Howto - put Google maps on your eZ site
Posted November 20th, 2008 by admin1. Download the gmapslocation extension
2. Unpack it and follow the instructions in the readme.txt file. You will need a google maps api key, which requires a google account and a domain name.
3. In this instance, adding map info to fishing reports was the desired output. A fishing report class was in place, based upon the article class. So after installing the extension, in admin interface, Setup->Classes->Content->Fishing report->Edit button. At the bottom of this class content is an “Add attribute” button with a drop down field to the left. Click the drop down, select “Gmaps Location” from the list, Click the “Add attribute” button. Give it a name –google mapping and an identifier –google_maps–.
4. Author a new Fishing Report, and notice there has been added a “google mapping” section with boxes to enter the Latitude and Longitude. Entering values here will put a marker on the map for those coordinates.
Thanks to google, eZ, and blendinteractive, it really is this easy.
At least it was that easy on my localhost for testing. It turned into a struggle when trying to get it up on my web hosting service.
When I moved the files up to the web, something happened to the api key text, and I kept getting an error message from google saying they key was already in use and I needed to sign up for a new key for this domain. Final fix was to use Zend IDE to ftp upload and edit the files, to be sure they were staying clean (no line breaks) even when being edited.
http://fishingnn.com/index.php/eng/MO/Truman/Truman-Reservoir/Avery-on-Truman-Lake is the first test.
Final note, google map does not load in firefox 3.0.4 on my test machine, it says no maps at that zoom level.
Not sure if this is caused by a preference setting or what. The map displays fine, scrolls and zooms in Safari and Opera.
Update, December 12, 2008. The google map does not load in this wordpress post in any of the three browsers mentioned. The map still works fine in the link. Not sure if google, wp, temporary or permanent problem.
Tags: Avery, blendinteractive, google, maps, Truman Lake