Quick Reference Guide
DISTANCE AND DRIVE TIME
ADD DISTANCE AND DRIVE TIME
To create a Distance and Drive Time column, open your dataset and click the blue plus + sign in the top menubar. Select GEO-ENRICHED COLUMN, then choose Distance and Drive Time from the Geo-Enriched Data dropdown.
You’ll then choose how you want to calculate proximity:
- To Locations in a Dataset: Calculate distance or drive time between records in your dataset and another dataset (such as stores to distribution centers or customers to sales reps).
- To a Specific Address: Measure distance or drive time between each record and a single fixed location.
Select your location dataset and apply any relevant filters or sorting criteria.
Pro Tip: Choose your distance type based on the decision you’re trying to make.
Use Straight-Line Distance for quick proximity comparisons or large-scale geographic analysis where speed matters. Select Driving Distance when route realism is important for logistics and territory balancing. Choose Drive Time when operational impact matters most, especially for service response, appointment scheduling, or workload distribution.
If travel efficiency affects revenue, staffing, or customer experience, Drive Time is usually the most meaningful metric.
CONFIGURE OUTPUT COLUMNS
Next, choose your Output Column to define which type of proximity calculation you want to generate:
- Straight-Line Distance: Calculates the direct geographic distance (“as the crow flies”) between two points.
- Driving Distance: Calculates the actual road distance between locations.
- Drive Time: Estimates travel time based on road networks and routing data.
Next, determine which ranked result to return (1st, 2nd, etc.). This allows you to calculate proximity to the closest, second-closest, or additional nearby locations.
Finally, select your preferred Distance Units, including kilometers, meters, miles, yards, or feet. Finally, choose whether you want your data to refresh automatically or manually, and click OK to generate your new column.
APPLY YOUR DISTANCE DATA
Once created, your Distance or Drive Time column becomes immediately usable across your Mapline environment. You can filter, map, sort, and automate based on proximity in just seconds.
- Identify the closest store, warehouse, or service technician to each customer.
- Build drive-time coverage areas and visualize reach using map polygons.
- Optimize territory assignments based on realistic travel distances.
- Analyze customer accessibility or service response times for performance reporting.
With Distance and Drive Time Geo-Enrichment, your dataset doesn’t just show where things are; it shows how far they are and how long it takes to get there.
