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- NPA - Numbering Plan Area The Comprehensive Area Code and Exchange Locator <27Mar93> (C) Copyright 1991-93 The PC Consultant P.O. Box 42086 Houston TX 77242-2086 Ph. 713/826-2629 (v-mail no answer) CIS 73670,1164 What does NPA do? ----------------- NPA is a comprehensive area code and prefix locator. NPA stands for Numbering Plan Area which is telephone company jargon for "area code". NPA contains information for over 20,000 cities in the United States and Canada. Such information includes: * area code (NPA) * state in USA or province in Canada * local exchange or prefix (NXX) * the city that NXX belongs to * county that city resides in * population of county * pravelent zip code within NXX * central office latitude and longitude of record for NXX (plus a feature for instantly calculating mileage) You can search based on State, NPA, city, NXX, and/or zip code. NPA locates all cities that meet search criteria and outputs in one of several formats to screen, printer, or file. One of NPA's more useful features and, to our knowledge unique to NPA, is the ability to locate the city of record for any phone number in the USA or Canada. Imagine someone handing you a phone number, say 206/454-xxxx, and then being able to tell them it's in Bellevue, Washington. And then telling them the primary zip code is 98004. And while your at it, you might mention that the city is located at 47.61 north latitude by 122.19 west longitude. And, oh yes, you can tell them how far in miles Bellevue is from any city in the USA or Canada. Spokane? It's 222 miles away. All cities in the USA and Canada that have their own central office designation are included in NPA's data base. There are over 20,000 such cities with over 50,000 NXX/Zip/LatLong entries. Even if a city does not have it's own central office designation, it very likely shares one with a nearby, perhaps larger, city. How do I use NPA? ----------------- NPA requires arguments, or search criteria, from you in order to perform searches. There are two ways you can give these specifications to NPA. (1) Using NPA's full screen input mode, or (2) on the DOS command line. For DOS command line mode, see "Execute NPA from the command line" below. If you just enter "NPA" on the DOS command line, then NPA displays a screen prompting you for information. The screen is divided into two main portions. The search specification portion and the help portion. The search specification portion is depicted below: ┌─top──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │NPA - <ddmmmyy> (Numbering Plan Area) (C) 1991-93 PC Consultant│ │ │ │ 1st 2nd (Great Circle Mileage) │ │ State/Province/NPA: ····················· ····················· │ │ City/NXX: ····················· ····················· │ │ Min/Max # NXX: ··· / ··· │ │ │ │ ^Scan City ┌───Show───┐ ┌───────Show───────┐ Screen 7^Output │ │ Name ^County ^Pop ^NXX ^Zip ^Lat/Long ^Display to │ │ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Scroll Screen │ ≈ ≈ └─bottom───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ There are several input fields indicated by "······". The column marked "1st" is used for retrieving information regarding your specification. You'll use the 1st column most often. The column marked "2nd" is used exclusively for calculating mileage between 1st and 2nd points. (For more information, see "Calculating Mileage") State/Province/NPA (input field) The minimum required input for performing a search is a state, province, or NPA. State/province may be the official two letter postal code or portion of state/province name. Or you may specify just the NPA (area code). Since there are nearly 150 NPA's but only 60+ states and provinces, then a NPA search is a bit narrower. e.g. If you search for the NNX 777 in CA, many different cities all having the 777 prefix are located. Whereas if you search for 777 in just, say the 213 NPA, then only Los Angeles is located. If two or more states are found to meet your specification, NPA errors and advises you to narrow your search. If you specify a "*" (wildcard) in the State/Province/NPA input field, then all states and provinces are searched. The wildcard option does slow the search a bit since 60+ state/provinces are searched instead of the usual one. e.g. You can use this feature to find all cities in the USA and Canada that start with 'Lake', etc. City/NXX/Zip (input field) Normally, NPA searches all cities within a state or province. However, you can narrow NPA's search by specifying a city name (or portion thereof), NXX, Zip. If you specify a city name, then NPA will search all cities whose name starts with the letters you specify here. e.g. "Hous" finds Houston but "oust" does not. There is a way to make NPA search the entire name for your specification. If you specify a NXX, then NPA will search all cities having