ArcWatch: Your e-Magazine for GIS News, Views, and Insights

May 2008

Find Locations Quickly Using ArcGIS Desktop 9.2

Free Online Geocoding

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Online geocoding is available directly from within ArcMap.

You don't always want to geocode many addresses stored in a table. Sometimes you just need to find one or a few addresses and mark them on a map. ArcGIS Desktop 9.2 has a quick and easy way to find addresses, and all that is required is an Internet connection.

Online geocoding in ArcMap makes use of Web services. Three geographically specific address finders are available—the U.S. Address Finder, the Canadian Address Finder, and the European Address Finder. These address locators, available at no charge from within ArcMap, use Web services for geocoding and data from Tele Atlas/TomTom.

Access this functionality through the Find tool in the Tools toolbar in the default ArcMap interface. Click the Find tool and choose the Address tab on the Find dialog box. Choose one of the address locators in the drop-down.. Type or select the components that make up the address: the country, street or intersection, city, state/province, and ZIP Code or postal code in combo boxes in the dialog box. Click Find.

 
Locate an address and mark it with a marker and callout.

One or more candidate addresses will be listed in the box below. Only candidates that meet or exceed the minimum candidate score will appear. Right-click the geocoded location to access the context menu and a variety of choices for interacting with the candidate address.

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