Google Map V3, High Speed Google map macro

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V 1.3 - Google Map V3.gsk 1-17-2011

First full release - now GMaps V3 API is out of Beta and V2 is deprecated it was time to formally release this macro.

This macro is a high speed Google maps mapping macro for large numbers of geocaches, perhaps entire databases.

The previous solutions ('Google Maps with clusters', "MyGME' etc) all have to iterate through the database creating the map markers which is a fairly slow process. Instead this macro uses SQLite and the newest V3 version of the Google Maps API. No iteration is required, instead the javascript for the markers and info windows are generated directly by a couple of, albeit fairly complex, SQLite queries. On my system, it takes no more than 50 milliseconds to generate the data and less than a second for a map with 2,500 caches to appear in the browser!

Just run the macro and it will generate a Google Map of the current view in GSAK, respecting any filters that are set, and display it in your browser.

It also uses a new Clusterer system which dynamically adjusts the number of icons shown on the map at any one time. At wider zoom levels markers that would overlap are combined into single large markers with a number indicating how many caches are combined. Click on one of these markers and the map will automatically zoom in to that cluster.



As an experiment I generated 10,000 caches randomly spread across the world and then plotted them using this macro. GSAK took around half a second (maybe less) to generate the file and then it took the browsers this long to render it:

Firefox v3.6.3: 8 seconds
IE 8: 8 seconds
Opera: 5 seconds
Chrome v5.0.342.9: 3 seconds!

(Not too surprising - Google maps on Google Chrome ought to be the best)




Cache Icons
Clicking a cache icon will bring up an info window with basic cache details and three links - 'View' and 'Flag' and .



Clicking the first two links will show the selected cache in the GSAK grid, and set the User Flag for that cache respectively

Clicking the icon will increment the User Sort value of the selected cache by the currently set increment amount - equivalent to double-clicking the User Sort value in the GSAK grid.


Found Caches
There are distinct icons for 'Found' caches




Options
There is an options dialog which is accessed by holding down the SHIFT key on your keyboard when you run the macro:



Note that these options *only* apply for this run of the macro. If you run it without holding down SHIFT then all options default to off.


'Street View' option



The cache icons are visible in Street View and can give you a very good idea of cache position.



Click the 'X' in the top right of the Street View window to close it and return to normal map operation.


Map Types

Supports multiple map types:



(British Ordnance Survey is new in this release)


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V 1.4 - Google Map V3.gsk 1-20-2011

1. Moved all files to new gsak.net server
An invisible but necessary change.

2. Sticky options for Scroll Zoom and Silent operation.

The existing options accessible by holding down the SHIFT key on your keyboard when you run the macro are deliberately *only* applied when the macro is run in this manner, and don't affect normal running. This release adds two new options which will *always* apply:



1. 'Use Scroll Wheel Zoom' enables the use of the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. Use this with care, it can cause very slow operation with older browsers such as IE7 or when text labels are enabled. (It's also horrible to use IMHO! )

2. 'Keep Map Focus' applies to the 'Set Flag' and 'Increment User Sort' icons in the info window. With the option enabled clicking those icons will not lose focus on the Google map back to GSAK, instead the action will happen 'behind the scenes'.



3. Drag and Zoom

Drag and Zoom is now enabled either by using Shift-click-drag on the map or through the icon below the zoom bar.



Either method allows you to drag a zoom box on the map.

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V 1.5 - Google Map V3.gsk 2-19-2011

1. Corrected Coordinates

New indicator for caches that have corrected coordinates



2. Speed tweaks


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V 1.6 - Google Map V3.gsk 3-12-2011

Work-around for this GMaps bug that broke the cache labels option.


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V 1.7 - Google Map V3.gsk 4-6-2011

1. Added parent cache name as a prefix to the tooltip for child waypoints.




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V 1.8 - Google Map V3.gsk 5-6-2011

1. Option to use 'Name', 'Code' or 'Smartname' for label text in three different text sizes, small, medium or large.








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V 1.9 - Google Map V3.gsk 5-18-2011

1. Added the 'Hike and Bike' map type as suggested by JR.on.tour here

(This is another rendering of the OpenStreetMap data already included, but includes different icons and POIs)


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V 2.0 - Google Map V3.gsk 5-20-2011

Fix for bug when the '\' character is used in a cache name. (Also preemptively now checked for in owner name)


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V 2.1 - Google Map V3.gsk 7-18-2011

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later, available here.


