A win-win situation

Here at AddressFinder we are proud to have developed and released an exciting new feature — Projects.

Projects (which is really just a fancy name for sub-accounts) started out as a feature which would allow our customers to use our service in different areas without needing to re-use the credentials. As we explored the characteristics of this feature we discovered an opportunity to also provide significant security benefits. I’ll breifly discuss the mutli-environment and security benefits of Projects below.

Seperate projects for seperate areas

Having a seperate project for each area allows each project to be configured or updated according to the needs of that area without the risk of affecting anyone else.

The configuration may include:

— restricting the project for use on specific domains

— restricting the use to certain specified IP Addresses, or

— rotating the credentials of one project without the fear of affecting someone or something else in the business.

Projects also allow for improved tracking as the activity is displayed at an organisational level (on the Organisation dashboard) and at a project level (on the Project dashboard).

Security Benefits

The security benefits mainly revolve around the access that your staff or developers have to your AddressFinder account. Till now, all users who you have invited to your account, have permission to view and configure the account. This includes the ability to change plans, billing information, credentials, removing approved domains etc. With the creation of Projects, we have also built a new role — Project User. A user with the role of Project User will have permission to log into the project and view and configure in this area. They are not given permission to view/edit any projects that have not been given access to and they can also not view or edit any higher level information associated with the account.

This is perfect for those who organisations who have external developers, who require access to configure the AddressFinder account but should not have access to the view invoices etc. These people can be invited as a project users as this will provide them with appropriate access only.

So who has access to projects?

This feature has been enabled for customers on Business Plans (limited to 2 projects) and Enterprise Plans.

I quickly learned that Pardot was a B2B marketing solution provided by Salesforce. As part of their product offering, Pardot provide advanced and yet simple to use forms.

So can AddressFinder be used within a Pardot form? The answer is yes and it’s pretty easy to get things setup.

The best resource I found was the article 6 Ways to Use JavaScript to Enhance Your Pardot Forms by Jenna Molby. The first part of the article states simply and plainly how to add javascript to the form.

This was brilliant and I was able to follow these instructions to add the AddressFinder widget to the form.

How to integrate AddressFinder with Pardot

Step 1 — Build your form (or Edit it if it already exists).

Step 2 — Add the address fields. I suggest the following format:

Address 1
Address 2 (optional)
Suburb
State
Postcode

Step 3 — Generate the Widget javascript for your form using this page — https://addressfinder.com.au/docs/widget_code_generator/

Step 4 — Copy and paste the Widget javascript into the Look and Feel>Below Form>HTML area and add <script> tags before and after.

Step 5 — Add your AddressFinder account key and update the Field IDs within the Javascript with your form’s field IDs. You may actually need to publish your form to see what the IDs are. If you don’t have an AddressFinder account key, sign up for one here — https://addressfinder.com.au/plans/

Step 6 — Save then test. Edit as required.

The whole process took about 15 minutes and made a significant improvement to the data quality and user experience when completing the form.

Every five years, New Zealand conducts a census. Prior to the census occurring, the country is divided up into different areas called Meshblocks, SA1 (statistical area 1) and SA2 (statistical area 2). The boundaries of these areas are built so that each area contains approximately the same number of people.

Now, as the population moves and grows, some of these areas will be more populated in 2018, than in 2013. Some are split in half, or otherwise adjusted, to keep the number of people who live in each of these areas approximately the same.

The AddressFinder metadata response includes some of this census related data. The associated census data that is being returned can be determined by including a census parameter in the query string or widget code. If no census parameter is included, the metadata response currently contains the following data from the 2013 census.

meshblock — The meshblock of the 2013 census

After 10 Aug 2020, if no census= parameter is included, the default metadata response for New Zealand addresses will contain the following 2018 census related data.

meshblock — The meshblock of the 2018 census.

sa1_id — The statistical area 1 identifier.

sa2_id — The statistical area 2 identifier.

sa2 — Statistical area 2 name.

After 10 Aug 2020, the following related metadata will also be returned in the metadata response if no census parameter is included in the metadata query string.

ur — Urban rural name

ur_id — Urban rural identifier

iur— Urban rural indicator name

iur_id — Urban rural indicator identifier

region_id — Region identifier

ta_id — Territorial Authority identifier

con — Constituency name

con_id — Constituency identifier

maoricon — Maori Constituency name

maoricon_id — Maori Constituency identifier

ward — Ward name

ward_id — Ward identifier

cb — Community Board name

cb_id— Community Board identifier

tasub — Territorial Authority Subdivision name

tasub_id — Territorial Authority Subdivision identifier

landwater — Land/Water description

landwater_id — Land/Water identifier

If you want to collect the 2018 census related data immediately, include the parameter census=2018 in your metadata API query string.

If you are making use of the AddressFinder widget to collect census related data, include the following address metadata parameter in your widget code:

“address_metadata_params”: {
 “census”: 2018
}

You can learn more about census metadata here.

Example here — https://codepen.io/addressfinder/pen/gqzQRQ

If on the other hand you wish to collect the 2013 census related data now and after Aug 10 2020, include the parameter census=2013 in your metadata API query string.

Census data update was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

New Zealand has moved into a Level 4 response to the Covid-19 pandemic and in Australia, restrictions are being imposed on travel, public gatherings, sports etc. At this time, we realise just how important the AddressFinder service is.

The AddressFinder service is being used by essential service providers to quickly capture address and location information. This enables these businesses to continue or increase the work they do and support their customers over this time. In some sectors we have seen up to a 10 fold increase in the usage of our service while other sectors have seen reductions in usage.

So what are we doing?

1. Monitoring the numbers and responding as appropriate. Our service operates with a good amount of redundancy so the increased load on the system is not currently an issue. In saying this we will continue to monitor the load and increase our capacity if required.
2. Prioritising support. We do our best to provide good timely support but during this time of increased urgency we have prioritised this to ensure customers providing essential services receive the help they need first.
3. Limiting changes. Any changes we make are done so in a way that maintains backwards compatibility. But during this time, we are also limiting the number of changes we make in order to reduce any potential disruption.

What can you do?

1. Follow the rules imposed by the government in your State or Country
2. Be smart with your actions over the next few weeks. Being bored is not a valid reason for breaking the rules
3. Support and stay virtually connected with family, friends, workmates and others you may know who maybe alone at this time
4. Ask for help if you need it

AddressFinder — an Essential Service was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

What is a Primary Parcel?

A primary parcel is a basically a legally described portion of land.

100% of the country is covered with these parcels like a massive patchwork quilt. It might be an oversimplification but each parcel is defined by where it is (location and boundaries)and what is it for (intended purpose). Purposes include things like roading, rivers and crown land but the most common purpose relating to AddressFinder is Fee Simple.

What can I use the Primary Parcel ID for?

The ID by itself tells you nothing but when cross referenced with other datasets, made accessible by LINZ and local councils, it can prove very useful. Primary Parcel IDs can unlock information such as:

• Titles
• Appellations
• Land area
• Property owners details
• Easements

How do I collect this ID from AddressFinder?

If you are using the widget then all you need to do is include an extra line in the code which tells it to collect the primary_parcel_id at the same time as the selected address. Take a look at line 19 of this code example — https://codepen.io/addressfinder/pen/dyPpBBb

And if you are making use of the direct APIs then the data will already be included in the response so you will just need to pull it into your database.

Need help joining this ID with other datasets?

Setting up your system to collect this information is usually fairly straight forward but using these ID to pull other data through from related data sources can be difficult.

If you need help with this get in touch.

Primary Parcel ID was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We have new geographical area metadata available for you, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS defines geographical areas, called Statistical Areas (SA), used for collecting and releasing census data.

SA1 and SA2 are now available for your use.

What’s the difference between Meshblocks and Statistical Areas?

Meshblocks are the smallest of the Statistical Areas. AddressFinder has provided meshblock data for some time.

Meshblocks are used to make up Level 1 Statistical Areas (SA1)

SA1s are used to make up Level 2 Statistical Areas (SA2)

SA2s are used to make up Level 3 Statistical Areas (SA3)

SA3s are used to make up Level 4 Statistical Areas (SA4)

The next level up from SA4s are State and Territories

Tell me more

We included SA1 IDs in our database because they are the key to unlocking useful information for our customers. Most census related data is released at a SA1 level. For good measure, we made SA2 IDs available too.

