Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with maps and google

Embedded Map Alternatives ?

southof40 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:38:28 -0800

Good looking maps for embedding in web pages with a distinctive look/feel that matches the page it's within (so probably not GoogleMaps/YahooMaps/Bing) ? I'm looking for maps for a website but don't want to the 'normal' Google look and feel. In fact ideally I would be able to tailor aspects of the maps to allow them to fit into the colour scheme of the site.

The purpose of the maps is almost as much as an illustration as it is for information (or at least 50/50).

As far as I can see there's no way to tweak Google Maps to do that ("Let's have the land green and sea yellow and not show roads at all").

Ideally maps would be available for North America and Western Europe but USA alone would be a good start.

I'd welcome any ideas even if they don't match my ideal.

alice waters marker pin

kewlio — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:42:44 -0800

what vegetable is pictured on the alice waters google marker pin? see photo: beet, radish??

Is there a way to query a Google map and have it look up a database and display a message?

friedbeef — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:59:29 -0800

Is there a way to query a Google map and have it look up a database and display a message? I provide a service within a certain area. On my website, I have a Google map, and a JPG file associated with a KML which illustrates an area where my service is provided.

I want to make it so when customers search in the map, and is within my serviceable area, I want something to pop up and say "we can serve you". If not, it takes them to another page.

Is this possible?

X does Not mark my spot !

lobstah — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:43:27 -0800

How do I correct a Google Maps error ? …2nd attempt. We operate a home-based business that is off the beaten path, but near a major tourist area. The road we live on was originally a numbered State Route, and formed a loop that passed through 3 different villages. A few years ago, the State decommissioned the road, and granted ownership to the 3 villages. Each of the villages has its own name for this road, and this has resulted in several errors on Google Maps.

Last year after many attempts, I spoke with a Google human, and I explained my dilemma. I was directed to some Web2.0 application where I noted the errors, but there has been no correction. Not only that, but they made a change that further complicates the situation (using a name that already exists for another road).

Who the hell do I call/email to get this corrected? Our season is very short, and our potential clients tend to give up rather easily. Mapquest has it right, but a friend told me his GPS could not find us. Do I need to contact them too? Has anyone had any success changing a Google Map? This has cost us business, and I’m getting a little pissed about it.

pan. zoom out. repeat.

sponge — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:04:30 -0800

gmaps filter: what am i looking at? seems to be related to mining, there are oil derricks in the area.

i cant imagine how much fun it was to make alllllll those lines...

I'm pretty much fucked without Google Transit.

Asherah — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:20:22 -0800

When will Google Transit reflect the recent updates to the Maryland Transit Administration (Baltimore) schedules? I've been using Google Transit via Maps on my iPhone religiously to get around Baltimore (as a car-less student). Since recent updates have taken place, effective yesterday (as reported by the MTA website), Google Transit cannot provide directions anywhere, however Baltimore/MTA is still listed as a supported transportation service on the list of cities.

Any idea of how long I will be waiting for Google and the MTA to communicate schedules and I will be able to utilize it again?

Is there a way to create a submission form that will go directly to a google map?

jtajta — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:34:58 -0800

Is there a way to create a submission form that will go directly to a google map? I want to create a map that anyone can add to, but I'd like to make it so that people don't have to register with google. So, I'd like to do it through a submission form, hosted on my own site, where people can ideally:

+ Submit text that then becomes part of the pop-up window in the google map.
+ Upload a picture or video which also appears in the pop-up window.
+ Select from a series of pre-determined categories of submissions, each with its own logo.
+ Add and address, which then automatically geocodes it to the map.

And, of course, I'd love for all this to be automated - ie they would fill out the form and it would immediately be fed into the map.

Any thoughts? Is there a tool already out there that does this? Or would I have to hire someone to build the form for me? Too much to ask?
Thanks!

How can I combine multiple Google Maps into one "master" map?

hypocritical ross — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:31:23 -0800

Is it possible to display data plotted on multiple Google maps on one single map? I have several (about 25) Google maps with about 20 or so points plotted on each. The maps cover several geographically adjoining areas. Is there any automatic process I can use to combine these separate maps into one larger one?

Assume for the sake of the question that mapping all of the points on one single map is impossible..

Customising the Google Maps design (specifically the popup bubbles)?

newformula — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:46:36 -0800

I'm trying to find some examples (of code, or finished applications) of highly customised google maps implementations - in terms of design. Specifically, I'm looking to see if anyone has customised the popup bubbles in a neat way, and/or has made good use of customising the map icons too.

Does anyone have any links to good examples of a) good implementations or b) a how-to? I can't find info on customising the bubble display in my googling.

Google docs spreadsheets to Google maps?

Unsomnambulist — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:11:34 -0800

Trying to find the best option to make a Google map using data entered into a Google docs spreadsheet. I'd prefer not to have to learn much about coding to do this, but would like the map to update with changes to the spreadsheet, including assorted details... I'd love to use the spreadsheet to easily display "name of location," "description of location," along with spots for people to click for more info.

