Hello, this is the Customer Success team at GeoTechnologies Inc.
As we receive various questions daily at the MapFan API support desk, we often realize, "We could have explained this more clearly..."
Therefore, we've looked back at the questions received in the first half of fiscal year 2025 and compiled the TOP 3 most frequently asked questions.
We hope this will be helpful to you.
#3: "I want to change my registered email address"
Q. Questions we received:
"The person in charge has changed, so I want to update the contact email address"
"Our company email address has changed"
"I want to change the destination for access reports"
This is a common inquiry we receive due to personnel changes, organizational restructuring, or changes in responsibility.
A. Procedure:
We apologize for the inconvenience, but please contact your sales representative or the MapFan API support desk. Our sales team will contact you to proceed with the necessary procedures.
💬 From the Support Team:
Email addresses are essential for receiving important notifications and logging into the MapFan API Support site, so it's important to keep your information up to date. When you need to make a change, please contact us as soon as possible.
Tied for #3: "The route (distance) differs from what I expected... Why?"
Q. Questions we received:
"The distance varies depending on when I search..."
"Every time I search the same location multiple times, the distance changes"
"The distance I checked on the web version of MapFan differs from the API results..."
This is definitely a head-scratching moment. Especially when developing delivery management systems or expense reimbursement systems, accurate distance is crucial, so it's natural to be sensitive to these discrepancies.
A. 🤔 Why does the route (distance) change?
Real-world roads have various restrictions, and routes may change as a result of appropriately considering these restrictions based on the condition settings during route search.
*The following are representative causes; other causes may exist.
🔍 Cause Example 1: Differences due to vehicle type and weight
Passenger cars and large cargo vehicles (mainly trucks) have different roads they can travel on.
Examples:
Weight restrictions
・ weight not specified: Route without considering weight restrictions
・ weight=16000: Route selection considering weight restrictions of 16,000 kg or less
Vehicle type settings
・ vehicletype=0 (not specified): Route without considering large vehicle regulations
・ vehicletype=6 (large vehicle): Avoids roads with regulations targeting large vehicles
・When route search is performed with vehicletype=0 (not specified) and weight not specified
*Route assuming regular cars without considering large vehicle regulations or weight restrictions
・When route search is performed with vehicletype=6 (large vehicle) and weight=16000
🔍 Cause Example 2: Changes due to time-based regulations
Roads have regulations where vehicles that can pass change depending on the time of day.
Examples:
・ Search at 9:00 AM: Smooth shortest route (120.6km）
・ Search at 8:00 PM: Detour route due to large vehicle traffic prohibition hours (122.3km)
・When route search is performed with departure date/time set to 9:00 AM
・When route search is performed with departure date/time set to 8:00 PM
Even with the same origin and destination, routes change depending on the search time!
🔍 Cause Example 3: Road priority condition settings
Results also vary depending on what you prioritize with the priority parameter.
・ priority=1 (distance priority): Route prioritizing shortest distance
・ priority=2 (give priority to go straight): Route prioritizing straight paths
・ priority=4 (road width priority): Route prioritizing wider roads
・When route search is performed without road priority condition settings
・When route search is performed with priority=4 (road width priority)
By using them according to your purpose, more practical route guidance becomes possible.
📌 For those who want to know more
These parameter setting methods are explained in detail in the Route Function section of the MapFan API Technical Specifications.
Downloading the Technical Specifications:
- Current subscribers: From the Downloads page of MapFan Developers Support *Account and login required
- Non-subscribers: From 'Download the specifications' on the GeoTechnologies official website
💬 Advice from the Support Team:
When you get "results different from what you expected," first review your parameter settings. There may be unintended setting values affecting the results. If you still can't identify the cause, please contact us with the parameters you used and the expected results!
✅ The Support Team is on your side
The content introduced today consists of actual questions we've received from many customers.
You may have thought, "I wonder if it's okay to ask about something like this..." but please feel free to contact us with any question, no matter how small.
The Support Team will do everything we can to support you in using MapFan API smoothly.
Check out the other top questions:
#1: "I want to know how PVs are counted" – カスタマーサクセスサイト
#2: "Road Traffic Volume API - How is traffic volume counted?" – カスタマーサクセスサイト