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Google Maps, Private Island
hammock
Registered Users Posts: 7 Beginner grinner
Here are my settings:
SmugIslands
Hello Word!: No
Hello smuggers: only on my smugmug site
Gallery
Privacy: Public
Hello World!: No
Hello smuggers!: Yes
Geography: Yes
First, I really find these titles to be very confusing. That I *must* read the fine print to understand the notions, should be incentive to find better names.
Second, can we get an explicit statement of what settings are required to use the google maps API (this includes SmugIsland and Gallery settings). This should be placed in the FAQ.
Finally, I know that my current settings will not allow for the google maps feature, since the google maps API disallows non-public use. However, I really would like to search for pictures within certain latitude and longitude. Can smugmug add something like the following:
1) search form
2) user types in an address
3) use Yahoo's Geocoding API to obtain GPS coord from address
4) return a listing of pictures with x miles/km of the coordinates
That is, I will gladly accept if I cannot see my pictures on a map, but I would really love to be able to search my pictures by address.
Thanks.
SmugIslands
Hello Word!: No
Hello smuggers: only on my smugmug site
Gallery
Privacy: Public
Hello World!: No
Hello smuggers!: Yes
Geography: Yes
First, I really find these titles to be very confusing. That I *must* read the fine print to understand the notions, should be incentive to find better names.
Second, can we get an explicit statement of what settings are required to use the google maps API (this includes SmugIsland and Gallery settings). This should be placed in the FAQ.
Finally, I know that my current settings will not allow for the google maps feature, since the google maps API disallows non-public use. However, I really would like to search for pictures within certain latitude and longitude. Can smugmug add something like the following:
1) search form
2) user types in an address
3) use Yahoo's Geocoding API to obtain GPS coord from address
4) return a listing of pictures with x miles/km of the coordinates
That is, I will gladly accept if I cannot see my pictures on a map, but I would really love to be able to search my pictures by address.
Thanks.
0
Comments
I'm right there with ya on this one. We were actually discussing this internally today, so thanks for letting us know how you feel.
Great idea. First, let me clarify that gallery SmugIsland settings should be "yes" to inherit your site-wide settings. If gallery settings are "no" then that gallery is on total lockdown regardless of your site-wide settings.
We need to reword to make gallery settings more clear. Maybe "inherit" or "lockdown" instead of a yes/no toggle?
This is off the top of my head, but I'm fairly confident that for your images to show up on a map, the following must be true:
- No site-wide password.
- No gallery password for the gallery containing those images.
- That gallery must be public, with Geography set to yes, and Hide Owner set to no.
- Your SmugIsland site-wide settings (in your control panel) must be "Yes" for Hello Smuggers and your gallery Hello Smuggers setting must also be "yes" in order to inherit the site-wide settings.
Please note that in the control panel, "by name only" "just on my site" and "total lockdown" are all variations of "no" for Hello Smuggers in this case.
Clear as mud?
Very cool feature request. Thanks!
-Anne
If this is true, then it is confusing since it mixes concepts. The Hello World and Hello Smuggers options are listed on the same level---this gives the user the impression that they are orthogonal concepts. As such, it is surprising that a gallery Hello World setting of "no" has the effect of setting the gallery Hello Smuggers option to "lockdown".
If an option is really a dependent option, then it should appear as a "suboption" and when the parent option is turned off...then the child options should not disabled. I guess I don't understand why the gallery Hello World option is modifiable if the site-wide Hello World option is set to No....
Again, I just started using smugmug...but I have spent a few hours reading and rereading various threads and help pages. And I admit that I *still* do not completely understand the various privacy settings.
This helps much. However, it still leaves questions about the site-wide Hello World settings. When I read the above, it seems like I should be able to set my site-wide Hello World setting to "No" while keeping my site-wide Hello Smuggers setting to "Yes" and all gallery Hello Smugger settings to "Yes". Is this true?
I think google will allow you to link to pages...correct? Then, in the search results, it would be neat to also provide links to maps showing the exact GPS location (if not google, perhaps maps.live.com or openstreetmaps.org). Alternatively, maybe the "Map This" button can have a fallback method. Whenever possible, use the google maps API...in the event that privacy options prevent use of the API, just link to a google map centerd at the GPS coordinates specified in the picture.
So, this kinda sucks, but I understand that you are hamstrung by a lame TOS.
That being the case, why does it even bother to show the Map This button if the gallery settings are such that it won't work? (Hello Smuggers is NO or some variation of that)
Otherwise, it's a pain to remove the Map This button from all of my galleries since there's no easy way to change one setting, like just Geography, for all my galleries without affecting all the settings for the gallery. I now have to go to each of my hundred or so galleries, customize it and turn off Geography (which I inadvertently left turned on in my Quick Settings) one-by-one? Ouch!
I am finding this frustrating as I evaluate SM. AFAIK you cannot use the Mapthis functionality without making a whole gallery fully indexable by Google.
To me this *isn't* the same as as the Google terms which state:
"The API may be used only for services that are generally accessible to consumers without charge. Accordingly, You may not use the API for any service that requires a subscription or other restricted access, or for which a fee is charged."
That does not say "you must let Google Image search index all your files". It does suggest you can't password protect the files. But then the terms of the API surely apply to Smug Mug and not me? In which case SM *is* providing services that are indeed *generally* accessible to consumers?
I don't object to having my content publicly viewable by visitors to Smug Mug - but I don't particularly want it voraciously consumed by the Google Image index (which can be prevented without infringing the terms above).
So why not at least allow that functionality? i.e. Publicly viewable, but not Google indexed galleries can use the map functionality.
Or have I missed some perm of the settings to do that, cos I can't get it to work..
Maps only require that Hello Smugmug be yes, not Hello world. That's how I have it set up. It works fine.
Hmm I seem to be struggling with that.... but I'm nothing if not tenacious
It works if I have my global *and* gallery settings as:
Hello World: No
Hello Smuggers: Yes
The confusion is that the *global* settings offer at least 2 choices that shouldn't mean "No", one which might mean "No" and one that definitely means "No".
In the *gallery* settings it is a simple "Yes" or "No"
This is a bit confusing and the implications aren't too clear in the help pages. Bottom line is unless you have explicitple "Yes and "Yes" you can't use the maps....
1. A gallery with photos which are either geotagged or you have used "edit geography" to locate
2. Hello Smuggers/Smugmug set to "yes" at both the site and gallery level
3. Hide owner set to "no"
4. The gallery is public
5. The gallery is not password protected
6. Your site is not password protected
7. You have Geography set to "yes" in the gallery
It would also help if you gave us a link to the gallery so an outsider can take a look - sometimes being logged in makes it hard to sort out what's what.
Good - yeah, it can be a bit confusing. This is part of SmugMug's battle with "feature bloat", I think... so many options that it can be hard to understand what works.
Yep mostly ("Hide Owner" Yes/No doesn't seem to matter )
Got it working now that I've cracked the implications of the site-wide settings.
Cheers for the help - especially the "it can be done" bit. I'm always OK once I know there *is* a solution, but I just have to find it ;-)
Correct. I just added that in because you seemed to want it that way... either way glad you sorted it out. FWIW I've been very happy with SM - I hope you decide to stay!
So do I - I'm a Flickr user now so I'm loving the front end presentation on SM, but struggling with the back end organisation. For large photo sets Flickr's Organizr is still a long way ahead at the minute.
... but that's what an evaluation period is for - If you don't look, search and ask, you never find out !