Extension:Google Maps/Editor's Map

The editor's map is a graphical interface that can be used to:


 * 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. There will be a link that says "make a map" (or similar) above the toolbar buttons (bold, italic, etc.). Click this link.

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 Map
Click anywhere on the map. A marker should magically appear, and you can either enter in a caption and hit "save", or hit "remove". If you save it, you can then drag the marker around, or click it again to edit the caption.

If paths are enabled
This only applies if the wiki has paths enabled (see Extension:Google Maps/Installation).

You can click "start path here" in the balloon. This will save your caption and close the balloon. The next time you click the map, there will be a colored line between the previous point and the place you just clicked. Keep clicking around on the map to make a path with lots of turns. Each will be represented by a small yellow icon. You can drag any of these around the map. Try it! If you click on one of these yellow icons, you'll have the option to remove it, or to add a caption. As you make your path, you should see its length being updated just above the map. There will also be a link that says "Save". If you click "Save", the next time you click the map, it will NOT extend the path. It will just create a new, unattached point.

After you've save your path, you might notice the link that says "change color". Try clicking it. It should bring up a fancy color selector like you see in PhotoShop. Pick a new color and click "OK". Neat, huh? The lighter the color you choose, the more translucent it will be on the map.

If you have more than one path on the map, you'll be able to see their relative lengths. This might be excised from a future release, because it borders on pointless.

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.

Load this map
By default, when you click "make a map", the extension will look in the article for a map to load, and load the first one it finds. If there are multiple maps on a page, you can load any map. Click "refresh list" just above the article, and then choose which map you'd like to load. Click "load map", and all of that map's attributes will be loaded into the Editor's Map for you to manipulate. Don't forget to paste the result back into the article!!