Land Surveyor Blogs

Displaying GPS Tracks on Googlemaps Without need for API Key

Google Maps can display GPS tracks without you getting a google API userid. Just pass the URL to the KML file and all the points will be displayed. You use [maps.google.com].The file can be waypoints, traces or routes as far as I can tell.

You can also pass a Lat-Lon query in and it will show you the point. [maps.google.com] It is a quick way to share interesting places around the globe.

There's a bunch more you can do if you have a GPS andgpsbabel program. I've added GPS data to digital photos by merging GPS track data with the photos using the time on both devices - gpsPhoto.pl is the program. Some photo gallery sites and software will automatically create a link from the photo to google maps.

Map Spreadsheet Addresses Onto a Map (Watch Batchgeo Video)

Got a spreadsheet full of contacts and addresses you'd like to map out without spending hours manually copying and pasting between your spreadsheet and a mapping application? Reader A3sthetix points us toward BatchGeo, a smart spreadsheet-to-Google-Map conversion tool.

I was faced with the daunting task of mapping over a hundred addresses to a map today. In researching solutions, I came across a Google Maps mashup called BatchGeo, which made the whole task unbelievably simple. All you need to do is paste a table or spreadsheet into the webapp and it does the rest, including validating columns and addresses. The auto-generated map can then be saved for later use.

BatchGeo could also be used for apartment hunters that want to visualize a spreadsheet of potential dwellings. I'm currently using it for creating a store locater and looking at package shipments to correlate common destinations (the long-term goal is to determine where a distribution center might be useful.)

As you can see in the video, the end product even retains information from other columns in your original spreadsheet (like name and telephone number, for example), which is particularly handy.

Provide Instant Lat/Long (GPS) Coordinates

If you're into thegeocaching phenomenon, or need GPS coordinates for a webapp or another use, Google Maps can provide them, but not by default. Click the green beaker-style Labs icon in the upper-right corner of Google Maps, then enable the LatLng Tooltip to see coordinates wherever your cursor is, or the LatLng Marker to be able to drop a "pin" wherever you need coordinates. Don't like to keep experimental stuff running? Try this previously posted bookmarklet, which pops up with the positioning coordinates of whatever's centered on your Google Map.

One more thing you didn't know Google Maps can do