rss feed for entry changes
June 12th, 2008
Added RSS feeds for entry changes. So each time an entry is changed, a new item in the entry’s feed is created.
One use for this is to allow you to be notified of entry changes. With wikis that is often convenient.
With stephansmap.org not all changes are textual. For example, lines can be added to the map, and the location or dates can be changed. Such changes are simply pointed out in the feed. The full text of the entry is always shown, even if it hasn’t changed.
You can find the RSS link for an entry in the entry’s sidebar, under entry editing history. The RSS icon should also appear in your browser’s location bar (”link auto-discovery”).
editing page overhaul
June 8th, 2008
Did an overhaul of how entries are created and edited. Made it easy like WordPress: all on one page, including drawing in the map and setting additional markers.
Also made it possible to include Flickr Badges in your entries. They work out quite nicely! (Don’t have an example to show, sorry)
Try it all out with the sandbox entry.
Cheers!
kml support, or: “google earth” integration
May 16th, 2008
From now on, each entry will be accessible as both an HTML file and a KML file. You can find a link to the KML version of the file in the sidebar, when looking at the HTML file in a webbrowser:
These KML files can be opened in Google Earth, maps.live.com, and other kml-readers, like Mapufacture, ESRI ArcGIS, Yahoo Pipes, NASA WorldWind, Google Maps Mobile.
Here’s the KML link for you: Car-free Vancouver Day 2008 [opens in Google Earth, if installed]. Here’s how the entry appears:
The entry, in HTML format is here, on stephansmap.org
What’s nice is that photos, drawings, spots, and labels carry over to the big view. And, entries linked to are included.
For example, Car-free Vancouver Day 2008 links to a few entries such as, Main Street and Car-Free Vancouver Day 2008: The Bike Routes. This second one includes drawings to show the routes. When opening Car-free Vancouver Day 2008 in Google Earth
- a marker for the Main Street entry, and the other “linked to” entries, appears, and
- the routes are drawn in the Google Earth window.
A screen shot for illustration: (sorry, it doesn’t quite fit, but that’s the point of Google Earth)
On top of this, these routes, and any drawings, can be expanded, or changed, wiki-style, through the website.
Cheers!
switched over
May 10th, 2008
The site is now switched over to the new design (under the address http://stephansmap.org).
This marks the end of an effort that started around November 2006 which is 1.5 years ago. More changes are to come, and my todo list is long. But your suggestions and input will go right past those to the front of the line. Simply post feedback to this blog, or send email to [[contact]]@stephansmap.org (remove the brackets).
The preview site is discontinued; however your saved links and previous links to pages on the “preview” site should redirect automatically.
A few entries from the original site have different URL’s now.
Cheers!
a week later
May 2nd, 2008
Well, it’s been a week now since making the preview available. Fixing all kinds of little issues. I hope to move ahead next week and switch the preview-site over to the main-site.
An anonymous poster added another entry to the Vancouver Hikes section, the Richmond Dyke Trail, which I wasn’t aware of in terms of walks/hikes. It’s really nice to learn of new places in this way. I noticed also there is some more work needed: this poster pasted (also nice) photos at the bottom of the text, which doesn’t quite work out as well as it could. The wiki model also works out nicely in cases like this: easy to make changes, by yourself, or someone else, to something like the arrangement of photos.
Thanks for all the feedback! Keep it coming!
Cheers!
redesign!
April 23rd, 2008
It has been a long time since launching stephansmap.org. In a way it may seem I have not looked after the site very well.
However, I have been redesigning it, and it took a lot longer than I thought; actually, it always seemed just another week away or so!
Now, after more than a year of work (if in my free time only) I feel it is close to ready! You can now see the result at http://preview.stephansmap.org.
What’s new?
- New layout — I think it’s a lot prettier!
- Allows drawing in the map, and placing illustrative labels/spots.
- Search results come with a time-display (this probably needs a different arrangement still).
- Links from an entry also appear in the map; see an example at http://preview.stephansmap.org/vancouver_hikes
- I think it’s a lot more organized (still not a lot of “real content”).
- Registered members (such as you) have their own member page.
- And a few more features here and there.
I still think it’s a neat idea for a website, and I’ll collect more content in the following months. However, please feel free to add your own stories and items …. it’s a wiki website, after all!
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