Community Suggestion: INDIVIDUALIZE MAPS FOR ARTICLES

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INDIVIDUALIZE MAPS FOR ARTICLES

Feature Upgrade · Maps · Created by Alradas
accepted
maps markers layers

CONCEPT

The idea is an option to add a parameter to the embed code of maps to specify marker groups (and thus layers as well) to show or hide, overriding the default in those cases. That would give the option to show additional information on a map based on the article it is embedded into. It could then also be helpful to lock the marker groups so that users can't select / deselect certain marker groups.  

EXAMPLE USE CASES

Chronology

For chronological maps, setting different layers or marker groups can show political or cultural changes while all addressing the same, relatively unchanging geological features.   Examples:
  • An empire expanding it's borders over time, conquering other pieces of land.
  • Excursions and adventures of a campaign and / or corresponding political events.
 

Contextualisation

View maps with different contextual information added, having different articles refer to the same map with different additional layers.   Examples:
  • Show influence areas of a religion or borders of a country based on the same map in different articles
  • Or show economic resources and trade routes or magical events on the same map but also in different articles
 

POSSIBLE WAY OF IMPLEMENTATION

Since the embed of a map already contains an optional parameter (the zoom level), there needs to be a way to include more optional parameters without making given parameters mandatory when using the ones after them. It would probably be best to implement a way to distinguish between the parameters (e.G. having a name that is then separated by a given delimiter). It could possibly be 
[map:123|10|10|zoom:5|markergroupsshown:Borders,Cities|markergroupshidden:Religions,Trade|markerslocked:Borders,Cities]
If there is only one additional parameter after the X and Y, it is assumed to be the zoom, thus ensuring downwards compatibility. Additionally, that way nobody has to use the more clunky notation. People can use the same notation they have always used, but if they want, they can also use the added functionality. Parsing those parameters there will be an attempt to find the Marker Groups named. If they are found, they are shown / hidden / locked as if set that way. If they aren't found, they are ignored. If a group is both in "shown" and "hidden", it is ignored and left as it was set default (but can possibly still be locked). Obviously I don't know your code, so this is a crude pseudo code suggestion. I assume the capabilities for this should already be there since it is possible to show different layers based on permissions. Maybe that logic can be used to hide / show layers / groups based on more parameters?  

DISCLAIMER

Show spoiler
The suggestion was originally made by GeckoOBac in May 2021. Back then it was closed since it didn't reach the required voting threshold, however, it was encouraged to re-suggest it later, so my hope is that it might find more support now than it did back then.

The Team's Response

Thanks for the suggestion! This is actually something we talked about internally and we'd like to do, so we're accepting it for investigation. However, don't expect it soon, as we won't start discussing its actual implementation until the new Maps system is released (development on this hasn't started yet, so it will be a while).
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Current score

28/300 Votes · +7300 points

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