CoPilot (.trp)
CoPilot is ALK Technologies' turn-by-turn navigation software, now part of Trimble. RouteConverter reads and writes its .trp trip files across four format generations, CoPilot 6 through CoPilot 9.
At a glance
| Extension | .trp |
| Encoding | text |
| By | ALK Technologies — acquired by Trimble in 2010 |
History
ALK Technologies was founded in the 1970s by Princeton professor Alain Kornhauser and built one of the first digital truck-routing map databases for North America. In 1997 it shipped the first turn-by-turn GPS navigation system. Trimble acquired ALK effective 31 December 2010, and the product continues today as CoPilot under Trimble's transportation and logistics division.
Where it is used
CoPilot is professional fleet and trucking navigation software rather than a consumer car-GPS app — it accounts for a truck's height, weight, axle count and load type when routing. It is still actively developed; Trimble's developer documentation describes CoPilot 11 as the current release.
Structure
A .trp file is plain text, one "Name=Value" pair per line. A route opens with a StartTrip/EndTrip header block carrying the route name and a DataVersion line that identifies the format generation (CoPilot 6 carries its own legacy value; CoPilot 9 writes "2" or "3"). Each stop is a StartStop/EndStop block with latitude and longitude stored as scaled integers, an address and city, a Show flag marking it as a target or a waypoint, and a sequence index; an optional StartStopOpt/EndStopOpt block records whether the stop was loaded.
How widespread
.trp is a professional trucking-software export, not a hobbyist format — most RouteConverter users meet it when exchanging route plans built in Trimble's fleet navigation software rather than from consumer GPS hardware.
RouteConverter support
| Reads | CoPilot 6, CoPilot 7, CoPilot 8, CoPilot 9 |
| Writes | CoPilot 6, CoPilot 7, CoPilot 8, CoPilot 9 |
RouteConverter reads and writes all four tracked versions, CoPilot 6 through CoPilot 9. CoPilot 9 files are UTF-16LE with a leading byte-order mark; CoPilot 6 through 8 are plain text.
Specifications and documentation
Related conversions
FAQ
What is a .trp file?
CoPilot is ALK Technologies' turn-by-turn navigation software, now part of Trimble. RouteConverter reads and writes its .trp trip files across four format generations, CoPilot 6 through CoPilot 9.
How do I open a .trp file?
RouteConverter, the free converter for Windows, macOS and Linux, opens CoPilot files: start the app, load the file, then view it on the map or save it in another format.
What can I convert .trp to?
RouteConverter turns .trp files into other formats, free. These conversions have their own guide: CoPilot to GPX.