Frequently Asked Questions

You can build maps, share maps with your friends, invite friend to extend your maps. And finally you can grab the source code for your maps.

A lot of users want to customize generated source code with more complex navigation interface, add more features to the map, etc. That's why MapBuilder users have an option to order some kind of custom code from Mapbuilder development team.

Just visit Sign Up page or click "Sign Up" from the menu to create your account.

You can create a new map by clicking "New Map" after login to the MapBuilder.
Enter the Map Name, Description (optional) and any Map Tags (optional). Map Tags must be separated by a space. Once you have entered the desired information for your new map click Create Map.

*Map Name cannot contain spaces.

There are multiple ways to add a location to your new map. The simplest way is to click on the map ;)
Here are instructions for more advanced methods:

Location Search & Quick Navigation.

• If you know the full address of the specific location you wish to map then enter it in the first search blank. For example: 344 Main Street, Bellwood, PA. When you have entered the full address click the Search button and the map will be centered over that location.
• If you do not know the address but know the location on a map, you can select the State/Province or the Country from the drop-down list and click the Go button to the right. The location will center on the State/Province/Country on the map to the left. You will need to drag the map so that the desired location is in view. Click on the desired location on the map and the market will place itself where you click.

Location Details.

• If you know the latitude and longitude for the location you wish to map you may enter it here and click Center & Zoom To. Once you have done this you will need to click on the map at the desired location to place a marker.
• You are required to enter a Caption for the new location. Entering a Description is optional. The Description editor is a rich text editor and allows for HTML. You may insert images, links etc. into the description for your new location. Tags may be entered in the next field.
• Along the bottom right you will see a list of various colors and sizes of location markers. Select the marker you wish to use for this new location and then click the Add button which is located below the description editor.

Once all desired locations have been entered and placed on the map using markers you may modify the map's center, zoom and map type. Please adjust these settings in the upper right hand corner of the map and click Save Center, Zoom, MapType to save your new map to your account. That's it! Your new map is now ready to be viewed on the Internet!

From the Select Your Map: drop-down list, select the map you wish to edit. The map will load in the editor automatically. Click on the location marker for the location you wish to edit or delete. Upon clicking the marker, the location's information will be filled out automatically on the right. Make any necessary changes to the location and click Update or Delete if you wish to remove the location from the map. When you click update/delete the map is automatically updated and saved to your account so there is no need to click save.

To make a change to the Map Name, Description or Map Tags click Map Info from the menu. This is also where you choose if you want your map shared or not. Publishing your map as shared will allow users send requests to you to join your map. You(as map owner) will be able to accept or reject those requests and setup different access levels for users who have joined your map. To turn this feature off, make sure that Shared Map is unchecked.

To edit the controls for your map (MapControl), GMapTypeControl, Default Zoom Level, Map Width and Height and SideBar Type, click Map Controls from the menu.

Follow the "Map Community" link from the menu. You'll see the screen which will allow you to add editors to your map, or just share map with friends.
To add a user, enter their MapBuilder username under Valid Username: and select the Access Level: you wish to give that user. Click the Add button to add that user to your account.

Note:
Full access level will allow invited user to have the same access to this map as you have;
Editor access level will allow user to add and update locations only;

Map source code generated by MapBuilder require you to have your own Google Maps API key which is available for free from Google. To obtain your very own key please visit http://www.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html. It will be necessary to provide URL of your map script to get Google Maps API key.

MapBuilder generates ready for use HTML and JavaScript source code.
It's not necessary to have PHP/ASP/ColdFusion running on the server to use source code generated by MapBuilder.net.

MapBuilder was designed to support multiple map service providers. Currently MapBuilder generates source code for Google Maps API and Yahoo! Maps AJAX API only. Here's 2 examples created for Google Map API and Yahoo!Maps AJAX API:

• Google Maps API: source code demo, map preview.
• Yahoo! Maps AJAX API: source code demo, map preview.

It's simple task. Switch to the "Map Controls" screen and mark "Include Direction search in the popup window" checkbox.
You can see live example how direction feature works. Open the example link and click on any location.

Yes, I have. I uses geocoder.us and geocoder.ca for geocoding purpose. They provide decent service.
Recently Yahoo Inc. released Geocoding API. It's really neat API and I've created sample tool called "Geo!Suggest" and published it's source code.

I definitely recommend bluehost.com hosting. I like theirs service for the following reasons:

• php 5 is available;
• free shell(ssh) access is available;
• you can host 6 domains on 1 account for $6.95 a month only;
• reliable support;
• and much more.

Yes, import functionality is available. To import and geocode locations you have to log in, select "Import" menu item. Import works CSV (The Comma Separated Value) file format.

Log in, select map which you'd like to delete, select a "Map Info" tab, click on a "Delete Map" button. Map delete action can not be undone!

On a "Map Controls" page select "SideBar Type:" None.