Distributing an address locator
Address locators and composite locators can be packaged and distributed by copying the address locator files to a disk or shared network.
Address locator in a file folder
When an address locator is saved in a file folder, three files are created. The files are prefixed with the locator name and contain these file extensions:
- .loc—Contains the general information of the locator
- .loc.xml—Contains the metadata, parsing syntax, and parameters for the specified properties of the locator
- .lox—Contains the attributes and indexes of the reference data
A composite address locator consists of only two files:
- .loc—Contains the reference to the participating address locators
- .loc.xml—Contains the metadata and parameters for the specified properties for the composite locator
If you want to distribute the locator to other users, you must copy all three files to a disk or shared network directory. If you want to distribute a composite locator, you need to copy the composite locator files and all the files of the participating locators.
Address locators in a geodatabase
Address locators saved in a file, personal, or ArcSDE geodatabase are stored in multiple tables within the database. Distributing the entire file geodatabase in the .gdb folder or the personal geodatabase in the Microsoft Access .mdb file is the simplest way of sharing the locators. Locators stored in an ArcSDE geodatabase can be copied and pasted to a file folder in ArcCatalog and the files in the folder can be distributed.
Learn more about copying and pasting an address locator in ArcCatalog