Location data collection and display functionality available through the Google product “My Maps,” from an original presentation.
Intended primarily for personal use, Google My Maps is the perfect low budget, location data collection and display option; or, a great alternative method for logging location data in a pinch.
In the realm of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), most experts would have folks believe there is only one solution that can meet their needs, regardless of the size of an organization. The platform typically proposed is undoubtedly the industry leader; however, it is not usually the best budgetary fit for all organizations. Indeed, it is often comparable to deploying a crane to lift a toothpick.
Misinformation and aggressive marketing by those involved with the traditional platform has created real problems in the GIS industry. The burdensome cost of the solution often delays development of geographic data sets and applications within small organizations with limited budgets.
Those that can afford the traditional approach quickly find themselves entangled in high-cost maintenance of a platform that is again, often times, more than they will ever need. Some abandon the situation completely, or simply resign themselves to the cost of a technology they do not understand, and never realize the potential of GIS for their organization.
Compounding the problem, some schools and universities remain equally unfamiliar with GIS. They lean heavily on the traditional platform, and in some instances, teach the platform itself as GIS, which is equivalent to teaching Microsoft as Personal Computing. Consequently, a good portion of staffing in the GIS industry is oblivious to other more appropriate solutions, costing an organization even money over the long term.
Alternatives exist.
This presentation explores one relatively little known solution with huge potential for any organization considering a GIS implementation. The Google product “My Maps” is not a full Enterprise GIS solution. However, it does enable organizations with extremely limited budgets to collect and compile data, display associated maps in their web space, and easily share data with other organizations. It can also help begin the process of moving towards a traditional platform. As well, for personal use, it can be a lot of fun just creating your own maps and sharing them around.
Getting started is relatively easy. Just access the Google Play Store, or iTunes, depending upon your device. This discussion focuses on the Android version of the App, though I suspect there are few differences between the two platforms. As well, the application is freely available through the web browser, where it offers enhanced functionality. I will get back to that in a minute though.
After installing the App to a device, and opening the same, a screen displays showing all previous maps created. If none have yet been created, there is a prompt to create a new map. Tapping the “+” starts the process of creating a new map.
The first step in the process is to give the map a title and description; both optional and can be changed later. Tapping OK accepts the title and description and opens the new map.
The typical Google Maps display renders with its title at the bottom of the screen. One can tap the title to change the description, add an additional layer, or change the base map to one of three options (Plain, Satellite, or Terrain). Additional base maps are available within the web browser version of the application.
There are three methods of adding location data to the map. Tap the search box and type in the desired location. Any matches to the search criteria display, and selecting the best match offers the opportunity to “Add to Map.” One can also simply tap the “+” and select to “Add a New Point” or “Add a New Line.”
There are two means of adding points or lines. After tapping the “+” symbol, and selecting to add a Point, a marker symbol appears at the center of whatever position the map is currently focused.
One can adjust the marker location by tapping the crosshair symbol to immediately jump to their GPS position, or slide the map in any direction to reposition the location of the marker. Once repositioned, an option appears at the bottom to “Select this location.”
Adding a line is similar. After selecting to “Add a New Line,” tap the “+” to begin the line, and then slide the map in the desired location to stretch out the line. Tap the “+” to add a point on the line, and then repeat until the line is complete. To finish the line drawing, tap the check mark at the top left of the display to accept the drawing. Modify any of the points, or cancel the drawing entirely using the arrow buttons and “x” button at the bottom of the display.
Note that Google Maps information is included when adding Points to the map. It is removable, and automatically, if/when exported to KML/KMZ.
Confirming addition of the Point or Line, a screen displays offering an opportunity to select the layer it the feature should be included in, and update any pre-defined attributes. Default attributes are Name and Description.
When one completes adding map features, immediate distribution of the map, publicly or privately, to anyone, anywhere is easy. Tap the symbol for sharing “<” and share a link to the map via SMS/MMS (text message), eMail, or any Social Media application installed on the device.
As mentioned previously, one can access the same map in a desktop browser for enhanced capabilities, through MyMaps.Google.com. This is useful for establishing certain parameters prior to taking the map out into the field.
Select to “Create a New Map” at this point, or view those shared with you, recent maps viewed, or just explore.
Click the 3-dot menu next to the title of the map to create a new map, copy it, open a new one, delete it, establish a default view (extent), get the code for embedding on a web site, export the map to KML (Keyhole Markup Language), or print the map.
