FindMyNearest

Returns a list of results sorted by shortest distance from the given point.

To connect to this service you'll need to use one of these endpoints:

JSON

Open API

SOAP

Description

Finds the distance any given point is, in metres or miles, from the locations in a specified dataset. The use of this service requires additional setup of a dataset containing relevant locations you wish to be compared.

For the best results, a full postcode should be supplied. However, the service will also accept partial postcodes or other parts of an address.

Credit Usage

Each request to this method consumes 1 Geocoding credit and 1 Find My Nearest credit

Parameters

The following parameters can be supplied to this method

username	username See the available authentication methods. If you are using username & password authentication, specify the username to authenticate as. If you are using API Key authentication and you are not using the JSON, Javascript or ADO APIs, use your API Key here with the prefix `apikey-`, e.g. `apikey-ABCD-1234-EFGH-5678`
password	password If you are using username & password authentication, specify the password to use for authentication. Otherwise leave this blank.
licence	licence The licence type under which you are accessing the service. If you are not sure which value to pick, please contact your account manager
point	point The point to use as the origin of the find my nearest search. This can be either a full postcode or a partial address. Using a full postcode will ensure the most accurate results are achieved.
dataset	dataset The name of the predefined dataset of locations to find the nearest one from.
options	options An array of options that control further details of how this method operates. See the Advanced Options section below for more information.

Advanced Options

The following options can be specified as part of the option parameter. Each option is specified as a key/value pair. The list of available names is shown below, along with a description of the allowable values for that name.

Common Options
Name	Description
ApplicationName	ApplicationName Gives the name of the calling application - used to break down usage by application in the usage reports on the dashboard
Service-Specific Options
Name	Description
DatumEPSG	DatumEPSG The EPSG code of the datum to use when converting the original OS grid coordinates to latitude and longitude
MaxMatches	MaxMatches The number of addresses to limit the response to.

Results

This method returns an object containing the following fields:

Status

Status

Indicates whether the method call was successful, or if some error occurred. If the Success field is true, the other results described below can be used to get the results of the method. If Success is false, some error occurred in calling the method, such as the authentication failed or the account is out of credits. The details of the error can be obtained from the ErrorMessage field, and any other results should be ignored

Distances

Distances

The cleansed address of the initial point stored in the Position attribute, and a list of distances for matched addresses, sorted by closest first, stored in the Distances attribute. Each matched address is made up of a PointOfInterest (containing a name, full address, contact details etc), and the distance in metres and miles from the origin point.

Each Distance contains the following fields:

Name Description

Miles The distance in miles from the original point.

Metres The distance in metres from the original point.

PointOfInterest

Information about the matched point including a name, full address and contact details:

Name Description

Address A formatted version of the POI's address

Description A description of the POI

Email A contact email address for the POI

Fax A contact fax number for the POI

Position

The position data of the POI:

Name	Description
`Easting`	The distance of the postcode east of the OS grid origin to the southwest of Scilly
`Northing`	The distance of the postcode north of the OS grid origin
`GridReference`	The location of the postcode as a 6-digit OS grid reference
`Longitude`	The longitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum
`Latitude`	The latitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum
`CountyCode`	The reference code for the county the postcode is in
`County`	The name of the administrative county the postcode is in
`DistrictCode`	The reference code for the district the postcode is in
`District`	The name of the administrative district the postcode is in
`WardCode`	The reference code for the ward the postcode is in
`Ward`	The name of the electoral ward the postcode is in
`Country`	The name of the country the postcode is in

Telephone A contact telephone number for the POI

Title A title for the POI

Website The website associated with the POI

Live Demo

licence

point

dataset

options

Name	Value
Common Options
ApplicationName
Service-Specific Options
DatumEPSG
MaxMatches

Sample Code

<!-- Import the Integr8 Ajax API -->
<!-- NOTE: Get your own API key to use in the following script tag from: -->
<!-- https://www.data-8.co.uk/ValidationAdmin/AjaxAPIKey -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/Javascript/Loader.ashx?key=your-api-key&load=Location">
</script>

