Creating a map using Maps Marker Pro

This resource guide was originally crafted by ITF Maggie Galvan, based on a guide created by CCNY ITFs Logan McBride and John Sorrentino.

Maps Marker is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create a map with marked points of interest.

You’ll see Maps Marker Pro on the left-hand side of the Dashboard. If you hover over or click this item, you’ll see the full submenu for Maps Marker.

To create a map, you’ll use the two map-making functions—layers and markers—of Maps Marker together. The following tutorial will lay out the basic steps of making a map specifically for the Neighborhood Visit assignment.

Layers: Delineating the Territory of Your Neighborhood.

1. Add New Layer. To start, you’ll need to create a layer for yourself. Click “Add new layer” in the submenu or at the top.
2. Name It & Find It. Give your layer the name of your neighborhood. Then, search for a city/neighborhood in the location search bar. Searching by a neighborhood’s name should get you there, or nearly. Alternately, you can click the box to “switch to advanced editor” at the top right and enter latitude/longitude coordinates (which you can find by dropping a pin in Google Maps). You can also drag the location center to the spot you want on the map.
3. Find Your View. You’ll then want to zoom in and drag the map around to find a map view that includes all the places you’ve lived. This will vary based on the geographic diversity of your residences. Zoom levels are specified to the left of the map. For example, level 15 is good for showing a single neighborhood, 12 will show most of one borough, 10 shows all of NYC, and 8 includes most of the tri-state area including Long Island.
4. Publish It. When you’re satisfied with your layer, click the green publish button at the top of this editor area. If you click “List all layers” in the Maps Marker submenu, you’ll now see your layer listed along with all the rest.
5. View and Review. Look at your map (layer). Does it look the way you want it to? Does it start on a zoom level you like? Is it centered where you want it? If not, make the appropriate changes and make sure you click “Update.”

Markers: Identifying Points of Interest.

1. Add New. Okay, now you need to populate your map with places of interest. This is where the markers function comes in. Click “Add new marker” in the submenu to get started.
2. Name It. You’re now in the markers editing area, which has a similar feel to the layers area, but there’s a lot more here to be done! Start off, as you did with your layer, by giving your marker a meaningful name.
3. Find It. Search for the location of your marker by address or other means (see step #2 in layers). If you use the search box, Maps Marker will suggest a location for your marker. You can move this marker simply by clicking inside the map area. You may want to change to zoom level 15 or closer to make sure you’ve got your marker in the right place.
4. Assign Layer. Next, look to the left of the map where you’ll find, right under the zoom mechanism, a drop-down menu where you can specify your layer. Click this drop-down and select the layer you created above.
5. Select an icon. You can choose what your marker icon will look like (you may have to choose “show more icons” if only the default pin appears. You can also upload a photo as an icon. To search icons, filter by words (you can type “cafe,” “restaurant,” “church,” “park,” and see what your options are).
6. Add Text, Etc. The next area is a text editor similar to the one you use when publishing posts. Like in the post editor, you can add a wide variety of content and media here.
   a.    Add any descriptive or informational text about this point of interest.
   b.    You can also add images, media, links, etc. here. If you took a photo of the place or a person involved, and if you have their permission to use a photo in a public-facing website, you can add that.
7. Publish It. Click publish on the bottom of this editing screen to add your marker to the layer.
8. Rinse, Repeat, Check. Repeat the above steps to add additional markers. If you view your layer (through the “List all layers” submenu), you’ll see any markers assigned to that layer in the editing area for your layer. You can also check that your marker is correctly assigned to a layer by going to the “List all markers” submenu, finding your marker, and checking the layer column.
9. List beneath your map. You can designate whether markers appear underneath your map (it’s a good thing to do). You can change the order of the markers under your map, too.

Making Your Map Visible!
To insert your map into a post, you will need to add a shortcode for the map to a post. A shortcode is a short, square-bracketed line of text that will easily call up the code for the map. There are two ways to do this:

1. Go to the “List all layers” submenu. Find your layer in the list and find the shortcode for your layer in the last column. It will look like this: [mapsmarker layer="SOME NUMBER"]. Copy that shortcode, including brackets and quotes, and paste it into a post.
2. Alternately, once you’re in the post editor for a particular post, you’ll notice that there is an “Add Map” button next to “Add Media” near the top of the post editor. When you click that, you’ll see a list of layers and markers you can add to your post. Find and click yours, and, voilà, your shortcode appears. This option may become a little unwieldy as everyone starts to add layers and markers.

Add a new post with the title of your neighborhood, and assign the post to the “Maps” category. Insert your shortcode into the post along with other text, if you like. You should use this post during your in-class presentation.

Here is a sample map that Jake made by inserting the shortcode [mapsmarker layer="1"] into this post:

Prospect Heights

loading map - please wait...

Brooklyn Museum: 40.671065, -73.963808

Sit & Wonder: 40.677365, -73.963857

created on marker name created on distance from current position
	Brooklyn Museum World class art in Brooklyn Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA
	Sit & Wonder Great local coffee shop Sit & Wonder, Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA