Posts Tagged ‘distance calculations’

Microsoft Excel “custom functions” can do many specialized tasks related to address and zip code information, such as checking the validity of mailing addresses, importing demographic information, even calculating driving time and driving distance.Custom functions, also referred to as UDFs (user-defined functions) perform complex calculations or tasks and are used in cell formulas just like the standard Excel functions SUM or AVERAGE. In this article we will describe how to use custom functions to identify which zip code (within a list of zip codes) is closest to a target location.

Identification of the closest zip code or address has many applications.For example, a mailing list of potential customers can be matched with the closest store locations, or a list of delivery addresses can be correlated with the closest distribution centers.These kinds of analyses require the geocode (latitude and longitude) coordinates of each zip code in order to calculate the straight-line “as the crow flies” distance between locations.After these distance calculations are completed for all possible combinations of zip codes, the one with the shortest distance is selected.

How can this be accomplished within an Excel worksheet?A custom function can automatically grab zip code and latitude/longitude data from a local database, and then perform distance calculations based on this data.Since all this occurs completely in the background, there’s no need to learn a new application or even leave the familiar environment of Excel. For example, let’s say we have a list of store zip codes in the worksheet range A1 through A10. We can find the store closest to a customer in zip code 08034 by inputting the custom function into a worksheet cell like this: “= CustomFunction (A1:A10, 08034)”.The result returned to the worksheet will be the closest store zip code from within the specified range A1:A10.

We can apply the same custom function to multiple customer zip codes listed in column B.If the first customer zip code is in worksheet cell B1, the formula in cell C1 would be = CustomFunction (A1:A10, B1).We can then simply copy and paste this formula all along the rest of the list to find the closest store for each customer.

This is a good example of how Excel custom functions can automate various tasks and calculations, with no need to learn a new application or even leave the familiar environment of Excel. From checking the validity of address information to finding the closest zip code to a target location, custom functions can be valuable tools for analyzing zip code and address information.

Author: Betty Hughes
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing

There is a wide variety of ZIP code software on the market today and it can be difficult to choose which one is the best for your needs. When picking out a ZIP code software program there are five must have features you should be looking for. This article will discuss those features.

At the top of the list and probably one of the most basic things that any ZIP code software program should do is allow its users to quickly and easily filter the zip code data and look up specific zip code information with ease. If the software interface is clunky, slow, or hard to use this will just add unneeded frustration to the user experience.

Another one of the most important features of ZIP code software programs is the file formats the data can be exported to. Not all programs will allow you to export the data and of those that do, you should examine the formats available to make sure they will be usable for what ever application you choose. At the very least the program should be able to export to a Microsoft Excel compatible format (*.xls), Comma Separated (*.csv), or Extensible Markup Language (*.xml) format. These three basic formats can be used just as they are or they can be converted into almost any other format you may need.

Does the ZIP code software you’ve had you eye on for a while also include the data? You better check and see because most vendors will have an additional charge to get the most up to date data. You should look for a program that includes the latest data in to price of the software. They do exist, but sometimes they can be difficult to locate.

Any good ZIP code software will also allow you to do more complex searching and filtering such as performing radius or proximity searches and distance calculations. Radius searches let the user enter a zip code and a distance radius such as ten miles for instance, and then return all the other zip codes (or other locations) within a ten mile circle around the zip code that was entered. Distance calculations will require the entry of 2 zip codes and then the ZIP code software calculates the distance “as the crow flies” between the 2 entered zip codes.

As you can see choosing a ZIP code software may not be as straight forward as it seems but if you will look for these features before you buy you can save a lot of headaches down the road.

Author: Shawn Stephenson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cool mobile gadgets