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Problems with new version of Google Maps


kfir

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I'll just chime in with an agreement of wanting the old maps back...seems there's a lot of us not in the city. I keep getting emails from less "techy" cachers asking me why the new maps just won't work...and I've got nothing to tell them except "yeah, it sucks, doesn't it."

Thanks for working on the problem - I hope the maps are up and running (consistently and properly) soon!

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I don't usualy post in the forums, but I just wanted to say that I like the new maps! The only problems I see are:

 

 

1) I can't expand the new map to utilize my whole screen. This is especially important to me when I can attempting to plan my route to a remote cache and looking for the shortest route without following dead-end roads or crossing private property.

 

 

2) The 15 mile limit is annoying. I like to find clumps of caches so I can best utilize my time/gas. With gas being $2.50 to $3.25 per gallon, I really don't want to drive a long distance for just one cache. I like to find a clump of caches to do, and then pick up the here-and-there strays on the way out or back from my caching excursion.

 

 

Currently, that's the only issues I really have with the new maps. If those two issues were addressed, I'd be thrilled to pieces with the new map interface.

 

 

Looking good, Groundspeak! Keep up the good work... But please, keep us posted. Communication is one of the most important tools in geocaching!

 

 

KRnlKilR

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Three features I used a lot in the old maps. Can you tell us if they will be added to the new ones, and if so, an ETA.

1. Access from PQ's

2. Caches listed down the side linked to the cache icons

3. Greater than a 15 mile limit

 

The above 3 features I use a LOT. I'd say they were the one's I really depended on and why I used google maps exclusively.

Other than the three listed, I'm fine with the new maps, I can even deal with the small icons.

Thanks.

Ok, I'm getting serious about my trip to the UK next month (over $1000 for the flight alone) and want to plan my geocaching. Of the 3 I listed above, number one, access from PQ's, is a MAJOR missing piece. To see if particular caches in certain locals are in my PQ's I have to go through up to 8 pages of cache listings!!

Not being able to drag the map around and see only caches in my PQ really sucks.

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Some updates for you guys...

 

Since this morning the 15 mile limit was removed in favor of restricting the map to 500 caches. If you zoom out too far you start to see the caches cluster around the centerpoint of the map so you'll want to zoom back in a little. We're still investigating the best ways to refresh the map to increase performance (refresh after zoom in/out? refresh when panning? etc).

 

Also Raine has been adding labels to icons as an option to make the map more print friendly, as well as working on the Google map for pocket queries and caches along a route.

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I also did not like the 15 mile limit, but I wonder if anyone really knew what the performance trade off would be while they were complaining?

 

I am curious of one thing, if I choose to filter by one type of cache, does the refresh still include in its results those of the filtered type? For example, if I want to see only events, I would filter everything else out and then I was thinking I should be able to zoom to the state level to see up to 500 events. It appears that the refresh still includes all other types as well so you still can only zoom out as far as 500 total of all caches. Is there any way to make the filters true search filters on the map?

 

I know this could be done with a PQ, and I have no problem doing it that way; I was just curious as to if it was possible to get the map to function that way.

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Some updates for you guys...

 

Since this morning the 15 mile limit was removed

 

Also Raine has been adding labels to icons as an option to make the map more print friendly

 

Thank you very, very, very, very much. Please excuse my momentary fits of rage. I have canceled my order for the customized voodoo dolls and matching 5-edged needles. The savings will have to be spent on my blood pressure medication but at least we're on the right track.

 

Thanks....

 

zebra61

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Some updates for you guys...

 

Since this morning the 15 mile limit was removed in favor of restricting the map to 500 caches.

Nice! I was lucky to read this thread to find out this update. Not everyone will read this. I see nothing in Geocaching Announcements.

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I think you should refresh after zoom and after panning too. I just zoomed out a lot and saw them all in the center and when I zoomed in a lot but just around I wasn't able to see any cache so I tried zooming ont one level and panning but it was a no go.

 

EDIT: also if we remove, let's says the multi, it would be nice to refresh with more of all remaining. Nah, I guess it would load the server too much. Then what about a manual refresh with a button to click once we have unchecked all the ones we wanted?

Edited by Rhialto
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I like the new maps.

Will like them even better when the bumps are smoothed out.

