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.
Category: Web/Tech
Up to 500% speed boost for published maps
After months of work, we are pleased to announce that we’ve made significant improvements to our published map code, resulting in up to 500% performance boost, and a refreshed look-and-feel.
The functionality of published maps should remain the same, while things have changed under the hood. Since this is major code change, please review your published maps and let us know if you notice any problems.
Similar changes to maps with the admin interface are coming soon.
Upload Tables from Factual.com to ZeeMaps
ZeeMaps allows you to add multiple markers by uploading CSV files and Google Spreadsheets to your map. We have now added the ability to upload tables from Factual.com to your map as well.
To upload a Factual table, click on the menu item Additions -> Multiple Markers -> Factual Table on your map:
You’ll see a prompt to enter the ID of your Factual table in the dialoge box, which is part of the URL of your table:
Now just verify that your imported fields match up with your column headings:
One of the columns has to be called “Name.” You can double-click any column to change it:
That’s it. Depending on the size of your factual table, you should see a map in a few minutes.
Edit own markers in wiki-maps
ZeeMaps now has a much-requested functionality: the ability for users to edit or remove markers that they have added on someone else’s map.
When you add a marker to a map that you have not created yourself, in the past you had to remember a special URL generated by ZeeMaps when the marker was added. If you did not remember this URL, and the map admin had password protected the map, there was no way for you to make changes to your own marker.
With the new functionality, if you come back to the map from the same browser that you used to create the marker, you will be able to edit the information. To do so, click on the marker to open its information balloon and then click on the marker name. This will bring up an edit dialog that will allow you to make changes to your entry. You can also relocate, or remove the marker using one of the small icons to the right bottom of the information balloon.
This will work on the ZeeMaps site as well as on other sites where a map has been published. If someone adds a marker to a map on your site, they will be able to edit it without leaving your site. We use cookies for this feature, so users will need to visit the map with the same cookies-enabled browser.
Clustering markers for improved performance
ZeeMaps supports marker “clustering” for improved performance. Clustering groups nearby markers into “clusters” and shows them as small blue circles, instead of the individual marker. Since the map display does not have to draw as many markers, the display performs faster, with less visual clutter.
In the past we’ve automatically added marker clustering to maps with more than 100 markers. Over the years, Google Maps marker performance has improved, and 100 markers is no longer a good threshold. In fact, with our progressive display technology, even 1000’s of markers is okay to display without clustering.
From now on, therefore, we are removing the automatic clustering of markers. If you want to cluster markers for improved visualization or speed, please use the “Settings -> Markers -> Group nearby markers” menu command to enable marker clustering on your map.
We’ve revised the settings such that when you create a map and it reaches 400 markers, the markers will automatically be set to small markers. When the map reaches 1000 markers, the map will automatically be set to use clustering. You can undo these effects using the Settings -> Markers menu item.
With this new mechanism maps with even less than 100 markers can enabling clustering to reduce visual clutter.