New Feature: Insert Google Maps in Posts

[ehpoole]

I wanted to take just a moment to let everyone know that we have added a new feature that some of you may find of interest. We have added the capability to insert a Google Map into a post or PM. This is not just a photo of a map, but a real Google Map, so you can pan and zoom just like you would the real thing. If you want to help someone find a retailer -- or even your own shop -- you can now post or PM the viewer a map of the desired location.

To access this feature you can either enclose a complete street address or geodetic coordinates in MAP tags (in traditional BBcode format where MAP is enclosed in square brackets at the beginning, and a /MAP at the end) or you can activate the Advanced Editor (if you are in the Quick Reply editor, click the "Go Advanced" button to switch to Advanced Editor mode). Once in Advanced Editor, you will see the following button (bottom row, far right):

I apologize for the cheesy icon, I'm not a graphics artist, but hopefully it communicates the purpose adequately.

Anyhow, to use it you can either type out the MAP tags (in traditional BBcode format) by hand or highlight the completed address/coordinates and then click the new icon (above), so that they enclose a valid address (House# Street, City, State) or geodetic coordinates (Lat,Lon) OR you can type out the address, such as:

75 Park Place, New York, NY
(which should be a parking garage, for the curious)

and then highlight the the complete address/coordinates and CLICK on the MAP icon so that it automatically encapsulates the address in MAP tags for you, resulting in the following output:

You can also input geodetic coordinates if you need to center the map on something other than a valid street address (or for someplace whose street address is unknown).

40.712927,-74.01329
(which is the new World Trade Center, under construction, should you wish to zoom in!)

I hope everyone finds this feature useful and helpful. Feedback is always appreciated.

PS -- I quick note on the viewing size, the maps are set at 600 pixels height by whatever the width of the post's block happens to be on your display. So, while the height is fixed at 600 pixels, the width will vary considerably depending upon the width of your browser's window.

[manfre]

If possible, can you add a class to the <div> that wraps the map?

E.g. Change

<div align="center" style="margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<iframe width="100%" scrolling="no" height="600" frameborder="0" src="" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0">...</iframe>
</div>

to

<div align="center" style="margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px;" class="embedded-map">
<iframe width="100%" scrolling="no" height="600" frameborder="0" src="" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0">...</iframe>
</div>

[SteveColes]

If possible, can you add a class to the <div> that wraps the map?

E.g. Change


to

Why?

[ehpoole]

Why?

Why was my thought too?!

I can certainly attach an empty class to it, but it would be an undefined class and have no meaning. The actual formatting of the Map is determined by Google's Map applet and not any HTML/CSS styling that the DIV tag may have attached to it.

More importantly, I can not think of any purpose a class would serve within an otherwise empty DIV block (remember the Google Map is in it's own IFRAME).

Also, keep in mind that there are no conventional CSS files for this site, they are constructed on-the-fly from the far reaches of our database tables.

[manfre]

Why?

I'm in the process of adding more functionality to my greasemonkey/scriptish script that will make it so the embedded maps don't require so much scrolling to get past. I personally prefer links to maps, but I'm also toying with a show/hide toggle with the map initially hidden.

Having the css selector would ensure that the script doesn't accidentally apply to unintended parts of the DOM. The script is working now, but I'm more concerned with future proofing it.

[manfre]

This is what the initial post looks like after I load the page and click the second "Toggle Map". The main feature of the script has always been converting the location text (works on posts, profile, and classifieds).

[SteveColes]

We can not be in the position of attempting to support an external script like this. Sorry

[manfre]

We can not be in the position of attempting to support an external script like this. Sorry

Fair enough, but the script exists with or without the added class selector.

[merrill77]

I'm in the process of adding more functionality to my greasemonkey/scriptish script that will make it so the embedded maps don't require so much scrolling to get past.

Cool - ready to share it? It's for FF, I assume?

[manfre]

We can not be in the position of attempting to support an external script like this. Sorry

BTW, if my response to the request for admins is accepted, I'd be in a position to include these sort of improvements in to the site and also support them.

Cool - ready to share it? It's for FF, I assume?

Yes and yes. PM sent.