I'd also like for one field to allow me to choose which custom pushpin, hosted on my own server, will be used...

I know its possible, but am hoping someone has a plug and play option out there available... if not, suggestions on how to implement?

(BTW, I know about this thread here, but the options are over a year old... hoping something new and better has popped up since then).

lost tutorial - grabbing google maps elevation values with php/python

figTree — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:21:25 -0800

Can you help me re-find a tutorial on extracting elevation values from google maps using python (or php, i forget which)? I would like to directly grab elevation information from google maps from an array of coordinates that I have. I don't want to use web services to do this - i found a tutorial once that explained exactly how to do this, but now i can't find it.. I think it was using either php or python or python+mysql, i forget exactly, but it was a good one.

I remember the screen shots had a map of somewhere around Czech Republic/Poland, and there was a grid of points defined by the users' array. If you know what tutorial I am talking about that would be awesome, or perhaps you know of a similar tutorial (preferably python).

thanks MF!

Is there a google map type service for calculating gas usage?

jujube — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:24:50 -0800

By using Google maps, I can figure out not just how to get from point A to point B, but also the number of miles and approximate time it would take to get from A to B. Is there a map that will also let me approximate gallons of gas? Of course, while I can figure out a very rough approximate myself by dividing miles by my car's mpg, the mpg varies by road condition. So driving 50 miles instead of 40 miles doesn't automatically mean that I'm using more gas choosing the 50 mile route.
I'm assuming that when Google Maps (or Mapquest, etc.) gives me an approximate time, there is a database of various posted speed limits on the roads along the route that it is using to calculate estimated arrival time. So is there something that uses posted speed limits, density of cars, number of traffic lights/stop signs, etc., to approximate gallons of gas if I entered my make and year of car?

we need our google maps

Amby72 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:21:44 -0800

We are having Issues with IE6 and google maps not playing nice. it sits on loading. Where the picture is supposed to be, it just says loading. Works fine on IE7. and Firefox. some users can't use these browsers do to government programming. anything I found with Google was for programming API pages. Any help would be appreciated. the page says there is an error in the bottom bar. One error says it expected a ":" the next error says object expected. All the latest windows updates were applied. And newest version of java install. I figure other people out there may be having the same issue. It has become quite common this week. Thanks again for your time.

Can I map my phone?

Cantdosleepy — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:21:53 -0800

Can I download Google Maps for, say, London, to my mobile phone - which I can then access around town? Without going on WAP? I've got a Sony Ericcson k810i and live in London.

It'd be dead handy to have a map of the city on there with a sensible level of zoom (200m/1000ft on the scale in the corner) which I can check if/when I get lost.

Not bothered about keeping it updated or satellite view - London doesn't change that fast and I'm just routefinding.

Does Google let you do this? Would having only one level of zoom and no satellite pictures be too huge for a mobile?

How to use google maps API to create new functions?

figTree — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:42:50 -0800

How would one go about creating new functionality with google maps API?(eg. create a button that controls the zoom interface in order to with the click of one button zooms out then zooms in a new location at some preset speed, or perhaps flies you to several locations with one button click) Im more a scripter than a programmer and am especially interested if there is already some sort of open source library of tools that have been built for this kind of idea.

Im not sure how intense such a project would be if doing it from scratch and what combination of tools would be optimal. Im also not sure if there are any legal points to consider when hacking API?

I Don't Want The World, Just Your Half

rokusan — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:01:52 -0800

Looking for guidance on using Google Maps, or a workalike, for a non-map (blueprints) application. I'd like to use the basic UI of Google Maps (or some other free/open workalike) to web-ify some blueprints so that building stakeholders can annotate and add their own 'markers' and notes.

I have looked through Google's Maps API and many online tutorials and such, but all seem to be about adding functionality to the existing geo-models (layers, notes, vectors added to street maps, etc). I've also, yes, read the previous AskMes on related Maps issues, but they're all world-map-related.

The big difference is this: I don't need the Earth, here, or geographic "infrastructure" at all: just my own large flat graphics to be navigated, zoomed in/out, and annotated with little points of interest + notes. There are no corresponding real-world locations to "overlay" this onto. It would be nice if the visibility of these annotated points could be turned on/off, layers style, too, so that comments from different people/teams could be shown or hidden, so the blueprint graphics could be viewed "clean" or marked up in various ways.

I think I have seen this done with the Maps API before (a print catalog? magazine? something) but I can't find the example now, nor any tutorials or samples.

I need very basic Maps stuff: just navigation, zooming, and point/note adding.

Again, this could be via Google Maps in some way I don't quite grok. If so, I just need a shove in the right direction or a simple, studyable source example to learn from. Or it could be some other library that provides the basic functionality of nav/zoom/add-point/add-note.

I already have very large graphics of the blueprints in question, which I can convert to any format, and I'm competent with JavaScript. I refuse to believe I should write my own framework from scratch here.

What next?

