SECTIONS:
Locations
The Location post type is used to store standalone locations and is the only post type in which you can use the Location Map block. Adding the Location Map block to a Location post makes that post appear on the Global Map. Location posts can use the Location Type taxonomy.
Getting started with Locations
- Add a Location using the Locations post type. Generally, a Location post should include some interesting narrative content. This is where you tell a story about your location, so feel free to use images, audio, video, and other blocks!
- Add the Location Map block to your Location post to display an interactive map. You will use this block just once per Location.
- Use the search bar in the Location Map block to find your specific or general area and/or drag the map marker to the desired location.
- Add a caption below the map to add more detail and/or to help users with disabilities by adding text-equivalent content.
Note that the Location Map block not only adds a map to your Location post, it also gives it the coordinates required to show all your Location posts elsewhere on the site, for example when you use the Global Map block.
Tips for optimizing Locations
- The display of the map in your editor is how it will be displayed to users, so don’t forget to adjust the zoom level and choose the default map style you prefer.
- You can replace the numeric geo-coordinates in the map info window by editing “Info Window Text” in block settings [screenshot]. This is a great place to add a little contextual information about the location.
- For a more dramatic impact, make your map taller and wider by setting the alignment to “Full” or “Wide” (theme support may vary).
- Use the Location Type taxonomy (same as Category) to categorize your locations into groups that can be added to the navigation menu for quick access and/or can be used with the Global Map by Type block.
- Use the Location Image (same as Featured Image) interface to add an attractive image of your location. This image will not only be used by most themes, it will also be used to represent your location on any global maps you display on your site (see below).
- Once you have published some Locations, add the Global Map block to any post or page to display all your locations on a single map.
- Enable the relevant options on the Settings > PlacePress page to show a global map of all Location posts on the Locations archive page and/or the Location Types archive page (scroll to the Plugin Settings section below for more information).
Global Map
The Global Map block can be used on any standard post or page. It displays all content created using the Location post type and Location Map block. Optionally, the map may include a dropdown menu for filtering markers using the Location Type taxonomy.
Getting started with the Global Map block
- Before using the Global Map block, be sure to add at least a few Locations (see above) using the Location post type. Be sure to include at least a title, Location Image (featured image), and Location Map block for each Location post.
- Add the Global Map block to any page
- Add a caption below the map to add more detail and/or to help users with disabilities by adding text-equivalent content.
- The display of the map in your editor is how it will be displayed to users, so don’t forget to adjust the zoom level and choose the default map style you prefer.
Tips for optimizing the Global Map
- The Global Map can get crowded if you have a lot of locations. To help make the map more useful, you can turn on marker clustering in Settings > PlacePress (scroll to the Plugin Settings section below for more information).
- If your theme allows you to include a page as one of several component sections of a homepage or front page template, the Homepage Global Map Fix option may be necessary in order to display the global map block. See Settings > PlacePress (scroll to the Plugin Settings section below for more information).
- For a more dramatic impact, make your Global Map taller and wider by setting the alignment to “Full” or “Wide” (theme support may vary).
- If you’re using the Location Type (category) taxonomy to differentiate your location posts – or if you just want more maps on your site – you might want to look at the Archive options in Settings > PlacePress. These allow you to automatically display a map of your locations by type on archive pages (e.g. a map of museums at /location-type/museums). Theme support for this feature varies and may necessitate some custom CSS to fit your particular layout (scroll to the Plugin Settings section below for more information).
Tours
The Tour post type can be used to create a geolocated list of locations and is the only post type in which you can use the Tour Stop block. The Tour Stop block is like a section header that provides a) a visual representation of each location on the tour and b) the map details for each location on the tour.
Getting started with Tours
- Add a Tour using the Tours post type. Generally, a Tour post should contain some interesting narrative content. This is where you use your storytelling skills to weave together a narrative about multiple locations (or, as we call them, tour stops). It’s usually a good idea to include some introductory text at the top of the post.
- Add the Tour Stop block to mark each new section of your Tour post with a hero image and text heading. You will use multiple Tour Stop blocks in each tour.
- Give the tour stop a title. By default, this text will appear as an H2 element, but you can modify the heading level to best suit your page structure. Many themes will also let you change the color of the text and background here.
- Add an image by clicking the “Choose Image” button, which will open your media library where you can upload or select a file. Note that the contents of the Caption field for your file will be used for the Tour Stop caption if you have enabled caption display in Settings > PlacePress (scroll to the Plugin Settings section below for more information).
