Extract
User’s Guide
Version 2.16
August 2002
With the Extract utility, you can
extract smaller ZIP+4 directories from
the National directory
Introduction to the Extract utility..... 2
Specifying the area of your custom
directory ...................................... 3
ACE users .................................... 5
Postalsoft DeskTop and Business
Edition users................................. 7
Table of ZIP ranges per state .......... 9
Contact information
Phone U.S., Canada 888-788-9004;
Web http://customer.firstlogic.com
E-mail customer@firstlogic.com
Mail 100 Harborview Plaza
In your correspondence, include your name,
company name, telephone number, and
customer ID number.
Technical support is available weekdays 8
a.m. to 6 p.m. central time.
© 2002 Firstlogic, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication and
accompanying software are protected by U.S. copyright law and
international treaties. No part of this publication or accompanying
software may be copied, transferred, or distributed to any person without
the express written permission of Firstlogic, Inc.
elsewhere 608-788-9000
La Crosse WI 54601
Introduction to the Extract utility
Save disk space, improve performance
Extract is free to Windows users who receive the national ZIP+4 directory on
CD.
If you’re a local, statewide, or regional mailer, you may be using only a
fraction of the national ZIP+4 directory. Yet that directory takes up half a
gigabyte of disk space. Because you use only a fraction of the directory, a lot
of disk space may be wasted.
Or perhaps you don’t even have that much disk space available, so you have to
access the national ZIP+4 directory directly from the CD. This approach
works, but it can make your software run below its full potential speed during
the assignment process. Also, it ties up your CD drive, at least during
assignment.
Either way, Extract may be able to help you. You can use Extract to create a
smaller regional, state, or local ZIP+4 directory. Extract is especially
beneficial if your mailing list is mostly local, statewide, or regional. Extract
may not be beneficial if your mailing addresses are spread all over the country.
How it works Suppose most of your mailing list is in Hawaii. You can use Extract to create a
custom ZIP+4 directory covering only Hawaii. Install that file on your hard
disk, taking up less than two megabytes of disk space. You can also keep
access to the national ZIP+4 directory on CD-ROM.
Your software looks up each address in the Hawaiian directory first. If it
doesn’t find the address there, it tries another lookup in the national directory.
The first lookup is very fast—much faster than it would be on CD.
For the very best performance, you could set up your computer to keep the
smaller ZIP+4 directory, as well as the City and ZCF directories, in a RAM
drive. If you use ACE, see our System Administrator’s Guide for instructions
on setting up a RAM drive.
What you have to do Running Extract takes only a few minutes each time you receive a directory
update. You have a small setup task to do just once, before running Extract the
first time you. The rest of this booklet explains the steps to follow:
1. Specify the range of ZIP Codes, the area that your customer directory will
cover. This is a one-time task.
2. Install and run Extract to create your custom directory. Repeat this step
each time you receive a CD update.
3. Set up your address-assignment software to work with both your custom
directory and the national ZIP+4 directory.
2 Extract User’s Guide
Specifying the area of your custom directory
Creating a ZIP list file Before you can run Extract, you must specify the area to be extracted by ZIP
Code range. You’ll create a file containing ZIP codes, which we call the ZIP
list file. Follow these rules:
• Use a text editor. Use any text editor, such as DOS Edit or Windows
Notepad. You can use a word processor, but be sure to save the file as
plain text.
• Specify a range. On each line, type a single ZIP Code or, to specify a
range, a pair of ZIP Codes separated by a single space. For example, both
of the lists below will produce the same result:
List 1 List 2
54601 54603 54601
54602
54603
Enter range lowest to highest. It is not necessary to list ZIP Codes or
ranges in numerical order. However, you must type ranges from lowest to
highest—for example, type 54601 54603, not 54603 54601.
• Do not use any Punctuation. Use five digits. To specify an entire 3-digit
ZIP Code area, specify a range of 5-digit numbers. For example, type:
54601 54699, not 546.
