MAPPOINT Q & A

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601 dubolex - February 15, 2002

Hi, I'm looking for a software package that can give me a friendly interface to look-up addresses in a specific territory. There's a tight region of territory that I serve that cuts across zip codes covering 30 square miles. I'm wondering if Map Point has the ability for me to mark the territory on a map and then simply type in the address of a would-be customer to see if they're in my serving territory. This kind of thing is similiar to mapquest where you input the address and they'll point to the location on the map. Only this time, the map has a specific territory shaded. I would think that pizza delivery companies would find this useful to new customers online.

Answer:

To use the territory feature of MapPoint, you have to be able to use one of the base geographical units enabled for this purpose. At the size, you are talking about, that means either zip code or Census Tract. You have already said that the territory cuts across zip codes. By that, I assume you mean that you can't assemble the territory from a group of zip codes. Census tracts are smaller, but I doubt your territory conforms accurately to them. AND I assume census tracts will change soon, based on the 2000 census.

You can use the drawing tools in MapPoint to create a polygon that encloses your region. Make the fill color something that contrasts nicely with the base map. Then right-click on the completed shape, choose "Order", then select "Send Behind Roads". When you use the find box to search for an address, either it will have the background color behind it (it would be in your territory) or not.

- Walt Cygan

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