Extension:Google Maps/Editor's Map

The editor's map is a icon added to the mediawiki toolbar that can:


 * plot markers with captions
 * create colored paths
 * look up addresses and businesses, and plot them on a map
 * generate a tag for what you see

The editor's map does NOT support these features:


 * custom markers
 * tabbed info balloons
 * continuous zooming
 * double-click zooming

(See Extension:Google Maps/Syntax if you want maps with those features.)

Getting started
Note: the Editor's Map will only appear with MediaWiki 1.6 and later. After the extension has been successfully installed, visit any "Edit" page. You should see this icon added to your toolbar:



Click it. You should now see several components:
 * a search box
 * a map
 * a control panel
 * a tag

Whew! It's a lot of stuff, but it's all useful. We'll go through these components one by one.

The Search Box
This feature may be turned off; see Extension:Google Maps/Installation. This is hooked into both a geocoder and Google's Local Search. Thus, you can search for a wide variety of things. Try these:
 * "Paris"
 * your home address
 * your favorite restaurant

If it finds an address match, it will bring that up on the map. You then have the option to save the marker there (click "save and close"), or not (click "remove"). Feel free to edit the label or drag the marker around.

If the search doesn't find an address, it will kick off a local search centered where the map currently is. Cool, huh? The results will appear below the search box, and you'll have the option to add any or all of them to the map. Try a generic search, like "food".

The Control Panel
This is the part where you can select the map's height and other stuff. It's pretty self-explanatory.

The tag
This will contain the current state of the map you see. It captures the current zoom level, the map's dimensions and center, all the markers and paths, and some other stuff too. If you paste this tag into the article, and hit "Preview", you should get a map like whatever the editor's map just looked like.

See the Extension:Google Maps/Syntax page to learn the details of this tag.