Map Posts Free

Description

Map Posts allows you to add location as post metadata and insert a map directly in the post, without ever leaving the editor.
No plugin configuration is required; simply install, activate and within the post editor define a location and insert a map.

WordPress 5.0 and Gutenberg Compatibility

Map Posts Free, as of version 1.2.2, works best with the Classic Editor enabled (meaning the Classic Editor plugin has been installed
and activated). It will also work with the Gutenberg editor, with the exceptions noted below. Map Post shortcodes can be
added in any block that allows text to be manually typed in; Map Post map insertion buttons are available if a classic editor block
is added (in Gutenberg editor click Add (block); scroll down to Formatting tab and expand; select the Classic block).

Post Map

There are 2 types of map that can be inserted. The first (Post Map) displays only one marker, which is the current location
associated with the post. Note that Map Posts automatically adds a location to every post, defaulting to co-ordinates of 0.00,
0.00 (the intersection of the Equator and the prime meridian). Post Maps are typically inserted to display
a location that is related to the post.

To actually insert the map, there are two options. If using the visual editor (or Classic Block), simply place the cursor in the
content area where you would like to insert the map, then click the Insert Post Map button. Alternatively you can simply type in the
Post Map shortcode, which is postmap. The second option can be done in visual or text editor mode.

All Posts Map

The second type of map is called the All Posts Map. This map inserts a marker for every post that is published (not saved as
a draft) and has a custom location (it has co-ordinates other then 0.00,0.00). Insert this map if you want to display
all post locations in relation to one another.

To actually insert the map, either use the Insert All Posts Map button from the visual editor toolbar, or type in the
shortcode allpostmap (in either visual or text editor mode).

Adding Location

To update the location, find the Define Map configuration panel within the post editor and expand it if necessary. If it is
not visible open the WordPress editor screen options and ensure Define Map is listed and is checked.

Locations can be updated by:

• Clicking on Map
• Dragging the Marker
• Typing in the Latitude and Longitude Manually

Co-ordinate Units

Map Posts uses latitude and longitude co-ordinates in decimal degree (DD) units. This means it will not recognize
co-ordinates in the format of degrees, minutes and seconds (DMS)or with N,S,E or W abbreviations indicating hemisphere.
If you intend to provide co-ordinates manually but they are in a non-supported format, there are a number of online
converters available:

Geoinfo San Diego State University
RapidTables

or Google:

convert degrees minutes seconds to decimal degrees

Map Configuration

You can further customize your map appearance by defining a width, height and initial zoom level.

• Map Width – as a percentage of width available, from 10 to 100 (default – 75%)
• Map Height – in pixels, from 10 to 10 000 (default – 300px)
• Initial Map Zoom – from 0 (world) to 18 (highest) – (default – 0)

NOTE: Map configuration applies to all maps (Post Map or All Posts Map) inserted in the post. Each post retains its own
configuration.

Preview Map

A preview map is used as a visual means to verify post location is correct. It shows the most recently successfully
saved location and the currently configured initial zoom level. The preview map height and width is fixed and
does not reflect custom map configuration. To verify the suitability of a customized height or width, insert a map
in the post and view it in preview mode.

Preview Map in WordPress 5.x using Block (Gutenberg) Editor

Map Posts Free was originally built for the classic WordPress editor (WordPress versions 4.x and earlier). It is not yet
up to full block editing standards. As a consequence, the map configuration panel continues to function (values entered
will be saved whenever the post is Saved as Draft, Published or Updated); the preview map however will not update until
the browser is refreshed (or a new edit session started).

To verify map configuration is successfully applied it is therefore recommended to insert a Post Map in the content
and preview the page; or refresh the browser page and verify the preview map updates correctly.

Saving Configuration

Location and map configuration is applied whenever a post is updated (when the Save As Draft, Publish or Update button
is clicked, depending on post status). If no data validation errors occur, the values entered will be saved to the
database and map configuration updated. It is possible for changes to be only partially saved – if any configuration
fails, it will revert to its last saved value and a message will be provided to the user.

