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Welcome to the CDXZipStream October 2015 Newsletter
The release of
the new version of CDXZipStream has been delayed due to a
compatibility issue with Excel 2016, but final testing is underway
and we expect to release it in early November. We review
pricing and main features of the new version here, and also discuss
how to obtain census tract FIPs codes required as input to the
CDXTract demographics feed.
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What You Need
to Know About the New CDXZipStream
Introduction of the new CDXZipStream has been delayed
due to a minor compatibility issue with Excel 2016. After final
testing is complete, release is scheduled for early November.
Here's what you need to know about the new release:
- Pricing for the new version is available here. A one-year data
subscription is now included. If you have purchased
CDXZipStream in the past and have a current data subscription,
upgrading to the the new version is free.
- CDXZipStream now works with either 32 or 64-bit
Excel.
- There are two new functions, CDXRouteBing and
CDXLocateBing, that use Bing Maps as the mapping data source instead
of Microsoft MapPoint. These functions require that you enter a
Bing Maps license key. However, if you prefer you still
have the option of using CDXRouteMP and CDXLocateMP with Microsoft
MapPoint.
- CDXRouteBing can calculate route distance and
time, return route directions, and create route maps for driving,
walking, and transit options. Calculations in many cases can
account for current traffic conditions. Bing Maps does not
provide route optimization at this time; we will be offering an alternative
route optimization method in the near future.
- Using CDXLocateBing, up to 18 locations can be
placed on a single map. Geocoding, reverse geocoding, address
verification and limited postal code lookup are also available with
this function.
- Bing Maps pricing is competitive with Microsoft
MapPoint, especially for multi-user clients. Authorized Bing
Maps reseller OnTerra provides annual enterprise licenses for $300
for up to five users. Additional users are $60 each. Up
to 100,000 data requests can be made daily for each license.
And compared to MapPoint, Bing Maps provides up-to-date, world-wide
data covering over 250 countries, with address or rooftop level
geocoding available for over 60 countries.
- Product registration as well as data downloads
and installation can be performed directly from the CDXZipStream
commandbar.
- When obtaining demographic data from the main
CDXZipStream interface, or when using CDXRouteBing or CDXLocateBing,
you now have the option to import the data as text values instead of
custom function formulas. This is especially useful when
working with large data sets where formulas can be slow to
recalculate.
- The function CDXRadius, which finds ZIP codes
within a radius distance of a target ZIP, can now import up to one
million values, which is useful for postal code analysis within
Canada.
Look for our upcoming email announcing when the new
CDXZipStream is released.
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How to Get Census Tract and Block Codes
In support of the CDXTract demographic data feed, we
offer a free Excel template that provides both census tract and block
FIPS codes. These codes are unique identifiers used by the U.S.
Census bureau to tabulate data from the decennial census and American
Community Survey. The template allows users to
input address lists and obtain the 11-digit census tract
FIPS code and the 15-digit block FIPS code for each location.
FIPS is the acronym for Federal Information Processing Standard.
Here's a short tutorial showing how the template works:
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Get Census Tract FIPS Codes in Microsoft Excel
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You can download the template from our links
page.
Census tracts on average have about half the
population of zip code areas, and provide an excellent basis for
extracting demographic data from the U.S. census. There are
just over 74,000 census tracts in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Blocks are significantly smaller areas compared to census tracts;
there are about 8.2 million blocks, although about a quarter of
these do not contain any population. With the census
tract code it is easy to use the CDXTract data feed (available for
separate purchase for any of the CDXZipStream demographic versions)
to obtain income, population, age, household, and other key
demographics.
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Latest Data
Updates
Canadian and
U.S. data feeds were updated as of October 28. There
were 2,211 changes made to the U.S. database this month.
If you would like to update your database to reflect these
changes, click on the "License Information and Software
Updates" icon on the CDXZipStream toolbar, and select "Data
Updates" to login to your account.
We hope you
find the information here helpful for you and your
organization. You can contact us with your feedback and
suggestions by replying to this email.
The
Team at CDX Technologies
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In
This Issue
What You Need to Know About the New CDXZipStream
How to Get Census Tract and Block Codes
Data Updates
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