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CDXZipStream

 

Welcome to the CDXZipStream November 2014 Newsletter

 

This month we provide an update on our search for a replacement for MapPoint, which will be discontinued by Microsoft on December 31. We also review how to best manage Excel add-ins such as CDXZipSream and CDXStreamer.

Update on a MapPoint Replacement
  

We've discussed in previous newsletters Microsoft's decision to stop selling MapPoint as of the end of this year, and we'd like to provide an update on our search for a MapPoint replacement. Please note that the retirement of MapPoint will not affect software already installed.  You can indefinitely continue to use Microsoft MapPoint as a stand-alone software and in conjunction with our Excel add-in CDXZipStream.  Our efforts to replace MapPoint will only affect future versions of CDXZipStream.
 

Currently there is no clear choice for a MapPoint replacement. Web-based services, such as Bing, Google Maps, and MapQuest, offer expensive commercial licenses (with prices based on the number of data requests) and can place significant restrictions on how the data is used. For instance, Bing allows for only limited storage of downloaded content (for geocodes only) as stated in their terms of use, although we have been told verbally that this may change in the future. MapQuest data must be purged after license expiration, with a one-year license starting at $5000.  Although they all offer free programs, these are generally not meant for for-sale commercial applications and are limited to light usage (2,500-10,000 daily data requests) such as an embedded map on a web page, where a Google or Bing can add advertisements.
 

Based on our testing, most free services such as OpenStreetMap do not as yet have the U.S. address database required to provide geocoding coverage comparable to MapPoint.  OpenStreetMap does have impressive routing and mapping capability, however, and it may be possible to couple it with another geocoding service.
 

Desktop options have the advantage of providing a fixed cost as compared to web services, since price is not based on the number of data requests. But they are also expensive relative to MapPoint. Maptitude, one of the least expensive, is $695 (including one country map) and each additional country map is $595. Maptitude also includes Australia, Mexico, India, and several South American countries not covered in MapPoint. However, if you need the multi-country coverage that was the standard in MapPoint, Maptitude costs climb quickly.
 

As always we are open to suggestions about your previous experience with these or other mapping systems as possible MapPoint replacements. You can reply directly to this newsletter or contact us at support@CDXTech.com with any comments, questions, or concerns.

 

Making Add-ins Work in Microsoft Excel
 

Excel can be pretty protective of its operating environment, and if it determines that an add-in may have contributed to a crash, that add-in may be automatically disabled.  For those situations where you need to enabled, disable, or otherwise manage your add-ins, here's how to do it for different versions of Excel:
 

Excel 2003:  From the main Excel toolbar, select Tools, then Add-ins.  You can click on each checkbox to enable/disable add-ins here, and then click OK.  To specifically look for disabled items, go to Help from the main toolbar, then About Microsoft Office Excel, then click on the Disabled Items button.
 

Excel 2007:  Click the Office button, select Excel Options, and then click Add-Ins. Select Disabled Add-Ins from the Manage section at the bottom of the Add-Ins window and then click Go. Any disabled add-ins will appear on the Disabled Items list. Enabled the desired items, and then click Close.  You can also specify to manage only COM add-ins (such as CDXZipStream and CDXStreamer) by choosing COM Add-Ins from the Manage section at the bottom of the window. (A COM - Component Object Model - add-in is a dynamic linked library that can be used across multiple MS Office applications.)
 

Excel 2010 and 2013:  From the File tab on the Excel Ribbon, select Options, then Add-ins.  As in Excel 2007, you can select Disable add-ins from the Manage section at the bottom of the Add-Ins window, then click Go.  Any disabled add-ins will appear on the Disabled Items list. Enabled the desired items, and then click Close.  You can also specify to manage only COM add-ins (such as CDXZipStream and CDXStreamer) by choosing COM Add-Ins from the Manage section at the bottom of the window.
 

Note that you may need to close and restart Excel to then use an enabled add-in.  When enabling CDXZipStream, make sure that all listed add-ins that include the name "CDXZipStream" are checked.
 

If simply enabling CDXZipStream is not successful, it may be necessary to remove the add-in completely and then add it back to the COM add-ins list.  You can do this in Excel 2007 and higher and by selecting "Com add-ins" at the bottom of the Add-Ins window, then clicking Go.  Click on the unchecked CDXZipStream add-in function and press Remove.  Then click Add and browse for the CDXZipStream add-in in the file C:\Program Files\CDXZipStream\CDXZipStream.dll.  (For 64 bit versions of Windows, the Program Files directory is called Program Files (x86).)  Add the CDXZipStream add-in, check it to enable, and then click OK and restart Excel

 

 

Latest Data Updates

 

Canadian and U.S. data feeds were updated as of November 25.  There were 46 changes made to the U.S. database this month.  If you would like to update your database to reflect these changes, click on the "License Information and Software Updates" icon on the CDXZipStream toolbar, and select "Data Updates" to login to your account.

 

We hope you find the information here helpful for you and your organization.  Please contact us with your feedback and suggestions by replying to this email.

 

The Team at CDX Technologies 

November 2014

 

 

Map of the World

 


In This Issue 

 

Update on a MapPoint Replacement

 

Making Add-ins Work in Microsoft Exel

 

Data Updates

 

 

 

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