MapPress 2.32 has just been released. The complete change history is in the readme.txt file, but I want to highlight some of the key new features.
Entering Locations by Latitude and Longitude
In older versions of MapPress you had to use a ‘swap’ button to alternate between entering street addresses and latitude/longitude coordinates. In 2.32 you can just enter the latitude and longitude directly into the ‘Location’ box in the map editor.
You can also prefix the latitude and longitude with a title to use for the marker. The format is [title]@[latitude],[longitude]
For example, this map shows Washington, DC being entered using latitude/longitude:
New Widget Options
Overview maps. Google’s latest version of the map API offers ‘overview maps’. These are small inset maps that show the same location as the main map, but the overview map is zoomed out to display a larger area.
You can use the MapPress settings to display an “overview map control” (a small arrow in the bottom-right corner that opens the overview map). You can also specify that the overview map should be opened initially.
The overview map is especially useful on small maps, like widgets, where it’s handy to get your bearings while remaining zoomed in.
Here’s an example of an overview control, and the overview map:
New Widget Options
MapPress widgets now include some important new options:
| Option |
Description |
| Center |
Enter the center for the map as a latitude and longitude. If you leave this blank or (0,0), the plugin will automatically center the map between all markers. |
| Zoom |
Choose an explicit zoom level or ‘automatic’ to have the plugin adjust the zoom so all markers are visible. |
| Map type |
Select a map type to display. |
| Overview map control |
Display an overview map control |
| Open overview map |
Open the overview map when the map is displayed |
Map Sizes and Resizing
You can now specify your default map sizes on the MapPress Settings screen. You may enter up to 3 dimensions (roughly small, medium and large) which are then displayed as defaults in the map editor.
If you make a mistake and need to resize your maps, you can now enter an “original” size and a “new” size. All maps in the original size will be resized to the new size automatically.
Directions in Your Language
You can now set a directions server in the MapPress options. If you’re using Google directions (rather than inline directions), this will let you open a window to a local Google server, such as “maps.google.fr” or “maps.google.de”. This way your readers will get directions in their native language rather than English.
Other Changes
That covers the major changes but there were many other fixes and enhancements. Here’s a complete list from the readme.txt included with the plugin:
- Added: you can now enter lat/lng locations directly in the ‘location’ text field. Use the format “title@lat,lng”. For example: “Washington@38.902255,-77.036819″
- Added: you can now set a “directions server”. If you have set directions to open from Google you can open a regional Google server (i.e. German server for Germany, etc.)
- Added: 45-degree angle viewing will soon become the default for satellite view (learn more here: http://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-angle-on-world-with-45-imagery.html).
- Added: overview map control for widgets, shortcodes and settings. See the MapPress documentation or learn more here: http://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-angle-on-world-with-45-imagery.html
- MapPress Pro Added: new widget options, including map zoom, traffic and map type
- Added: new settings screen layout
- Added: you can specify up to 3 default map sizes instead of the default small/medium/large (in case you have custom sizes you want to use)
- Added: RSS and news widget on settings screen
- Added: on the settings screen you can now resize from and to specific sizes
- Added: when a marker is clicked on the map or marker list, it is now brought in ‘front’ of all other markers
- Added: new filters for your own developments: when a map is saved, deleted or create, and when the directions panel HTML is generated
- Removed: the ‘autocenter’ parameter is deprecated; if you want the map to automatically center, set the center to null or (0,0); to automatically zoom set the zoom to null
- Changed: updated the mappress.po file (you can use it as a .pot as well) and many of the plugin texts
- Changed: traffic button has been styled to look more like the Google buttons
- Changed: map type control should now adapt itself to screen size and map size automatically (horizontal bar or dropdown)
- Changed: when clicking on marker ‘directions’ link, marker infowindow is not closed until directions are requested
- Fixed: when requesting directions from a marker on the marker list, the marker infowindow will be opened
- Fixed: geocoding errors for some odd addresses could return blanks, these are now ignored
- Fixed: marker zooming in the editor now works better at all zoom levels
