Address Postcode Lookup - Geographic Data (PostZon Data) from Royal Mail


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Simply Postcode Software “PostZon” Geographic Data:

“PostZon” data, or geographic data, primarily provides postcode to Longitude and Latitude conversion. This conversation can be used to calculate the straight line distance between two postcodes, which is provided in all of our API offerings.

This data can be taken to the next level to provide a “Nearest Store/Service” locator for a web site. This provides your customers a means of finding their nearest store, given their home postcode. More information about “Nearest Store/Service” locator.


Distance Between: Get distance between two Postcodes, using JSON or HTTP/XML


Nearest Store?: "Nearest Store/Service Locator" can be added to most web sites. User enters Postcode to get a list of stores/services near them

PostZon Data Uses/Features:

Data returned

This is specialised data such as OS reference, Longitude, Latitude, NHS District , Health Authority codes, Local Authority Electoral Ward codes. The PostZon data has been consolidated from various sources, such as Ordinate Services, NHS, etc. The most useful information is Longitude and Latitude.

Note: Some Postcodes return no PostZon Data, such as PO Boxes. It is a good idea to test any bespoke program against such postcodes. Examples are AB10 1BH, AB10 1DQ, AB10 1DU, AB10 1EP.

Distance between two postcodes

The distance between two postcodes can be returned. Simply call with Postcode and “Home postcode” provided in the parameters. Our service will then return the distance in km. So approximate charges could be applied to a customer based on the straight line distance.

Postcode to Longitude/Latitude

This is the main use of PostZon data. Simply call with the target Postcode and the PostZon data service will return the Longitude and Latitude. Ideal for mapping and calculating distances.

Longitude/Latitude to Postcode

To get the PostZon record by Longtitude/Latitude, (closest within 10Km) set postcode to the "Longtitude|Latitude" (separated by |). The Postcode found will be returned in pz_postcode.

Town to Longitude/Latitude

To get the Longitude and Latitude of a Town, simply provide the Town name + “,SPACE“ + County in the postcode field. The Longitude and Latitude will then be returned. It is suggested that the town list in displayed using a AJAX search box.

Using the "Postzon" Geographical Data

The "Postzon" Geographical Data is accessed by one of our extensive API’s. Simply click on the link below, and expand the appropriate API section. All "Postzon" Geographical Data is list under each API interface.

Full Online API Reference Manual : API Reference

Data Returned by “Postzon” Geographical Data

This type of license returns:

Fieldname	Description
postcode	Postcode in the PostZon record
latitude_wgs84	Latitude. This equals zero if not co-ordinates are available, see extra notes below
longitude_wgs84	Longitude
geodistancetohomepostcode	Distance from HOME postcode in Kilometres -1 = Error
introductiondate	Date introduced to file
gridrefeast	Ordnance Survey 100m Easting and Northing measurements that refer to the distance east and north from a fixed point just South West of the Isles of Scilly. They indicate the mean centre point of a Postcode to 100m.
gridrefnorth	Ordnance Survey 100m Easting and Northing measurements that refer to the distance east and north from a fixed point just South West of the Isles of Scilly. They indicate the mean centre point of a Postcode to 100m.
county	Administrative and Local Health Authority codes used by the office of national statistics (2 Digits) Description is after the ","
district	Administrative and Local Health Authority codes used by the office of national statistics (2 Digits) Description is after the ","
ward	Local Authority Ward Codes in England and Wales are comprised of six characters - the first two digits represent the county, the next two alphabetic characters identify the Local Authority and the last two characters represent the electoral ward of the Postcode. Unitary Authorities in England, Wales and Scotland are four-character fields represented by the Local Authority and the Ward. In Northern Ireland, the 6 characters are made up of 95 plus a letter from A - Z followed by a space and the electoral Ward. Description is after the ","
usertype	0=Small User, 1=Large UserDescription is after the ","
gridstatus	Status of grid co-ordinates. Latitude is aero if no grid co-ordinates are available, see extra notes below. Description is after the ","
country	064="England" 220="Wales" 179="Scotland" 152="Northern Ireland" 044="Channel Islands" 128="Isle of Man"Description is after the ","
wardstatus	Description is after the ","
nhs_code	A three character code which identifies the Health Authority or board responsible for funding patient care within each Postcode. Description is after the ","
nhs_region	NHS Codes Description is after the ","
osreference	OS Reference. e.g PE132QL ="TF4630009100" This is our national coordinate system for topographic mapping. It is used for Ordnance Survey mapping at all scales, and for many private topographic surveys. The OSGB36 part of the name refers to the geodetic datum (system of latitude and longitude) used, and the National Grid part refers to the map projection and grid referencing convention for eastings and northings
wardstatus
mailsort	Is a unique 5-digit numeric codes used internally by Royal Mail to route mailbags. They are also used by external customers with Mailsort contracts, which is why they are present in the data.

