Near tool

[PaulMcBurney1]

Hey everyone,

So far all of my questions on here have been answered thoroughly and correctly so thank you! I am a new Arc user and kind of learning this stuff as I go along so bear with me.

Right now I have a dataset containing zip code centroid points. I am trying to develop a process (maybe with python?) where I can enter a new address into Arc and it will automatically associate with the nearest centroid. I am aware of the near tool and point distance tools but I want to generate a process that makes it easy to simply just enter an address and have it associate with the nearest centroid.

Thanks for your time!

[DanPatterson_Retired]

more reading What is geocoding?—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

Working with the ArcGIS Online World Geocoding Service—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

plus other links...these will turn your addresses into mappable locations, which you can then do your near analysis on.

[PaulMcBurney1]

Hey Dan,

My question was very unclear so I apologize. I already have centroid points located on the map. I would like to be able to enter new random addresses and have them be automatically associated with the closest centroid. Is there a way to set up some sort of automated process for this by using python?

[DanPatterson_Retired]

The geocoding has nothing to do with the centroid points.  Your address will be located within some polygon...say a postal code/zip code.  However, if you happen to live on the edge of your 'polygon' the closest centroid may be located in a different zip code.  The question then becomes... do I want to just get a summary of the 'points' that are within my zip code...or do I want them ascribed to the centroid of the nearest zip code...they are not the same.  The point-in-polygon one makes more sense to me, since the location of your address relative to a centroid doesn't really matter since you belong to a polygon but may be closer to another polygon than the one you live in.

[BlakeTerhune]

Shouldn't your zip codes be polygons rather than points? It would be more reliable if you could do a spatial join where your input point intersects the zip code polygon to find out which zip code a point is in, not which centroid it is closest to.