General API Set Up
How do I set up new accounts for people in my organization?
Owners of the organization can go to the home page. Click "Users" to view the users in the organization. From the drop down menu on the right, click on "Invite User" and enter the required information. An email will be sent to the user to invite them to the organization.
Do I need a separate auth token for each API?
No. Each user only needs one auth token for all services.
Is there a limit to the number of requests that can be made through the API?
The API limits requests to 150 requests per 10 seconds.
What is the uptime of the API?
The Data Axle Status Dashboard shows the uptime of each API.
What security measures are in place?
Data Axle takes security and privacy seriously. Read more about Data Axle Security.
Using Data
How do I get descriptions for the list of fields in my contract?
Download a list of fields and their descriptions at the Data Dictionary.
How can I get field mappings for coded values in the data?
Lookup tables are used to find all mappings. Find lookup tables under Lookups and read about the Lookups API.
Best Practices
Direct Mail Best Practices
The recommended query for business direct mail campaigns excludes place_type
values and includes mailing_score_code
or mailing_address_score_code
values as shown below:
- Exclude
place_type
=kiosk, individual
- Include
individual
if the goal is to target all professional individuals at a practice - Include
mailing_score_code
ormailing_address_score_code
=1A, 1C, 1F, 1G, 1H, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H
- Example scope: Direct Mail Scope
File Deliveries
How can I tell that a new delivery is available?
You will receive an email when new files are ready. Use the File Delivery API to automate detection of new files.
How are Data Axle files compressed?
Files are compressed using gzip. No other compression options are available.
Are the files reviewed to ensure data integrity?
Before publishing, an automated quality system reviews each delivery for abnormalities. For new and ad-hoc deliveries, Data Axle employees manually verify each delivery.
The File Delivery API provides an MD5 hash for each file, can be used to perform checksum integrity.
Why is a delivery broken into several files?
Large deliveries are split into files of about one million records each, for manageability.
In what order should I import files?
Files can be read in any order.
What time of the day are Incremental Files generated?
Incremental Files begin generation after 8:00am UTC. File generation times vary depending on the file size.
Weekly Incremental Files begin generation at 8:00am UTC on Monday.
In what order should I import the Incremental Files?
Import Incremental Files in chronological order to ensure that you end up with the most current data.
How do I process the monthly file in relation to the Daily Incremental Files?
Process the monthly file as soon as it is available, and make further updates with the Incremental Files.
How often should I look for new files?
Monthly files are typically available between the 1st and the 5th of each month. Weekly files generate every Monday at 8:00am UTC. Daily files generate every night at 8:00am UTC.
Use the File Delivery API once per hour to automate this process.
Search API
Does the ordering of my filters matter?
No, filters can be applied in any order.
Are API requests case sensitive?
Only filters using the equals predicate are case sensitive.
Does the API support wild card filters?
Indirectly. The Match API intelligently finds records similar to a set of identifiers. The matches predicate finds words similar to the input.
Why aren’t all records that match my criteria returned?
The Search API defaults to 10 records per request. You can use the limit and offset parameter to return more results. If you regularly need to return large sets of records, use the Scan API.
Why do I see different records if I make the same request at a later time?
The results of your search will change as records are updated and added to the database. You may see records added or removed from future responses. Results may also return in a different order. You can change sorting behavior by applying a sort parameter to your request.
Scan API
What is the difference between the Scan API and Search API?
Search API returns a maximum of 100 records per request while the Scan API allows you to scroll through all records that meet your criteria.
The query parameter is not supported in the Scan API.
Can I get the number of records that meet my criteria before returning the full list of records?
The initial response includes the number of records that meet your criteria. Use the Insights API to preview detailed counts.
Submission API
Should I use the Feedback UI or Submission API to send suggested changes?
It depends on your use case and volume of suggestions. The Feedback UI requires someone to log in and manually suggest changes. The Submission API is used for large volumes and a way to connect your application to Data Axle.
What is the typical response time for a Submission API request?
Submissions are routed to our data associates who typically resolve feedback within 24-48 hours.
How often should I poll the Results API to see if there has been any response?
Poll the Submission Results API anywhere from once per day to as frequently as you send submissions, depending on how frequently you need the results back.
Is there a limit to the number of submissions within the bulk request endpoint?
We recommend 100 submissions or less, per bulk request.
Does the API support submissions to correct duplicate listings? If so, how?
Yes, the API supports submissions to correct duplicates. This can be done by suggesting a value in the duplicate_of
attribute or by commenting on the infogroup_id
.
What is the latency between the response and the availability of the updated record in deliveries? Is there a cutoff date for accepted changes to appear in files?
There is no latency between when a record is updated and when it can be delivered through files. Changes only need to be applied before the delivery begins generating.