Happy Friday,

I promised some folks I would post this to the list. Deep linking, which has been mentioned here a few times, is the secret ninja way to navigate around AFF2.  It's especially effective if you have set geography that you use consistently, like all tracts in a state.

Here is a Census publication on the topic that may be more confusing than helpful at first, but the code lists will be important if you ever get into more advanced deep linking. The persistent URL is standardized in AFF2 and you can basically code your way into the table and geography you want.

http://fastfacts.census.gov/home/saff/AFF_deep_linking_guide_v1.1.pdf

Here's the fast way to get started.

First, navigate AFF2 the standard way to a table of your choice. I am using population for all tracts in Maryland, ACS 06-10, as an example. You will need to get the persistent link for this page. That link is NOT the url in your address bar! To get this link you must bookmark the page using the AFF2 bookmark button, not your browser's bookmark/favorite button. Bookmark the page, go to the Bookmark/Favorite in your web browser, and look at the properties of that bookmark. THAT is the persistent link and in the example above it looks like this:

http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/B01003/0400000US24.14000

I can use this link to get any table I want for all tracts in Maryland, ACS 06-10 by changing /B01003/ to the correct table.

/ACS/10_5YR/B01003/ is, as you might guess, your product, data set, and table. You can change these to many different options but make sure they agree with each other.  /ACS/09_5YR/B01003/ will get me the same as above only for the 05-09 estimates. /DEC/10_SF1/P#/ Gets you into the most recent decennial Census data.

The end numbers control the geography. I am still working on understanding that, as the format and length depends on exactly what geography and combinations you are using. I am working on decoding it better and will post a graphic or tutorial when I do.

Happy linking,

Mara Kaminowitz
GIS Analyst
.........................................................................
Baltimore Metropolitan Council
Offices at McHenry Row
1500 Whetstone Way
Suite 300
Baltimore, MD  21230
410-732-0500 ext. 1030
mkaminowitz@baltometro.org
www.baltometro.org