<script type="text/javascript">

function FindMyNearest(licence, point, dataset) {
  /// <param name="licence">string. One of the following values: WebServer, WebClick, InternalUser, SmallUser, Lookup, InternalServer</param>
  /// <param name="point">string</param>
  /// <param name="dataset">string</param>
  var location = new data8.location();
  
  location.findmynearest(
    licence,
    point,
    dataset,
    [
      new data8.option('DatumEPSG', '4326'),
      new data8.option('MaxMatches', '5')
    ],
    showFindMyNearestResult
  );
}

function showFindMyNearestResult(result) {
  // Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
  if (!result.Status.Success) {
    alert('Error: ' + result.Status.ErrorMessage);
  }
  else {
    // TODO: Process method results here.
    // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
    // result.Distances
    //   The cleansed address of the initial point stored in the `Position` attribute, and a list of distances for matched addresses, sorted by closest first, stored in the `Distances` attribute.
    //   Each matched address is made up of a `PointOfInterest` (containing a name, full address, contact details etc), and the distance in metres and miles from the origin point.
    //   
    //   Each `Distance` contains the following fields:
    //   
    //   <table class="table table-striped">
    //   <th>
    //   <td>Name</td>
    //   <td>Description</td>
    //   </th>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Miles</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance in miles from the original point.</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Metres</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance in metres from the original point.</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>PointOfInterest</code></td>
    //   <td> Information about the matched point including a name, full address and contact details:
    //   <table class="table table-striped">
    //   <tr>
    //   <th>Name</th>
    //   <th>Description</th>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Address</code></td>
    //   <td>A formatted version of the POI's address</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Description</code></td>
    //   <td>A description of the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Email</code></td>
    //   <td>A contact email address for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Fax</code></td>
    //   <td>A contact fax number for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Position</code></td>
    //   <td>The position data of the POI:
    //   <table class="table table-striped">
    //   <tr>
    //   <th>Name</th>
    //   <th>Description</th>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Easting</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance of the postcode east of the OS grid origin to the southwest of Scilly</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Northing</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance of the postcode north of the OS grid origin</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>GridReference</code></td>
    //   <td>The location of the postcode as a 6-digit OS grid reference</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Longitude</code></td>
    //   <td>The longitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Latitude</code></td>
    //   <td>The latitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>CountyCode</code></td>
    //   <td>The reference code for the county the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>County</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the administrative county the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>DistrictCode</code></td>
    //   <td>The reference code for the district the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>District</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the administrative district the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>WardCode</code></td>
    //   <td>The reference code for the ward the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Ward</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the electoral ward the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Country</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the country the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   </table>
    //   </td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Telephone</code></td>
    //   <td>A contact telephone number for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Title</code></td>
    //   <td>A title for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Website</code></td>
    //   <td>The website associated with the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   </table>
    //   </td>
    //   </tr>
    //   </table>
  }
}

</script>

// NOTE: A Service Reference to the web service must be added to use this sample code.
private void FindMyNearest(LocationLicence licence, string point, string dataset)
{
    // Declare the required options.
    Option DatumEPSG = new Option();
    DatumEPSG.Name = "DatumEPSG";
    DatumEPSG.Value = "4326";
    Option MaxMatches = new Option();
    MaxMatches.Name = "MaxMatches";
    MaxMatches.Value = "5";
    // Invoke the web service method.
    LocationSoapClient proxy = new LocationSoapClient();
    FindMyNearestOutput results = proxy.FindMyNearest("your-username", "your-password", licence, point, dataset, new Option[] {
                DatumEPSG,
                MaxMatches});
    // Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
    if ((results.Status.Success == false))
    {
        MessageBox.Show(("Error: " + results.Status.ErrorMessage));
    }
    else
    {
        // TODO: Process method results here.
        // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
        // result.Distances
        //   The cleansed address of the initial point stored in the `Position` attribute, and a list of distances for matched addresses, sorted by closest first, stored in the `Distances` attribute.
        //   Each matched address is made up of a `PointOfInterest` (containing a name, full address, contact details etc), and the distance in metres and miles from the origin point.
        //   
        //   Each `Distance` contains the following fields:
        //   
        //   <table class="table table-striped">
        //   <th>
        //   <td>Name</td>
        //   <td>Description</td>
        //   </th>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Miles</code></td>
        //   <td>The distance in miles from the original point.</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Metres</code></td>
        //   <td>The distance in metres from the original point.</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>PointOfInterest</code></td>
        //   <td> Information about the matched point including a name, full address and contact details:
        //   <table class="table table-striped">
        //   <tr>
        //   <th>Name</th>
        //   <th>Description</th>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Address</code></td>
        //   <td>A formatted version of the POI's address</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Description</code></td>
        //   <td>A description of the POI</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Email</code></td>
        //   <td>A contact email address for the POI</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Fax</code></td>
        //   <td>A contact fax number for the POI</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Position</code></td>
        //   <td>The position data of the POI:
        //   <table class="table table-striped">
        //   <tr>
        //   <th>Name</th>
        //   <th>Description</th>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Easting</code></td>
        //   <td>The distance of the postcode east of the OS grid origin to the southwest of Scilly</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Northing</code></td>
        //   <td>The distance of the postcode north of the OS grid origin</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>GridReference</code></td>
        //   <td>The location of the postcode as a 6-digit OS grid reference</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Longitude</code></td>
        //   <td>The longitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Latitude</code></td>
        //   <td>The latitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>CountyCode</code></td>
        //   <td>The reference code for the county the postcode is in</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>County</code></td>
        //   <td>The name of the administrative county the postcode is in</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>DistrictCode</code></td>
        //   <td>The reference code for the district the postcode is in</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>District</code></td>
        //   <td>The name of the administrative district the postcode is in</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>WardCode</code></td>
        //   <td>The reference code for the ward the postcode is in</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Ward</code></td>
        //   <td>The name of the electoral ward the postcode is in</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Country</code></td>
        //   <td>The name of the country the postcode is in</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   </table>
        //   </td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Telephone</code></td>
        //   <td>A contact telephone number for the POI</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Title</code></td>
        //   <td>A title for the POI</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   <tr>
        //   <td><code>Website</code></td>
        //   <td>The website associated with the POI</td>
        //   </tr>
        //   </table>
        //   </td>
        //   </tr>
        //   </table>
    }
}

