Overview
This demo has a single workspace and is run as an FME Flow app where users enter the required information and it uses the power of the HTTPCaller to retrieve the input address coordinates. The user can input a single address or upload a batch file (excel file) and the workspace then uses that information to search for the address and pull back the location coordinate(s). additional functionality to the user the choice of output format and coordinate system the workspace is run and results are sent straight to your inbox.
How it works:
Inputs:
The FME server app has a set of published parameters that set the workspace up to run and retrieve the desired address coordinate information. One of the parameters allows the option to run it using an individual or to upload an excel file with multiple addresses containing with the following fields:
- BusinessName
- BuildingNumber
- Street
- Suburb
- City
Google Search:
Using google map search to do the geocoding also gives the added bonus that you can search business names without having a complete correctly formatted address – which is often required by other geocoding services. The address information is passed into the workspace and built into the google request which is then run through an HTTPCaller.
The response body retrieved contains the coordinate and googles response varies in how the coordinate is contained in the text. A conditional value is set with an attribute manager to filter the response by search type. The values are then used to filter through a series of transformers to search for the correct coordinate. The coordinate values are extracted from the text using a series of attribute splitters and attribute transformations to clean up and retrieve the correct value.
Final processing and output:
With the coordinates extracted from the HTTPCaller response body, a VertexCreator is used to generate the address point and the coordinate system is set – the coordinates from google are LL-WGS84 and the output coordinate system parameter allows you to set the coordinate system as required. The x and y values are updated to the chosen coordinate system and the geocoded address output is sent straight to your email in the selected output type once the workspace has completed.