Geocoding is the process of transforming a description of a location, such as a pair of coordinates, an address, or a name of a place, to a GPS location on the earth's surface. Geocoding functionality is available in various parts of our system—e.g., in Form screens as an Interaction option on the User Action (Button) field type. To geocode an address with an action button, select "Geocode Address" as the User Interaction option and then enter either a static value or a dynamic form field or data source column into the parameter property beneath it. This parameter must be a valid address. Once the user has pressed the action button with an address specified, the contents of that action button will contain the geo coordinates; these can be tied to a data source, captured by another field, or otherwise.

We use a third-party geocoding service to perform the actual lookup of provided addresses. The results of an address lookup are not guaranteed to be successful or accurate, with accuracy of results greatly depending on:


  1. whether our third-party service has data available for the given country/area, and 
  2. the amount of detail within, and the format of, the address text you provide.


We strongly recommend that you format addresses in accordance with the following guidelines to maximize the likelihood of a fast and successful result:


  • Specify addresses as explicitly/fully as possible.  Try to use as much of the following format as possible:


Street Number, Street Name Street Suffix, County/Suburb, City/Town, State/Province, Zip/Postal Code, Country Code/Name


E.g., 14, Some Street, Beverley Hills, Los Angeles, CA, 90210, USA
or 14, Some Street, Los Angeles, 90210, USA


  • Always use commas to separate parts of the address


E.g., rather than specifying an address as "15 Some Street New York USA," use "15, Some Street, New York, USA."

  • Always provide the country name/code, post code and state/province whenever possible

 

  • Do not specify additional address elements such as business names, unit numbers, floor numbers, or suite numbers that are not included in the address as defined by the postal service of the country concerned

 

  • Use the street number of a location rather than the building name where possible