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Google KML Map - Test

Introduction

This is the {tdocgmap} plugin which is called TDOC Google Maps, and it simply shows a KML file in Google Maps.
It works in both Joomla 3.10 and Joomla 4.xx.yy versions, and was designed specifically to make the transition easy.

Click to visit the Joomla 3.10 test site

Install the plugin in the normal manner.

Settings to be entered are the APIKey [required], and the default Height and Width.

Every user MUST have their own Google API Key. It is free for small organisations and so on.
Please see here: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/get-api-key

Maps can be shown in both articles and in categories. the format is "tdocgmap position_options kml='kmlpath'" replacing the "" with {} as with many plugins. To show multiple maps in an article or category, simply use multiple calls.

The following position options are available when calling the map.

  • print - makes the map 100% in width and 700px in height and overrides other settings.
  • left - puts the map to the left and wraps text to the right with 15px margin
  • right - puts the map to the right and wraps text to the left with 15px margin
  • if none of these options are used, the map is centered with no wrapping of text.

Specific settings are within the tag: Position, Height, Width, and the KML file [required] in the form key=value, separated by a space.
The KML filepath must be in single quotes.

e.g. tdocgmap width=700 height=700 kml='http://tdocplus.co.uk/lp_routes/lp_snuff_white_west.kml' within {} brackets
The position is optional - see above. The example is centered - no position given.

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Printing the map

Google did not include their gmapprint() function in the latest API. The solution is simple. For each map in an article, there needs to be a link to a single page with the map title and the map only with the Browser Print button.

For best results, configure both the menu and bread crumbs [if you are using them] NOT to display on the page with just the map.

On the Linn Park web site for which this plugin was especially written, in every article that has a map it is shown at a smaller scale, and there is a link to the page which has just the map without menu or breadcrumbs.

See here for user instructions and the list of maps: http://tdocplus.co.uk/linnpark/index.php/information-on-the-park/printable-maps

Changing a KML file.

There are two ways one is simple, and the other is anything but:

  • The easy way is to update one's KML file, and save it with a different name. The associated admin work is simple as well:
    1. Upload the new KML file, and
    2. Update the kml name within the tdocgmap tag i.e. kml='newfilepath'
  • Follow Google's instructions: https://developers.google.com/kml/documentation/updates - which are probably very useful for bus companies etc !

Next is the map sample using the above recommendations.

Map One - Top Wood - height and width at 700, set left.

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Click to see this map on a full page suitable for printing in a new window. Close the window when finished.

What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

Map Two - Snuff Mill West route to White Bridge - no height or width, set right.

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Why do we use it?
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for 'lorem ipsum' will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).

Other Plugins and Extensions

There have been instances where sites in Joomla 3.x the tdocgmap plugin has failed to display the map, but does display the boundary of the div into which the map would be shown and the map counter - which starts at 0.

The following [name - type - version - comment] do NOT affect TDOCGmap and appear to be available for J4:
  • jQuery Easy - Plugin - 5.1.0
  • plg content geshi - Plugin - 3.0.0 - Script Code Highlighter Package
  • Eyesite - Component - 3.07.01 - Now 6.09.03 J3 / J4
  • Autologin - Plugin - 2.5.2 - Now 3.0
  • eXtplorer - component - 2.1.8 - Now 2.1.15 - Fails with PHP 8.
The following paid for extension has not been tested but it does support J4 and is paid for:
  • DJ-Imageslider - Component
The following have not been tested:
  • Simple Facebook meta - Plugin - 1.1 - Requires login for download
  • JComments seems to be replaced by JComment which requires login for free trial
  • Xmap has been withdrawn See vargas.co.cr !
    GMapFP : Google Map or Openstreet Map PROBLEM: Does NOT support php 8
  • Facebook Like Button Now Advanced Facebook Facepile
  • JFlickr Now JMZ Flickr API
  • Google Analytics Seems to have gone ... I use Google !
  • JB Library Jquery Loader https://www.joomlabamboo.com/
  • Zen Library Seems to have gone
  • compojoom https://compojoom.com/joomla-extensions All J3 stuff - Seems to have gone
  • Mike Reumer's Google Maps Plugin 3.5 which is no longer available and is on the Joomla Extensions "danger list".