I want to project the Ordinance Survey Grid (UK) on Google Maps.

munchbunch — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:11:46 -0800

I want to project the Ordinance Survey Grid (UK) on Google Maps. This site which to have a KML file that might do that (it's 9 on the list), but I have no idea how to get it to work. I downloaded the file, but it doesn't seem to do anything. I say I down oaded it, I've also clicked on it a few times mindlessly too - and this has not worked either. Any ideas? Would welcome alternate solutions to my main problem, not just the minor KML issue.

Recover a deleted Google map

Who_Am_I — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:00:00 -0800

How do I recover a deleted Google map? I accidentally deleted a map that I made in Google Maps. How do I get it back? It's still cached somehow because I went back to it using my browser history, but if I go to Google maps in another tab it's not there anymore. I have a tab sitting here looking at the map, but I have to leave work in about half an hour! Help!

Spying on Google Maps

RGD — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:15:26 -0800

Out of curiousity, how would one arrange a Google Maps image of oneself? Are the timings of the satellite images (and their selection for inclusion in Google Maps) sufficiently predictable? In short, would it be possible to have a nice picnic recorded on Google Maps? Thanks for any information!

leave Wayfaring for what?

intermod — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:00:56 -0800

Help me find a Google Maps mashup to replace Wayfaring (for personal use). I set up a Wayfaring account about a year ago and started entering in all the places I'd been in the world.

Today I realized that one of my places had been marked (by me) in the wrong place on the map. But when I tried to move it I couldn't figure out how. Then I couldn't find any help docs whatsoever in Wayfaring. Then some Googling led me to find out that Wayfaring seems to have been somewhat abandoned, both by the developers and the public.

I have no clue what's out there to do this now. I've heard of Platial and Google's own My Maps, and I have no idea what the differences are. Can you provide some guidance on the pros and cons of these? I just want to mark the places I've been, and perhaps create a timeline showing WHEN I've been there, where I've lived and how long, etc.

Most importantly, I want the joint to still be around in 2 years ...

FYI, I'm a little leery of any Google service that requires that I get a GMail account.

Google Map Craigslists garage sales?

Marky — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:38:09 -0800

Looking for a little help building a Google Maps/Craigslist display applet. I'm looking for a little direction building a map. I'd like to grab the last three days of garage sale ads off Craigslist, and display them on a Google Map with pinheads.

Sadly, my web programming skills are almost zero. I've spent the last ten years writing embedded apps in C and assembly.

So, where should I start with this, or (better!) did somebody already write one?

Is there a way to display a database of addresses on a map?

BigBrownBear — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:54:19 -0800

Is there a way to display a database of addresses on a map? I work alot with google earth/maps and use the programs to display the location of a series of locations. Is there some sort of hack or program I can purchase where I can load-up an excel sheet of addresses and have them all displayed at once?

How can I use Google Maps on a secure page?

odinsdream — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:41:18 -0800

How can I include a Google Map on a secure page? I'm including a Google Map on a page where users can sign up for a service. The page is accessed via SSL, and before I included the map, the entire page was transmitted securely. Now, however, browsers complain that portions of the page (the map) are transmitted insecurely. I understand the user information is still secure, but my users probably won't.

How can I change this page so that the google map is still available and users may still interact with it, but the entire page is delivered via SSL?

Additionally, I had to change firewall rules for the users' subnet to allow access to google.com to load the map. Is there a way to rework this such that the server does the work of loading the map and presents it to the users?

Thanks!

How do I include a link to driving directions in an embedded Google Map?

designbot — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:55:08 -0800

What is the best way to embed a Google Map of a business's location, including a link to driving directions? This is for a small business's website. All I want is a small embedded map of the business's location, with a standard pop-up flag including links for driving directions, the address, etc. (Basically like what you see here, but without the extra search results on the left-hand side.

If there's a better input method for requesting driving directions, that would be fine too.

I would think that providing a map & driving directions to a specific business would be one of the most common uses of the Google Maps API, but I don't see any examples of what I'm looking for. Surely, there must be a simple, standard way to provide driving directions on your website… Right?

Dynamic Mapping

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:49:21 -0800

Coding a custom Google Maps or MS VirtualEarth project for a 501(c)(3) charity web site. The CIO of the non-profit for which I work would like to have a Google Map of North America (or MS Virtual Earth, either is OK) displayed on our site. The site is a public-facing Sharepoint 2007 site.

He would like to have a list where the user could select one (or more) sponsor(s) from a list of our corporate sponsors, and the sponsor's store locations would pop up on the map. For the sake of argument let's say the user selects Sears and Burger King, the map would populate with all Sears and Burger King locations in the U.S. and Canada.

The sponsor list is around 100 corporations, with anywhere from a few dozen locations each to as many as several thousand.

The tables we would be drawing the locations from are in an MSSQL 2005 database. The tables contain sponsor name, store number, address, city, state, country, postal code, and may contain latitude/longitude shortly (depends on how well another project comes off).

1) Is this possible?
2) How long might it take?
3) What might something like this cost us?