MD-82
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
Air Carrier X en route at FL320. I offered a short cut direct PKE VORTAC. The pilot asked; 'What do you want us to do after PKE?' According to pilot; PKE was not on his flight plan. After further investigation; pilot thought his flight plan was: ...KA27S..DRK..EED..UBABE.SBONO1.PSP; Flight plan in the host system was:  ...PAYSO..DRK.J96.PKE..UBABE.SBONO1.PSP. As an en route Controller; I don't completely understand how clearances are issued on the ground at major airports. But from what I understand; some of these clearances come out of a printer and are NOT verified verbally/completely from Controller to pilot. If this is true; obviously there is a margin for error here; which is not good. If the pilot is flying one route and the computer thinks he is flying a different route; the possibility for operational errors; airspace violations increases.
ZFW Controller offered a short cut to an en route air carrier only to discover that ATC and the flight crew had different routings.