Pagasus Ringfinder
FAQ's.  Home  Upload  Work with data.

Q. What's the point of this site?
A. That's up to you. If you upload a list of addresses, we'll display them on Google Maps for you. How you use it is up to you, provided that you comply with our conditions of use.

Q. How does it work?
A. When you upload a file of addresses, all correctly formatted files are uploaded into our database. Then we geocode each address (where we obtain the longitude and latitude of the address by sending the address data to Google.) All addresses that could be accurately geocoded are then written to an XML file which is used by Google maps to display the marker data.

Q. Why didn't Ringfinder display all of my addresses?
A. The address may be in the wrong format in the csv file. Check that it meets the .csv file spec on the upload page.
It may be that Google were unable to geocode the address. Currently, we'll only map addresses where the GGeostatuscode is 200, and the GGeoAddressAccuracy is 8. If the Google service is busy, we may be unintentionally sending your address data faster than Google can process it. If this happens, try reprocessing the data in the work data page (only unprocessed apps will be sent back to Google for geocoding.) With regard to address accuracy, you should also refer to the postcode faq below.

Q. Is there a limit on the number of addresses I can upload?
A. Google allows us to process up to 15,000 addresses a day. If we ever get near that figure, I'll eat my hat. So at the moment, there's no limit. Obviously we may have to impose a limit at some point to ensure that all users have fair access. You should also be aware that the more addresses your .csv file contains, the longer it will take to process and render onto the map. Google maps really starts to struggle once you have more than a couple of hundred placeholders on a single map.
Q. What's the deal with postcodes?
A. Google Maps doesn't appear to like full postcodes, at least for UK addresses. For example, the results when you geocode an address by only using the house number and postcode are less accurate than when using the full address with full postcode. In turn, this is less accurate than using the full address with the first part of the postcode only. Results seem to be better if the first part of the postcode is distinct from the second part, which is why it's important that you put a space between the first and second part of the postcode in your .csv file.

Q. Can I send the data in other formats than a csv file?
A. No. As most people can cobble together a csv file, that's what we'll accept. 

Q. What's new?
A. Not a lot. The site has been tidied up a bit. We've improved the Geocoding success rate by slowing down the data flow to Google. We've also added the facility to draw lines, shapes and markers onto the map. This will allow you to, for example, measure the distance between 2 markers on the map. (Please note that any annotations you may add to the map will be lost when you leave the site.)