Since 2008, ArcGIS Online maps have been helping educators and others with free, ready-made maps that can be used directly in ArcGIS Desktop. Did you know that tasks have recently joined these ArcGIS Online maps? For example, free online geocoding tools are available for your ArcGIS 9.2 and higher applications.

The geocoding and place finding capabilities are based on recent TeleAtlas data and support single address, reverse, and batch geocoding of up to 1,000 batch geocodes annually. For external commercial use of ArcGIS Online tasks or for more than 1,000 batch geocodes in a year, purchase a subscription.

To begin, start ArcMap, use the Tools menu, point to Geocoding, and select “Address Locator Manager.” Next, select “Add” in the Address Locator Manager dialog box. Under the “Look in” section, select GIS Servers, click “Add ArcGIS Server”, and then select Add. In the “Add ArcGIS Server” wizard, select “Use GIS Services”; then “Next.” Select Internet and enter the following ArcGIS Server URL: http://tasks.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/services. Click “Finish.” In the ArcGIS Server list, select "arcgis on tasks.arcgisonline.com" and “Add.” Select the Locators folder; then select “Add.” Select the locator you want to add to the ArcMap document (World Places, Europe addresses, or North American addresses), and select “Close.”

Next, geocode your addresses using the Tools, Geocode Addresses command. I created an address dataset for landmarks in a metropolitan area in comma separated value (csv) format, and then used Tools, Geocode Addresses. I was very pleased with a first-pass success rate of a 97%, and then resolved the 3 “ties.” I used [field1] &vbnewline & [field2] to stack the labels.

In what city are these addresses now geocoded? Think of other patterns that you could analyze using this geocoding service. How would the distribution of middle school students compare to those in university? Would this week’s crimes in a certain city display a pattern? What pattern do stores selling musical instruments in your community have?

For more instructions on using ArcGIS Online locators, examine Managing address locators in ArcMap in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

-- Joseph Kerski, Education Manager, ESRI.