Zip code or address radius search for member directory
I am currently evaluating Wild Apricot for use with a specific database and I would like to be able for public visitors to use the Advanced search to look for:
Members "within" "x" miles of "zip code" or "address"
This feature would allow visitors to find people near their location and not just in a specific zip code. It's better to put in the address and find closest locations because it's more specific than the zip code. I think this feature would greatly enhance the ability for people to use this software for other databases. Like for me, I do recurring subscriptions for clients that I supply web services to and also provide access to blogs, forums, free ebooks, etc. They are daycare providers using the service for advertisement. The public visitors are looking for available providers in their area. Something like a "store locator" feature would really enhance the searching process.
frsandi
shared this idea
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joanna
commented
Our Association is of Healthcare Advocates, and we have members of the public who search our web site for an advocate in their area. Becaucse these people are very stressed when they are searching (after all, they have major health problems and need someone to help them navigate through), they need a very simple search system; one where you put in your zip code and it kicks up people within a 5, 10 or 25 miles radius. We keep hearing from our members that the search system is too hard for the general public, and the advocates can't be easily found.
So I agree, it needs to have this ability.
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Dmitry Buterin commented
Good point Tim and good job on the map. I understand it dynamically links to the member directory, right?
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Tim
commented
Rather than achieve this through the database, you could achieve the same result using the Google maps implementation described earlier - just centre the map on the user's location and scale it cover the required radius.
Other users data would be on the map but off the scale.
Something like http://www.ev-network.org.uk/Default.aspx?pageId=524100&mdd=40302
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About member map - this is already possible. See
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Roger Pryor
commented
You can create a proximity search by using a "Begins With" in the Advanced search and entering just the first few numbers of a zip code. The search circle can be enlarged by using fewer numbers.
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SWEAtlanta
commented
Not necessarily what the OP is asking for, but it would be cool to have a "member map" on the site. However! Each member should have the ability to just show location, location and information (such as name w/ link to profile), or nothing at all. In fact, I'm creating something like this right now!
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anonymous_206.223.175.10
commented
frsandi:
I know we've had at least one other person ask for this feature. It's a good idea but would take a decent amount of work to make sure it was done the right way.
Let's throw this out to the crowd: Is this an ability you'd like for Wild Apricot? Would you use it more as an admin function or would you want to see it added to your public member directories?
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Margo Burns
commented
Because we are such a widely-dispersed group geographically, I’d like to set up some saved-searches to help us target some of our event emails to reasonable distances from various locations - such as within 100 miles of Boston or San Francisco - when just the state won’t do the trick. 100 miles from Boston can include towns in NH, RI, CT, and ME as well as those from MA, but not include towns in far western MA. CA is such a big state, we’d like avoid sending them to folks who live the San Diego/Los Angeles part of the state. Do you have any tools like this? I have put together saved-searches for large regions, like the "Southeast" and the "Pacific Northwest", but it sure would be easier to have a proximity setting…
At one point, pre-Wild-Apricot, I programmed a search feature for our website that used a table of zip codes and their latitude/longitudes and was able to search our users and generate a list of folks who lived within any given radius of any given zip code. It would be really helpful if you had something like this.
Thank you!