Doesn't always show the caches, or the names when the mouse is over the icon.

 

plus side

shows more than 20 caches at a time

zoom out more than 15 miles to plan trips

icons cover up less of the map

logable from the map icons

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I have read through all the forums looking for some type of response from the powers that be regarding the new mapping. I like the new maps for the 15 mile radius around my home and being able to hide my finds, but beyond that.... the maps are a waste of printer ink. :D

 

Are the new maps being worked on to address everyone's concerns or is what we see is what we get? I really miss the lisiting the caches down the side and numbered on the map.

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Some updates for you guys...

 

Since this morning the 15 mile limit was removed in favor of restricting the map to 500 caches. If you zoom out too far you start to see the caches cluster around the centerpoint of the map so you'll want to zoom back in a little. We're still investigating the best ways to refresh the map to increase performance (refresh after zoom in/out? refresh when panning? etc).

 

Also Raine has been adding labels to icons as an option to make the map more print friendly, as well as working on the Google map for pocket queries and caches along a route.

 

 

Great news! Thank you!

 

 

KRnlKilR

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WOW I can zoom out and still see the caches again.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I can restart planning my New Zealand trip again.

I love the little icons they make the map look very clean and open.

I can live without the names listed down the side but they were very useful and it would be nice to have this facility returned too.

Keep up the good work.

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Okay. I'm not sure if this is the lock up issue that everyone is talking about, but I have a pretty serious problem with the new google maps.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/gmnearest.a...p;lng=-79.03677

 

Zoom out TWICE.

 

You will get message popup boxes:

EO.Web Controls Client Side Debug Message

 

The callbackk on cbAjax has failed due to a server side exception.

 

Windows XP SP2

Firefox or IE7

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As I don't have any use for the caches on the starting map (just because of distance) I usually zoom out on a very high level, move Germany to the center and then move back in. As long as moving around on the high level, the map is refreshed with cache icons and a message referring to "max search results". Zooming in again doesn't refresh the map so I don't see any caches in my target area at all. Tried with Firefox and IE - no difference ...

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Okay. I'm not sure if this is the lock up issue that everyone is talking about, but I have a pretty serious problem with the new google maps.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/gmnearest.a...p;lng=-79.03677

 

Zoom out TWICE.

 

You will get message popup boxes:

EO.Web Controls Client Side Debug Message

 

The callbackk on cbAjax has failed due to a server side exception.

 

Windows XP SP2

Firefox or IE7

I see it too, but I get a second, ridiculously long, error message before the cbAjax one. It starts "an error occured while applying the new output," and doesn't have any indication of ending before the Second Coming.

 

Ubuntu Linux 7.04, running FX 2.0.0.6

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Today I am getting the EO client side debug mode error messages about 50% of the time after 1 or 2 pans. The other 50% the map still does not function properly. It starts great and as long as I pan around at the level the map starts at all seems good, but I am not about to pan several hundred miles to get close to home at almost street level! If I zoom out far enough to make it usefull to pan, the caches all start appearing as if the center of the radius were a straight line across the bottom 1/4 of the map and then after a couple of pans the caches just stop appearing at all. The maps used to work just fine before today.

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thanks for trying out new stuff on the web page and continuing to work out the 'bugs' ;) . I'm not very good with change :huh: , but am finding some of the features very good . I do like being able to find cache icons over a greater area as sometimes in Alaska it saves my brain cells a bit in trying to plan out my travels

I do miss a feature that I was able to use in the old map system: When I found a cache listing and clicked on 'map it', I could scroll around and over to another area (up and/or down, left and/or right) adjacent to the current map area display and find more caches in the area. Now I have to hit the '+' or '-' to zoom and un-zoom to get the cache icons to show in the newly displayed map area. :P I hope that will be a feature re-instated in the near future. thanks

I have also noticed that it takes much longer to display, but hope this is only a temporary hitch while you are still working on implementing the new stuff. Have upgraded my DSL connection to a faster speed.

thanks again for all this. It amazes me how much (and how well) Groundspeak keeps track of everything and I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement state and being able to go out and see so much around me.

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Okay. I'm not sure if this is the lock up issue that everyone is talking about, but I have a pretty serious problem with the new google maps.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/gmnearest.a...p;lng=-79.03677

 

Zoom out TWICE.