• Ensure first ZIP is valid. Be sure the very first ZIP in your list is a valid
ZIP found in the ZIP+4 directory. Otherwise, Extract will fail and return
an error message. Other than the very first ZIP in the list, Extract does not
check ZIPs. If you set a range a little too broadly and it happens to cover
some unused ZIPs, that won’t cause an error.
• Follow the file-naming conventions. When you name the file, use the
same base name that you will give to your custom directory, and be sure to
use the file extension LST.
For example, if you’re going to extract a Hawaii directory, we recommend
naming your file zip4hi.lst. Then your directory itself should be named
zip4hi.dir.
• Store your ZIP list file. You’ll need your ZIP list file each time you
receive a CD update. ACE users should store it in the pw\adm directory.
Postalsoft DeskTop and Business Edition users should store the file in C:\
Firstlogic\Postalsoft\Extract.
Specifying the area of your custom directory 3
List of ZIP Code ranges With Extract, we deliver a file named read.me, which contains the ZIP Code
ranges for each state.
A table of ZIP ranges also appears on page 9, for your convenience. However,
the information is subject to change. For current ZIP ranges, please rely on the
read.me file.
4 Extract User’s Guide
ACE users
Installing Extract Extract is on the CD along with the postal directories. Before you can run
Extract, you must install it to hard disk. You need to do this with each
directory update.
On the CD, the Extract files are located in a directory named Extract. Copy
all files from the Extract directory on the CD to the pw\adm directory on
your hard disk.
Running Extract To extract directories from a particular CD, you must use the Extract software
that came on that CD. If you use an older version of Extract, then the Extract
process might fail or produce unintended results.
1. Choose Start | Programs | Command Prompt.
2. Go to the directory where the Extract files are located. To do this, type cd,
a space, and then the path to the directory. For example, type:
cd \pw\adm
↵
3. Type the Extract command
(extraw32), followed by four file
names. If any of the four files are not
located in the current directory
(adm), you must type the full path for
the file.
extraw32 ziplist.lst zip4us.dir
file.dir comm.cfg
↵
For example, to make a Hawaiian
directory, type:
extraw32 zip4hi.lst d:\zip4us.dir
zip4hi.dir comm.cfg ↵
Name of file Description
ziplist.lst
zip4us.dir
file.dir
comm.cfg
Your ZIP-list file
(see page 3).
The national
ZIP+4 directory.
Your custom
extracted directory. Use the
extension
A configuration
file provided by
Firstlogic. Do not
alter or move it.
.dir
.
4. After Extract finishes, type exit to close the Command Prompt window.
The time it takes to extract depends on the amount of data extracted.
ACE users 5
Setting up ACE to use your custom ZIP+4 directory
In ACE, set the ZIP+4 directories in the Auxiliary Files section of each job.
Specify your custom ZIP+4 directory in the ZIP+4 Directory 1 box and our
national zip4us.dir directory in the ZIP+4 Directory 2 box.
Tip: For the very best performance, you can set up your computer to keep the
smaller ZIP+4 directory, as well as the City and ZCF directories, in a RAM
drive. See your System Administrator’s Guide for instructions on setting up a
RAM drive.
6 Extract User’s Guide
Postalsoft DeskTop and Business Edition users
Installing Extract Extract is located on the Postalsoft Diversified Directories CD along with the
national directories. Before you can run Extract, you must install it to hard
disk. You need to do this with each directory update. To install:
1. Insert the Postalsoft Diversified Directories CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Open Windows Explorer, and select your CD-ROM drive.
3. Select the Extract folder, and choose Edit | Copy.
4. Navigate to your Postalsoft installation directory (C:\Firstlogic\
Postalsoft), and choose Edit | Paste.
Running Extract To extract directories from a particular CD, you must use the Extract software
that came on that CD. If you use an older version of Extract, then the Extract
process might fail or produce unintended results.
