Locators allow you to find addresses and places that you can visualize on a map, insert as stops for a route, and load as input for spatial analysis. ArcGIS Enterprise uses geosearch and geocoding locators as follows:
- Geosearch (also known as location search)—Locate an address or point of interest and have the map zoom to that location. The result can be displayed on the map, but the result is not stored in any way for later use. Geosearch is available to anyone who accesses a map viewer or a public app that includes a location search on a map.
- Geocoding—Convert an address or place to an x,y coordinate and append the result to an existing record in a database. Mapping is not always involved, but placing the results on a map may be part of a workflow. Batch geocoding and reverse geocoding fall into this category. Only members of roles that have the geocoding privilege can access the ArcGIS World Geocoding Service and any views of it.
Note:
Some locator view properties are not supported for reverse geocoding.
ArcGIS Enterprise uses the ArcGIS World Geocoding Service to find addresses, cities, landmarks, business names, and postal codes in more than 100 countries around the world. Additionally, ArcGIS World Geocoding Service is used to find the location of x,y coordinates using longitude and latitude, as well as coordinate reference systems such as Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) and United States National Grid (USNG).
If your organization wants to optimize search results for addresses and places of interest, members with privileges to create content can create a new view of ArcGIS World Geocoding Service to search only for specific types of locations within an area of interest. For example, you can create a locator view to limit search results to a particular country or area or to only return results that match a specific category such as street addresses or airports. Once you create a locator view, members of the default administrator role can configure the organization so it uses your locator view when members perform geosearches.
In addition, if your organization needs to geocode addresses or places based on its own data, administrators can configure your organization to use its own locators running on an ArcGIS Server site for geosearch, geocoding, or both. For example, an oil organization can add locators to search its oil wells, or a city can add a locator to find its fire hydrants.
If you add additional locators or locator views, members see an arrow in the geosearch box and can choose which locator or view to use.
Location types and categories
This section describes the location types, categories, and subcategories available when you configure the locator view.
Addresses, Postal Codes and Populated Places
When you choose Addresses, Postal Codes and Populated Places as the types of locations you want to find, you can further refine the locator view's search results by selecting the categories and subcategories you want to search. The following categories for Addresses, Postal Codes and Populated Places are available:
- Address—Selecting this category automatically includes all of the address subcategories listed in the table below. This category limits search results to places that can be categorized as addresses while filtering out results for places of interest, postal codes, countries, or states. For more precise search results, choose any combination of address subcategories that meet your search requirements.
- Postal—Selecting this category limits search results to any type of postal code match, including five-digit and longer postal code formats. To limit search results to matches that are at least this precise, select both the Postal category and the top-level Address category.
- Populated Place—Selecting this category automatically includes all of the populated place subcategories listed in the table below. This category limits search results to administrative divisions (or boundaries), such as cities, provinces, or countries, while filtering out results for addresses, places of interest, and postal codes. For more precise search results, choose any combination of populated place subcategories that meet your search requirements.
| Category | Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|---|
Address | Point Address | A point address is a street address based on points that represent house and building locations. Point addresses represent the rooftop, or actual, location of the address. Typically, this is the most spatially accurate match level. Reference data contains address points with associated house numbers and street names, along with administrative divisions and optional postal code information—for example, 380 New York St, Redlands, CA, 92373. A locator view configured with this subcategory limits results to these highly precise address points, which allows you to avoid matching to any less-precise address points if you require high precision in matching. |
Street Address | A street address is different from a point address in that the house number in a street address is interpolated from a range of numbers. Reference data contains street centerlines with house number ranges, along with administrative divisions and optional postal code information—for example, 647 Haight St, San Francisco, CA, 94117. A locator view configured with this subcategory limits results to an interpolated result. If you want to limit results to matches that are at least this precise, you should select both this subcategory and the Point Address category. | |
Intersection | An intersection is a street address consisting of a street intersection along with city and optional state and postal code information—for example, Redlands Blvd & New York St, Redlands, CA, 92373. A locator view configured with this subcategory limits results to intersections instead of complete addresses that exist on only one street. | |
Street Name | A street name is similar to a street address but without the house number. It contains street centerlines with associated street names (no numbered address ranges), along with administrative divisions and optional postal code information—for example, W Olive Ave, Redlands, CA, 92373. A locator view configured with this subcategory limits results to street names only. If you want to limit results to matches that are at least this precise, you should select this subcategory as well as the Point Address and Street Address subcategories. | |
Subaddress | A subaddress is a subset of a point address that represents a house or building subset location such as an apartment unit, floor, or individual building within a building complex—for example, 3836 Emerald Ave, Suite C, La Verne, CA, 91750. A locator view configured with this subcategory limits results to subaddress points that include a house number, street name, and subaddress elements, along with administrative divisions and optional postal code information, while leaving out other types of address matches. | |
Postal | No subcategories | A locator view configured with the Postal category returns any type of postal code match, including five-digit (for example, 92373) and other postal code formats. To limit results to matches that are at least this precise, select Postal and the top-level Address category. |
Populated Place | Neighborhood | A neighborhood is a subsection of a city, smaller than a district and larger than a sector. |
City | A locator configured with this subcategory limits results to cities only—for example, the city of Venice in Italy. | |
Subregion | A subregion is a subset of a state or province, such as a county in the United States—for example, Adams County in the state of Wisconsin. | |
Region | A region is a subsection of a country, typically a state or province—for example, the province of Ontario in Canada. | |
Country | A country is the highest administrative division, also known as a nation—for example, Japan. | |
Sector | A sector is an administrative division larger than a block and smaller than a neighborhood, representing a subdivision of a neighborhood or district, or a collection of blocks. | |
Block | A block is the smallest administrative area for a country, representing a subdivision of a sector or neighborhood, or a named city block. | |
District | A district is an administrative division smaller than a city and larger than a neighborhood—for example, a municipal district. | |
Metro Area | A metropolitan (metro) area is an urban conglomeration consisting of a large city and the smaller cities surrounding it—for example, Greater Tokyo. | |
Territory | A territory is a large administrative division, smaller than a country and larger than a state or province—for example, the Yukon territory in Canada. | |
Zone | A zone is a category representing an unofficial administrative area that does not belong to a country, such as a disputed area or a grouping of other administrative zones—for example, Central America. |
Coordinates
When you choose Coordinates as the types of locations you want to find, you can further refine the locator view's search results by selecting the categories you want to search. These are described in the table below.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
Longitude, Latitude | This category represents geographic (x,y) coordinates. X refers to longitude (east-west coordinates), and y refers to latitude (north-south coordinates). Coordinates are entered and returned as x,y. |
Latitude, Longitude | This category represents geographic (x,y) coordinates. X refers to longitude (east-west coordinates) and y refers to latitude (north-south coordinates). Coordinates are entered and returned as y,x. |
MGRS | This category represents Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) coordinates. |
USNG | This category represents the United States National Grid (USNG) coordinate system. |
Places of Interest
When you choose Places of Interest as the types of locations you want to find, you can further refine the locator view's search results by selecting the categories you want to search. These are described in the table below.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
Education | This category represents all types of educational institutions, including universities, primary schools, and vocational schools. |
Food | This category represents restaurants of all types. |
Shops and Service | This category represents all types of commercial or retail businesses. |
Airport | This category represents airports, designated either by name or by airport code. |