As these IDs are subject to change, with each census, you can choose which census year’s IDs to collect. We have made the 2016 census data, the default option.

Community profiles

If you are interested in customer segmentation, and want to make use of census data, start collecting SA1 data and use it to unlock the treasures of the census.

New metadata available was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We get requests from people who want us to include new address attributes in our database. These requests usually come from current customers wanting to gain more information from our service, which is great. Additions require development, and ongoing maintenance, so we seek to understand if the additional data would be widely used.

What do people ask for?

Recently, we’ve had requests for these address metadata attributes:

• NZDep2013 Deciles & Quintiles — A census-related measurement of socio-economic deprivation across New Zealand (10% & 20% grouping). This could be used as an indicator of the wealth of the occupants of an address.
• DHB Zone — The District Health Board zone in which an address sits.
• Parcel ID — The ID of the land parcel related to an address. This can be used to link an address to a property boundary/title or ownership data.

How do we decide?

Before we make additions to the address attributes currently available, we ask these questions:

1. Is this data available, accurate and reliable. Will it continue to be?
2. Will it be difficult to add it?
3. Does this data add value to our service?
4. Will this data be useful for other customers or just one?

What do you think?

You use our address data every day. We can usually answer the first two questions but the last two rely on customer feedback.

Do any of the latest requests appeal to you? Do you have requests? Get in touch and let us know. Your feedback is likely to influence outcomes and decisions ahead.

support@addressfinder.nz

Meaningful Metadata was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Over the past month we’ve been collecting data from Statistics New Zealand and building it into the AddressFinder database. Each address has been supplemented with extra metadata. You can which you can then for business improvements.

What is this new data?

It’s a mixture of geospatial, geopolitical and location classification information. Specifically:

• Meshblock (2018)
• Statistical area 1
• Statistical area 2
• Statistical area 2 name
• Urban rural ID
• Urban rural name
• Urban rural indicator ID
• Urban rural indicator name
• Community Board ID
• Community Board name

• Constituency ID
• Constituency name
• Maori Constituency ID
• Maori Constituency name
• Region ID
• Territorial Authority ID
• Territorial Authority Subdivision ID
• Territorial Authority Subdivision name
• Ward ID
• Ward name
• Land/Water ID
• Land/Water description

How do I get it?

In order to maintain backwards compatibility, we have added an optional parameter (census=2018) to the Metadata API request. When included, this parameter enables the return of the additional metadata. Without it there is no change to the API response.

Who wants it?

A better question might be — who would not want it? Government agencies and City Councils might be most keen for it but this data is perfect for connecting the dots between customers and Census data. Anyone wanting to ‘know their customer’ will be jumping on it.

Want to know more?

Check out the links below or get in touch with us — support@addressfinder.nz

• Documentation - Address Metadata API
• Data | GIS Map Data Datafinder Geospatial Statistics | Stats NZ Geographic Data Service

Learn more about your customers was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Want customers to look up addresses within a certain area to fit with your delivery boundaries? Learn how to refine the search options.

By default AddressFinder offers all the addresses for Australia and New Zealand. But some users want to make a search area more precise.

You can refine addresses to any defined area such as an island, state, city, town, suburb, post code or an area you choose.

Why refine the address area?

There are a variety or reasons people want to define the address area. Here are just a few:

• Shipping restrictions (eg. between islands)
• Legal practicing boundaries (eg. states or city/town)
• Delivery limitations (eg. hot food or perishable goods)

Sounds great, tell me more

Firstly, what area do you want to restrict?

There are different methods of restricting address searches. Some are set up by using the filters available. For other methods you add custom JavaScript designed to modify the widget behaviour.