 

You will get message popup boxes:

EO.Web Controls Client Side Debug Message

 

The callbackk on cbAjax has failed due to a server side exception.

 

Windows XP SP2

Firefox or IE7

I see it too, but I get a second, ridiculously long, error message before the cbAjax one. It starts "an error occured while applying the new output," and doesn't have any indication of ending before the Second Coming.

 

Ubuntu Linux 7.04, running FX 2.0.0.6

 

Here's the ridiculously long error I get after zooming out twice.

 

ridiculously_long_error.gif

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When it comes to change, some will always be freaked out and panic while others will be curious and appreciate difference. I am a bit in the middle. While I like the new maps, I do miss the cache listing on the side. Also, like some other posters, I have a large landscape which is barely occupied by the map (1280x1024).

Is it possible to make the map scalable like the old one where we had the option to increase the map size even if only a little?

 

As for the 15 mile diameter view, would increasing this to say 25 mile view cause delays in loading the page or the view refresh?

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I will be patient and hope that all the features I enjoyed with Google Maps will be incorporated into this new version.

 

In the meantime there is a problem viewing the Maps on Mozilla Firefox v 1.06 on the Mac. The map box is blank on the cache page and the Geocaching.com Google Map page. Safari is able to view the maps in both places. Will upgrading to Firefox 2 help with this problem or is there a setting I'm missing? I used to be able to see the maps with this browser.

 

Thanks :P

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I have always loved using the view map feature. When I have used it lately I have had problems.

 

I use it to view a cache then if I move the map around the other caches don't appear. It will look like there are no caches in an area, when in fact there are. If I zoom in or out (thereby reloading the map) then the caches will appear.

 

Am I the only one having this problem? If not please fix.

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If it could be possible to make the "Cache Listing" pop-up larger or allow the user to drag it larger I could make do with the new maps. I tried placing the Listings on the left side of the screen and then doing a Screen Capture. Worked ok, and I can hand number them to the map but would like to see more than 11 listings.

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I noticed the other day that the 15 mile limit has been increased. -- NICE

 

I still like the small cache icons and the on/off cache options.

 

The thing that I really miss is having the opportunity to have caches contained in bookmarks show up as a different color. -- I really miss this feature

 

Having the caches numbered and this being reflected in the cache listing is missed also.

 

The tweaks are working out.

 

THANKS for all the support on the new maps.

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You know when they first started with this new map the problems with downloading to GPS started a the same time. Any any body that does this knows just what I'm talking about

 

Are you refering to the fact that caches get downloaded as waypoints rather than Geo Caches? That has been my problem and now I only get coordinates and a generic geocache without a title name. Any one else? :laughing:

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Also, like some other posters, I have a large landscape which is barely occupied by the map (1280x1024).

Is it possible to make the map scalable like the old one where we had the option to increase the map size even if only a little?

 

 

Yes, that is something I posted before. I really liked it when the map could be expanded to fill the page. I have a 21" monitor running 1600x1400 resolution, and all I can see is this "letterbox" map near the top of the page. Seeing as much of the map, at the selected zoom level, is important when considering routes to caches without heading down the wrong roads or crossing private property. Not that the map shows "private property," but it does allow you to best plan your route to the cache if you don't have a turn-by-turn GPSr. Please Nate, bring back the expandable map.

 

 

KRnlKilR

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You know when they first started with this new map the problems with downloading to GPS started a the same time. Any any body that does this knows just what I'm talking about

 

Are you refering to the fact that caches get downloaded as waypoints rather than Geo Caches? That has been my problem and now I only get coordinates and a generic geocache without a title name. Any one else? :laughing:

 

Yes I have had the same problem for over 2 weeks. I have to manually go into waypoints, load each new cache that I SENT to GPS (Garmin) amd change the icon to the closed cache chest before it will show up on my geocache listing. The name still stays "geocache" and it is a real pain trying to identify which geocache I have loaded. I often have to go back to the listing and reload the cachl to compart it with my printed out cache information and compare the cache number to the GPS to find it.

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This is the newest error message I got when trying to view a map.

 

b7f1c87d-8acf-4c45-a13d-4ae594e37ab3.jpg

 

Opera 9.23 on Win XP Media Edition

 

Firstly, I appologize in advance, I have not posted before and after an hour of searching through the posts I'm left quite confused.

