Frequently Asked Questions


You can also consult our FAQ on Gisgraphy



If Gisgraphy is free, why do you have premium services?

Gisgraphy is free, and so are the services hosted on services.gisgraphy.com (see Terms And Conditions). Only premium services are not free - we're doing the work for you...It is normal that hosting services and custom installation are not free.

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Who are you ?

Please consult the about page.

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I want to purchase, what is the next step?

  • Setup your subscription
  • Go to the purchase page and set up your subscription (you need to have an account, sign in or Register if you have not already). You have to first choose a web services. A description of all the web services are available on the Gisgraphy website and a functionalities matrix can help you choose. The user guide is also a good start. We strongly recommend that you play with the free server(no SLA, no QOS, number of requests limited). It can give you an idea of the relevance and how it works.

    A subscription specifies : A web services and a rate per minute limit for a given number of months. You can have as many subscriptions as you want. If you want to use several web services, you need several subscriptions. You can also subscribe several times to the same web services, you will have a different API key for each subscription, and each subscription will have its own configuration, counter, current rate,...

    The API key is a numeric parameter you have to specify in the URL for each request. It identifies a subscription and allow us to check the rights on it : has your subscription ended? have you reach the rate for the current minute? is the IP authorized?...)

    The rate is a limit of the number of requests you can do during a given minute. It allows all users to use the service without disturbing the others and the opposite. that allow us to provide Quality Of Service (QOS). We sized our servers based on the subscriptions. For every request, your current rate for the given minute is compared to the rate allowed. If you exceed the rate, every request over the limit during the current minute will return an HTTP 500 error. Requests will be processed normally when the current rate of your subscription is reset (when a new minute starts).

  • Confirm and pay
  • Check the subscription configuration you'have chosen, and click on the confirm button if everything seems correct to you. (if not, go back and modify the subscription). It will get you to PayPal payment. Everything is secured (HTTPS). We currently only accept PayPal payment. Once payment is made, you will get instant access to the web services you have subscribed to.

  • Use it !
  • You will receive a confirmation mail with a summary of the subscription and all the necessary information (host, API Key, etc). This information is also available on your web administration console. Some samples are provided. You can also see and download your invoices
    You can now call the server via an URL and specify the API key for your subscription at each request.

  • Manage and setup
  • Optionally you can sign in to your web administration console and configure your subscriptions : restrict the access to a specific IPs, renew a subscription, see how many times you'have reached the rate limit, and much more. You can renew a subscription before it ends : the number of months you renew will be added to the end date of your subscription - you never lose the months lefts. An email will be sent periodically to remind you of the subscriptions that will end soon.

    Want to learn more ? read the FAQ or contact us for more information

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Can I have several subscriptions?

Yes, sure.

A subscription specifies :

  • A web services, but you can have as many subscriptions as you want.
  • A number of credits (unlimited or not).
  • A rate per minute limit

If you want to use several web services, you need several subscriptions.
(you can also subscribe several times to the same web services - you will have an API key for each subscription, and each subscription will have its own configuration, counter, current rate, etc)

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Is it possible to try before I purchase ?

You can test the relevance with the free services. If you want to test the premium services, we suggest trying a small plan with unlimited credits at a small price. The minimum subscription period is one month.

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My subscription has ended or will soon, What can I do ?

You can renew by clicking the 'Renew' button on your subscription. It will keep the same web services, API key and configuration. Subscribe without renewing will give you a new API key.

  • If your subscription is still active (date OK, credits left,...), you can renew before it ends but you will keep the same rate and credits / months. The date will be shifted to the number of months you renew from the initial end date so you don't lose the days lefts
  • If your subscription has ended or if there are no credits lefts, you can renew for a different rate (lower or higher) and a different credits / months.

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What does it mean 'restrict access to particular IPs' ?

If you always call the server from the same IP(s), and want to protect your service from being called by others, you can restrict the access by specifying some IPs/mask.

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What about the SLA?

Our architecture has high availability and is load balanced. The only limit to the high availability is that we are hosted on 1 site only.

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Is it possible to update the rate or credits of my subscriptions ?

If your subscription is still active, you can not change it online, send us a mail and we will do a quotation based on the new changes and days left. In any case, no money will be refunded.

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If I subscribe for one month, when will it end exactly ?

The date starts when payment is done (immediately for PayPal) and will end 30 days after. To simplify things, one month is 30 days.

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What does 'alerts' means on my administration console ?

Alerts are reports done by day, It gives you information on the requests that were rejected due to :

  • Some requests made by unauthorized IPs.
  • Rate exceeded.
It allows you to know if the rate you choose is correct.

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How is the rate calculated ?

Each request increases a 'usage counter per minute'. If this counter is greater than the rate you have subscribed, your request is rejected.
Every minute, the counter is reset. The rate is for incoming requests, not simultaneous requests, you can have more requests simultaneously processed than the rate (in other words, if a request took a long time, you can make new requests even if the previous ones are not complete).
It has to be seen as a limit and not a commitment. Limiting the number of requests allows us to size our servers and prevent heavy usage from disturbing other users.

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Is it possible to have an invoice?

Sure. For each purchase, an invoice is available.

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What type of payments do you accept ?

We accept PayPal (or bank transfer with IBAN/BIC in particular case).
With PayPal, you get instant access but via bank transfer your subscription will starts when the payment is processed.

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I have bought a number of requests at a specific rate, what happens if I exceed it or I am out of credit?

If the rate is exceeded or your credits are gone, you will get a 500 HTTP error.
You can have information on overrated requests and IPs that were not allowed on the alerts page.
We don't charge more than what you have bought. Note that the requests rejected because of rate exceeding, don't consume a credit...

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How can I check the number of requests left ?

You have an access to your administration console which is updated in real time.
If you have bought a limited number credits, you can check the number of credits left / consumed. For unlimited, there are no needs to check.

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Someone else used my API key, what can I do?

The API key should be kept secret. If there is a problem, you can restrict the access to one or more IP range on the subscription page. If you want to change the API key contact us.

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I need higher rates than the pre-defined ones, are there solutions ?

We can scale to a very high number of requests on demand for your needs.
Simply send us an email, we will do a quotation based on your needs. We consider that higher rates than pre-defined ones, impact the other users and we will build dedicated servers / infrastructure (load balanced, SLA, multi-site, CDN, ...).

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How long does it take to generate a dataset and how can I download the files I have bought ?

After payment, the script to generate your dataset is automatically run. You will be notified by mail at each step

  • Paid : payment is done, we will process your dataset
  • In progress : your dataset is currently processing
  • Available for download : you can download the files with the provided link. files will be available 30 days for download
  • Downloaded : You have successfully downloaded the files.
  • Error : there is an error when processing your dataset, administrators are automatically notified and we send you a mail to inform you.

Once the files available, you have 30 days to download it, after this it will be deleted. the link to download the files will be sent by mail but you can also see all the available files on the dataset page on your dashboard (a reminder will appear when a dataset is available) and the number of days lefts for each download. You can also consult each dataset and see your download history (fail and success download).