The fields of main interest are:

Easting and Northings, the OS easting of the outcode, distance in metres due east from the south west of the UK.

Longitude and Latitude, using the WGS84 geodetic datum, used for mapping, and calculating distance between two postcodes

OS reference, OS representation of the location

Postcode, returned when searching by OS Ref, or Longitude/Latitude

This data is available through our programming interfaces only, and can be retrieved by Postcode, OS Ref, or Longitude/Latitude. These interfaces also contain functions for working out the distance between two postcodes.

Postcodes, which relate to PO Boxes, are not included in this file, because they DO NOT have a location.

The accuracy of the Longitude/Latitude varies. Can be between 10-150 m

Get PostZon Data from SOAP Web Service:

To get a "Postzon" Geographical Data address from our SOAP Web Service we do the following:

The following example calls our server to retrieve the PostZon address data for a given postcode, OSRef, Longitude/Latitude or Town. It also returns the Distance in Km between two postcodes if HomePostcode is set.

Step 1 Add SOAP reference to you project

The following web references give access to our SOAP web service

.NET Web Reference

http://www.SimplyLookupadmin.co.uk/WebService.asmx

WSDL Web Reference

http://www.SimplyLookupadmin.co.uk/WebService.asmx?WSDL

You should add this SOAP reference to your project.

Step 2 Call SOAP Web Service to get PostZon Data

The following code will call the SOAP Web Service to return "Postzon" Geographical Data for a given postcode.

VB.Net

Dim HomePostcode as string ="PE132QL"
Dim PostcodeToGet as string = "PE132XQ"
Dim PostcodeSearch As New PostcodeWebService.WebService
Dim Address As PL_AddressRecord

'Ask for Address by ID
Address = PostcodeSearch.SearchForPostZonData(“My DataKey”, “TestComputer", "UK", PostcodeToGet,
                         HomePostcode)

If Address.AddressRecordGotWithoutError Then
   'Display results
   If Address.ErrorMessage <> "" Then MsgBox(Address.ErrorMessage)

      'Process the Address to text field
      Dim AddressText As String
      With Address
         AddressText + = "Longitude:" & .longitude_WGS84 & vbCrLf
         AddressText + = "Latitude:" & .latitude_WGS84 & vbCrLf
         AddressText + = "Distance Km:" & .GeoDistanceToHomePostcode & vbCrLf
      End With
      Me.TxtAddress.Text = AddressText
   Else
      'Display error (Account stuff mostly, i.e. No License)
      MsgBox(Address.ErrorMessage)
End If

C# .NET

uk.co.simplylookupadmin.www.WebService PostcodeSearch = new uk.co.simplylookupadmin.www.WebService();
uk.co.simplylookupadmin.www.PL_AddressRecord AddressesDataReturned = new
                                       uk.co.simplylookupadmin.www.PL_AddressRecord();

string datakey = Request.QueryString["datakey"].ToString();
string postcode = Request.QueryString["postcode"].ToString();
string userid = Request.QueryString["userid"].ToString();
string homepostcode = Request.QueryString["homepostcode"].ToString();

//Please note: Section 3.5 of the terms and conditions state: "The Customer, when using the Postcode Lookup service via Web Service, must make sure each user is identified by a unique computer name, in each call to the Web Service." In simple language this means that each user must be identified by a unique username.

//If the postcode address search is for External use then SET ComputerName = ""

//Do Search, on Postcode or two or more address fields
AddressesDataReturned = PostcodeSearch.SearchForPostZonData(datakey, userid, "UK", postcode,
                               homepostcode);

if (AddressesDataReturned.AddressRecordGotWithoutError == true)
{
   //Display results, no major error
   this.TxtResults.Text = AddressesDataReturned.ErrorMessage;

   string AddressText;
   AddressText = "Status:" + AddressesDataReturned.CreditsStatusText + "\n" + "\n";

   AddressText += "MailSort:" + AddressesDataReturned.MailSort + "\n";
   AddressText += "longitude_WGS84:" + AddressesDataReturned.longitude_WGS84 + "\n";
   AddressText += "latitude_WGS84:" + AddressesDataReturned.latitude_WGS84 + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_os_reference:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_os_reference + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_OS_grid_east:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_OS_grid_east + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_OS_grid_north:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_OS_grid_north + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_NHS_code:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_NHS_code + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_NHS_region:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_NHS_region + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_country:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_country + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_IntroductionDate:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_IntroductionDate + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_county:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_county + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_district:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_district + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_ward:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_ward + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_wardstatus:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_wardstatus + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_county:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_county + "\n";
   AddressText += "UK_gridstatus:" + AddressesDataReturned.UK_gridstatus + "\n";

   // long Distance = 0;

   // to do AddressesDataReturned.GeoDistanceToHomePostcode is a string and needs type casting?

