[Andy Castle]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for this: I recognise the issue with redirected URLs like the Moon Pub example and I’ve been dealing with those when I notice them.

The ones I quoted in my original request are not like that e.g.
http://www.theweald.org.uk/
http://www.sgs.uk.net/
https://www.police.uk/contact/

These ones have been a permanent problem. You can see how they appear on these pages of my site:
https://www.storrington.org.uk/amenities/education-schools/
in the concertina under Secondary Schools
https://www.storrington.org.uk/amenities/emergency/
in the concertina under Police, Fire & Ambulance

Please can you explain to me how “to take the screen capture yourself and add it to the entry”? Is there a way to override the standard cMap use of siteshot by exception? So in the examples of the three problem URLs, use a logo image instead of the siteshot?

That would provide an adequate workaround, but I can’t see how to do it in Edit Entry or the Settings. Doing it in the shortcode within the displaying WordPress page would mean I have to use the alternate image for all entries in the same category regardless of whether they get successful siteshots returned. That’s more tricky because quite a lot of my directory entries appear in multiple categories.

I’d be grateful for any advise on a workaround you can give me.

Andy.

[Andy Castle]

Hi Steve,
I don’t think you need to apply a hot patch: thanks to your guidance I can work around it until your next release (not too many many new organisations springing up here at this time of the year). It was kind of you to suggest it.

Thanks for the heads-up on the need to set up Google Maps API keys. I had no idea I needed to do this. I’m trying to find out what’s involved. I have other sites which display Google maps and I suppose they will all need attention.

Andy.

[Andy Castle]

Hi Steve,
I really appreciate that you go the extra mile for your customers.

Such a nuisance that Google should mess things around like this when so many are relying on their features. I’m sorry it means so much effort for you.

I’ll keep an eye out as you release the new versions.

I hope this hasn’t too irritating in the run up to the Holidays.

Seasons Greetings,
Andy.

[Andy Castle]

Thanks for the comprehensive response Steve.

With UK addresses, there can be inconsistencies in format: some eforms will ask specifically for House Name/Number before the Street Name, others will ask for address line 1 and expect the user to include House Name/Number and Street Name (this latter option is the standard option for our public mail). I fully understand the difficulties of dealing with international address formats on websites.

In the example we’ve discussed, Trinity Centre is the house name (there is no house number), and for correct postal addressing this must be the first entry in the address. So with Connections I have to ensure the display of the address is correct on the tile, but also works with Geocode.

I’ve tried alternatives with the way Connections/Google now works, and it’s clear that putting a House Name in line 1 now screws things up for Geocode: I promise you it didn’t when I loaded most of my directory. The way it now works most accurately is with a House Number and Street in Line 1. I can’t get accurate locations for addresses with House Names. This causes me most problems for buildings which house a number of organisations and have a name and no number, quite a common occurrence in our rural location.

Connections is the backbone of my site and as you’ll know from previous issues, I’ve been extremely impressed with the way you support the plugin.

I see you’ve marked this topic as resolved, but I would appreciate it if you could give it some further thought.

Andy.

[Andy Castle]

Well…..

Thanks for finding a way to make it workable.

I have added over 350 directory entries on the site since I started using Connections and I can guarantee that something has recently changed.

After your last reply, I have tried several ways to enter addresses and the only way I can get a reliable result from Geocode is to enter the Zipcode only, click Geocode, and then enter the rest of the address. If I enter streetname and zipcode, Geocode is coming up with inaccurate results (at least they are in the UK, not Latvia).

All-in-One Calendar map location has always worked differently than Connections in that it comes up with a prompted solution from a partial address which can be less than helpful. But with Trinity Centre (UK spelling of Center) entered as the Venue Name it works fine with the address I gave as the example.

So, at least you’ve given me a workable approach, now I know to start with the zipcode, but some detrimental change has happened recently which makes it less user friendly.

Thanks anyway for getting me back in business.

Andy.

[Andy Castle]

Hi Steve,
The problem is occurring when I try to add a new cMap directory entry.

So in WordPress Admin, I select Add Entry from the Connections menu options. The Connections: Add Entry form opens. I enter the data for an organisation.

Whatever I enter for a local address, when I click Geocode, no latitude or longitude appears and this map location appears:
https://www.google.com/maps/@56.899819,24.099778,18z?hl=en-GB

There is no pin locator shown.

I have tried using both Chrome and Firefox browsers and with different PCs: the same thing happens.

I’ve attached a snip image of the completed Add Entry form address section. I’ve used this address successfully for other organisations before when Geocode was working.

I don’t know what else I can send you and I’m really surprised if it doesn’t happen for you.

Hope this helps,
Andy.

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[Andy Castle]

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[Andy Castle]

Hi Steve,
My impression is that Geocode is not functioning at all.

The Base Country was already set correctly as United Kingdom. I enter the full address including postcode and click Geocode. In the past this has resulted in the latitude and longitude fields becoming populated and a pin being placed on the map. None of this happens: a map appears (near Riga, Latvia), but no pin and the latitude and longitude fields are not populated.

For my event calendar, I’m using the All-in-One Event Calendar by Time.ly plugin. This also uses an automatic Google map locator to show event locations. That’s still working fine. Please note I’ve been using this alongside Connections cMap for throughout the life of my site.

Andy.

[Andy Castle]

Yes, that’s fixed it thanks Steve. I should know about this by now – sorry to have bothered you.

Andy.

[Andy Castle]

Thanks for the explanation.

I only have the one site using Connections. It’s Steve Scott, the other contributor to this topic with the two sites.

Should I have known a db update would be required?

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