I have users in one side and events and links in the other.
I do no expect Users having trouble finding their location in a map. ;)
However, as an administrator, when I add locations for events or other links, since I do not always know where those places are located, I ended up having my editing page and a google maps page open at the same time and going back and forth between them in order to add a marker.
I figure out a shorcut for this problem until geocoding finally works (perhaps I am doing something wrong, but I do not see geolocation working yet).
So, what I did is to add a map gadget in my right column (using Garland the gadget ideally is 195 px wide).
The gadget is only showed in my "add event" or "add link" page and is positioned into a block at the same level than the map where I must put the marker. The gadget is only visible to the people who need to add new content on this areas.
In this way, I avoid to go back and forth between pages. The gadget gives me the geocoding I do not have at this moment.
Since I am just an end user, I would like to know if you consider my approach correct or if there are other ways to geocode new locations.
Comments
location can geocode for you
My understanding is that you are entering locations for events or other links, but they are not getting geocoded automatically... If that's right, are you using the Location module? If so, have you enabled a geocoder for your country in the Location settings?
After doing this, you should be able to enter a location's address on a node, and when you save the node the address will be geocoded--the latitude and longitude will be automatically filled out on the location. This way, you don't have to explicitly place the marker on the map, or enter a latitude and longitude manually.
You are right
For some reason is was not working while I was configuring it. From there, I wrongly assumed that geocoding was still a "work in progress".
I wish all these modules come with a step by step instruction for admin users with basic knowledge as the one you provide.
One example of how much a tutorial is needed for these modules is the case of adding a map to each individual node. I could not figure out how to do it for a long time until I discovered from a post somewhere else that somebody had the same problem.
We did not know or realised that the map was available as a block in the block section.
Perhaps with time while you introduce your input in the boxes the map updates dinamically. Knowing straight ahead the consequences of your actions is a must for the applications.
After I read your post I tested some scenarios. Adding only country or country and state does not update the map. Adding the city, yes.
Marking directly on the map does not fill for you the country, state, city or street.
Thanks again for your excellent help!
Jorge Campo
http://autismoaba.org
.
Anyone can write documentation. As you learn things, add pages. That way you help the next person to come along. Maintainers are generally busy working on the modules and have a tough time writing docs from a newbie perspective. People who have just mastered something are the perfect people to document it.
Michelle
See my Drupal articles and tutorials or come check out the Coulee Region
Geocoding only for certain countries
Hello again.
I noticed that geocoding worked fine for countries like Spain but not for a lot of Latinamerican countries.
I checked that for those countries geocoding non is supported. Therefore, users of those countries will have to add the coordenates or the marker.
What puzzles me is that geocoding works fine in the google maps original webpage.
Is there a reason why it is not supported in drupal for certain countries?
Jorge Campo
http://autismoaba.org
Jorge Campo
http://autismoaba.org
google geocoder supported countries
There is a list of countries that the Google geocoding service supports here:
http://gmaps-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/mapcoverage_filtered.html
The Google geocoder option should be available for every country on that list in Location; if a country is on that list but the option isn't available in the Location module, it's a quick fix: just submit an issue :)
Non experts as technical writers
Michelle,
while I agree that non experts can talk about their experiences, I respectfully disagree with the idea of "non-experts-talking-about-technical-matters".
You just have the example of what I was doing (wrongly) in terms on geolocation. Sure that my approach "worked for me" but it was definitely unnecesary since geocoding seems to do the job just fine.
The problem is that non experts like me can get the wrong feeling that because we are doing something in a specific way it means it is the right thing to do.
In my case, I consider myself expert in other fields. Sure I can give and feel confortable giving advise on those fields. But I think that knowing your own limitations is a good thing too.
Non experts in geo stuff, as myself, asking instead of mentoring others provides clues to the experts on what is going on with the end users.
From there, more experienced users can give their advice.
But do not get me wrong, at least in the Drupal Spanish community I try to help, for example here.
As a matter of fact my own webpage is about a couple of persons expending a lot of time helping other people without asking for anything in return.
Therefore, for me, one thing is trying to be helpful and another matter is being effective.
Best regards and thanks to all for your help.
Jorge Campo
http://autismoaba.org
Jorge Campo
http://autismoaba.org
Docs
Anyone can write docs. Of course, you'll try your best to get everything right but it's not the end of the world if you make a mistake. Someone else is bound to come along and leave a comment or edit the problem text. That's how docs get built. You don't need to be an expert before you can document something. In fact, experts often are the worst people to be documenting as they don't remember what it was like to struggle with it.
Michelle
See my Drupal articles and tutorials or come check out the Coulee Region