Input Address format

The two settings InputLineCount and InputLineN should be set up in each layout in qaworld.ini, or your preferred layout configuration file, to describe the contents of the input address fields as they are passed into the Batch API engine. Doing so can enhance engine processing and increase the accuracy and speed of address matching.

InputLineCount={integer}

Default

Blank

Purpose

Use this setting to define the number of lines your input addresses contain. The format of each individual address line is specified with the InputLineN setting. Note that any lines not covered by your specified input address format will not be constrained to match to specific address element types.

Example

The following tells Batch API that each input address contains four lines:

```InputLineCount=4```

InputLine1={element list}
InputLine2={element list}

InputLineN={element list}

Default

Blank

Purpose

This specifies which address element is to appear on which line in the input address. If you know that a line in your database always contains the same type of address element, (for example, if line 4 always contains a town name), you can mark that line with an element code. This improves the speed and quality of matching.

{element list} represents a comma-separated list of element codes, either dataset-specific or generic. By specifying element codes, you tell the Batch API which elements to expect on that line (if the elements exist in the matched address).

It is important not to supply non-address information to the Batch API (where possible), as this may compromise the address matching process. In particular, supplying non-address numeric values (such as DPIDs in Australia) can cause confusion when matching against premises information. If your data includes non- address information which cannot be identified using a generic or dataset-specific element code, then it should not be supplied to the Batch API.

Example

The following instructs Batch API to expect premises details on line 1 of the input address:

```InputLine1=P00```

The generic element codes are listed below, in the order in which they will appear in a formatted address (unless you fix them in a different order on the address line).

Order Element Code Description
1 N00 Name
2 O00 Organization
3 P00 Premises
4 S00 Street
5 B00 PO box
6 L00 Locality
7 C00 Postal code
8 X00 Country name

See the Data Guide supplied with your data for a list of dataset-specific element codes.