MAPPOINT Q & A

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287 Alan Brown - July 27, 2001

I'm now using MapPoint 2001 and my MapPoint 2002 upgrade is on its way. My question has to do with the demographics/mapping data that is supplied with the program. I have been importing zip codes from an Access database and several of them are not mappable. Although this is partly because some of them are non-geographic, it is also because some of them are new zipcodes. As you know, the USPS issues new zipcode data every two months. I'm hoping that 2002 will have more up-to-date data than 2001. Even then, it will be out of date in a few months. Will I ever be able to update the mapping functionality of MapPoint software so that it can keep up and be able to map new zipcodes? If not, could you suggest any workarounds?

Answer:

This is one of the fundamental challenges of any mapping software solution - the real world situation changes continually and the software is always in catch-up mode. Upgrading to 2002 will definitely help as it provides maps that are at least one year more current, but obviously more ZIP codes have changed since the product was released. Data currency is an even bigger challenge for a product like MapPoint that doesn't allow users to edit the base maps supplied with the product, or add other maps to the application. In short, there is no real workaround.

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