zNav is a utility program that uses Yahoo maps to build driving directions in an image format compatible with the Microsoft Zune. Additionally, you can do a business search for a location and create an image with the business name, address, phone number, and map. For any business found, you can get driving directions to or from that location.
The initial screen for zNav is the driving direction screen, shown below. This screen lets you generate driving directions between two locations.
Enter a starting address in the Source textbox and an ending address in the Destination textbox. The format of the addresses can be:
Click the Process button to generate the directions. If your addresses are valid, you will receive a list of driving steps in the Preview list and the zNav image will change to the Route Overview. A successful search is shown below.
Click any item in the Preview list to see the image as it will be shown on the Zune. The image generated has the map with the current turn centered, plus the text instructions in a banner along the top of the image. Choosing the Route Overview shows the full trip and includes the total distance and estimated drive time in a banner along the top of the image.
A sample driving direction step is shown selected below.
zNav allow two sizes of images to be created. The default, 320x240, fits exactly in the Zune's screen. If you want more map detail, you can choose the 640x480 size. This will require you to zoom and pan the image on your Zune to read the text and see the map details.
You can change the size of the generated map image by checking the 320x240 or 640x480 buttons. To see how the updated size will look, click an entry in the Preview list.
When you have a set of driving directions and have selected the size of the images to create, you can save these images to a folder for later syncing to the Zune. You can optionally give the series of images a detailed name. To name your images, change the text in the Title textbox. By default, this text is "Driving Directions".
You can choose from two different output formats: standard or text-only. Follow the steps below for the image type you want to create.
The standard driving directions include the map and the step directions along the top. This is the same image used in the preview. To generate these images, leave the Text-Only checkbox unchecked and click the Save button. You will be prompted for a folder in which to save your images. It is recommended you create a new folder and give it a descriptive name like "From House to Mall" or "Work to Bill's House". This organization is quicker than using the Title to describe the directions. Do not save two sets of driving directions in the same folder as their order will become mixed up.
An example output for standard driving directions is shown below.
The text-only driving directions do not include any map. The step directions are listed in order. To generate these images, check the Text Directions Only checkbox and click the Save button. You will be prompted for a folder in which to save your images. It is recommended you create a new folder and give it a descriptive name. Do not save two sets of driving directions in the same folder as their order will become mixed up.
An example of the same driving directions in text-only output is shown below.
The business search allows you to find a business by name for a general area. It is not intended to find a specific business (white pages search), nor is it intended to cover a broad area (>10 listings). Despite those restrictions, it is still a functional tool for locating businesses in an unfamiliar area.
To search for a business, click the Yellow Pages icon 
in the lower-left of the application window.
The screen will change to show the Yellow Pages search. This screen is shown below. To return to
Driving Directions click the Driving Directions icon 
in the lower-left of the application window.
You can search for a business by entering the full or partial name of the business in the Search for Business textbox. Enter the city and state to search in in the respective fields. Entering a ZIP code will provide more targeted results, but is not required. Click Search or hit Enter to perform the search.
Any businesses found will be listed in the Results list. A successful search is shown below.
Click any entry in the Results list to see the image as it will be shown on the Zune. The image contains the map of the business and shows the business name, address, and phone number in the banner on the top of the image.
You can save some or all of the search results to images. Check the items you want to save and click the Save button. You will be prompted to choose a folder in which to save your images. You may want to create a new folder for each search to better organize your maps.
Some sample business images are shown below.
You can quickly generate driving directions to or from a selected business by right-clicking the entry in the Results list and selecting the respective menu option. When you do this, the address will be copied to the Driving Directions screen and a search will be immediately performed.
Once you have created your driving directions or business images, sync the images to your Zune manually. Depending on where your saved images folder is, it may appear in your library automatically, or you may need to drag the folder into your library for the Zune to sync with it. Depending on whether you use automatic sync or manual sync, you may need drag the folder from your library to the Zune.
Because of the nature of the Internet and the differences that can exist between any two computers, errors will happen. Here are some basic troubleshooting tips for zNav.