CDXZipStream can now be configured to use postal code databases for other countries as a substitute for the default US zip code database. All of the CDXZipStream built-in functions which use the local zip code database (such as CDXZipCode, CDXDistance and CDXRadius) will be able to access this data.

We are initially supporting 19 additional countries such as Australia, Mexico, India and Western European countries such as France.  These databases are free can be obtained at the following download link. They are installed using the “Update Manually” function on the CDXZipStream “Account” function in Excel. You must have CDXZipStream version 5.1 or later installed.  Registered users can get access to this feature by installing the current CDXZipStream demo installation file.

The Bing and Here geocoding and routing functions are not impacted by this change and can continued to be used for worldwide location data.

For more information on this new feature please check out the following video.

We have just released CDXZipStream version 5. This now includes support for worldwide location data from the technology company Here (www.here.com). Two new CDXZipStream functions have been added, CDXLocateHere for geocoding and CDXRouteHere for distance calculations. They will be active in the CDXZipStream Bing version or better.

Here offers a "Freemium" Plan that allows up to 250,000 free requests per month. No credit card is required to sign up at developer.here.com and receive an API key. Additional requests can be purchased at 1000/$1. This is a significant benefit when compared to the 125,000 requests per year for Bing Maps and pricing for Bing enterprise keys. Higher usage accounts are also available from Here.

For more information on the update please check out the following video.

For existing users of CDXZipStream the new HERE features will be available to anyone who has purchased in the last year or anyone with an active data maintenance subscription.   You will need to download and install the latest CDXZipStream version 5 and reactivate your software using the "Account" button in the CDXZipStream menu. If you don't reactivate you will not have access to the new features. This will not affect the number of computers that you can install CDXZipStream on.

CDXZipStream customers without an active data maintenance plan will be able to try out the new Here functions but will be limited in the number of requests they can make during a single excel session.   Your online account at cdxtech.com can be used to purchase a maintenance plan and get full access.

We are continuing to improve the breadth and scope of our online tools available at cdxtech.com. We've talked in a previous newsletter about our free zip code distance tool. This capability has now been extended to multiple calculations at one time with our Routing Batch Report.

Simply upload an Excel (xlsx) file or csv file to the application and it will produce an output report covering driving distance and driving time for each entry.

The tool can handle up to 2500 routes at one time and used Bing Maps as data source. When the report is created you will receive a download link and an email receipt. Waypoints can be entered as complete addresses or zip codes.  It will work for US or International locations, any country that Bing Maps supports.

There is a $9.95 minimum report charge and it can be used with your CDXStreamer account for lower costs.  Just a web browser is necessary to run the tool, no additional software is required.

You’ll find the tool is useful if you have just a one-time report requirement or if you need to deploy driving distance report capabilities to your entire workforce.  A single CDXStreamer license covers an unlimited number of users.  CDXStreamer is just billed on the number of requests and does not require a separate license as CDXZipStream does.

We've posted a updated video which covers using CDXZipStream with Bing Maps to solve common logistics problems.  This video covers using CDXZipStream software to analyze driving routes in Microsoft Excel.  The custom function CDXRouteBing is described which works with Bing  to calculate driving distance or time between 2 or more addresses. Typical business problems such as analyzing a list of locations or optimizing a delivery route with a map are demonstrated.

You can view the video below or on Youtube.

This and all futures CDX videos will be posted on our website and new CDXTech Youtube channel.  Please consider subscribing to our YouTube channel and turning on notifications so you can get the latest news on our products.

This template can quickly and easily identify locations or resources that are closest to a long list of customers. We've talked about our Geographic Access Analysis template as a solution for this problem in prior blog articles and videos such as the following: 

The template initially produces a straight-line "as-the-crow-flies" distance report so it can rapidly sort and compare locations, tens of thousands at a time.  This latest release now includes the ability to geocode using the CDXZipStream local database.  The "Map Data Source" selection dialog now includes a new function "CDXZipCode" that offers this new capability. If you just need zip code accuracy, this is the fastest geocoding feed available and does not consume any requests from Bing or the other sources.  The zip code column in the template is used for the data input and must be fully populated.

The Geographic Access Analysis template is now on sale at $99.95 and can be purchased in your online cdxtech.com account in the "Buy Data Update" menu. This includes support and access to the latest template for 12 months. A demo of the template is also now available by contacting sales@cdxtech.com.