Back to PlaceFinder General Discussion Forum
0

Free Form input limiting results?

Oakland is the 39th most popular city name in the US, but the freeform input for just "oakland" limits results to Oakland, CA.

"Franklin" is the most popular city name, and returns 32 matches.

Is there something int he API that assumes that Oakland, CA is what someone is searching for because Oakland, CA is a large city?
If so, is there any way to prevent limiting it to this large city match?


for example: http://where.yahooapis.com/geocode?q=oakland&appid=[yourappidhere]&count=100

by
Report Abuse
3 Replies
  • QUOTE (Alex Gates @ Sep 24 2010, 07:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    Oakland is the 39th most popular city name in the US, but the freeform input for just "oakland" limits results to Oakland, CA.

    "Franklin" is the most popular city name, and returns 32 matches.

    Is there something int he API that assumes that Oakland, CA is what someone is searching for because Oakland, CA is a large city?
    If so, is there any way to prevent limiting it to this large city match?


    for example: http://where.yahooapis.com/geocode?q=oakland&appid=[yourappidhere]&count=100


    EDIT: "Omaha" doesn't limit to just "Omaha, NE" and Omaha has a population ~427,000 while Oakland, CA has a population ~440,000
    Report Abuse
    0
  • Anyone? I have to bump this... sorry.
    Report Abuse
    0
  • QUOTE (Alex Gates @ Sep 24 2010, 07:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    Oakland is the 39th most popular city name in the US, but the freeform input for just "oakland" limits results to Oakland, CA.

    "Franklin" is the most popular city name, and returns 32 matches.

    Is there something int he API that assumes that Oakland, CA is what someone is searching for because Oakland, CA is a large city?
    If so, is there any way to prevent limiting it to this large city match?


    for example: http://where.yahooapis.com/geocode?q=oakland&appid=[yourappidhere]&count=100

    Sorry for the delay in responding.

    PlaceFinder incorporates a list of prominent cities that provides a unique match for popular place names when no disambiguating information is provided. Oakland, CA is on this list. You will need to include a state abbreviation or name in your query to match another Oakland. I'll post a list of prominent cities in case that helps.

    Eddie Babcock
    Yahoo! Geo Technologies
    Report Abuse
    0
✕ This forum is locked.
Ask a Question

Recent Posts

in PlaceFinder General Discussion