How to:

Restrict by State (AUS) or Region (NZ)

Simply make use of the filters when generating the JavaScript code for the widget. You can restrict to one or more states or regions. Here’s how:

• Code example of AUS — Filter by State restriction
• Code example of NZ — Filter by Region restriction

Restrict by Island (NZ only)

This is a postcode-based restriction. Postcodes in NZ range from 0000 to 9999. North Island postcodes range from 0000 to 6999. South Island postcodes range from 7000 to 9999.

Add some JavaScript to the code for the AddressFinder widget to allow the postcode of the selected address to be checked. This check will determine if the selected address lies within the boundaries of the approved island. If it does, the selected address can be collected. If it does not then the address will not be returned and instead the customer will receive a message.

• Code example of NZ Island restriction

Restrict by Town or City (NZ only)

Similar to the above, this is enabled with the addition of some custom JavaScript however instead of the post code being checked, it is the Town or City field that is checked. You may include more than one approved town or city if needed. Here’s how that works:

• Code example of NZ Town/City restriction

Restrict to part of a Town/City (AU & NZ)

In this scenario the post code of the selected address is checked against a number of ‘approved’ postcodes. These approved post codes will be chosen by you because of their association with your service area.

• Code example of AUS — Postcode restriction
• Code example of NZ — Postcode restriction

Restrict to a suburb or locality (AU & NZ)

In this scenario the suburb or locality of the selected address is checked against your approved suburb or locality.

• Code example of AUS — Suburb restriction
• Code example of NZ — Suburb restriction

Restrict by a unique area set using coordinates (AU & NZ)

Are you wanting to collect addresses from a specific area which is not associated with a postcode or suburb? You can define this area using a set of GPS coordinates.

Firstly, get the geofence coordinates that define your area. A few online tools do this like: http://www.birdtheme.org/useful/v3tool.html.

The next step is to add some JavaScript to the AddressFinder widget. This checks if the GPS coordinates associated with the selected address lay within the area previously defined. If they do you will collect that address. If not the user will receive a message.

• Code example of AUS — Geofence restriction
• Code example of NZ — Geofence restriction

In short

AddressFinder is versatile. You can use it to control parameters associated with your organisation.

If you have a need, even if it’s not mentioned here, please get in touch. We enjoy a challenge and we’d love to hear from you!

Focus searches on your service area was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The main use of meshblocks is for reporting census-related data. Although the meshblocks are updated yearly, only the meshblocks associated with census years tend to be used.

**Updated Feb 2019**

Statistics NZ have delayed their release of the dataset. Due to this, our subsequent changes will be delayed (see revised dates below) to allow time for our customers to make census data related updates.

Statistics NZ: “it always takes time for us to analyse and produce the dataset, but this time, we are taking longer than usual”. Read more from Statistics NZ.

A New Zealand census was carried out in 2018 so we have updated the AddressFinder metadata, associated with each address in our database, to include this data.

To enable a smooth transition between the 2013 and 2018 meshblocks, we made an addition to our Metadata API. This has been done to enable access to the new 2018 data without affecting the access to 2013 data that most customers are making use of.

Changes

A new parameter has been added to the Metadata API which allows the selection of data to be returned according to the desired census year.

When thecensus=2013 request parameter is supplied, we will return 2013 census sourced data. This includes Meshblock, Regional Authority and Territorial Authority.

When thecensus=2018 request parameter is supplied, we will return 2018 census sourced data. This includes Meshblock, Regional Authority and Territorial Authority as well as new census related geographic fields.

If no census parameter is included in the API request we will return values from the 2013 census. We expect this to change three months following the release of the Statistics NZ data (previously March 2019) at which time the default census parameter will switch to 2018.

How long will Census 2013 data be available?

We will continue to return 2013 census data until three months following the release of the Statistics NZ data (previously September 2019). After this date, the census=2013 parameter will be invalid and any queries that include this option will return an error.

What should I do?

If you do not make use of Meshblock data then no changes are required.

If you are currently making use of meshblock field data we suggest you adjust the Metadata API queries to include either the census=2013 or census=2018 parameter according to your needs. And ensure census=2018 is used once the database has been updated (previously September 2019).

Have questions or want to know more?

Get in touch with us (support@addressfinder.nz) or read the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2018.

Meshblock 2018 update — NZ was originally published in AddressFinder on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.