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Welcome to the CDXZipStream September 2015 Newsletter
In
anticipation of the new release of CDXZipStream next month, we
cover the advantages of using Bing Maps as a source of address and
routing data. We also highlight the function CDXZipCode,
included in all versions of CDXZipStream, which can be used as a
quick and easy source of latitude and longitude for large data sets.
Here's
our latest blog article: American Community Survey FAQ
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Bing Maps
Features 
We are very excited about the next version of
CDXZipStream that will be released next month. Not only does it work
with 32- and 64-bit Excel, but it is compatible with both Microsoft
MapPoint and the Bing Maps web service for calculating travel
distance and time, geocoding, reverse geocoding, mapping, and address
verification.
MapPoint is a very handy desktop mapping solution. But
its discontinuation by Microsoft, although unfortunate for its many
loyal users, did provide us with the opportunity to evaluate other
options. We think you'll be happy with the new CDXZipStream,
especially since Bing has some significant advantages over MapPoint,
such as:
- Up-to-date data. The last version of MapPoint was
from 2013, and there will be no more updates.
- A much more extensive database and greater
geographic coverage, with some level of coverage for over 250
countries. Address or rooftop level geocoding is available for over
60 countries, including many you've been asking about that were not
included or well-covered in MapPoint, such as Mexico, Australia, and
South Africa. Please refer to the Microsoft website for a complete
list of covered countries.
- Route data that includes traffic flow. Select the
"Quickest with Traffic" option, available for 35 countries,
to get real-time travel duration.
- Route calculations not only for driving, but for
transit and walking routes where applicable.
Bing pricing is competitive with MapPoint,
particularly for multi-user clients. An annual Bing enterprise
license from authorized reseller OnTerra is $300, covering up to five
users, plus $60 for each additional user. Each license provides up to
100K data requests per day, with no annual limit. Free trial keys are
also available directly from Microsoft.
Look for our next newsletter for complete details
about the next CDXZipStream.
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Geocoding ZIPs with CDXZipCode
We'd like to highlight here a CDXZipStream function
that doesn't get a lot of attention - CDXZipCode, and more
specifically, the latitude and longitude data it provides for each
ZIP.
If you're willing to give up a bit of accuracy for a
lot of convenience, you can use CDXZipCode to geocode U.S. locations
quickly and easily, and without the use of MapPoint. This
function is available in all versions of CDXZipStream. Here's
what the custom function formulas looks like:
=CDXZipCode("07869","Latitude")
=CDXZipCode("07869","Longitude")
To apply this to a list, replace the ZIP Code with the
worksheet cell location (e.g. A1) of the first ZIP, and copy the
formulas to the entire list:
=CDXZipCode(A1,"Latitude")
=CDXZipCode(A1,"Longitude")
Since the data is already stored for each ZIP in the
CDXZipStream database, the formulas are calculated very quickly.
CDXZipcode is especially useful for very large data sets or as
a backup when MapPoint can't find a location. Keep in mind
that using a geocoded point for an entire ZIP Code area does
introduce error, especially in rural areas; ZIP codes can range in
size from a tenth of a square mile in urban areas like New York City,
to several thousand square miles in rural Nevada.
If you'd like to sort your newly-gotten ZIP Code
geocodes around a target location, consider using the free Geocode
and Sort Locations by Distance template. Just download it from
our links page, and after pasting
your data into the template, skip the geocoding step and click on
"Sort". The template will automatically calculate
distances based on latitude and longitude, and sort each point around
a store, hospital, warehouse or any location of interest.
Please see our blog article on this
template for more information.
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Latest Data
Updates
Canadian and
U.S. data feeds were updated as of September 25. There
were 660 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
Bing Maps Features
Geocoding with CDXZipCode
Data Updates
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