Matching Preferences

Use the preferences to set match criteria and restrictions so that the matching can be as strict or relaxed as you need. The following sections cover the matching global defaults options which are available for all countries. For country-specific preferences seeCustom Preferences and Fields which apply to a subset of countries.

For instructions on setting global default values in Management Console, see Setting Global Defaults in Management Console.

For instructions on setting global default values in Enterprise Designer, see Setting Global Defaults in Enterprise Designer.

In Management Console, you can add overrides to global defaults for matching on a country-specific basis. Once the overrides are set and enabled, they apply to all data flows that use the Global Geocoding stage. This functionality is not supported in Enterprise Designer. For more information see Setting Country Overrides.

Matching Preferences


Preference	Description
Match Mode	Match modes determine the leniency used to make a match between the input address and the reference data. Select a match mode based on the quality of your input and your desired output. The following match modes are available: Standard Requires a close match and generates a moderate number of match candidates. Default. Exact Requires a very tight match. This restrictive mode generates the fewest match candidates, which decreases the processing time. When using this mode, ensure that your input is very clean; free of misspellings and incomplete addresses. Relaxed Allows a loose match and generates the most match candidates, which increases the processing time and results in more multiple matches. Use this mode if you are not confident that your input is clean; free of misspellings and incomplete addresses. Custom Allows you to define the matching criteria by setting Custom Mode Must Match Fields.
Match Mode	The USA has the following additional match modes. These are available as options even when the global defaults option is set to one of the match modes listed above. Interactive Available in single-line address matching only. This mode is designed to better handle the specific matching challenges presented by interactive matching. Interactive mode permits for more flexible matching patterns and may, in some cases, return additional possible matches than relaxed match mode. CASS Imposes additional rules to ensure compliance with the USPS CASS regulations. The purpose of this match mode is to create mailable addresses for USPS mailing discounts. Use this mode to standardize your input for mailing. This mode generates a large number of match candidates.
Custom Mode Must Match Fields	These options set the match criteria for determining match candidates. To enable these options, you must set the Match Mode to `Custom`. By default, these options are disabled. Note: For USA, the Custom Mode Must Match fields are not supported in single-line processing. In Management Console, you can create country-specific overrides for these options only for those countries that have Match Mode overrides that are set to Custom. Address Number A match must be made to the input address number. Street A match must be made to the input street name, type and directional fields. Postcode A match must be made to the input address postcode. City/Town Subdivision A match must be made to the input address city/town subdivision. Note: This option is not supported by USA. City/Town A match must be made to the input address city/town. State/Province Subdivision A match must be made to the input address state/province subdivision. Note: This option is not supported by USA. State/Province A match must be made to the input address state/province.