that NXX. If you do specify a NXX, it must be a complete 3 digit NXX. Partial NXX name searches are not permitted. If you specify a zip code, then NPA will search for all cities having that zip code. You may specify any number of digits for a zip code search starting with the left-most digit. The more digits you specify, the narrower the search. If you specify fewer than all five digits, you must include a trailing * to indicate a wild card search. e.g. To search all zip codes starting with 08, you'd say "08*". NOTE: Even though you are performing a zip code search, you still MUST include a state/province/NPA or * for state wild card. NPA does not automatically search the entire data base for your zip code. !!!!! The zip codes in this data base are APPROXIMATIONS only! There is no one-to-one NXX-to-zip code geography. The zip code search is included strictly as a *convenience feature* and must be considered as only a best-guess. Min/Max # NXX (input field) To minimize output, NPA normally displays only cities having a certain minimum number of NXXs. NPA decides what the minimum should be based on how wide or narrow your search specification is. Generally, the wider the search, the more NNXs the city must contain before NPA will consider it for display. NPA does this to avoid massive data retrievals. Below shows the default that NPA uses based on your search specification: Specify state or province only: 10 NXX minimum, no maximum default Specify a NPA only: 5 NXX minimum, no maximum default Specify a city or NXX also: 1 NXX minimum, no maximum default As you can see, the minimum NXX default lowers as you narrow your search. This ensures the greatest chance of finding your requested data without unnecessarily flooding you with output. You can easily override these defaults by specifying your own minimum and/or maximum NXX requirement. Switches (control display) In addition to the data input fields, there are eight switches. Six of these eight are two-state switches. The other two are multi-state switches. Notice that each switch has a caret ^ preceeding the switch name. The caret means to touch and hold the Ctrl key then touch the letter that appears immediately to the right. Then release both keys. The following six two-state switches control what NPA displays in addition to the state and city (state and city name is always displayed). Some switches change other switches, where noted. ^Scan City Name: Yes : NPA searches the entire city name for a match. e.g. Both "Hous" and "oust" finds Houston. No : NPA searches the beginning of the city name for a match. e.g. "Hous" finds Houston, but "oust" does not. ^County (Show) Yes : Also displays the county in which city resides No : Does not show county. ^Pop (Show) Yes : Also displays last recorded population for county. This switch forces the ^County switch to Yes. No : Does not show population. ^NXX (show) Yes : Also displays all NXXs within city. No : Does not show NXXs. ^Zip (show) Yes : Also displays the most pravalent zip code associated with NXX. (Note: There is *not* a one-to-one ZIP-to-NXX mapping. The zip displayed must be considered best-guess.) This switch forces the ^NXX switch to yes. No : Does not show zip codes. ^Lat/Long (show) Yes : Also displays the latitude and longitude associated with NXX. This switch forces the ^NXX switch to yes. No : Does not show latitude/longitude. Please experiment with these switches to learn how they affect the output. The following two multi-state switches control how and where NPA displays output. ^Display (screen) Scroll: NPA displays output in a scrollable buffer that allows forward and backward navigation. This makes detailed perusal much easier. PagePause: Displays output in a forward-only fashion with pauses at every screenful. In this mode, NPA displays output in real time as it's culled from the data base rather than building a scrollable output buffer. A tad faster but not as useful. NonStop: Same as PagePause but with no pauses. NPA continually displays output until it's done. ^Output to Screen: NPA displays output to the monitor according to the setting of the ^Display switch. Printer: NPA prints output to LPT1 using the same display format as on the screen. When Printer is selected, a new field appears prompting you for width. Valid range is 79 upto 255. To print to LPT2 or LPT3, choose "Output to File" then enter LPT2 or LPT3 as the file name. File: NPA writes output to a file using the same display format as the on screen. When File is selected, a new field appears prompting you for a file name. The width field, described above, also appears but with a maximum of 999 instead of 255. If necessary, you can print to LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3 from this prompt in which case the default max columns returns to 255. Function/Action Keys NPA has several function keys available