'NOTE: A Service Reference to the web service must be added to use this sample code.
Private Sub FindMyNearest(ByVal licence As LocationLicence, ByVal point As String, ByVal dataset As String)
    'Declare the required options.
    Dim DatumEPSG As [Option] = New [Option]()
    DatumEPSG.Name = "DatumEPSG"
    DatumEPSG.Value = "4326"
    Dim MaxMatches As [Option] = New [Option]()
    MaxMatches.Name = "MaxMatches"
    MaxMatches.Value = "5"
    'Invoke the web service method.
    Dim proxy As LocationSoapClient = New LocationSoapClient()
    Dim results As FindMyNearestOutput = proxy.FindMyNearest("your-username", "your-password", licence, point, dataset, New [Option]() {DatumEPSG, MaxMatches})
    'Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
    If (results.Status.Success = false) Then
        MessageBox.Show(("Error: " + results.Status.ErrorMessage))
    Else
        'TODO: Process method results here.
        'Results can be extracted from the following fields:
        'result.Distances
        '  The cleansed address of the initial point stored in the `Position` attribute, and a list of distances for matched addresses, sorted by closest first, stored in the `Distances` attribute.
        '  Each matched address is made up of a `PointOfInterest` (containing a name, full address, contact details etc), and the distance in metres and miles from the origin point.
        '  
        '  Each `Distance` contains the following fields:
        '  
        '  <table class="table table-striped">
        '  <th>
        '  <td>Name</td>
        '  <td>Description</td>
        '  </th>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Miles</code></td>
        '  <td>The distance in miles from the original point.</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Metres</code></td>
        '  <td>The distance in metres from the original point.</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>PointOfInterest</code></td>
        '  <td> Information about the matched point including a name, full address and contact details:
        '  <table class="table table-striped">
        '  <tr>
        '  <th>Name</th>
        '  <th>Description</th>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Address</code></td>
        '  <td>A formatted version of the POI's address</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Description</code></td>
        '  <td>A description of the POI</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Email</code></td>
        '  <td>A contact email address for the POI</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Fax</code></td>
        '  <td>A contact fax number for the POI</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Position</code></td>
        '  <td>The position data of the POI:
        '  <table class="table table-striped">
        '  <tr>
        '  <th>Name</th>
        '  <th>Description</th>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Easting</code></td>
        '  <td>The distance of the postcode east of the OS grid origin to the southwest of Scilly</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Northing</code></td>
        '  <td>The distance of the postcode north of the OS grid origin</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>GridReference</code></td>
        '  <td>The location of the postcode as a 6-digit OS grid reference</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Longitude</code></td>
        '  <td>The longitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Latitude</code></td>
        '  <td>The latitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>CountyCode</code></td>
        '  <td>The reference code for the county the postcode is in</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>County</code></td>
        '  <td>The name of the administrative county the postcode is in</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>DistrictCode</code></td>
        '  <td>The reference code for the district the postcode is in</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>District</code></td>
        '  <td>The name of the administrative district the postcode is in</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>WardCode</code></td>
        '  <td>The reference code for the ward the postcode is in</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Ward</code></td>
        '  <td>The name of the electoral ward the postcode is in</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Country</code></td>
        '  <td>The name of the country the postcode is in</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  </table>
        '  </td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Telephone</code></td>
        '  <td>A contact telephone number for the POI</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Title</code></td>
        '  <td>A title for the POI</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  <tr>
        '  <td><code>Website</code></td>
        '  <td>The website associated with the POI</td>
        '  </tr>
        '  </table>
        '  </td>
        '  </tr>
        '  </table>
    End If
End Sub