1. Add 'Placed' date to event cache info windows
This is actually the event date for Events, CITO and Mega Event caches




2. Add 'Found' date to info window for any found caches




Note: In both cases the date will be formatted to match your Windows date preference. Thanks to Clyde for adding the g_DateFormat() SQLite command to do this!


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V 2.2 - Google Map V3.gsk 8-12-2011

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Fix for GC.com API sending Final Waypoints with blank coordinates.


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V 2.3 - Google Map V3.gsk 9-18-2011

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Added support for Groundspeak HQ and 10 Year Event cache icons now available through API.



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V 2.5 - Google Map V3.gsk 12-4-2011

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Complete rewrite of label code

a. Labels now properly respect clustering and will show/hide with the associated marker
(A Google change broke this some months ago. It took a total change in the way labels are created to fix. But the new code is much more flexible than the old! )

b. Labels are much quicker to display

c. Labels support additional GSAK fields



Enter any legal SQLite GSAK fieldnames (including custom fields) as a comma separated list in the 'Additional Field' box and they will be added to the end of the label.

For example, selecting 'Name' and 'Large', and then entering 'favpoints, county, code' in the 'Additional Fields' box will produce this label:



The code checks that the names you aenter are legal field names, and will warn you if they aren't.


2. Added Fav Points to InfoWindow




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V 2.6 - Google Map V3.gsk 12-4-2011

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Quick fix for IE

Tested in IE7, IE8, IE9 and IE10. Now uses HTML5 Doctype so should be good going forwards with all modern browsers.
Not recommended with IE7. IE 7 is a hack so the labels display, but not in the same way and IE7 is painfully slow...


2. Added support for map type storage in Chrome

Map types are now 'sticky' in Chrome, as they already were with other browsers. Chrome uses local storage instead of cookies


3. Child Waypoints have labels

Something I forgot to mention before - If you choose to show Child Waypoints, they now also have labels.




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V 2.7 - Google Map V3.gsk 12-8-2011

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Use and display of Favpoints now conditional on GSAK version
The macro will now also run in V7 of GSAK, without favpoints showing in the InfoWindow.

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V 2.8 - Google Map V3.gsk 12-10-2011

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. All options are now sticky and apply for every run of the macro.
Options form has been re-designed to accommodate this change:



Note: You must press <SHIFT> when running the macro to access the options.


2. Added name of parent cache to child label.


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V2.9 - Google Map V3.gsk 1-9-12

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. New MyTopo maps.
Uses new secure access MyTopo maps


2. Unavailable/archived information in Info Window
Any caches that are disabled or archived have relevant text in the Info Window:




3. Child icons bug fixed.


4. Child icon type check now case insensitive


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V3.0 - Google Map V3.gsk 2-14-12

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Strip out CR and LF from cache name.

Apparently Munzees allow line feeds in cache names. This seems like a really bad idea as it will cause unforeseen circumstances. This is one of them...

Macro now strips them out before using them in the map.

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V3.1 - Google Map V3.gsk 2-15-12

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. *New* Grid size can be changed through right-click menu

The grid size used for clustering can now be changed through the right-click menu on the map.



The larger the grid size, the quicker the map will operate, but the clusters are larger. Conversely a smaller grid size will give you smaller clusters, but slower operation. Your choice. For example:

Grid size 100


Grid size 20


The map will always default to a grid size of 50 on first loading.


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V3.2 - Google Map V3.gsk 2-17-12

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Indicator for archived/unavailable



(Uses an overlay icon, which is hidden from the clusterer so the count remains correct.)


2. Performance improvement

Improved version of the clustering script


3. Javascript now loaded from file
The embedded javascript was getting large and unwieldy which made it difficult to debug. Now loaded from a separate file.

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V3.3 - Google Map V3.gsk 2-17-12

Requires GSAK V7.7.4.28 or later.

1. Fix - Handle backslash in child point names


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