topic Re: "findAddressCandidates" returning different country results in ArcGIS JavaScript Maps SDK Questions

"findAddressCandidates" returning different country results

AbdullahAman — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 06:19:19 GMT

Hi,

I am new to ArcGIS and trying to figure how the "findAddressCandidates" works.

I have this end point which lists out results based on category "food" from Canada:

http://geocode.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/World/GeocodeServer/findAddressCandidates?category=food&outFields=city,country,placename&maxLocations=2&location=-79.35641669109725,43.903606006706035&forStorage=false&f=pjson

If I change the category to "dentist" then my results are from Mexico?

http://geocode.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/World/GeocodeServer/findAddressCandidates?category=dentist&outFields=city,country,placename&maxLocations=2&location=-79.35641669109725,43.903606006706035&forStorage=false&f=pjson

Just wanted to know how I can get results from Canada, is there something that I am missing?

Also is it possible to confine my results based on a radius?

Re: "findAddressCandidates" returning different country results

JackFairfield — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 16:34:48 GMT

Look through the documentation:

findAddressCandidates—ArcGIS REST API: World Geocoding Service | ArcGIS for Developers

There are a few parameters that you could pass to help prevent this issue.

For Example, you could try adding a "countryCode" parameter or you can customize the search extent using the "searchExtent" parameter.

Re: "findAddressCandidates" returning different country results

AbdullahAman — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 23:43:20 GMT

Hi Jack,

Thanks for the response and link and sorry for the late reply. I am working on this part time.

I have tried various combination, with countryCode, after looking over the API documentation but I am still not able to produce results for dental offices. For example the following outputs of coffee shops for Markham, Ontario, Canada but if I change the key word "coffee" to "dentist" then results are invalid?

http://geocode.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/World/GeocodeServer/findAddressCandidates?SingleLine=coffee+markham+CAN&countryCode=CA&outFields=type,city,region&maxLocations=8&forStorage=false&f=pjson

The parameter "searchExtent" is an area based on a rectangle or a square. Is there a way to get results based on a specific radius? Based on the documentation, proximity searches has a radius 50, 000 meters. Is there a way to reduce this result to 6000 meters?

My end goal is to be able to get all dental offices on a specific radius (6000 meters) based on a specif point (latitude and longitude). If there is not possible using the "findAddressCandidates" then can you point me to a direct that I should be looking into?

Re: "findAddressCandidates" returning different country results

JackFairfield — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 15:22:49 GMT

There is no way to reduce the Location property's radius. Use searchExtent instead. I'm not sure what's going on with the results when you include countryCode.

Re: "findAddressCandidates" returning different country results

JohnGrayson — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 17:44:41 GMT

Category filtering—ArcGIS REST API: World Geocoding Service | ArcGIS for Developers

"food" is a Category Level 2 search term which means results of all sub-categories types will be returned. On the other hand "dentist" is a Category Level 3 term; when using the Level 3 terms I normally also include the Level 2 term. Try specifying "Professional and Other Places" in addition to "dentist":

http://geocode.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/World/GeocodeServer/findAddressCandidates?category=Professional%20and%20Other%20Places,dentist&outFields=city,country,placename&maxLocations=2&location=-79.35641669109725,43.903606006706035&forStorage=false&f=pjson

Re: "findAddressCandidates" returning different country results

lilyjhine — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 14:59:13 GMT

This usually happens because the function relies on the underlying geocoding service’s global dataset, which attempts to match addresses based on similarity rather than strict location boundaries. If the input lacks enough geographic context dental implants Albania—such as city, state, or country information—the function may return matches from other regions that closely resemble the query.