This article describes the default behaviour of a highly configurable system. Your granting program may appear or behave differently depending on user permissions and custom configurations. If you do not appear to have access to everything you need, use the Help > Request Help link to request additional permissions.
Location settings control how applicants search for and select locations if a location question type is available in your applications. These settings don’t change your location data—they change the search experience.
To find location settings, open the Locations tab and select Settings. If you don’t see Settings, you don’t have the Location.Manage permission.
Location search modes
The location search supports two modes.
1) Text search mode (distance search disabled)
Users search by typing names or keywords (e.g., “Toronto”, “HQ”, “West”). The system filters the location list and shows matches.
When to use it
- Your applicants already know what they’re looking for (by name, region tag, etc.).
- You don’t need “near me”.
What users see
- A simple search box
- A list of matching locations
- A map that can highlight results (if locations have coordinates)
2) Distance search mode (distance search enabled)
Users search by entering an address and a radius (distance). The system returns locations within that distance.
What this depends on
- Locations must have valid coordinates (typically provided via address geocoding). If coordinates are missing/invalid, those locations won’t work well for proximity searching.
What users see
- Address input with autocomplete
- Distance/radius input (behavior depends on your configuration)
- A visual radius on the map (circle)
Location search settings
First, choose whether to allow search by distance from an entered location:
- Enabled: applicants use the distance search mode (address + radius).
- Disabled: applicants use the text search mode (keyword search).
The following options are available if distance search is enabled:
-
Radius Search:
- Default Value: Use a single, fixed distance for all searches (for example, 65 miles).
- List of Values: Provide a list of distance options (for example, 5, 10, 25) for applicants to choose from.
- Any: Show all locations in order of proximity, with no distance limit.
- Unit of Measure: Choose between Miles, Kilometres, or Both.
There are additional settings for configuring the identifier type for locations.
Which mode should I use?
- If you’re trying to help users find the closest location, enable distance search and use List distance values.
- If users choose locations by name/region/team, disable proximity search and keep it Text search.
- If you get complaints like “I can’t find anything near me”: check that your imported/created locations are successfully geocoded and have valid coordinates.
What is the location search like for applicants?
Applicants will be able to navigate an interactive map with marked locations. Depending on the search settings configured for your program, they’ll have different options to filter and browse locations.