# Working with an external map in a Route

Use the PutValueToExternalMap and GetValueFromExternalMap functions to define and use external map variables in a map.

## About this task

In this example, you want to create a Route that sends information about an order. In this Route, you will store the current date in an external map variable, create a message body that contains details about the order and create a map that calculates the total price of the order, defines a shipping date and creates more external map variables.

### In this section

* [Creating structures for the Route](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/data-mapper-functions-reference-guide/8.0-R2026-09/creating-structures-for-route)
* [Creating a Route to use an external map](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/data-mapper-functions-reference-guide/8.0-R2026-09/creating-route-to-use-external-map)
* [Using external map variables in a map](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/data-mapper-functions-reference-guide/8.0-R2026-09/using-external-map-variables-in-map)