed-result source (for example, data collection results from Vissim).
3. Adjust font size, borders, and other settings as needed.

1. In the Analysis sidebar, under Diagrams, click Corridor Diagrams and choose Stick Diagram….
2. Choose or define the corridor path.
3. To show demand on the stick diagram, calculate demand volume first.

1. In the Analysis sidebar, under Diagrams, click Node Diagram…. Evaluation opens at the node results.
2. Load node evaluation results from Vissim’s results database, or import the node evaluation .att file.
3. Configure the node diagram, and choose whether to show volume or delay.

In the Routing & Volume sidebar, under Volume, choose the vehicle type in Label What Vehicle Type.

In the Routing & Volume sidebar, under Volume, export the link demand volume to a CSV file. It opens cleanly in Excel.

In the Routing & Volume sidebar, under Volume, import the reference volumes from a CSV file in the whole-link or peak-segment format. VHelper checks the whole file before replacing anything.

1. Open Evaluation in the bottom panel. VHelper reads queue counter results from Vissim’s results database; or import the queue counter .att file, or drop it on VHelper.
2. Turn on Show Queue Zones to draw queues on the map, grouped by approach or turn movement.

Sample Excel loading sheet Sample OD matrix text file

1. Open Excel and create an n × n OD matrix.

2. Cell (1,1), row 1 column 1, is the vehicle class. It is optional and defaults to ALL; if given, it must be a single value.

   Cell (1,2), row 1 column 2, lists the favored link types (behavior types) for that vehicle class, separated by dashes, for example 4-5-6. It is optional and blank by default.

   Cell (2,1), row 2 column 1, is the start and end simulation time in seconds, for example 0-5400. It is optional; if blank, VHelper uses a single period of 0–99999.

   Cell (2,2), row 2 column 2, lists the disfavored (penalized) link types, separated by dashes, for example 1-2-3. It is optional and blank by default.

   The other cells in row 1 and column 1 are Vissim link IDs. The first row holds destination zone links and the first column holds origin zone links.

   The other cells in row 2 and column 2 are zone IDs, used as route names.

   The matrix values are the volume fractions for each OD pair.

   To keep general-purpose (GP) vehicles on GP links (and HOV vehicles on HOV links), VHelper adjusts each link’s effective length while it builds paths. For example, when building GP paths with favored link types 1-2-3 and disfavored link types 4-5-6:

   • Favored link types become more attractive: their effective length drops to about 70%–85% of the actual length, depending on settings.
   • Disfavored link types become less attractive: their effective length rises to about 300%–310%, depending on settings.

   If you penalize HOV link types heavily (for example 2000%, or 20 times the length), GP vehicles will rarely use HOV facilities unless no other path exists.

   The defaults work in most cases. On large or complex networks, global parameters may not satisfy every requirement; use Route Replacement afterwards to correct undesirable paths, and always review the routes.

   Penalized link types are not prohibited: if one is the only way to a destination, it is used. To rule links out completely, import link closures.

3. Copy the matrix into a text file in Notepad. Copying and pasting directly is recommended, although Excel’s Save As also works.
4. In the Routing & Volume sidebar, click Open Vehicle Inputs & Routing. On the Auto Generate tab, click Create Static Routing from OD Matrix and open the file you created.

1. In VISUM, export the PrT Path file with one of these attributes:
   • Nodes-Concatenate-Number, or
   • Links-Concatenate-Number
   The node or link IDs must exist in the Vissim network so VHelper can match them.
2. Open Vehicle Inputs & Routing, select the Auto Generate tab, and click the button that matches your export:
   • Create Static Routing from VISUM Path (Nodes), or
   • Create Static Routing from VISUM Path (Links)
3. VHelper looks for a companion settings file named exported_path.att.setting that sets the vehicle class and time periods. Without it, the defaults are:
   • Time period: 0–99999
   • Vehicle class: ALL
4. Example settings file:
   $Setting:Class;TimePeriod;Favor;DisFavor
999;0-10800;200;100
5. Set the favored and disfavored link type penalties in Options (F4).

Sample vehicle inputs text file

1. Create the table in Excel as shown.
2. Copy all of it into a text file in Notepad. Copy and paste directly rather than using Excel’s export.
3. Open Vehicle Inputs & Routing, select the Auto Generate tab, and click Create Vehicle Inputs. Excel ranges are also supported.

Sample vehicle compositions text file

1. Create the table in Excel as shown.
2. Copy all of it into a text file in Notepad. Copy and paste directly rather than using Excel’s export.
3. Open Vehicle Inputs & Routing, select the Auto Generate tab, and click Create Vehicle Compositions.

1. Open Vehicle Inputs & Routing and select the Combine Static Routings tab.
2. Enter the routing decision IDs to combine (remove).
3. For example, entering routing decision 3 removes decision 3, and routes such as 1-1 and 2-1 that lead into it are extended by decision 3’s routes in proportion to their flows.
4. Check the result, then save (Ctrl + S); combining doesn't save the file by itself.

• In Network Objects, choose Vehicle Routes and type routing decision or route IDs, or text, in the search box.
• To filter by path, click Path sequence filter / replace… and enter a sequence of link and connector IDs separated by spaces.

• For one path: in the routing tables, click Path sequence filter / replace…, enter the path to find and the path to replace it with (link and connector IDs separated by spaces), and preview the routes before replacing.
• For many: open Vehicle Inputs & Routing, use the Find & Replace tab, and add entries one at a time or import a comma-delimited text file with the path to find, the replacement, and the vehicle class.
• To change a single route on the map, drag it onto another link.

1. In Network Objects, choose Data Collection Points and click Create….
2. Enter the path as link and connector IDs, or pick a saved corridor path, and create the points.

1. Select the links and connectors in Network Objects › Links / Connectors. To select a path, filter by IDs with a sequence of link and connector IDs.
2. In the Lanes pane beside the table, select the lanes to change (Ctrl + A selects all of them).
3. Click Blocked vehicle classes on one of them, check the classes the lanes are closed to (none opens them), and click Apply. Every selected lane gets that list.

Lane closures are shown as, for example, 1:3-4;3:1-2: lane 1 is closed to vehicle classes 3 and 4, and lane 3 to classes 1 and 2.

• Click Check Network or press Ctrl + K.
• Issues are listed in Diagnostics, with proposed fixes where VHelper has one. Double-click an issue to find it on the map.
• Load Vissim .err run-error files in Diagnostics, or drop them on VHelper.