How to Calculate Straight-Line Distances
This guide walks you through every feature of the Straight Line Distance Calculator, from entering your first address pair to exporting a full batch of results.
Input Formats
The tool accepts origin-destination pairs separated by a tab, comma, or pipe character. Enter one pair per line.
Tab-Separated (recommended — paste from Excel/Sheets)
New York, NY Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL Houston, TX
Miami, FL Atlanta, GA
Pipe-Separated
New York, NY | Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL | Houston, TX
Pasting from Spreadsheets
If you copy two columns from Excel or Google Sheets, they paste as tab-separated values — which is the default delimiter. Just paste directly into the input box.
Supported Location Types
You can enter any location that Google Maps can recognize:
- Full addresses:
123 Main St, Springfield, IL 62701 - City and state:
Denver, CO - ZIP codes:
90210 - City only:
Seattle(less precise — uses city center) - Landmarks:
Statue of Liberty - International:
10 Downing Street, London, UK
Address Precision
The more specific your location, the more accurate your distance. A full street address gives coordinates to within a few meters, while a ZIP code gives the geographic center of that ZIP area.
Entering Pairs Manually
1
Open the Tool
Navigate to the Straight Line Distance Calculator.
2
Type or Paste Your Pairs
Enter origin-destination pairs in the text area. Use the format:
Origin [tab/comma/pipe] Destination, one pair per line. The line counter on the left shows how many pairs you've entered.3
Select Your Unit
Choose Miles or Kilometers from the unit dropdown. You can change this and recalculate at any time.
4
Click Calculate Distances
The tool processes each pair. A progress bar shows the current status. Results appear in the table below.
Importing from a File
For larger batches, import a CSV or Excel file:
1
Click "Import CSV / Excel"
The file import panel opens with drag-and-drop support.
2
Upload Your File
Drag a file onto the upload area, or click to browse. Supported formats:
.csv, .xlsx, .xls.3
Column Mapping
The tool automatically detects your columns. It expects two columns: one for origins and one for destinations. If your file has headers, the tool detects and skips the header row.
4
Review and Calculate
The imported data appears in the input box. Review it, adjust if needed, and click Calculate Distances.
Delimiter Auto-Detection
The tool automatically detects whether your data uses tabs, commas, or pipes as delimiters. For addresses containing commas (like "New York, NY"), use tab or pipe separation to avoid ambiguity. The tool has smart comma handling that distinguishes address commas from delimiter commas, but tab separation is the most reliable.
Understanding the Results
After calculation, results appear in a table with these columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| **#** | Row number matching your input order |
| **Origin** | The geocoded, standardized origin address |
| **Destination** | The geocoded, standardized destination address |
| **Distance** | Straight-line distance in your selected unit (miles or km) |
| **Status** | OK (success) or ERROR (with explanation) |
Result Summary
Above the results table, a summary card shows:
- Total pairs processed
- Successful calculations
- Failed calculations
- Processing time in milliseconds
Handling Errors
If a calculation fails, the Status column shows "ERROR" with a reason. Common causes:
- "Origin: No results found" — The origin address could not be geocoded. Check spelling or add more detail.
- "Destination: No results found" — Same issue for the destination.
- "Origin and destination are both required" — One or both fields were empty.
Partial Results
If some pairs fail while others succeed, you still get results for the successful ones. Failed rows appear in the results table with their error messages, so you can identify and correct them.
Switching Units
You can switch between miles and kilometers at any time using the unit dropdown. To recalculate with a different unit:
- Change the unit selector
- Click Calculate Distances again
- The tool re-runs the batch with the new unit
The haversine formula converts distances based on Earth's radius: 3,958.8 miles or 6,371.0 kilometers.
Sample Data
Click the Load Sample Data button to populate the input with example address pairs. This is useful for:
- Seeing the expected format before entering your own data
- Testing the tool with known locations
- Verifying your API key is working correctly
Tips for Best Results
- Be specific — Full addresses give more accurate coordinates than ZIP codes or city names.
- Use tab separation — Especially if your addresses contain commas.
- Batch similar requests — The tool deduplicates geocoding, so reusing the same origin across many pairs saves time.
- Check failed rows — Review errors and re-submit corrected pairs rather than the entire batch.
- Choose the right unit — Select miles or kilometers before calculating to avoid re-running.