only in full screen input mode. F1 (Help) Display context sensitive help. You can browse through or touch the highlighted character appearing next to each item for context sensitive help. F2 (PrvSpec) Recalls upto the last 20 arguments entered since NPA was executed. F3 (NxtSpec) Same as F1, but moves forward through argument history buffer instead of backward as F1 does. F4 (ClrSpec) Clears all input fields. F5 (ClrFld) Clears input field that cursor is in. F6 (SavOpts) Save all current switch settings (except ^Output) to a defaults file. Next time NPA is executed, the defaults file is read and switches set accordingly. Esc (Cancel) Cancel current operation. The Esc key generally takes you back to where you were prior to hitting enter. Esc works at any time during execution. Calculating Mileage NPA can calculate the great circle mileage between any two cities located in the data base. If you were to take an imaginary length of string and travel the shortest possible route from point a to point b, the length of the string would be the great circle distance. It is the arc distance. Hence the name, Great Circle. By specifying parameters for both the 1st and 2nd input areas, you can calculate the mileage between any two points in the data base. You can specify either an NPA/NXX or state/city as either point. Specifying an NPA/NXX sets the point of calculation to the portion of the city served by that NXX. Specifying a state/city sets the point of calculation of the approximate center of the city. e.g. npa tx.houston 2nd:tx.austin Shows the distance between the approximate centers of these cities. npa 713.222 2nd:512.206 Shows the distance between NPA/NXX 713.222 (Houston) and NPA/NXX 512.206 (Austin). Brief lat/long tutorial The lat/long data is precise to approximately 36 arc seconds (two decimal places, x.xx). This equals about .7 miles deg longitude and .7 miles deg latitude at 90 deg longitude. The miles per degree latitude remain constant along a longitudinal vector while the miles per degree longitude change as a function of latitude along a latitudinal vector. e.g. At 90 deg longitude, each degree along a latitudinal vector is about 69 miles. At 0 or 180 deg longitude, each degree along a latitudinal vector is 0 miles. (indeed, you can stand on all 24 time zones at once!) Executing NPA from the command line Most NPA functions that are available in the full screen input mode are also available from the DOS command line -- plus one that isn't available in full screen input mode. The rules are identical to those in full screen input mode. Therefore, only command line syntax will be explained. Syntax for executing NPA from the DOS command line: NPA (state|npa)[.city|.nxx|.zip] [2nd:state|npa.city|nxx] [min=x] [max=x] [-pp] [-ns] [-co] [-lat] [-pop] [-s] [-x] [-nxx] [-zip] [-25] [-50] [-bw] [file=] [width=] Where: ( ) = Required Parameter. [ ] = Optional Parameter. | = Choose one from list of choices within ( ) or [ ]. state = Two letter postal code or portion of state name. NPA will first search for postal code. If postal code search fails, NPA will automatically perform a search by name. npa = Numbering Plan Area (AreaCode). NPA will search for states and provinces assigned this NPA. .city = Narrow state search to cities whose name starts with specification. e.g. TX.hou will find Houston. .nxx = Show cities in state or NPA having this NXX. NXX means local exchange or prefix, e.g. (NPA)NXX-nnnn. 2nd: = Calculate the distance, in miles, between the the first state/npa, city/nxx and the state/npa, city/nxx specified here. min=x = Display only cities with at least x number of NXXs. If not specifed, then normal default minimum is 10. max=x = Display only cities with at most x number of NXXs. If not specifed, then the maximum is infinite. Some switches have a trailing (-) that can be used to force the switch off. Used to override a switch setting from the NPA_SWITCH environment variable or from the defaults file. In essence, -foo- does the exact opposite of -foo (whatever foo may be). -pp = Display output using page pause mode. Do not use the scrollable buffer. NPA normally displays findings in a scrollable buffer allowing you to scroll up/down for easy perusal. The buffer is stored on disk, so a large NPA output may take a moment to complete queuing. (-pp- force cancel) -ns = Continuous, don't pause. NPA normally pauses every screenful. Switch is only meaningful if used with -pp. (-ns- force cancel) -co = Display county that city is located in. (-co- force cancel) -lat = Show latitude and longitude for each displayed NXX. This switch can potentially generate copious output. Use only with narrow search specification. Forces switch -x on. (-lat- force cancel) -pop = Display approximate county-wide population. Switch -co forced on when this switch is used. (-pop- force cancel) -s = Used with '.city'. Causes NPA to search anywhere within city name. e.g. 