Route suggestions while canvassing

Overview

This article explains how FieldEdge chooses the next household (the blue pin on the map) while you are on a walk, and what to do when that suggestion does not match the path you would take on foot.

Why the next stop might not be the house “right in front of you”

While you are at a door, you may notice that FieldEdge suggests visiting a household that looks farther away on the street, even though another house on your list is obviously next door or across the street. That can feel like the app is sending you the wrong way.

That behavior is usually not because the app is ignoring nearby doors. It is because of how distance is calculated (see below).

How the suggested route is designed

FieldEdge’s next-household suggestion is a best guess based on straight-line distance—often described as “as the crow flies.”

In practice that means:

• The app uses the shortest line between two map points (your location and each household’s geocoded address), not walking distance along sidewalks, one-way streets, cul-de-sacs, or blocks you cannot cut through.

• It does not optimize for turn-by-turn walking or driving routes the way a dedicated maps directions app does.

What you can do in the field

Choose a different next household: If the blue pin is not where you want to go next, tap the household on the map that you prefer to canvass. FieldEdge will treat that as your next stop.

Tips for campaigns

• Brief canvassers that the blue pin is a straight-line proximity hint, not a guaranteed optimal walking loop—so they should tap ahead when the map order does not match the block.

• List and turf design (how households are grouped and assigned) still matter for efficient coverage; the suggestion logic does not replace good turf planning.

Related articles

• Quick Start for Field Users (blue dot, blue pin, and tapping another household)

• Canvassing overview

• Creating walk lists