// NOTE: The php_soap.dll extension must be enabled in the php.ini file.
function FindMyNearest($licence, $point, $dataset)
{
  $options = array(
    "Option" => array(
      array(
        "Name" => "DatumEPSG",
        "Value" => "4326"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "MaxMatches",
        "Value" => "5"
      )
    )
  );
  $params = array(
    "username" => "your-username",
    "password" => "your-password",
    "licence" => $licence,
    "point" => $point,
    "dataset" => $dataset,
    "options" => $options
  );
  $client = new SoapClient("https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/Location.asmx?WSDL");
  $result = $client->FindMyNearest($params);
  if ($result->FindMyNearestResult->Status->Success == 0)
  {
    echo "Error: " . $result->FindMyNearestResult->Status->ErrorMessage;
  }
  else
  {
    // TODO: Process method results here.
    // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
    // $result->FindMyNearestResult->Distances
    //   The cleansed address of the initial point stored in the `Position` attribute, and a list of distances for matched addresses, sorted by closest first, stored in the `Distances` attribute.
    //   Each matched address is made up of a `PointOfInterest` (containing a name, full address, contact details etc), and the distance in metres and miles from the origin point.
    //   
    //   Each `Distance` contains the following fields:
    //   
    //   <table class="table table-striped">
    //   <th>
    //   <td>Name</td>
    //   <td>Description</td>
    //   </th>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Miles</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance in miles from the original point.</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Metres</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance in metres from the original point.</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>PointOfInterest</code></td>
    //   <td> Information about the matched point including a name, full address and contact details:
    //   <table class="table table-striped">
    //   <tr>
    //   <th>Name</th>
    //   <th>Description</th>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Address</code></td>
    //   <td>A formatted version of the POI's address</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Description</code></td>
    //   <td>A description of the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Email</code></td>
    //   <td>A contact email address for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Fax</code></td>
    //   <td>A contact fax number for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Position</code></td>
    //   <td>The position data of the POI:
    //   <table class="table table-striped">
    //   <tr>
    //   <th>Name</th>
    //   <th>Description</th>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Easting</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance of the postcode east of the OS grid origin to the southwest of Scilly</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Northing</code></td>
    //   <td>The distance of the postcode north of the OS grid origin</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>GridReference</code></td>
    //   <td>The location of the postcode as a 6-digit OS grid reference</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Longitude</code></td>
    //   <td>The longitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Latitude</code></td>
    //   <td>The latitude of the postcode expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>CountyCode</code></td>
    //   <td>The reference code for the county the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>County</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the administrative county the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>DistrictCode</code></td>
    //   <td>The reference code for the district the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>District</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the administrative district the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>WardCode</code></td>
    //   <td>The reference code for the ward the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Ward</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the electoral ward the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Country</code></td>
    //   <td>The name of the country the postcode is in</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   </table>
    //   </td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Telephone</code></td>
    //   <td>A contact telephone number for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Title</code></td>
    //   <td>A title for the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   <tr>
    //   <td><code>Website</code></td>
    //   <td>The website associated with the POI</td>
    //   </tr>
    //   </table>
    //   </td>
    //   </tr>
    //   </table>
    //   NOTE: This field contains an array of items, but if it contains only one item,
    //   PHP may not recognise it as an array. To always extract the result of this
    //   field as an array, we recommend you always access it using the
    //   getArrayFromResponse method described at
    //   http://www.php.net/soap_soapclient_soapcall#75797, e.g.
    //   foreach (getArrayFromResponse($result->FindMyNearestResult->Distances) as $item)
    //   {
    //     ...
    //   }
  }
}

Request Format

{
  "licence": "WebClick",
  "point": "CH2 4NE",
  "dataset": "Demo",
  "options": {
    "DatumEPSG": 4326,
    "MaxMatches": 5
  }
}

Results Format

{
  "Status": {
    "Success": true,
    "CreditsRemaining": 1000
  },
  "Distances": null
}

Depending on your chosen authentication method you will need to modify this request slightly: