Working with address locators and geocoding

The address locator is the main tool for geocoding in ArcGIS. It is a dataset that contains information including address attributes, indexes, and queries for geocoding.

Legacy:

Locators should be stored in a file folder so you take advantage of new features that are not supported for locators stored in geodatabases, such as performance improvements, multithreading capabilities, and suggestions support. ArcGIS 10.4 is the last release to support storing locators in geodatabases.

Learn more about geocoding

Learn more about the geocoding process

Common geocoding tasks

There are several common tasks that you may need to perform when geocoding. The following list should help you find the information you need to complete those tasks.

Build or maintain reference data

Common tasks when building or maintaining reference data

If you would like to	Refer to
Choose appropriate reference data	Understanding address locator styles; Commonly used address locator styles
Prepare reference data	Preparing reference and address data; An overview of editing

Determine address locator style

Common tasks when determining your address locator style

If you would like to	Refer to
Choose an address locator style	Commonly used address locator styles

Build an address locator

Common tasks when building an address locator

If you would like to	Refer to
Build an address locator	Creating an address locator
Build a composite address locator	Creating a composite address locator

Locate addresses

Common tasks when locating addresses

If you would like to	Refer to
Prepare addresses for geocoding	Preparing reference and address data
Add and remove address locators from an ArcMap document	Managing address locators in ArcMap
Geocode a single address	Finding an individual address
Geocode a table of addresses	Geocoding a table of addresses
Review and modify geocoding results	Rematching a geocoded feature class
Search for a street intersection	Searching for a street intersection
Use alternative names in a search	Building an address locator for alternative names
Search based on place names	Building an address locator for place name aliases

Getting addresses from map

Common tasks when getting addresses of point locations on a map

If you would like to	Refer to
Get an address of a point location on a map	Getting an address from a location

Publish or maintain the address locator

Common tasks when publishing or maintaining address locators

If you would like to	Refer to
Set default locators in ArcMap	Setting default locators in ArcMap
Share your locator as a locator package	Sharing your address locator as a locator package
Publish your locator as a geocode service	Sharing your address locator as a geocode service
Maintain reference data	Updating your reference data; An overview of editing
Rebuild the address locator	Rebuilding address locators in ArcCatalog; Rebuilding address locators using geoprocessing tool
Modifying the address locator's settings	Modifying an address locator's settings