'npa tx.oust -s' will locate Houston TX. Without the -s, you'd have to specify 'npa tx.hous' to locate Houston since the search is performed only from the first letter. The -s switch is useful, for example, to locate all cities having the word 'lake' in it's name. (-s- force cancel) -x = Also display NXXs (prefixes). Output display can be rather lengthy when using this switch. (-x- force cancel) -nxx = Same as -x. -nxx was added to be consistent with the other, more descriptive switch names. -x was included to assist current customers. -zip = Show primary zip code for each displayed NXX. There is not a one-to-one NXX-to-zip code mapping. This just shows the most pravalent zip for a given NXX. As with -lat, this switch may generate copious output. (-zip- force cancel) -25 = Force 25 line mode if screen is not already. -50 = Force 50 line mode. Note: The -25/-50 switch works only when specified on the NPA command line at the DOS prompt. If -25/-50 is the *only* argument on the NPA command line, then NPA enters Full Screen Query Mode with the lines-per-screen specified. file= = If you specify a file name or printer port, NPA will write to that file/device instead of the screen. NPA will overwrite an existing file without warning so be sure your file name is unique. Valid printer ports are LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3. width= = Specify width of output here. Default is 79. For printer, the max is 255. For file, the max is 999. If an parameter must contain an embedded space, then the entire parameter must be enclosed in double quotes. Examples of DOS command line execution: npa ca.san - shows all cities in California starting with 'san'. npa "tx.san antonio" -x - shows the city of San Antonio in Texas along with prefixes. Note that since San Antonio has a space in the name, the entire parameter is enclosed in double quotes. npa 703 -x - shows cities in virginia (703 area code only) with prefixes. npa tx.austin 2nd:fl.miami - shows distance between Austin, TX and Miami, FL. npa "ca.san francisco" "2nd:ca.san jose" - shows distance between San Francisco, CA and San Jose, CA. Note that since San Francisco and San Jose have spaces in the name, the entire parameter(s) is enclosed in double quotes. npa "new mex" - shows NPAs and larger cities in New Mexico. Note that since New Mexico has a space in the name, the entire parameter is enclosed in double quotes. npa nebra -co - shows NPAs and larger cities/counties in Nebraska. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: Some cities, especially in Canada, abbreviate 'saint' using either 'st' (masculine form) or 'ste' (feminine form). Sometimes it's difficult to know which gender form to use as French names can be pretty elaborate obscuring gender from an American audience. To help eliminate this confusion, all 'ste.' forms were truncated to 'st' (without the period). Some cities are quite close together. If NPA does not find your city (even with 'min=1') then double check your spelling. If your city is spelled correctly and still it's not found, then that city does not have it's own central office designation but likely shares a central office with a nearby (perhaps larger) city. Defaults File When using NPA in full screen mode, you'll notice that F6 (SavOpts) is available. When F6 is touched, all the two-state switches and the ^Display mode switch is saved in the defaults file (called DEFAULTS.DAT) located in the same subdirectory with the data base files. Next time NPA is started, the switch states are recalled (even if the next execution is in DOS command line mode). You can erase the defaults file, if necessary, to reset NPA. NPA automatically recreates the file next time F6 is touched. The switch settings in the defaults file overrides the switch settings on the NPA_SWITCH environment variable. In either case, you can change a switch in full screen mode or in DOS command line mode regardless of wether it's set via the defaults file or the NPA_SWITCH variable. To force a switch change in full screen mode, simply touch-hold Ctrl and touch the letter after the caret (^). In DOS mode, simply specify the switch to force-set (-foo) or force-clear (-foo-). ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES NPA utilizes several environment variables. They are: npa_data - Location of data base files. npa_switch - Contains switches for NPA to use automatically without having to specify each time. NPA_DATA environment variable. You undoubtedly noticed the voluminous quantity of NPA_DATA.* files. The database is broken up by states and provinces to make searches faster. By placing the data files in their own directory, they'll stay out of the way. NPA has three methods of accessing it's data files. They happen in the following order. 