Did you know that you can add a Google Map to any article in RichmondWiki? Setting up a basic one is easy, but there are a few advanced features that really make them sizzle.
Example #1: Dog Parks
One of my favorite examples is the map pictured below, which was taken from the Dog Parks category page. The points on this map correspond to the location of dedicated dog parks in the area. The real map is clickable and you can zoom in/out, switch to satellite view, and click through to each park’s article for more information.
Google Map Dog Parks Example
How To Create This Map
On any article page, click the “edit” button in the article’s menu.
Edit Button
You will see a bunch of buttons across the top that look like this (assuming you have JavaScript enabled):
Edit Menu
Click on the “make a map” button. It’s not exactly obvious which one it is, so here’s a hint:
make a map button
A map editing window will open within the editing page. Use the search box in the lower left corner to find the location of the item you want to add to the map. Google will find the place and a text box will pop up, like this one:
Search and Find
Click on the “Add to map” button within the text box, then click “Save and close“. Use the zoom buttons and drag the map around until your desired location is centered and visible. You can add more than one location by repeating the search function and clicking on “Add to map” on every location you want to show up in your map.
Every time you make a change, the Map application automatically updates the wikitext below the map:
Map Wikitext
Copy and paste this text into the article’s editing window wherever you want the map to appear. Add the text [[Category:Mapped]] to the bottom of the editing window in order to add the article to the category of pages with maps.
Click “Save page” at the bottom and presto! You have created a Google Map on a RichmondWiki article.
More Useful Info
There’s more information about this feature on the Google Maps Help page. For more advanced users, you can also add paths (see the Easter on Parade article for an example), toggle between satellite, map, and terrain views, and use different icons to represent different points.
Any more questions? Need help with a specific article? Leave a comment and somebody will be along to help shortly.
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