Hi,

Im a novice user and have recently downloaded fmmaps.


I'm having difficulty integrating fmMaps into my current database.

I have followed the help documentation as best I can, however I am a bit lost on which scripts to edit.

http://docs.proofgroup.com/fmMap/en/1.0 ... StartGuide

Step 4 - Edit Scripts. I'm not sure what scripts I should be editing.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, your help would be greatly appreciated.


Cheers

snap

Hi snap,

I'm glad to hear you're jumping into fmMap. We put it out there "for free", so we don't have too many official cycles to put towards documentation, etc., but you did bring to my attention the glaring omission over there. It said "edit scripts", but then was followed by "...". Not too helpful, I agree.

I've edited that documentation page to include more explicit instructions on which scripts to edit and what edits to make. Take a fresh look at Step 4 over there:

http://docs.proofgroup.com/fmMap/en/1.0 ... StartGuide

I'll try to clarify further in the documentation if need be. It's definitely a work in progress.

Cheers,

Mike Lee
The Proof Group LLC
http://proofgroup.com

Hi,

I've been trying to integrate fmMap with my own solution by following the instructions in the help file and i have failed!

Create Map One Record opens a new Map window, but with no content apart from the yellow header fields.

I have tried a copied in US (as opposed to UK) AddressOneLine from the sample contacts file, and I still get the the same result, even though the sample contacts file works fine and creates the map as intended.

I am using FM 10 on Mac OS 10.6.

What should i do to start debugging, please?!

Thank you!


nigel

Nigel,

First, make sure there are no carriage returns in the address oneline calculation. That's an easy first check.

That said, it may be that the addresses aren't found or geocoded correctly. I haven't done extensive testing with UK addresses, so I don't have much first-hand knowledge of how well Google handles those addresses.

You can try running the addresses through with debug turned on. To do this, you have to show the form and turn auto-post off. Open fmMap and click on Preferences. Uncheck "Auto post form" and check "Display form".

After changing these options, go back to your file and try running the map again. On the form in web viewer, check "Debug" and press the "Show Map" button. The result should show you the addresses that were FOUND versus NOT FOUND (you may have to scroll down to see the debug info).

If your address is in the NOT FOUND listing, then you can inspect the address there to see if for some reason it isn't formed properly.

Hope that helps,

Mike Lee
The Proof Group LLC
http://proofgroup.com/

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your debugging instructions...

It was, errr, operator error! I had manually entered my table name as the base table name, rather than the name TO. Silly.

It seems to work well for UK addresses, so now it's time to experiment!

Thank you again.

Nigel

Hi again,

Is there a reason the solution doesn't enable the scroll wheel zoom feature of Google Maps?

Best wishes,


Nigel

Hi yet again!

I'm now playing with the Directions API which is amazing, but again I have a problem.

I am fairly confident I am correctly entering my addresses, and have scripted in my starting point for simplicity.

If I click the "Test the Directions API" link it works, and if I then open the directions map in a browser I get this URL:

http://etc.proofgroup.com/maps/fmMap_tr ... p?load=a:2:{i:0;s:37:%22100%20Main%20Street,%20Manchester,%20CT%2006040%22;i:1;s:38:%22100%20Main%20Street,%20Northampton,%20MA%2001060%22;}&w=100&h=493

The corresponding URL generated by my adapted script generates an empty grey map and is:
http://etc.proofgroup.com/maps/fmMap_tr ... p?load=a:2:{i:0;s:53:%22Abshot%20Road,%20Titchfield%20Common,%20Fareham,%20PO14%204NH,%20UK%22;i:1;s:47:%22Wilman%20Road,%20Tunbridge%20Wells,%20Kent,%20TN4%209AL,%20UK%22;}&w=100&h=493

Both these addresses work fine in "Creat Map One Record".

Do you have any thoughts, please?

Thank you so much!

Nigel

Nigel,

To your first question re: scroll wheel zoom, I guess it was just a personal preference (or oversight) on my part--I can't quite remember my motivation for not turning that on. Fundamentally, this is altered at the javascript level, so unless you opt to host-your-own, you won't be able to change that behavior. Maybe at some point I'll rev things to at least give you the option to turn it on/off via FileMaker.

