Page History

Download Geocoding Tutorial Files

Download the zipped tutorial files at: Geocoding.zip Be aware that the zipped package is approximately 22MB, so please allow sufficient time and memory space on your computer for download.

1. A dialog box will appear titled, "Opening Geocoding.zip." Save the file to your computer's Desktop.
2. Navigate to the desktop of your computer and unzip the file. To do this, right click on the Geocoding.zip folder. (click

Copy Tutorial Data Files to the Desktop

1. Go to the Start menu
2. Click My Computer
3. Double click on the O: Drive  (click on image to enlarge)
   
   Image Modified
   Folders are listed alphabetically by department acronym. Double click on the envstudies folder 
   
   
4. Choose Extract All. The Windows Extraction Wizard will appear.
5. Click Next. Make sure that the field under "Files will be extracted to this directory" points to your computer's desktop. (click (click on image to enlarge)
   
   Image Modified
   
6. Double click on the GIS Tutorials folder
7. Right click on the Geocoding folder and choose the Copy option
8. Close the GIS Tutorials folder
9. 
   
10. If it does not point to your computer's Desktop, click the Browse button. The select a destination dialog box will appear.
11. Choose the Desktop option that appears at the very top of the window in the dialog box. You may need to use the scroll bar on the right hand side of the window to see the Desktop Option. (click image to enlarge)
    
    Image Added
    
    
12. Click OK.
13. Once this field points to Right click anywhere in the blank, blue space on your computer's Desktop., click Next. Windows will unzip the file and tell you that the extraction is complete.
14. Click the Finish buttonChoose the Paste option. You should now see the Geocoding folder on your desktop.

Start a New Map Project

1. Open ArcMap
   
   
   
   
   
2. The ArcMap Getting Started dialog box will appear
3. Under the Table of Contents on the left side, choose New Maps My Templates Blank Map.(click on image to enlarge)
   
   
   
   
   
4. Click OK. A blank Map Project will appear.

...

In this table, the street, city, and state information are all placed into different columns.  Zip code information is not included, but it can be helpful when trying to reconcile Unmatched and Tied addresses.

Geocoding Zip Codes with No Addresses

If you want to Geocode data using only zip codes, you can create columns in your .csv, or .xlsx file for STREET, CITY, and STATE to yield more accurate results.  Leave the values in these fields blank, and proceed with Geocoding according to the following directions. 

Adding these blank fields is not strictly necessary, but it is sometimes helpful.  Limited testing has shown that users get more accurate results with blank STREET, CITY and STATE fields when Geocoding using zip codes alone.

Geocode Addresses

1. Locate the Geocode Toolbar in your Toolbar menu. 
2. If you do not have the Geocoding Toolbar installed, click the Customize menu → Toolbars → Geocoding.  The Geocoding Toolbar should now appear for you in ArcMap. (click on image to enlarge)
   
   
   
3. Find and click the Geocoding button located on the Geocoding Toolbar.(click on image to enlarge)
   
   
   
4. The Choose an Address Locator dialog box will open.
5. Choose the Address Locator you want to use.  If you do not have a custom Address Locator, or if you are not sure which Address Locator to use, for geocoding addresses in the U.S., click on either 10.0 US Streets Geocode Service (ArcGIS Online) or 10.0 North America Geocode Service (ArcGIS Online).  The Geocode Addresses: Locator... dialog box will appear. 
6. Check the Address Input Fields to be sure that they match with the fields in the data you are using.  Under Output: Output shapefile or feature class, use the browse button to navigate to the file location or personal geodatabase you want the geocoding result to be saved to. 
7. When all fields have been checked for accuracy, click OK.  The Geocoding Addresses... dialog box will appear and show the progress and results of the geocoding session.

...