I have been getting a similar error message when I click on "map it". Before the map finishes loading the error message pops up and when I click ok I am bumped to another screen with an even longer error message. The old map used to work on my computer.

I'm using Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2 with Internet Explorer 7. I also tried using MSN Explorer (thought I'd try) and I get the same error message.

I figure it must be a setting on my computer I have to change as my computer at work uses IE7 and the map works (obviously I can't use the website at work too much). Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might fix this problem?

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As a relative newbie, I like some of the ideas behind the new map...displaying certain types of caches, seeing many caches in an area. This works well while on line.

 

But I loved the old feature of numbered caches with a list on the side. Much more useful for printing.

 

Thanks for all of your efforts so far.

 

TripTroupe

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Looking GREAT on the new google maps. Theres always bugs to work out but I really like the new maps.

 

Now, shrink these, and put them on the cache pages to replace those horrible, slow, and painful yahoo maps. It would be cool to see what caches are nearby right there on the page.

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Hey, there's a list again! :( For those who wanted the list of caches to the right of the map back, it is. I like that there's a checkbox so you turn the numbers on the map on or off. For those who wanted this feature so they could print the map off, I think they'll be disappointed that the list seems to be in a scrollbox that gets cut off when you print.

 

Looks like there's some image files missing? Each of the little icons is there on the map, but there's a "missing image" image on top of them. What's a "missing image" image? I may have made up the name, but it's that little grey box with the colored geometric shapes inside. Googling "missing image" in Google Images results in an entire page of them until the connection catches up and loads the image that is supposed to be there. Yeah, that's the one... Oh, it appears this only is happening for me in Firefox (2.0.0.8), as IE displays it properly.

Edited by Too Tall John
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THANK YOU! Once more for de bugging another bug that was bugging me.

Thank you for putting the lists down the side again. I certainly don't mind the names running over 3 or 4 sides. I'll try downloading it to my vaio so I can take it with me. If not? Print it out and take it with me I suppose.

Back to NZ planning with a song in my heart and a spring in my step.

Keep up the good work you guys and guyesses...

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The new map features look great!! Especially that topo map. I'm also running into the same problem an earlier poster mentioned... the little icons try to show up on the map, but instead a placeholder icon for a bad image file shows up. I'm sure you folks at Groundspeak are working away on it, thanks for adding the new stuff!

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Hey, there's a list again! :( For those who wanted the list of caches to the right of the map back, it is. I like that there's a checkbox so you turn the numbers on the map on or off. For those who wanted this feature so they could print the map off, I think they'll be disappointed that the list seems to be in a scrollbox that gets cut off when you print.

 

Looks like there's some image files missing? Each of the little icons is there on the map, but there's a "missing image" image on top of them. What's a "missing image" image? I may have made up the name, but it's that little grey box with the colored geometric shapes inside. Googling "missing image" in Google Images results in an entire page of them until the connection catches up and loads the image that is supposed to be there. Yeah, that's the one... Oh, it appears this only is happening for me in Firefox (2.0.0.8), as IE displays it properly.

 

I am glad you noticed the "missing image" was happening only in Firefox. I was seeing the same thing but it looks good in IE. I do hope they get it corrected for Firefox.

 

Any way to get the "Hide My Finds" to work in the list of caches displayed on the right hand side. It's nice to have them off the map, but would be great to get them removed from the list when this option is checked. I really like the different map options: topo, aerial, etc. The maps are looking great. Now I need to check out how they print. Thanks for the fixes.

Edited by GeoScooter1
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I hate this new map version, it doesnt print well, and still no telling what cache you are on unless you click add numbers, then the numbers cover other caches due the small screen.

 

i loved the old way, got used to the last change, and i hate this tooo much.

 

i hope you try again to make it more usefull.

 

maybe the idea of a seprate/second site for phone users is an option?

 

thanks for any consideration.

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Since I made a post to complain, I wanted to add another to express my thanks for the progress made thus far. I am impressed at the speed that these changes are being made. Keep Coding :(

 

I know it has been mentioned before but I want to add my vote in case changes are made according to the number of request.

 

A quicker way to add a cache to a bookmark would be nice for me.

 

Thanks

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