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New on page maps are coming as Yahoo Maps being phased out |
Andy B
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from Surrey, UK
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|  Posted 02-10-2011 at 19:18
Unfortunately the service we use for our on page 'nearby sites' map, the Yahoo Maps API is being phased out. The maps are not fully working at the moment and will stop completely in a few weeks.
I need to move the maps to another mapping provider and redo the code. Doubly unfortunately Google Maps have started charging to use for their on page map API (for the high quantities of pages we serve) such that it would cost us thousands of pounds a year, and as we are not a UK charity we are not eligible for their low cost scheme.
Front runners for alternative map services are Nokia OVI maps and Microsoft Bing maps and this is my main programming priority at the moment. Unfortunately neither support GeoRSS to my knowledge so I will have to recode how the 'nearby sites' and push pin icons are controlled.
I'll let you know how I get on...
[ This message was edited by: Andy B on 2011-10-03 16:26 ]
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TheCaptain
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| Posted 02-10-2011 at 20:20
I was wondering what was up.
Bummer!!
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Runemage
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| Posted 02-10-2011 at 23:46
More hard work for you Andy 
Hope it goes as smoothly as these things can.
Rune
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SolarMegalith
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| Posted 03-10-2011 at 11:24
Bad news  Will that affect the Ordnance Survey maps below British sites or just the general yahoo maps ?
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4clydesdale7
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|  Posted 03-10-2011 at 12:56
Would there be any profit in a direct approach to Ordnance Survey? Or am I being naive?
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Andy B
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| Posted 03-10-2011 at 16:20
No, the OS maps are unaffected and fortunately they haven't hassled us about our usage, which is less than the international pages as those are on UK pages only.
However given the free OS maps thing was one of Gordon Brown's pet schemes not the present gov then fingers crossed that they continue it. (The OS are actually getting paid to do it from the DCLG - Eric Pickles' lot). And yes I would approach the OS if we ever had a problem.
Anyway I'm planning to keep the nearby sites map separate and will hopefully add some improvements as well.
[ This message was edited by: Andy B on 2011-10-03 16:23 ]
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SolarMegalith
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| Posted 11-10-2011 at 21:45
If we will have another map provided will the symbols of the sites (I mean the red and green ones) be back ?
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Andy B
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| Posted 11-10-2011 at 22:52
Yes that's the plan. I've not got anything concrete yet since last week as other more pressing things have come up but I now have a good plan of what I'm going to do - which always helps before starting!
In the meantime look for the links on the sites pages which say
"Pop-up a map of these sites" which gives you the old style with coloured symbols.
or
"Pop-up a Google Map of these sites" which gives the Google maps version of nearby sites via ACME Laboratories, which still works
[ This message was edited by: Andy B on 2011-10-11 22:56 ]
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Andy B
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| Posted 26-10-2011 at 18:17
As a temporary 'fix' I've switched the Yahoo maps back to using the 'plain' orange markers as these still work OK. It's better than no marker at all for nearby sites. Work on new maps is ongoing...
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Andy B
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| Posted 14-11-2011 at 18:22
I have some new 'nearby sites' maps working using software from the OpenLayers web mapping project. They are now added to all the site pages. I have some improvements to follow but these are good enough to use and we have our nice site icons back.
The background maps are a bit basic at the moment. I will add an 'open streetmap' background shortly, and possibly others, but I'm struggling with how the various map projections work, it's all rather complicated.
Click on the little '+' to the right of the map and you'll see a tick box appear which allows you to turn the Nearby Sites on and off
If you find any problems with the new map please post here or message me
[ This message was edited by: Andy B on 2011-11-14 18:23 ]
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Andy B
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| Posted 02-05-2012 at 00:45
This evening has been spent getting the hang of the different map projections for OpenLayers. This has allowed me to sort out the projection of the Nearby Sites map and add Open Street Map and Google Maps as switchable backgrounds. You can also investigate aerial views with an ancient sites overlay without leaving the Portal. These maps are on all of the main 'site pages' labelled 'Nearby Sites'.
I would like to make the map markers refresh as you drag and zoom the map to give a true worldwide Megalith Map but I'm not sure if this is do-able with the database technology we have. For now it shows the 100 nearest sites. Just navigate to another page to get the nearby sites for a different location.
[ This message was edited by: Andy B on 2012-05-02 08:30 ]
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tDrusin
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| Posted 02-05-2012 at 01:20
thank you andy for all your labors of love
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Andy B
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| Posted 02-05-2012 at 21:40
New maps also now on the search pages and Street View guide - let's see if your browser is up to plotting 750 points on a map!
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/search.php?query=&country=1&sv=1
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davidmorgan
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| Posted 03-05-2012 at 05:37
That's excellent, Andy. Far to many "green" sites in my area. Must get out more (especially in Wadworthshire).
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Andy B
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| Posted 03-05-2012 at 18:40
Mmm, I think we should issue some sort of 'green sites' challenge. Prizes for the people who've photographed the most new sites per month.
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TheCaptain
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| Posted 04-05-2012 at 17:30
works teriffically now on my home pooter and laptop, but still all filtered out at work!
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Andy B
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| Posted 04-05-2012 at 17:37
Is that because you're in Internet Explorer at work - it doesn't work on IE for some reason.
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Martin_L
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| Posted 04-05-2012 at 22:00
The new map feature is a great improvement.
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TheCaptain
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| Posted 05-05-2012 at 15:45
yes, its IE at work, but most stuff is not allowed through to us on the income side of the company - thankfully they let me get the portal for half an hour at lunch and an hour at 5:00pm by special request.
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frogcottage42
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| Posted 06-05-2012 at 00:12
I don't know about anyone else but when I zoom in on these new maps the icons for sites are a long way from the right positions. On the satellite views the ones near my house are all out by about 3 miles
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