Last night I updated MyMap Explorer for Google Maps to make it more future-proof and improve KML support. The most recent version is available on the project website.
The most important changes that were made are:
- MyMap Explorer is now locked to Google Maps API version 2.150, so version 1.2 will not break on July 1 when API versions prior to 2.140 are depreciated
- MyMap Explorer now supports area overlays on the maps, not simply points as before
- There is some improved error-checking
This update was initiated by a fellow named Joel asking questions and reporting bugs. Thanks Joel!
Today I am announcing the release of MyMap Explorer for Google Maps. This small javascript allows you to embed a map created using Gooogle Maps’ My Maps feature into any web page with more information and flexibility than Google’s iFrame embed code.
Back in November, Heri asked for a relatively simple way to integrate his Technology Map of Montreal into Montréal Tech Watch, and MyMap Explorer is the result, (see it live on the Technology Map of Montréal), It takes the KML description of a map from Google Maps and adds it to a map created using the Google Maps API. It also provides an alphabetized, clickable list of the points on the map so that your users don’t have to click on each marker to find the location that they are looking for.
The KML is loaded live from Google Maps so if you make a change to your map on Google Maps it will be shown in all embedded versions of your map as well. This script has no dependencies, other than Javascript and a Google Maps API key. Just insert it into a web page where you want to see your map and it appears!
I have some features that I still plan on adding, but want to get the basic script out there and into use. I’ve released the code on Google Code under an MIT license so you are all free to use MyMap Explorer, and contribute if you feel up to it.
The demo is here.
Today is Download Day and there has been a lot of griping about the servers going down. Well, it looks like the servers are back up again. I hadn’t tried earlier, (well, I tried at 10 AM EDT, since I’d read that FF3 was going to be available at 10 AM, but apparently the article I read forgot to mention the timezone. 10 AM = 1 PM).
I have now downloaded Firefox 3 with no problems at all and am writing this post using it. I had played around with some of the release candidates but hadn’t been using them full-time because of plugin compatibility, (I’m looking at you Firebug).
Speaking of Firebug, it didn’t upgrade automatically when I installed FF3 as it should have, and when I went to getfirebug.com I got no response. After a quick Google search I discovered that getfirebug.com has been down for a bit, (ownership is being transferred to Mozilla so this never happens again). However, you can download Firebug 1.2 from Mozilla, (this is the FF3-compatible version).
So I am now running FF3, (and keeping a copy of FF2 around for testing). If you want FF3, get it here.