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History: Maps

Preview of version: 43

Maps

Since the removal of all MapServer-specific code in Tiki 15, there is no longer a Map feature that can be set on or off as such, but there are a number of map-specific configurations that can be set in the Maps administration screen.


With the use of the Map wiki plugin and other associated tools you can display interactive maps of any area in the world than can be panned and zoomed, as well as having editable objects placed on top of the map layer using complex programmable logic.

Tiki combined with this feature can be thought of as a Geospatial Content Management System (GeoCMS).

The following sections provide some further detail about the historical evolution of the map capabilities with PluginMap providing more detailed information on usage methods.

It must be emphasised, however, that from Tiki12 onwards the use of MapServer is not recommended and, as mentioned above, it has been completely removed from Tiki15 onwards.

Historical overview of Maps integration in Tiki

Maps have been supported in Tiki since 2003 (which is why some call it a GeoCMS). There is geo-related info in various places (users, trackers, image galleries, articles, blog posts, etc.). This was originally done using MapServer, an active and powerful FLOSS mapping solution. However, it requires a dedicated server and more importantly, access to map data (which is not easy).


Later on, Google Maps arrived, providing an easy to use map integration to regular web sites, even without having to manage mapping data. Thus, Google Maps specific code was added to Tiki, which was convenient for a lot of people.

Then, after a community discussion, starting in Tiki7, OpenLayers (another option was Mapstraction) was added as a native way to handle maps, which permits the use of tiles from Google Maps, Bing Maps, OpenStreetMap (which is like Wikipedia but for maps), MapQuest (which serves OpenStreetMap maps), etc.

The Cartograf project further improved maps in Tiki8, Tiki9, Tiki10 and Tiki11. Many features were added, including Street View support.

In Tiki12, all Google Maps specific code was removed in favor of using OpenLayers, so Google Maps is accessible via the OpenLayers Google Layer. In addition the Natural Access project (no longer active) added further new capabilities to upload any existing line and polygon data as files and to be able to further customise how data objects were shown on the underlying map layer.

In Tiki15 all MapServer-specific code has been removed. Also OpenLayers 2.x continues to be used for the map layer and integration with Tiki to allow editable map objects to be overlaid on the map layer but experimentation has started with the integration of OpenLayers 3.x.

In Tiki20 integration with OpenLayers 3.x and higher was improved, and more features were exposed through the corresponding PluginMap parameters, as well as adding new tilesets, some of them using vector tiles instead of just the usual raster tiles.

Map-related documentation, as of summer of 2019, still makes reference to the different historical approaches but as it continues to be improved the older methods that are no longer used will be deprecated/removed. Volunteers to help with documentation improvement : please contact marclaporte at tiki dot org


To access: Click the Maps icon on the Admin Panel
or Access http://example.org/tiki-admin.php?page=maps

Tiki 10.1

Major improvements in Tiki7-8-9-10

There have been many fixes and improvements which were done for the CartoGraf project, an interactive web-based mapping application to enhance learning in history and geography classes in high schools. CartoGraf is mainly based on Maps, Drawings, PluginAppFrame and Trackers. This is a great example of how to use profiles to use a general purpose app (Tiki) to make a very specific application (CartoGraf).

See the page Geolocation, which tell you how to use the several options to geolocate tiki objects.

Click to expand
Click to expand

Pre-Tiki7 implementation

The system was based on the Mapserver software from the University of Minesota. Tiki provides a nice, easy and integrated interface to the Mapserver.

Applications are unlimited:

  • help to decision making by providing relevant geographical information
  • geology mapping
  • environmental mapping
  • location mapping
  • creating interactive geographical manuals
  • ...


This system can be part of an e-government initiative.

However, enabling this feature is not trivial (yet) as it requires installing correctly the Mapserver Software with its php mapscript extension.

The system is composed of a Map viewer, a Layer Management tool and a Mapfiles manager.
In short to create a map:

Maps pre-Tiki9 features

Using Mapserver.

It is advised to read the MapServer Documentation on how to install and operate the MapServer software. Some specific information to enable Mapserver inside Tiki is in Maps Admin.

alias

History

Advanced
Information Version
Gary Cunningham-Lee Turned off unneeded autotoc (only one non-page-title heading). 45
Gary Cunningham-Lee Removed old Mapserver information. 44
Gary Cunningham-Lee Fixed typo. 43
Gary Cunningham-Lee Added icon to h1 page title. Added lead paragraph formatting. 42
Bernard Sfez / Tiki Specialist 41
Bernard Sfez / Tiki Specialist better icon 40
Geoff Brickell 39
Geoff Brickell 38
Geoff Brickell 37
Geoff Brickell 36
Geoff Brickell 35
Torsten Fabricius 34
Torsten Fabricius 33
Torsten Fabricius removed broken and outdated links 32
Torsten Fabricius changed naming from "Map" to "Maps" 31
Marc Laporte 30
Marc Laporte 29
Marc Laporte 28
Marc Laporte 27
Xavier de Pedro 26
Xavier de Pedro quick & dirty update since Tiki9 at least (linking to the new page geolocation) 25
Marc Laporte 24
Marc Laporte 23
Marc Laporte 22
lindon 21
Franck Martin 20
Franck Martin 19
Franck Martin 18
Franck Martin 17
Franck Martin 16
Franck Martin 15
Franck Martin 14
Franck Martin 13
Franck Martin 12
Franck Martin 11
Franck Martin 10
Franck Martin 9
Franck Martin 8
Franck Martin 6
Mose 5
bpfaffenberger 4
Mose 3
system created from stucture 2