Category: mobile

Trip Planner in ZeeMaps for multi-point routes

Posted on | by zeemaps | 8 Comments on Trip Planner in ZeeMaps for multi-point routes

Trip Planner Overview

ZeeMaps can used as a trip planner to plan your routes visiting multiple points marked on your map. Routes, an ordered list of destinations, can be created on any map, even maps not your own. Some highlights of trip planning with ZeeMaps routes are:

  • The ZeeMaps trip planner can optionally optimize your route for distance or time.
  • Routes are associated with your account for each map, so you’ll need to sign-in to create a route.
  • The trip planner allows you to print your routes, with a map showing the overall route and each stop labelled and listed on the print page.
  • Routes are available when you access the map from your Smart Phone, so you can easily get directions to your next stop from where you are.

Using the ZeeMaps Trip Planner

To create a new route on a map, use the menu item Additions -> Route. This will show you a dialog containing the route. For example, here’s a route on our Used Computer Stores map for a few stores in San Jose and Santa Clara, California.

Trip Planner: Create a route
Trip Planner: Create a route

Start clicking on pins on the map to add to the route. In the route dialog, you can select the route to be either automatically optimized for Distance or for Time. If not, you can leave it to be manual. If the route is in manual mode, you can drag-and-drop the destinations in the route to re-order your route. With a route dialog, you can do the following:

  • List All: list all the routes that you have defined on this map
  • Print: get a map print-out of your route, with each stop marked on the map and listed
  • Reset: clear your current changes
  • Show: show the routes between the destinations
  • Save As: Save your route for future reference
  • Close: dismiss the route dialog

Routes in Smart Phone

After you’ve defined your routes on a map, visit the map from your Smart Phone. To see the routes, click on the menu item and click on the Routes option. This will bring up a list of your routes, so you can click on the one that you want. Once you are on the route, you can click on any destination to get directions to that destination.

Trip Planner: Routes in Smart Phone
Trip Planner: Routes in Smart Phone

Driving Directions using Search on a Mobile Map

Posted on | by zeemaps | 5 Comments on Driving Directions using Search on a Mobile Map

ZeeMaps allows you to search your pinned locations on mobile phones. This can be specifically handy if you are looking to get driving directions to your pins that satisfy a certain criteria, e.g., locate all the Gold customers in your vicinity and get driving directions to them.
First create the map on ZeeMaps, then add pins on the map. ZeeMaps provides several easy ways of adding pins: one at a time, uploading through spreadsheets, copy-and-pasting from a table, and so forth. You can add as many pins as you like on a given map. For example, if you are sales person, you might want to create a map with all your customers, potential customers, leads, etc., on a single map. To distinguish the customers from potential and leads, you can also use different colored pins for each category.

Search Menu

To perform a search, click on the menu icon on your map to activate the menu, and then click on the Search item.

Search menu in Mobile ZeeMaps for Driving Directions
Search Menu in Mobile ZeeMaps

Search Dialog

This should bring up a search page, where you can search based on any of your marker fields, e.g., name, description, and combine it with a distance search. For example, you can search for all locations with case number (custom field ) 211 within 2 miles from Chicago, IL.

Customized Search for Driving Directions
Customized Search

Driving Directions

Once the search is performed, the markers on the map and list will be limited to the ones that matched the search. Go to the map to see the locations, or click on the menu again to get to the list. Click on any entry on the map or the list to get to the entry, and then click on the Directions button to get directions to the place. Depending on your mobile phone, you will either be directed to Google Maps or Apple Maps for directions.

Driving Directions button
Directions Button on a pinned location

Add Markers with SmartPhones

Posted on | by zeemaps | Leave a Comment on Add Markers with SmartPhones

When you visit a map through your SmartPhone, you should see an “Add” button on the header bar for your map:

Add marker in SmartPhone
Add button on maps in SmartPhones

Press the Add button and you’ll get a form to enter your marker information, i.e., name, location, description and color.
To use the current location, press the button titled “Use Current Location”.
If you do not have the location address, and do not wish to use the current location, ZeeMaps allows you to search for locations. Just fill the name field and hit submit. For example, to search for McDonalds I entered “McDonalds” in the name field, entered my description, picked a marker color, and hit Submit.
Search for local McDonalds
Search for McDonalds to Add location

ZeeMaps lists a few McDonalds, but none of them are close to our location (Sunnyvale, CA):
First Search attempt for McDonalds
First Search attempt for McDonalds

So, change the search from “McDonalds” to “McDonalds, Sunnyvale, CA”. Now it lists McDonalds in Sunnyvale, CA, and you can select one to add to the map.
Improved Search with name and city
Improved Search with name and city

 
Later, if you want to delete that marker, click on it to get its details, including a “Delete” button.
Delete button for deleting marker in SmartPhone
Delete button for deleting marker in SmartPhone

Better maps in mobile browsers!

Posted on | by zeemaps | 2 Comments on Better maps in mobile browsers!

Happy New Year!
ZeeMaps now has significantly improved map display in smartphones and tablets.
Point your mobile browser to your map URL, and a specially crafted simpler mobile map will show. (Try our sample map.)
In tablets, there is an option to see the full map, in case you need to make additions or changes to the map. Ability to add markers from mobile browsers, and other interesting features, are coming soon.
Please let us know if there’s something that doesn’t work as expected.

View your map in mobile browsers!

Posted on | by zeemaps | 2 Comments on View your map in mobile browsers!

With the increasing use of SmartPhones, mobile browsers are getting better at displaying complex imagery. We are happy to announce that with the latest ZeeMaps release, your maps should work better with mobile browsers. Just use the same URL that you typically use to visit your map. ZeeMaps will detect that you are visiting from a mobile browser, and make the adjustments necessary to give you a better map viewing experience. The map within the mobile browser will be only available in a read-only mode.
In case you need to manage the map from within your mobile browser, you can click on the “View Map Page” link below your map to get the regular map page. This admin page is better when viewed in a larger screen.
For example, here’s a screen shot of a map viewed within a mobile browser:
ZeeMaps on a Mobile Browser