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Can anyone share with me how to creat postal / zip code boundries in map point 2004? What do I need to do this? I want to draw all of the zip code boundries for SW Ontario. THANKS

You can use the builtin territory logic of MP, but, personally, I've had some trouble with it. I can't seem to export to excel anything mapped within a defined MP territory, SO - I went the draw polyshape route. Lucky me, it didn't have to be around zip codes, but states or parts of a state. I asked a similar question weeks ago and got no reply.

If there was a way to get to the lat/lon coordinates that MS uses to define a zip code you could use the programmatic interface to draw your zip code shapes but I doubt anyone's gonna tell you how to get that data anytime quick.

All I want to do is draw a zip/county map and I can't seem to get this Street and Trips on steroids to do it. I have seen similar posts go unanswered so it looks like I blew $299.00 .

I can map a bunch of useless and trivial demographic data from sets you get free from the US Census site but I can't seem to make a simple map.

I don't suppose anyone would care to help?

The Help file is pretty good. Also, there's a MapPoint for Dummies book on MapPoint that a useful investment for you.

Try this: on the menu go to Data | Data Mapping Wizard | Shaded Area | Canada Demographic Data -- then, unfortunately it doesn't have postal code or county boundaries for Canada, but if it did, this is how you would do it.

It looks like "Forward Sortation Area" and "Census Subdivision" are the most detailed level of boundaries available.

Eric

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This could rate in the stupidest workarounds, but it might help you.

Go to the Data Mapping Wizard,
choose Shaded Area,
Next,
select Add Demographics to the Map,
select Canada Demographic Data,
Next,
select Area in Square Miles, <none>, Forward Sortation Area,
Next,
Finish

You get a map shaded by the first three of the Zip Code. I don't know if it will help, but it might be a start. All the best with this sad program.

Apollyon

FSAs in Canada are the closest thing to U.S. zip codes. They are defined by the first three digits of the post code. The second three digit group defines the letter carrier walk within the FSA.
Check the Canada Post web site for info and pdf maps at http://www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/hh/current/details/
As discussed in other responses you can get FSA boundaries wihin MapPoint.

Elaborating a bit....Canadian six digit postal codes not regions, they are a list of addresses that may or may not have a reasonable geographic representation. However, there are about a million Postal Codes in Canada and the vast majority correspond to a block faces. That is, one side of a street between two intersections.

Postal codes are usually represented by single points that correspond to the offset center of the block face...but beware, there are many exceptions (e.g. Rural Routes) that can't reasonably be represented by a single point.

MP has a Postal Code file for Canada built in. You can't display it, but it is used when you geo-code. I suppose you could see it if you had a complete list of Postal Codes and geocoded them.

In any event, my guess is that you asked about Postal Codes and really meant FSA's. As already mentioned, you can see the FSA boundaries a couple of ways. MP Territory Planner also works with FSA's if you want to.

Hope this helps.