1) NPA_DATA environment variable. if no find, then... 2) Current directory. if no find, then... 3) Regular DOS path. if no find, error... The first method that finds the data files is the one used during this execution. It is recommended that you place the NPA_DATA files in their own subdirectory then using method #1, the 'npa_data' environment variable. Suppose you have a subdirectory called 'c:\npa'. You can configure NPA to always look there regardless of what drive or directory is current by simply using the environment variable command: set npa_data=c:\npa You should place this command in your autoexec.bat file or other batch file that gets executed at system boot. NPA_SWITCH environment variable. If you frequently (or always) use particular switches when executing NPA, then you may store those switches in an environment variable called NPA_SWITCH. Once stored, those switches will always take effect when executing NPA without you having to specify them. The following switches are valid in the NPA_SWITCH environment variable. Refer to DOS Command line instruction for details on switches -25 force 25 line mode -50 force 50 line mode (vga only) -s scan city name -co also display county -pop also display county population -x also display nxx -nxx same as -x -zip also display zip code -lat also display latitude/longitude -pp output in line mode, with pause at each screenful -ns used with -pp, don't pause -bw black and white mode, for monochrome/lcd/gas plasma displays All switches except -25, -50, and -bw can be forced-cleared by following it with another hyphen, e.g. -co- forces county names *not* to be displayed. Example: set npa_switch=-co-x Switch settings stored in the defaults file (by touching F6) take precendence over the NPA_SWITCH variable. LICENSING NPA, like many other programs, flies under the shareware banner. If you like and use NPA, then *please* register. New versions are periodically released that contain updated database information as well as new features. Registering will ensure your notification of these new releases. You can register by mail using check/money order/Visa/MC. Or you can register by telephone using Visa/MC. Either way, you'll receive the two keys (discussed in the BRAND.DOC file) necessary to brand NPA as registered. If you register by telephone, you can get the registration keys a bit sooner. I'm generally away from the office so voice-mail will pick up. You may register via voice-mail and the system will page me thus allowing me to return your call within a few minutes. The system will page me immediately if your message is left during the following hours: Mon-Fri 7a-10p, Sat-Sun 9a-10p CST/CDT. If you desire to register by phone and voice-mail picks up, please leave the following information: 1. The name to register. Please spell it out. The name must reasonably match the card holder's name. 2. Address so the PCC can mail you the license, receipt, and diskette if you are registering an older version. Specify diskette size. 3. The credit card number. 4. The expiration date. If you simply prefer not to register via voice-mail, that's fine. I'll certainly call you back. But using voice-mail will speed the order since everything will be ready to go upon call back. The registration fee is twenty five dollars. The PC Consultant will process the order and return your call promptly. PC Consultant P.O. Box 42086 Houston TX 77242-2086 Ph. 713/826-2629 (v-mail no answer) Thank you for using NPA and for registering if you like it! * Great Circle algorithm for calculating mileage between two lat/longs courtesy RSGB - Radio Society of Great Britain -=*=- Other products offered by the PC Consultant -=*=- * TimeLock * TimeLock is a DOS-based memory resident security utility that locks the PC keyboard after a user pre-specified period of inactivity, thereby protecting a sensitive LAN/mainframe userid or application program from spying eyes and curious fingers while you are away. An invaluable addition to your company's PC security arsenal! Branches of the US, Canadian, and Australian government trust TimeLock as do many private and public companies. TimeLock can be instantly locked via hot-key, batch file, or through keyboard inactivity. The *only* way to regain access to the PC once the keyboard is locked is by entering your secret password. Otherwise the PC must be cold-booted. And that, of course, will terminate your sensitive LAN/mainframe connection -- protecting your userid from intrusion! TimeLock is written entirely in assembly language for optimum speed and size. Uses less than 3K RAM! Please telephone at the above number for more details on TimeLock. If you are a corporate network administrator in charge of company PCs or PC products manager charged with software evaluation and recommendation, I'll send you a diskette free of charge so you can evaluate TimeLock for yourself. Once again, thank you for choosing software by the PC Consultant!