---
title: Locking, Starring, and Optimizing Stops
description: How to use the Lock, Star, and Optimize tools to build an efficient route.
---

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# Locking, Starring, and Optimizing Stops

## How to use the Lock, Star, and Optimize tools to build an efficient route.

Once you've added stops to a route, three tools help you finalize the order before publishing.

**Lock**

Locking a stop fixes it in position — the Optimize function won't move it.

Consider locking your farthest stop as the first stop. Run Optimize first and check where it places that stop. If it would naturally land last, locking it first makes sense — the driver goes out to the far end of the territory and works back toward the depot. This way, if the truck fills up before all stops are complete, the stops that get skipped are the ones closest to home, not the ones farthest out.

Lock the offload as the last stop (if the offload is not at the depot).

All other stops remain unlocked so Optimize can arrange them efficiently.

**Star**

Starring a stop marks it as high priority. The star is visible to the driver in the phone app. Use this to flag stops where timing is critical — a tank that's nearly full, a customer with a hard pickup window, or any stop the driver shouldn't skip without a strong reason.

**Optimize**

Once your stops are added and locks are set, click Optimize. Route Simplified reorders the unlocked stops using truck routing (weight limits, road restrictions, turn efficiency) rather than simple point-to-point car routing.

After optimizing, check the totals in the route header — you should see total drive time and total miles decrease compared to the unoptimized order.

Locked stops stay in place. Only unlocked stops are reordered.

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