   //If (length(AddressesDataReturned.GeoDistanceToHomePostcode)>0) Then
   // Distance = (long)(AddressesDataReturned.GeoDistanceToHomePostcode);
   // AddressText += "Distance:" + Distance + " km " + (long)(Distance / 1.609344) + " miles" + "\n";

   this.TxtResults.Text = AddressText;
}
else
{
   //Display error (Account stuff mostly)
   this.TxtResults.Text = AddressesDataReturned.ErrorMessage;
}

Where PostcodeSearch is a web reference to: http://www.SimplyLookupadmin.co.uk/WebService.asmx

Full Online API Reference Manual : SOAP Web Service

Get PostZon Data from HTTP/XML Web Service:

To get a "Postzon" Geographical Data address from our HTTP/XML Web Service we do the following:

Call XMLService/XMLSearchForPostZonData.aspx to get PostZon record

This call will retrieve the PostZon Data for a given Postcode, OSRef, Longtitude/Latitude or by Town. This PostZon data is collected from many different source by the Royal mail. The most useful information is Distance from Home Postcode, Longitude and Latitude.

Example:

Call HTTP web service with your data key, which is e-mail to you when you open an account, and postcode.

www.simplylookupadmin.co.uk/XMLservice/XMLSearchForPostZonData.aspx?datakey=Your Data key
&postcode=pe132ql&version=1&homepostcode=BS20 6EL

Returns

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<data>
   <confirm>Yes</confirm>
   <demoon>0</demoon>
   <credits_display_text>Evaluation expires 10 May 2011</credits_display_text>
   <credits_display_color>0</credits_display_color>
   <credits_display_size>12</credits_display_size>
   <credits_display_bold>0</credits_display_bold>
   <credits_display_showbutton>1</credits_display_showbutton>
   <co_customerchargeoption>0</co_customerchargeoption>
   <accountadminpage>https://www.simplylookupadmin.co.uk/WebAccountLogin.aspx?
                     doid=1&amp;coid=3333305462&amp;Pay=yes</accountadminpage>

   <record>
      <pz_introductiondate>19880254</pz_introductiondate>
      <pz_gridrefeast>54630</pz_gridrefeast>
      <pz_gridrefnorth>30910</pz_gridrefnorth>
      <pz_county>12,Cambridgeshire</pz_county>
      <pz_district>UD,Fenland District</pz_district>
      <pz_ward>GT,Medworth Ward</pz_ward>
      <pz_usertype>0,Small User</pz_usertype>
      <pz_gridstatus>1,Within building</pz_gridstatus>
      <pz_country>064,England</pz_country>
      <pz_wardstatus>1</pz_wardstatus>
      <pz_nhs_code>Q35,East of England</pz_nhs_code>
      <pz_nhs_region>Y51,</pz_nhs_region>
      <pz_latitude_wgs84>52.659857</pz_latitude_wgs84>
      <pz_longitude_wgs84>0.1617</pz_longitude_wgs84>
      <pz_osreference>TF4630009100</pz_osreference>
      <pz_geodistancetohomepostcode>239</pz_geodistancetohomepostcode>
      <pz_postcode>PE132QL</pz_postcode>
   </record>
</data>

If address returned then <found>=1, else <found>=0,error in <errormessage>

Note: The <pz_geodistancetohomepostcode> contains the distance between:

&postcode=PE132QL
&homepostcode=BS20 6EL

Expressed in the parameters. If the optional &homepostcode parameter is omitted then this will be 0.

Full Online API Reference Manual : HTTP/XML Web Service

Get PostZon Data from JSON Web Service:

To get a "Postzon" Geographical Data, including the distance between two postcodes, from our JSON Web Service we do the following:

Call JSONService/JSONSearchForPostZonData.aspx to get PostZon record

Example:

Call JSON web service with your data key, which is e-mail to you when you open an account, and postcode.

www.simplylookupadmin.co.uk/JSONservice/JSONSearchForPostZonData.aspx?datakey=Your Data Key&postcode=pe132ql&homepostcode=BS20 6EL