Regarding your issue with directions, I think I've got an answer. It seems like the first address is coming up with multiple "Did you mean:" responses. Take a look at this direct Google Map url (I hope it's clickable, otherwise copy-and-paste):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 45447&z=15

It wants to know if you mean SW-bound, SE-bound or NW-bound. Changing the first address to one of those, e.g., "Abshot Road (SW-bound), Titchfield Common, Fareham, PO14 4NH, UK", makes the directions within fmMap work for me here.

I'm not sure this really helps you at the moment, but I think it does explain the "gray screen of death" result. I think when you do the single-point map it picks the supposed "best" result and maps that--my directions API doesn't do that obviously. As a stop gap, when you see the gray screen, you should test the directions manually within the Google Maps website and "adjust" the addresses if you can.

Best I can offer at the moment is that I'll log this as a known issue and will try to resolve it next chance I get to put cycles on this project.

Thanks for putting it through its paces.

Cheers,

Mike Lee
The Proof Group LLC
http://proofgroup.com

Thank you - I'll have another look at this!

(Would have pmmed, but got a link not found message.)

Hi there

I'm trying to set up the php files on my own server, and currently am hitting an error:

Code: Select all

Notice: Undefined index: debug in /mapping/googlemap.php on line 35

Warning: getcache(DB.php) [function.getcache]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /mapping/phoogle-proof.php on line 444

Fatal error: getcache() [function.require]: Failed opening required 'DB.php' (include_path='/usr/lib/php:.:/usr/php4/lib/php:/usr/local/php4/lib/php') in /mapping/phoogle-proof.php on line 444


The errors seem to centre around a file "DB.php" which isn't present in the download? Can you help?

Thanks

Hi,
I've just integrated fmMaps into a FileMaker 12 database and it works great...

When creating directions, would it be possible to use 'Current Location' when using an iPad out in the field?

Thanks
Brian.

Ah, it's not as precise as I initially thought...

I currently store Latitude and Longitude references in a field (SiteDetails::MapReference). For example, 51.505564,-0.118321 is the Eastern end of the Hungerford Bridge in London.

I have been using a button with an 'Open URL' script "http://local.google.co.uk/maps?" & "q=" & SiteDetails::MapReference" which opens a web browser and pinpoints the above location exactly.

However, using fmMaps and the script named 'Create One Map Record' the location marker sits half way across the river Thames for some reason.

When I click 'Open in external browser', the web address doesn't give any clues as it just lists http://etc.proofgroup.com/maps/fmMap_tr ... glemap.php

Is something happening with the PHP side of things? Can I automatically generate the exact position of the original location?

Thanks
Brian.

Hey everyone, missed this thread. It's been busy over at Proof and we haven't been able to maintain fmMaps like we'd want to. It's definitely got some internal issues we've all discovered as it's been out in the wild and gotten more usage. It's also got some dependencies I'd love to get rid of if/when I get some cycles to put to it.

I'd say the biggest issue right now is the dependence on PEAR::DB. I did this originally thinking it would be valuable to have an abstraction layer between the code and the database (MySQL), but have realized subsequently that the built-in MySQL API (http://us3.php.net/manual/en/book.mysql.php) would have been easier and had better compatibility across different installs (some hosted sites won't allow PEAR to be installed, etc). We've also got some PHP v4/v5 issues -- I'd love to make it 100% ready-to-go with the latest version of PHP.

This project started as something that might have been a fully supported product, but the Google TOS at the time (https://developers.google.com/maps/terms) didn't look too friendly upon charging fees. Read through section "9.1 Free, Public Accessibility to Your Maps API Implementation." in particular -- I think you consultants/in house folks are probably OK given you charge for your services and not the maps API in particular. The product was essentially canceled and there are some vestigial bits hanging around, including incomplete documentation. I doubt those will ever get completed.

We use fmMaps for our clients to pretty good success (not withstanding some odd international geocoding that definitely occurs). We're torn between improving fmMaps, which is certainly a possibility, or switching over to static mapping (http://gmaps-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/simplewizard/makestaticmap.html) or perhaps something else altogether. If we do come up with a better solution, we'll be sure to share the news.

I'm happy keeping this thread open if folks have other questions or comments.

Cheers,
Mike

Thanks for the update/explanation Mike. I've started using the free version of BatchGeo.com which is excellent although it has to be manually updated with a data Copy & Paste now and again...

I'll have to take a look. Thanks for the info.

brian.curran wrote:Thanks for the update/explanation Mike. I've started using the free version of BatchGeo.com which is excellent although it has to be manually updated with a data Copy & Paste now and again...