FAQ

Your questions answered
This page contains answers to commonly asked questions about Freeway.

For additional help using Freeway, please watch our product demos, available from the menu on the right. You can also read our Help page for further assistance.

General

What is Freeway?

Freeway is a revolutionary new technology that enables you to generate driving directions from your home to any address you find on any web page almost instantly. This is the first and only program of its kind that makes it so easy to get driving directions fast, when you need them.

How does Freeway work?

When you select an address and click Driving Directions on the context menu, your web browser sends the text you have selected to Freeway's servers for processing. Once there, Freeway uses powerful address-recognition technology to extract the information from your selection necessary to generate the driving directions, such as the street address, city, state, and zip code. Freeway accesses your configuration settings from a cookie stored on your hard drive that contains your starting address and preferred generator. Once Freeway has all the information it needs to generate the driving directions, it automatically forwards you to the generator's web site and displays them.

How much does Freeway cost?

As its name suggests, Freeway is a FREE service, provided by First Productions, Inc. It doesn't cost you anything!

Is Freeway available for other countries?

No, unfortunately Freeway is available only for the United States at this time. We may have versions available for other countries in the future.

Requirements

I am using a Mac. Will Freeway work on my computer?

If you are running Firefox on your Mac, the Freeway extension should work just fine. Unfortunately, Freeway does not support Internet Explorer for the Mac. We may have versions available for other operating systems in the future.

What web browser do I need to use Freeway?

Freeway requires Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher or Firefox 1.0 or higher. If you do not have Internet Explorer or Firefox installed, or if you have an out-of-date version, the latest version of Internet Explorer is available free from the Microsoft web site, and the latest version of Firefox is available from the Mozilla web site. Unfortunately, Freeway does not work with Netscape or any other web browser. We may have versions available for other web browsers in the future.

Does Freeway use a lot of my computer's resources?

No, the Freeway software runs on our web server for you, which is where our powerful address-recognition technology remains hard at work.

Configuring

Why do I need to configure Freeway?

Configuring Freeway is necessary so the software will know what starting address to use when generating driving directions. Also, when you configure Freeway you are given the opportunity to select your favorite driving directions web site, which is used to generate the driving directions.

Where are my configuration settings stored?

Your configuration settings are stored in a small file on your computer called a "cookie." Your email address will be saved on our server, if you provide it. However, your home address will not be saved on our server for your protection.

Why do you ask for my email address?

Occasionally, we may wish to contact you regarding updated versions of Freeway or new products from First Productions, Inc. that may be of interest to you. Providing your email address is completely optional and is not necessary in order to use Freeway.

How do you protect my privacy?

For your protection, your home address is not saved on our server. If you provide us with your email address, be assured that we will not share it, or any of your other personal information, with any third-party. For more information about how we protect your privacy, please read our Privacy Policy.

How do I change my settings?

Once you configure Freeway, you can change your settings at any time by revisiting the Configure page. If you entered your email address but are no longer interested in receiving messages from FirstProductions, either follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of the email message, or clear the email address box on the Configure page and click the Configure button to update your settings.

Downloading

I downloaded Freeway. Where is it?

Freeway supports both Internet Explorer and Firefox, and each browser has its own set of directions for downloading and installing Freeway. Please be sure to follow the installation instructions on the proper version of the Download page for your web browser. Once you complete the installation of Freeway, it is necessary to close and reopen your web browser to make the Freeway features available. Then visit our page that teaches you how to use Freeway, available here.

How do I uninstall Freeway?

To uninstall Freeway, follow the instructions on the Uninstall page.

How can I learn if a new version is available?

If you enter your email address on the Configure page, we will send you an email whenever an updated version is available. If you do not provide your email address, we may display a message to you informing you of the update when you generate driving directions using Freeway. Due to the nature of the Freeway software (it runs on our web server, not on your computer), updates may sometimes be available to you instantly, without any action on your part.

Using Freeway

How do I get driving directions from my house?

To get driving directions from your house (the address you entered as the Starting Address when you configured Freeway) simply highlight using the mouse the address on the web page you would like to use as the destination address, right click the selected text, and click "Driving Directions from Home" on the context menu. Freeway will display the driving directions using the web site you selected when you configured the software.

How do I get driving directions from somewhere else?

Begin by following the steps for getting Driving Directions from Home (listed above) selecting "Driving Directions..." from the right-click context menu instead. After selecting this option, you will be presented with a page that will allow you to change the starting address to somewhere else before generating the directions. You can also modify the destination address or select a different generator from this page.

How do I get directions from the selected address to my house?

All of the driving directions generators supported by Freeway have an option to Reverse Directions. Once you generate the directions, simply select this option to switch the starting and destination addresses.

What if the destination address isn't on a web page?

While the primary purpose of Freeway is to provide faster access to driving directions to destination addresses found on web pages, if the destination address is in another program such as an email or word processor, or even written down on paper or in your mind, Freeway can still get you driving directions faster. To use this feature, open a new web browser window or use a window that is already open. Then on any web page or your home page, right-click in the empty background space on the web page and select "Driving Directions..." from the context-menu that appears. Do not select any text before right-clicking. You will be presented with the opportunity to enter a destination address to get driving directions to (as well as a chance to modify the starting address or generator).

Where can I find a page to test out Freeway's features?

We have put together a page that contains general information about how to use Freeway as well as an address that can be used to test out the features of Freeway. This page is available here.

Troubleshooting

Why does Freeway say it is not configured when I already configured it?

If you receive the message that Freeway isn't configured when you try to generate driving directions, yet you have already configured Freeway, first check to be sure you have not disabled cookies in your web browser. If cookies are disabled, you will be presented with a message and instructions for enabling cookies in your browser when you try to configure or reconfigure Freeway. If you are sure that cookies are enabled yet you still receive the "not configured" message, the Freeway cookie may have been deleted from your computer. In this case, you will need to re-enter your configuration information and try again.

Why isn't Freeway going directly to the driving directions?

When you select "Driving Directions..." from the right-click context menu, you are given the chance to modify the starting and destination addresses and select a different generator before generating the driving directions. To skip this step and go directly to the driving directions using your pre-configured starting address and generator, select "Driving Directions from Home" form the context menu instead.

Why is Freeway having trouble parsing the address?

Freeway is very flexible and should be able to successfully recognize addresses in a variety of formats, discarding extraneous information as needed. Check to be sure you have selected a United States address. Remember, Freeway needs at least the city and state or the Zip code to generate driving directions. If Freeway is unable to recognize the address you select, it may be in an unusual format or on a page with an unusual design. We continuously modify Freeway so that it can recognize addresses in as many formats as possible.

Why does Freeway show driving directions to the city instead of to the specific address?

When you select text that does not include a street address, but does include a city and state or a Zip code, Freeway will generate directions to the general area automatically. If you did select a street address but are receiving general directions instead, it is possible that Freeway had trouble parsing the address properly (see the question above). If the problem persists, please contact us.

Getting Help

What do I need to watch the Product Demos?

To watch our Product Demos, you need to have the Macromedia Flash Player installed on your computer.

How can I learn more about how to use Freeway?

The best way to learn how to use Freeway is to watch the Product Information presentation. If you have not yet configured Freeway, the Configuration presentation may be useful as well.

I found a problem with Freeway. Who do I report it to?

We welcome your feedback, whether a comment, suggestion, question, problem, or error. Please send us your feedback.

What if I have a question that is not answered here?

Please contact us and we will be more than happy to help.