Returns

{
"found":"1",
"credits_display_text":"Evaluation expires 31 Mar 2011",
"accountadminpage":"https://www.simplylookupadmin.co.uk/WebAccountLogin.aspx?
doid=1&coid=3333366462&Pay=yes",
"errormessage":"",
"pz_introductiondate":"19880254",
"pz_gridrefeast":"54630",
"pz_gridrefnorth":"30910",
"pz_county":"12,Cambridgeshire",
"pz_district":"UD,Fenland District",
"pz_ward":"GT,Medworth Ward",
"pz_usertype":"0,Small User",
"pz_gridstatus":"1,Within building",
"pz_country":"064,England",
"pz_wardstatus":"1",
"pz_nhs_code":"Q35,East of England",
"pz_nhs_region":"Y51,",
"pz_latitude_wgs84":"52.659857",
"pz_longitude_wgs84":"0.1617",
"pz_osreference":"TF4630009100",
"pz_geodistancetohomepostcode":"239",
"pz_postcode":"PE132QL"
}

If address returned then <found>=1, else <found>=0,error in <errormessage>

Note: The pz_geodistancetohomepostcode element contains the distance between:

&postcode=PE132QL
&homepostcode=BS20 6EL

Expressed in the parameters. If the optional &homepostcode parameter is omitted then this will be 0.

Full Online API Reference Manual : JSON Web Service

Getting PostZon Data using the .Net Assembly User Interface

Simply call GetPostZonAddressRecord (Postcode) as Boolean

This call will retrieve the PostZon Data for a given Postcode, OSRef, Longitude/Latitude or "Town, County". This PostZon data is collected from many different source by the Royal mail. The most useful information is Distance from Home Postcode (in Kilometers), Longitude and Latitude.

This call can be used with Local Data or Internet based data.

To get the PostZon record by OSRef, simply set postcode to the OSRef, when calling GetPostZonData.

To get the PostZon record by Longtitude/Latitude, (closest within 10Km) set postcode to the "Longtitude|Latitude" (separated by |).

Postcode Lookup Example:

This code will get PostZon data from our database:

VB.Net

'Set Data key, to identify your account
SimplyPostCodeLookup.SetDataKey("Your Date Key")

With SimplyPostCodeLookup
   'Set optional Home Postcode to get straight line distance
   .SetHomePostCode(Me.txtHomePostcode.Text)

   If .GetPostZonAddressRecord(Me.txtPostcode.Text) Then
      Long = .PostZon_Longitude_wgs84
      Lat = .PostZon_Latitude_wgs84
      Distance = .PostZon_DistanceToHomePostcode
      GetLongLat=true

   Else
      MsgBox(.General_credits_display_text & vbCrLf & .General_errormessage, vbCritical,
                           "Simply Postcode Lookup")
   End If

   Me.Text = "Simply Postcode Lookup : " & .General_credits_display_text
End With

C# .NET

//Set Data key, to identify your account
string DataKey;
DataKey = "Your Date Key";
SimplyPostCodeLookup.SetDataKey(DataKey);

//Set optional Home Postcode to get straight line distance
string OptionalHomePostCode =txtHomePostcode.Text;
SimplyPostCodeLookup.SetHomePostCode(OptionalHomePostCode);

string PostCodeToFind = txtPostcode.Text;
if (SimplyPostCodeLookup.GetPostZonAddressRecord(PostCodeToFind) == true)
{
   //Return PostZon data
   Lat = SimplyPostCodeLookup.PostZon_Latitude_wgs84;
   Long = SimplyPostCodeLookup.PostZon_Longitude_wgs84;
   Distance = SimplyPostCodeLookup.PostZon_DistanceToHomePostcode;
}
else
{
   if (SimplyPostCodeLookup.General_errormessage != "")
   {
      MessageBox.Show(SimplyPostCodeLookup.General_credits_display_text + " " +
                    SimplyPostCodeLookup.General_errormessage, "Simply Postcode Lookup");
   }
   else
   {
      MessageBox.Show("Not found!");
   }
}

this.Text = "Simply Postcode Lookup : " + SimplyPostCodeLookup.General_credits_display_text;

To get distance between two points

Simply call:

GetDistance(Latitude1, Longtitude1, Latitude2, Longtitude2) As Double

For more information, about the .NET Assembly to implement Postcode Finder Software for bespoke desktop software, click on the link below:

Full Online API Reference Manual : .NET Assembly

Simply Postcode Lookup Software

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Simply Postcode Software “PostZon” Geographic Data:

PostZon Data Uses/Features:

Data returned

Distance between two postcodes

Postcode to Longitude/Latitude

Longitude/Latitude to Postcode

Town to Longitude/Latitude

Using the "Postzon" Geographical Data

Data Returned by “Postzon” Geographical Data

The fields of main interest are:

Get PostZon Data from SOAP Web Service:

Step 1 Add SOAP reference to you project

.NET Web Reference

WSDL Web Reference

Step 2 Call SOAP Web Service to get PostZon Data

Get PostZon Data from HTTP/XML Web Service:

Get PostZon Data from JSON Web Service:

Getting PostZon Data using the .Net Assembly User Interface