2.2 KiB
Search with autocomplete
If you are building an end-user application, you can enable /autocomplete alongside the /search to add real-time feedback to help users find what they are looking for more easily, without requiring them to type the entire search term. Typically, the user starts typing and a drop-down list appears where they can choose the term from the list.
To get started with autocomplete, you need only a developer key and a text parameter, representing what a user has typed into your application so far. Optionally, you can specify the number of results to return and where the search should be centered.
In the interest of not overloading Mapzen search, please allow a reasonable amount of time between user keystrokes before querying. That is, a fast typer may have only milliseconds between keystrokes. Querying Mapzen search on every keystroke would result in a number of requests that would not respond in time to display results before the next request was sent. A good rule of thumb is to allow a delay of x milliseconds before sending the entered text.
Size
The default number of results that an autocomplete request will return is 10, but this can be overridden using the size parameter. The default value for size is 10 and the maximum value is 40. Specifying a value greater than 40 will override to 40 and return a warning in the response metadata.
Focus.point.lat and Focus.point.lon
To center your search based upon a geographical area, such as a map or the user's current location, supply the parameters focus.point.lat and focus.point.lon. The following request is centered on northeastern France and is searching for Strasb:
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
api_key |
string | yes | none | get yours here! |
text |
string | yes | none | Strasbour |
focus.point.lat |
floating point number | yes | none | 48.581755 |
focus.point.lon |
floating point number | yes | none | 7.745843 |
size |
integer | no | 10 |
3 |