Address Capture

Our auto-complete solution for real time type-ahead address capture

Integration methods

There are several methods for integrating Address Capture:

• Tag: insert automatically-generated code snippets into your website to add Address Capture to your online forms
• Pre-built integrations: enable Address Capture in a range of pre-built integrations with tools like Adobe Commerce, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Shopify plus
• SDK: use our Address Capture SDK to quickly create a custom integration
• APIs: use our Address Capture APIs for full customisation of your integration

Documentation

Follow the links below to relevant documentation for each of these methods:

Tag Method

Check out our Tag Setup Guide.

Prebuilt Integrations

See the integration guides for all of our pre-built integrations.

Capture SDK

Check out our Address Capture SDK.

Capture APIs

See all of the Address Capture API docs.

If you’re not sure which integration method is most appropriate for your business needs, see our Ways to Integrate page for more details.

FAQs

See below for some common questions regarding Address Capture as a whole, and the Geolocation functionality specifically.

Address Capture

Which way of integrating Address Capture will work best for me?

There are three main ways to integrate Address Capture, and which method is most appropriate will depend on your business and what you want to achieve. Our Ways to Integrate page takes you through each of the different methods.

How do I best take the fields from an Address Capture response and map them back to my address fields?

We provide each address in three different formats:

• Address label: great for displaying the complete formatted address in a single field or on an envelope
• Address lines (recommended): use these where you have multiple address line fields. Used alongside Company, town and postal code fields most commonly
• Address elements: each individual element of the address (e.g. building, street) where you need to separate our the lines of an address into individual fields

Any one of the above approaches will lead to a complete address. The full set of fields can be found in our API documentation pages.

Note: It is best not to mix fields from the different formats, as this can lead to missing or duplicated information.

Should I make my API calls client-side or server-side?

When deciding how to integrate the Address Capture APIs, your decision should take into account performance, technical complexity and, most importantly, security. Whether or not to make calls client-side or server-side is part of the decision-making process regarding security; our API Security page has a section relating to integration options, which should help you decide which option is best for you.

Is it possible to get latitude and longitude coordinates when I retrieve an address?

Yes - various additional fields are available, when you get an address from our Retrieve endpoint, and (where the data is available) this includes latitude and Longitude.

When using the API, this is achieved by the fieldxformat parameters within the Retrieve method. In order to request the latitude and longitude you need to add them into the parameters, like below:

&field1format={Latitude}&field2format={Longitude}

This will then Return Latitude and Longitude in Field1 and Field2 in the response respectively.

If consuming the service via the Tag method, you can enter the same input into the mappings wizard.

Browser auto-fill is interfering with my address lookup, can I turn it off?

Yes - for the best experience when using Address Capture, we recommend you turn off the browser autofill functionality for address form fields.

Firstly, below where the Loqate Tag script has been placed on the page, insert the following JavaScript code snippet:

pca.on("load", function(type, id, control){ 
  var isChrome = !!window.chrome || !!window.chrome.webstore; 
  if (isChrome == true){ 
    for (i=0; control.fields.length > i; i++){ 
      pca.getElement(control.fields[i].element).autocomplete = "GBGTEST"; 
    };
  }; 
});

On the Address Form Fields, we have found success in adding the attribute autocomplete=“none”, to disable the browser’s autofill. For example:

autocomplete="none" placeholder="Start typing your address"  autofocus name=“searchTerm” />

We recommended that you test this code across multiple popular web browsers.

Geolocation

What is Geolocation?

Loqate’s Geolocation feature enables mobile users in the UK to find their location with a single tap, instead of needing to type in an address. Using the geographical location of the mobile device, Geolocation returns latitude and longitude coordinates alongside the full, correctly-formatted address.

How do I get the Geolocation service on my website?

As with many Loqate products, there are several ways of integration Geolocation on your website. We have documentation available for each integration option, so please see the links below for the relevant information. If you’re not sure which option is best for your organisation, you can find out more on our Ways to Integrate page.

• Tag integrations: Tag Setup Guide
• SDK integrations: SDK
• API integrations: Geolocation API documentation

What is the radius for the Geolocation search?

The radius is set to 50m by default, but can be adjusted to anything from 1 to 200 metres.

If using a Tag integration, you’ll need to contact the Loqate support team to adjust the radius. In other integrations you can set the radius when making a call to the service.

How many addresses will be returned in a Geolocation search?

The maximum number of addresses returned is set to 10 by default (using the API - in a Tag integration it’s set to 5), but can be adjusted to anything from 1 to 50.

If using a Tag integration, you’ll need to contact the Loqate support team to adjust the maximum number of addresses. In other integrations you can set this when making a call to the service.

Which countries does Geolocation cover?

Geolocation is available in the UK only, using AddressBase Premium data.

How much does Geolocation cost?

Geolocation can be paid for either on a pay as you go basis or via a license agreement. Get in touch with the Loqate support team to find out more.