The 3-dot menu next to each layer offers the ability to rename, delete, or open the associated data table.
The small down arrow next to Base Map enables one to choose six additional maps not available in the device application version.
When first created, two attribute fields (Name and Description) are associated with any layer defined automatically. The attribute table is searchable, and clicking the down arrow next to the name of any attribute title enables one to modify the table to their needs. Sorting the data is not permanent, but any of the other options are. One can insert, duplicate, or delete fields, as well as modify any field name.
Styling each layer is only possible through the browser version. Simply click “Individual Styles” to group the display marker individually, uniformly, sequentially, or by attribute. One can also chose which attribute to use for displaying labels, or choose to display no labels.
Defining the color of the markers is only possible through browser version too. Hover over any layer item to cause a small paint bucket icon to appear. Click that icon to choose a different color or a completely different sort of marker.
A couple of other options only available through the browser are Exporting and Embedding. Access the 3-dot menu next to the title, and choose either.
Embedding offers a dialog window with a snippet of code that one can simply copy and paste directly into the source code of their web site through an “iFrame.”
Exporting to KML is a great feature, as it enables one to use the data on another platform such as Google Earth or ArcMap. One can export the entire map and all associate layers, or each layer individually. Base Maps do not export though, only the data, and through either KML or KMZ (zipped KML), which ensures that any icons used remain with the file. An additional option enables one to “Keep data up to date with network link KML.”
Setting all of this up in advance is undoubtedly the preferred route, which is where the browser version comes in very handy. It not only enables options to define much of that already discussed, but also the option to import data from files either comma-delimited, Microsoft Excel, another KML, or GPS Exchange Format.
After clicking to Import, one can “drag and drop” the file into the dialog box that appears, or select the file to use from Google Drive, or Google Photos.
It is important to note that any file imported must have some location attribute, or it will not map. Location attribute types are Country, State, or City-State, City-State-Zip, Address-City-State-Zip, GPS coordinates, Latitude/Longitude. These attributes can either be in their own individual fields or together in one field.
A few limitations exist. Each map may only contain 10 layers, and a maximum of 10,000 features, and each layer may only contain 2,000 features. Attributes are limited to 50 per feature. As well, importing KML/KMZ files is limited to 5 MB, and 2000 rows, but up to 40 MB for other file types. Printing is high resolution (4x screen resolution).
When another receives a link to the map on their device, they do not need to have Google My Maps. The map will open in Google Maps automatically, overlaying standard Google Maps. An additional row in their menu will offer the option to toggle the map on or off.
The creator of the map can access the map through “Your Places” within Google Maps. All maps created through Google My Maps will appear under that heading.
Access to editing is only possible with appropriate permissions established, and only through Google My Maps.
In this example, the map appears embedded in the online magazine journal Geographica, which displays the location of stories associated with the magazine. Clicking a location causes a sidebar to slide out and display associated attributes, in this case a photo, the name of the story, a link to the story, and associated Google Maps information.
Google Maps information is included when adding Points to the map, can be removed, and are automatically removed if exported to KML/KMZ.
In this example, I quickly generated a map for use by the GIS Certification Institute, using nothing more than a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of data obtained from the PSI Testing Centers web site. It performs similar to that in the previous example.
Lots of folks are doing a variety of one-off maps for any number of purposes. In the browser, when first accessing Google My Maps, a row of tabs at the top of the screen offers the ability to explore some of them. Below are just a few that others have done.
- Platte County Parks & Recreation — I showed these folks the potential for this little application, and they have been using it to display park locations and trails for a few years now. It is the only solution they need right now or liklely, can afford.
- Google I/O 2016 — Shoreline Amphitheatre — for their annual conference.
- Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area — by OzarksWalkAbout.com
- South Padre Island Fishing — by TexasFishingMaps.com
A few that I have done…
- Arkansas Waterfalls by GPS — map created from published GPS positions, site visits, and other random data discoveries.
- National Parks Map — data originally imported to ArcMap, from a National Park Service data set, then exported to KML, and then imported.
- US Farmers Markets — created from USDA spreadsheet data, and imported.
- US On-Farm Markets Map — created from USDA spreadsheet data, and imported.
- KC Area Historic Places — data exported from Wikipedia, then imported.
- Weston Bend State Park Harbst Trail — a hiking path captured in My Tracks and imported.
- Avery Badgerland — polygons (only possible in the browser) drawn, based on County Assessor data.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section below, or visit Google My Maps Help Center for more detailed information.
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