Geocoder Autocomplete API Developer's Guide

Introduction

Note: This service is no longer being actively developed. We will only provide critical fixes for this service in future. Instead, you can use the new Geocoding and Search API v7 service.

This document introduces the Geocoder Autocomplete API and:

explains key concepts
provides examples
documents resources and query parameters
documents response structures and data types

For the terms and conditions covering this documentation, see the HERE Documentation License.

What Is the Geocoder Autocomplete API?

The HERE Geocoder Autocomplete API is a REST API that you can integrate into web applications to help users obtain better results for address searches with fewer keystrokes. Spatial and region filters can be used to return suggestions with greater relevance to end users, such as results that are within a specified country or in the proximity of the current location.

The Geocoder Autocomplete API retrieves a complete address and an ID. You can subsequently use the Geocoder API to geocode the address based on the ID and thus obtain the geographic coordinates of the address.

Why Use the Geocoder Autocomplete API?

The table below lists the high level use cases for the Geocoder Autocomplete API.

Table 1. Main features of the HERE Geocoder Autocomplete API
Feature	Description
Reduce the number of keystrokes	The end user starts typing and after the first character, typically, the system provides a list of suggestions. The end user sees the address he or she is looking for in this list and selects one to retrieve its location.
Assist the end user with the spelling of addresses	The end user receives immediate feedback relative to their input in the form of suggestions that he or she can use to complete or correct their input quickly.
Assist the end user with the context of addresses	The end user receives assistance in completing an address request based on the context. For example, "520 Hayes" can be completed to "520 Hayes St". The 520 suggests an address context. But "Hayes" alone could also mean the area "Hayes Valley". "Praca Falcao" suggests a complete address with all its details and can be completed to "Praça General Gentil Falcão, Sao Paulo".