1. Choose Start | Programs | Command Prompt.
2. Go to the directory where the Extract files are located. To do this, type cd,
a space, and then the path to the directory. For example, type:
cd Firstlogic\Postalsoft\Extract ↵
3. Type the Extract command
(extraw32), followed by four file
names. If any of the four files are not
located in the current directory
(Extract), you must type the full path
for the file.
extraw32 ziplist.lst zip4us.dir
file.dir comm.cfg
↵
For example, to make a Hawaiian
directory, type:
extraw32 zip4hi.lst d:\zip4us.dir
zip4hi.dir comm.cfg ↵
Name of file Description
ziplist.lst
zip4us.dir
file.dir
comm.cfg
Your ZIP-list file
(see page 3).
The national
ZIP+4 directory.
Your custom
extracted directory. Use the
extension
A configuration
file provided by
Firstlogic. Do not
alter or move it.
.dir
.
4. After Extract finishes, type exit to close the Command Prompt window.
The time it takes to extract depends on the amount of data extracted.
Postalsoft DeskTop and Business Edition users 7
Setting up Postalsoft to use your custom ZIP+4 directory
You need to tell Postalsoft where to look to find your national and custom
ZIP+4 directories. To do this:
1. Choose Tools | Options, and click the Address Correction File Locations
button.
2. Type the location and name of your custom ZIP+4 directory in the
ZIP4US box and the location and name of our national zip4us.dir
directory in the ZIP4US #2 box:
When you run your job, Postalsoft warns you that the ZIP4US
directory is not the default zip4us.dir file. This warning is normal
when you use a custom directory. To process addresses with your
custom directory, click Yes.
8 Extract User’s Guide
Table of ZIP ranges per state
This information is for your convenience. For current ZIP ranges, check the
read.me file.
Name Abbr. ZIP range(s)
Armed Forces America AA 34000 34199
Armed Forces Europe AE 09000 09999
Alaska AK 99500 99999
Alabama AL 35000 36999
Armed Forces Pacific AP 96200 96699
Arkansas AR 71600 72999
American Samoa AS 96799 96799
Arizona AZ 85000 86999
California CA 90000 96199
Colorado CO 80000 81999
Connecticut CT 06000 06999
District of Columbia DC 20000
20200
Delaware DE 19700 19999
Florida FL 32000
34100
Federated States of Micronesia FM 96941 96949
Georgia GA 30000
39900
Guam GU 96900 96939
Hawaii HI 96700
96800
Iowa IA 50000 52999
Idaho ID 83200 83999
Illinois IL 60000 62999
Indiana IN 46000 47999
Kansas KS 66000 67999
20099
20599
33999
34999
31999
39999
96798
96899
Kentucky KY 40000 42999
Louisiana LA 70000 71599
Table of ZIP ranges per state 9
Name Abbr. ZIP range(s)
Massachusetts MA 01000
05500
02799
05599
Maryland MD 20600 21999
Maine ME 03900 04999
Marshall Islands MH 96960 96999
Michigan MI 48000 49999
Minnesota MN 55000 56999
Missouri MO 63000 65999
Northern Mariana Islands MP 96951 96952
Mississippi MS 38600 39899
Montana MT 59000 59999
North Carolina NC 27000 28999
North Dakota ND 58000 58999
Nebraska NE 68000 69999
New Hampshire NH 00000 03899
New Jersey NJ 07000 08999
New Mexico NM 87000 88499
Nevada NV 88900 89999
New York NY 00500
06390
10000
00599
06399
14999
Ohio OH 43001 45999
Oklahoma OK 73000
73400
73299
74999
Oregon OR 97000 97999
Pennsylvania PA 15000 19699
Puerto Rico PR 00600
00900
00799
00999
Palau PW 96940 96940
Rhode Island RI 02800 02999
South Carolina SC 29000 29999
South Dakota SD 57000 57999
10 Extract User’s Guide
Name Abbr. ZIP range(s)
Tennessee TN 37000 38599
Texas TX 73300
75000
88500
73399
79999
88599
Utah UT 84000 84999
Virginia VA 20100
22000
20199
24699
Virgin Islands VI 00800 00899
Vermont VT 05000
05600
05499
05999
Washington WA 98000 99499
Wisconsin WI 53000 54999
West Virginia WV 24700 26999
Wyoming WY 82000 83199
Table of ZIP ranges per state 11
12 Extract User’s Guide
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