Global Search uses fuzzy matching for the billing address and shipping address fields. Fuzzy matching finds address words that are close to, but not the same as, the words that you enter.
Addresses are often entered by hand, so they contain spelling errors, abbreviations, and transposed digits. Fuzzy matching finds the transaction even when the stored address and your search term are spelled differently. Fuzzy matching applies only to the address fields. All other fields require the spelling to be correct.
Global Search compares your search term with each of the following parts of the billing address and the shipping address:
-
Address line 1
-
Address line 2
-
City
-
State
-
Postal code
-
Country code
-
Global Search separates the search term into words at each space.
-
Global Search compares each word separately with the words in each address part. Different words can match different address parts. For example, in the search term Springfield 62704, the first word can match the city and the second word can match the postal code.
-
For each word, Global Search counts the number of character differences between the word that you entered and the word in the address.
-
If the number of differences is within the limit for the length of the word that you entered, the word matches.
-
The address matches only if every word that you entered matches.
Caution
Every word has to match. Each additional word that you enter reduces the results. For example, Springfield 62704 returns only addresses that contain both Springfield and 62704.
Global Search compares only letters and numbers in the address fields. Other characters, such as the number sign (#), commas, and periods, are ignored. For example, the search term 300 matches the stored value Suite #300.
A character difference is one missing, extra, or swapped character. Each of the following counts as one character difference:
|
Difference |
Search term |
Matches the stored word |
|---|---|---|
|
A missing character |
Gren |
Green |
|
An extra character |
Greeen |
Green |
|
A character swapped for a different character |
Grean |
Green |
|
Two adjacent characters swapped |
62074 |
62704 |
The number of accepted differences depends on the length of each word that you enter. Longer words accept more differences.
|
Length of the word that you enter |
Accepted differences |
Example |
|---|---|---|
|
1–2 characters |
None. The word must be spelled exactly. |
IL matches IL, but IN does not match IL. |
|
3–5 characters |
Up to one |
Gren matches Green. |
|
6 or more characters |
Up to two |
Sprngfeld matches Springfield. |
The limit applies to each word separately, not to the complete search term. A search term such as Springfeild 62074 can contain a difference in more than one word and still match.
The following examples use a stored billing address with these parts: address line 1 1621 18th St, address line 2 Suite #300, city Springfield, state IL, postal code 62704, and country code US.
|
Search term |
Result |
Reason |
|---|---|---|
|
1621 18th St |
Match |
Each word matches address line 1 exactly. |
|
161 18th |
Match |
161 has one missing character, and three-character words accept one difference. |
|
Suite 300 |
Match |
Each word matches a word in address line 2. The number sign (#) is ignored. |
|
Springfield 99999 |
No match |
99999 does not match any word in the address. Every word must match. |
|
Springfeild 62704 |
Match |
Springfeild has one pair of adjacent characters swapped, which is one difference. Words of six or more characters accept up to two differences. 62704 matches exactly |
|
springfield il |
Match |
Matching is not case-sensitive. |
|
Sprfld |
No match |
|
|
IN |
No match |
Two-character words must be spelled exactly. |
Because fuzzy matching accepts small differences, a search can return addresses that are similar to, but not the same as, the address that you want. Short words, common words, and numbers are most likely to match other values, as shown in the following examples:
-
Mainalso matches Maine, Rain, and Mann, because each word is one character different from Main. -
62704also matches the postal codes 62705 and 62074, because each postal code is one character different from 62704. -
300also matches the suite numbers 30, 301, and 3000.
-
Add words from the address to narrow the results. Every word must match, so include a distinctive word, such as an uncommon street name or a complete postal code.
-
Enter complete, correctly spelled words when you know them. Longer words accept more differences, so a correct spelling reduces similar matches.
-
After you search, use the billing address or shipping address column filter to restrict the results to one specific address.
Comments
0 comments
Article is closed for comments.