- Configure the map settings by clicking the “Set Coordinates” button. This will open an interactive map overlay that works much like the Location Map block (see “Getting Started with Locations” above). Simply set your map’s coordinates, zoom level, and default style.
Note that not only does the Tour Stop block give your Tour post some visual and semantic structure, it also contains the coordinates and other data used to display an interactive tour map to your users. When accessing the public view of your Tour post, a small floating map will appear at the bottom right of the page (unless you configure it to be hidden by default in Settings > PlacePress – scroll to the Plugin Settings section below for more information). Clicking on this map will open a larger map depicting all the locations in your tour, and the center of the map updates as you scroll down the page. Clicking on the map icon in your Tour Stop will also open the map.
Tips for optimizing Tours
- For a more dramatic impact, make your Tour Stop header taller and wider by setting the alignment to “Full” or “Wide” (theme support may vary).
- Use the Tour Type taxonomy (same as Category) to categorize your tours into groups that can be added to the navigation menu for quick access.
- Use the Tour Image (same as Featured Image) interface to add an attractive image to your tour. This image will be used by most themes.
- If your theme displays the full post content when browsing Tour archives, consider adding a “More” block after the first paragraph to improve the user experience.
Plugin Settings
PlacePress plugin settings can be found on your site by logging in and navigating to Settings > PlacePress. This is where you will the configure default functionality for all PlacePress-related content.
Note that you can access additional information on the Settings page of your site by clicking the “Help” button at the top-right of the screen or by clicking on any question mark icons in each section.
Map Settings
Use the interactive map to configure the default display settings for your maps. These settings only affect the defaults when adding a map block. You can configure each map’s individual display when creating content.
- Default Coordinates: Simply enter the name of a location in the search bar and press enter/return to move to a new location. You may drag and drop the map marker to refine the default map coordinates.
- Default Zoom Level: Use the +/- buttons on the map to zoom in and out (or double-click on a map to zoom in) to set default zoom level.
- Default Base Map: Use the layer controls on the map to set a default map style.
- Cluster Settings: Use the checkbox to enable marker clustering. This can be helpful if you plan to add a lot of locations that are close to one another or if your project covers a large geographic area. This setting only applies to the global map block and to optional maps on archive pages.
Tour Settings
The following options will be applied to all tours.
- Tour Stop Captions: Display a caption below Tour Stop headers consisting of the image file caption metadata.
- Tour Map Style: A map of all Tour Stops is added to each tour page. If you choose one of the Floating options (Circle, Rectangle, or Automatic), it will always be visible and map coordinates will update as the user scrolls down the page. The Automatic setting changes the shape based on display size. Larger screen sizes will display the rectangular map, while smaller screens will use the circular map. If you choose Offscreen, the map will be hidden until the user clicks the Show Map button in the Tour Stop header.
Archive Settings
Enabling these options will automatically add a map to the selected archive pages. The map will use the default display settings you configure on this page.
- Locations: Map will be appended using get_the_archive_title hook if you enable this option.
- Location Types: Requires Permalinks. Map will be appended using get_the_archive_title hook if you enable this option.
Theme Compatibility: If your current theme displays a standard template title for post type and category archives, this option should work just fine. If not, you can leave these settings disabled or change/edit your theme. If the map size is too big or small, you can use CSS to make adjustments as needed.
Post Type Settings
PlacePress adds two custom post types: Locations and Tours. You can use both post types or just one if you prefer.
Both post types work just like the default Posts that are built in to WordPress, with a few exceptions:
- Locations: The Location post type includes the Location Map block, which can be used once in each Location post. Using the block not only displays a customizable map on your Location post, it also allows to you use the Global Map block elsewhere on the site to display all your Locations on a single map.
- Tours: The Tour post type includes a Tour Stop block that can be used multiple times in each Tour post. It is designed to act as a sort of section header that contains embedded data (including map coordinates) for each stop on a tour. If your Tour Stop blocks contain coordinates, a floating map will be added to the tour and the section headers will be clickable to open a specific map location. It is recommended to add additional details below each Tour Stop block to give your users additional context. For example, you can add audio narration, walking directions, historical details, etc.
Compatibility Settings
Each theme is created differently. Enabling compatibility options may be helpful if your theme does not automatically display PlacePress content in various scenarios.
- Homepage Global Map Fix: If your theme allows you to include a page as one of several component sections of a homepage or front page template, this option may be neccessary in order to display the global map block. If you are a theme developer, please make sure that your template is parsing blocks of each component section before rendering.