Saving Configuration in WordPress 5.0 using Gutenberg Editor

Saving configuration entered through the metabox works normally however the fields do not update fully until the next
time the editor is loaded. This means that if you update configuration information and click Save as Draft, Update or
Publish, fields will show the last user entered information however you will not see the user message updated to indicate a
successful save or not. If there were input validation issues, error messages will not appear until the next time the post
or page is edited.

Layer Control

The public map (but not the preview map used for configuration) includes a layer control that allows map viewers
to select which base map to use (options include Standard, Humanitarian and Black and White OpenStreetMap;
Black and White High Contrast, Natural Terrain and Artistic Map (from Stamen)).

There are also some transparent layers than can be overlain the base maps; these include Trails and Topographic
relief. For the All Posts Map only, all the post locations are collected in a single layer and can be hidden or
made visible from the control as well.

Screenshots

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Installation

To install automatically

1. Log into the WordPress dashboard
2. Go to Plugins
3. Click Add New
4. Find Map Posts Free and click Install Now
5. Once installed, activate the plugin

To install the plugin manually

1. Download the plugin zip file
2. Log into the WordPress dashboard
3. Go to Plugins
4. Click Add New
5. Click Upload Plugin
6. Click Choose File and navigate to the location the plugin zip file was downloaded
7. Select the plugin zip file and click Open
8. Click Install Now
9. Once installed, activate the plugin

Reviews

Contributors & Developers

Changelog

1.0

• First released version

1.0.1

• Fix: Renamed images subfolder under css folder to use all lower case letters.

1.0.2

• Improvement Fix: Generating the geocoding http request no longer dependent on allow_url_fopen being enabled.

1.1

• New Feature: Supports all built-in and custom post types.
• New Feature: Can drag markers to fine-tune location.
• New Feature: Click on preview map to update location.
• Improvement Fix: All Posts Map shows only locations associated with the same post type (except ‘page’ post type).
• Improvement Fix: Define map screen has a new appearance.
• Improvement Fix: Define map screen default user message updated to reflect additional methods for defining location.

1.2

• New Feature: Layer control that allows selection of different base maps or transparent layers.
• New Feature: All Post Map markers can be hidden or made visible from the layer control (visible by default).
• Improvement Fix: File structure re-organized to facilitate compatibility with Map Posts Pro.
• Improvement Fix: Preview map now uses an external javascript file and parameters are passed via wp_localize_script.
• Improvement Fix: Class architecture refactored so there is a parent class common to both Free and Pro version and a child class for Free (and Pro).
• Improvement Fix: File enqueueing separated for admin and public areas.
• Improvement Fix: All Post Map markers now in the form of a GeoJSON.

1.2.1

• Improvement Fix: Preview map code only loads in editor screens. This was causing conflicts in Themes customization.

1.2.2

• Fix: Preview map would fail to load in a newly created post until user saved the post at least once. Added check to enqueue script for post post.php and post-new.php.
• Improvement Fix: Only load Leaflet.js, Leaflet.css on pages where a map shortcode has actualy been added.
• Improvement Fix: Checks for presence of Map Posts Pro before deleting database items on uninstall.

1.2.3

• Improvement Fix: Tested on WordPress 5.0 and updated documentation in readme.txt with instructions for using Gutenberg or Clssic Editor.

1.2.4

• Fix: All map tiles load in preview map in Block (Gutenberg) editor.
• Improvement Fix: By default Map Posts is only available in Post and Page post types.

1.2.4.1

• Fix: Updated readme.txt with correct tested up to metadata.

1.2.4.2

• Improvement Fix: Updated tile map urls to https implementations where available to prevent mixed content warnings.

1.3

• Feature Change: Geocoding functionality disabled as API key was being provided free by plugin author.