MapPress FAQ

Error “sensor parameter must be true or false”

MapPress always sets the ‘sensor’ parameter required by Google, so this error usually indicates:

a) another plugin or the theme is loading the API incorrectly, or
b) the sensor parameter is being removed (usually by a cacheing or minifying plugin)

Try disabling your other plugins and switching to the twenty twelve theme to isolate the problem.  If you are using the “rocket loader” then see the next issue below.

I see a map but there are no POIs and I can’t move it

This may be caused by the “rocket loader” from Cloudflare.com.  To disable rocket loader, login to your cloudflare account, then go to Settings > Performance Settings, and set the ‘Rocket Loader’ setting to ‘off’:

My maps don’t load, I just see a spinning icon

This is usually an issue with another plugin or the theme.  You can by deactivating your other plugins and switch to the standard twenty twelve theme.  If the maps appear, then re-activate until you find the conflict.  These are the most common causes:

  • Your theme must call wp_footer().  See here for details: http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/wp_footer
  • Some themes and plugins load obsolete versions jQuery.  Check your web page’s HTML source for “jquery”, the current version is 1.8.3.  You will need to update the theme or plugin to load the right version.
  • Some “minify” plugins break the javascript files used by MapPress and Google.  Check your plugin’s settings to exclude these files

AJAX error

AJAX errors are usually caused by a bug in another plugin or the theme.  You can check if it’s a MapPress error by trying one of the WordPress actions: for example, in the post editor try saving a custom field.  If you get an error, the problem is in a plugin or the theme.  Try disabling ALL of your other plugins and switching to a standard theme, then try again.  AJAX errors can also occur if the blog is out of memory.

My POIs are in the Ocean near Africa

This indicates that geocoding failed for a POI.  This can happen for two reasons:

  1. The location was invalid or you are over your query limit 
    Query limits are explained in the documentation.  If you were generating maps from custom fields, try defining a field named ‘mappress_errors’ to capture any error messages.  If you are using custom PHP code, the geocode() function will return a WP_Error object with any messages.
  2. You upgraded from the free plugin version 2.38 or earlier and you are using custom PHP code that calls the geocode() function
    In version 2.39 geocoding was enhanced and moved into MapPress Pro.  You will need to either upgrade to MapPress Pro or downgrade back to version 2.38 of the free plugin.

Can I change the marker icons?

Yes, MapPress Pro allows you to change the icons.  This version of the plugin also adds other features including mashups and widgets.

Only a corner of the map displays, the rest is a gray square

This is a bug in the Google Maps API.  It occurs when displaying a map in a control where the content is hidden, like a tab or slider.  MapPress includes code to fix this issue, but it only works if you are using the jQuery UI Tabs library.  For other controls or libraries there are two solutions:

  • You can sometimes use CSS to position the hidden content off-screen instead of hiding it.  For example use “visibility:hidden” or “left:-99999″ instead of “display:none”.
  • You can add some javascript to your blog to tell the map to re-draw when the hidden tab/slider is displayed.  There is no general answer for how to detect that event – you’ll need to contact the author of the tab/slider.  Once you determine the correct even, the code to re-draw the map is simple.  To re-draw a map named “mapp0″ use:
    mapp0.resize();

How can I translate MapPress?

It’s easy, see this forum post for details: http://wphostreviews.com/forums/topic/translating-mappress

I made a map but I don’t see it in my post

Check that you inserted the shortcode in your post.  The documentation shows you how to do it step by step.

I don’t see my map in my post, just the shortcode

Because of a very old WordPress bug, each shortcode must be on a separate line.  Edit the post and check that you have a carriage return between shortcodes and any surrounding text.

The marker infowindows (the balloon text) have weird black shadows

This is a bug in Google Maps that affects Internet Explorer when the browser zoom is anything other than 100%.  The only fix is to set the zoom using the IE menu “view –> zoom”.

I put a marker on the map but it’s not in the right place, how can I move it?

In the map editor just drag the marker to the correct position.

Can I add template tags for the map, or add the map to the sidebar?

Yes, there’s a widget for the sidebar and template tags are available.  See the documentation for some examples.

Troubleshooting

If you’re having trouble saving your maps or displaying them, these simple steps fix most issues:

  1. Disable your other plugins and your theme
    Just a few minutes, disable all of your other plugins and switch to the standard “twentyeleven” theme. Try MapPress again. If the issue appears to be fixed, you probably have a conflict with another plugin or your theme. Re-enable your theme and try again, then re-enable your plugins one-by-one to find the conflict.
  2. Check your free memory
    By default, WordPress allocates barely enough memory to run the blog (32MB).  Even a single plugins can exceed the available memory, causing the blog to crash unpredictably.  There are several plugins that will display your current free memory (for example: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-memory-usage/).
  3. Increase your free memory
    If you have less than 32MB free, you must increase your memory.  The easiest way to increase your memory is to edit your “wp-config.php” file.  Please see the “Increasing Memory Allocated to PHP” section in this article: http://codex.wordpress.org/Editing_wp-config.phpand increase your memory to 128MB.  Note that some hosting services also limit the memory using the “php.ini” file or the “.htaccess” file.  You may be able to edit those files yourself, or you may need to contact your host.

Still Stuck?

I’ll be happy to help.  Please contact me and let me know you’ve already taken the steps listed above.  Please send everything I might need to reproduce the problem, including any error messages and a URL or screenshots illustrating the problem.