Forum:Mapping on Wikia

For the past few years, Wikia has been offering an extension called Google Maps. This extension adds a UI button to the edit toolbar and allows users to "mark" points on a map.

It has been one of the most popular extensions on Wikia for a long time among a variety of wikis. Unfortunately, it is also poorly maintained from the developer point of view, uses deprecated code, and recent changes to the Google API have proven it almost impossible to enable on requesting wikis.

Providing mapping support to our communities is truly a priority for Wikia. I myself am an ardent wiki mapper and know just how important maps are to add both context and interaction to pages. So as we begin to consider what our next step is in the mapping area, we very much want your feedback. How Wikia moves forward very much depends on what the community says.

So, I'm dividing this forum up into three areas - Desired Features (what are some things you need in a mapping product), Use Cases (have a neat way you use Maps on your wiki? Tell us, so we can ensure we continue to support your unique method), and Other Feedback.

Desired Features

 * Mark multiple locations on a map. --DaNASCAT (help forum | blog) 16:19, August 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Be able to mark a location based on a geopoint. --DaNASCAT (help forum | blog) 16:19, August 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Be able to use Bing Maps imagery instead of Google Maps-- Category:Acer4666 17:43, August 28, 2012 (UTC)
 * Improve Semantic Maps so that it accepts the Bing Maps API. Here's the error message generated when you try to set   in an SMW   expression: The value "bing" is not valid for parameter service. It only accepts these values: googlemaps2, google2, gmap, gmaps, googlemaps3, googlemaps, google, yahoomaps, yahoo, yahoomap, ymap, ymaps and openlayers (and 4 omitted values). Ultimately, the SMW Maps extension is way more useful than Google Maps extension could ever hope to be, and it's far easier to use, too.  All you have to do to generate a basic map is say,   and up comes a map centred on Liberty Island.  14:27: Thu 20 Sep 2012

Use Cases

 * Ghostbusters wiki has an article that maps locations from the movies and games.
 * A few pages on Daniel Ventura's wiki show map and satellite views side by side: 1, 2, 3, 4
 * We're currently using it at tardis:BBC Television Centre in order to demonstrate the question mark shape of the building that produced Doctor Who for over 20 years. Ideally, we wanted to be able to use the extension to give a map to location filming, but the extension seemed a bit awkward and development on easy-to-use templates was suspended.

Other Feedback
I think it would be useful to be able to do something like  so you can make a map for a certain image, focusing on a certain point. If that is possible, it would be great. 20:58, August 23, 2012 (UTC)


 * You mean something like this? Sacred Seasons 2 Google Map Test (Still very alpha and work in progress). For this to work better, wikia must supply a method where a large map can be split in tiles of various sizes. So that the googlemap engine only has to load the part (of that zoomlevel) that is visible. I have done the tiling myself and uploaded the various parts with a given format of the filename so that the engine knows what to load. Frank (Marakesh) (talk) 12:41, August 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * Will this only work with Google Maps imagery? I've found often Bing Maps imagery is better for stuff like illustrating filming locations, as it has 45 degree imagery pretty much everywhere including rural areas-- Category:Acer4666 17:24, August 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, there are a few mapping services with APIs easily integrated into a MediaWiki extension. Please list the ones you care about most in "Desired Features". ;) --DaNASCAT (help forum | blog) 17:26, August 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * Ah cool, thanks - I didn't know about this extension until just now but it seems interesting. Can we still get it enabled on wikis thru special:contact?-- Category:Acer4666 17:43, August 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * It's a very interesting feature, too bad that my wiki is about a fantasy manga, so I don't really know what can I used it for... but I saw the Sacred Seasons 2 Google Map Test, if it would possible to add custom map, that will be really interesting...


 * I was trying to remember what it was about the extension that had dried up its wider inclusion on w:c:tardis and after exploring the MediaWiki manual, I think I get it. For some reason, we didn't get a full install.  We got GoogleMaps, but we didn't get mw:Extension:Google Maps/Editor's Map, which meant that the instructions at Help:Google Maps didn't make any sense at all.  Without the ability to point and click to a location, operation becomes a very finicky affair for us at w:c:tardis, since we'd typically be looking for a very location of a building or a particular section of road. I seem to recall now taking something like 30 minutes trying to get the BBC Television Centre image directly in the middle of the frame, because I was having to guess at which precise coordinates would work.  13:50: Thu 20 Sep 2012