• Creates a table of entries against which to reference. For each record Find Your Nearest will allow you to store your preferred associated data e.g. reference number, phone number.
• Flexible load program (also supplied in source code form) enabling you to create your own lookup tables. Enter a postcode, and Find Your Nearest will return the appropriate points from your pre-stored table.
• Provides a straight line point to point distance in miles or kilometres.
• Returns the grid-reference for the reference points found.
• Reference points are maintained by you, enabling total flexibility of search and update.
• As a website application, Find Your Nearest can enable your potential customers to find out the location of your nearest store, outlet, office, or service and the distance to it.
• Town lookups where exact postcode is not known using central town co-ordinates.
• Provides barriers that can represent obstacles (natural or otherwise) that can stop an ‘as the crow flies’ route being considered when the actual trip would involve a diversion round an estuary, bridge, river etc. This gives a more realistically ordered list of returned locations when a ‘find the nearest’ enquiry is made.

• There are three fundamental types of barrier that can be defined:

Single Barrier – A barrier line between two points.

Joined Barrier – A chain of single barrier lines (joined ‘end of- one-to-start-of-next’) forming an open composite barrier. This would be used to prevent the crossing of a meandering stretch of a river for example.

Enclosed Barrier – A special form of the joined barrier where the start and end points are coincident, thus forming an enclosed ‘no-go’ area. This would be used to exclude a mountain or lake for example.

• The ends of barriers that are not enclosed can be ‘passable’ or ‘non-passable’. A passable barrier end would represent the point on a river where a crossing is possible, i.e., a bridge. A non-passable barrier end would represent the end of an estuary barrier that goes out to sea, for example.