User:CKoerner (WMF)/Maps user guide

Maps provide a way to discover and learn about a place or an event. Making these maps interactive, where people can zoom, pan, and interact with points of interest, can further enrich the way we learn about the world. Other goals, are simplifying the tools used to add a map to an article, and reducing the need for complex image editing or geographic information system (GIS) tools.

Getting started
 This code will insert a simple interactive map (like what is seen on the right), with the ability to maximize it by either double-clicking the map or clicking the icon in the right corner. The map can be panned by dragging the map and zoomed by the mouse scroll wheel.

Editors using the visual editor can add a map to a page by selecting "Map" from the "Insert" menu.



Editing maps
Maps can be edited and augmented. Augmented
 * Position (longitude and latitude)
 * Size (width and height)
 * Zoom level
 * Text description
 * Alignment
 * adding points of interest
 * lines
 * shapes

Examples
Here are some example maps...

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mapframe_Kartographer_demo.webm

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maplink_Kartographer_demo.webm

Extending maps

 * Maps can be extended with external data and the Graph extension.
 * geoshape
 * geomask

Where does map data come from? How can I update the map data? -- Where can I play with maps without goofing up an article?
 * OpenStreetMaps
 * http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Wikipedia_users
 * http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Beginners_Guide_1.3