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Below are a some frequently asked questions related to using the maps Moving :: Zooming :: Entry Icons :: Selecting :: Misc Notes
There are 3 basic ways to move around: 2) Use the arrows on the top right of the map which move it approximately 1/3 of a map width/height per click. 3) Click and drag the little blue square in the bottom right of the map. The square shows the area of the map in relation to the larger area and allows bigger movements. Moving hints: Back to menu 1) To zoom by one level at a time, use the + and - buttons located at the top and bottom of the zoom bar on the left of the map (appears very much like a ladder). 2) To zoom a large way in or out at a time, click on the zoom bar. Please note, each zoom can take a few seconds to redraw the map, usually indicated by the "Replotting map..." message in the top right. Zoom hints: • If a large number of icons appears clustered, zooming in will generally separate them. • The zoom level may not go to the bottom of the ladder. The zoom level is restricted to show only the area of interest, but the zoom bar does not always reflect this properly.
Each entry is plotted with the appropriate icon to show the site from which the information was gathered. If clicking from an entry page, that entry will be highlighted with a white icon to allow it to stand out. Clicking on any of the icons will bring up a speech balloon containing a little information about the entry along with further links to the entry and other pages. Clicking on these links causes a new window to appear so you won't lose your position on the map. To close a speech bubble, just click on the x or move the map. Icon hints: • Occasionally you may find that there is no default icon donating where the main entryis located (if visiting from an entry page). This occurs when the map does not have an exact pinpoint location for the map so uses a general area, either around the entry or around the nearest town.
Sometimes there is a lot of information displayed on the map and it might be useful to remove certain icons which are not of interest. Below the map are a series of checkboxes which when unselected will remove the appropriate content from the map. This process can take a few seconds on busy maps so please be patient. Selecting hints: • Removing icons from the map can help to speed up the map display as there are fewer points to plot on each move. • To view a larger version of the map, click the "Enlarge Map" link in the bottom right of the map which is generally recommended. However if you experience extreme slow responses whilst dragging, you may find the smaller map is more efficient. • The icons on the page respresent usually the top 30 highest ranked entries (using an internal ranking system) for a given area so movements and zooming may cause some icons to vanish. This happens if higher ranked entries appear on the map and the lower ranked entries are removed. • The satellite images can be facinating, but they tend to be of higher quality around the cities. If the images are looking rather blured, try zooming out for a better overall view. This site has no control over the quality of the images which are supplied by Google Maps, but there is an ongoing program to improve their clarity. • Printing of the maps is allowed under Google Terms & Conditions, but only for non-commercial purposes. When you print, parts of the page should disappear to make room for the map to print on a single sheet of paper. • The inset map (bottom right) can be removed by clicking on the downward arrow in the very bottom right of the page. It can then be recovered by clicking the upward arrow. |