Screenshots | Download latest Version (1.0)
I have played around with Google Maps and their great API for a while and even used it for the online part of my diploma thesis. The API almost encourages the creation of mashups and visually displaying geodata, that is already available on the web, using Google Maps. I really love this stuff.
To describe the idea behind GeoLinkr, I have to back a little further. When I set up this block, I had in mind being able to reach the biggest audience possible, therefor I had chosen the English language. In the About section, I have written about where I come from, in which town I studied etc. But I realized, that a maybe quite big number of visitors does not really know where Dornbirn or Vienna are actually located. Where are they on a map? How can I tell my users where a specific, and maybe small and unknown town in my home country (or anywhere else) is located. The answer: show them a map! How? Use Google Maps! And so the idea for this plugin, eventually called GeoLinkr (following the naming trend that Flickr started) was born.
Say, you are writing a post and are mentioning your home town in there. You would like to show where your home town is located on a map that is immediately displayed on your page (no linking to a map on maps.google.com). With GeoLinkr installed, you simply markup the name of the town with a link, setting the rel-attribute to “geolinkr” and you are done!
I know, a picture says more than 1000 words, so here is a little demo: I have studied in Dornbirn, Austria, but was born in Vienna. I have been to New York City, Vancouver, Philadelphia, but also to Mistelbach, Austria, where my mother is from.
Click on the links above and see what happens. With JavaScript enabled, an overlay map will get displayed, showing you the respective location. With JavaScript disabled, you will get redirected to a page providing additional info, specified in the href-attribute of the link.
It does not matter whether you are writing a post or a page, the procedure how to create a geolink on your page is always the same.
If you go on and click on the link you just created, a GeoLinkr Box will pop up, displaying the map and also providing a link to the alternate webpage for further info
In the Admin Panel of the plugins, which can be found at the backend in “Options > GeoLinkr”, you can set a couple of parameters, which are self-explanatory, I guess.
Credits go to Lokesh Dhakar & Sean McBride, as their Lightbox project served as a great example when developing the overlay effect for this plugin.
This website is the personal web appearance of Klaus Komenda, an Austrian web developer. The about section offers more info about me and this site.
