Need Interactive Map of USA (Full Version)

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Laurie Cesario -> Need Interactive Map of USA (10/18/2002 13:58:35)

Oh brother....Help!! Can anyone give me some advice on this?

My client is looking for a way to store information that relates to a certain state(s) in the U.S. Essentially, he wants to look at a big map of the USA on his desktop, and when he clicks on a state, the information on that state becomes visible. Or, when he clicks on a term, i.e. " Metal Fabricating Distributors" , the states that have Metal Fab Distributors would be highlighted.

I imagine this would incorporate a database and some sort of graphic interface? Has anyone ever done anything like this - or can someone recommend a few websites where I could search for something prebuilt that I could modify?

Thanks!
Laurie



bobby -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/18/2002 17:45:47)

Oofdah!

I hate to make this sound too complicated... but you might want to look into PHP scripting... hotscripts.com may have a prebuilt script that will do what you want.

When I first started reading your post I thought JavaScript... but it looks like you need something a bit more complex than just pop-up boxes...

ASP or ASP.net may be able to help you with what you' re doing, but I think PHP would be the way to go...






Seventh -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/18/2002 21:14:42)

I agree with Bobby about the PHP. A PHP/MySQL combination would work in your favor.



Laurie Cesario -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 10:24:37)

Great! Thanks, guys! 2 more questions for you....

When looking for prebuilt, what terms would you recommend I type into the Hotscripts search box to find something like this?

Also, since I know Nada about PHP yet...what' s the best method for quickly learning the basics?

Thanks Again!
Laurie

P.S. I realize PHP is a programming language, but what exactly does it stand for? :)




abbeyvet -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 11:14:22)

I used this to build a dealer lookup thing for a site a while back and found it easy and excellent in action.

http://www.zipcodelocators.com/

By entering the zip codes for each entry in the database this bit would be easy:

quote:

Essentially, he wants to look at a big map of the USA on his desktop, and when he clicks on a state, the information on that state becomes visible.


This bit:

quote:

Or, when he clicks on a term, i.e. " Metal Fabricating Distributors" , the states that have Metal Fab Distributors would be highlighted.


would be trickier, bit it should be possible to do something like it.




Laurie Cesario -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 13:40:07)

Thanks Katherine! I need to take a more in-depth look, but after a quick glance at their demo, it looks like this may just work! Apparently you can incorporate multiple " search" scripts along with it, so I think that would take care of his needs. I' ll let you all know what we finally end up with.

-Laurie



Eli -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 18:50:21)


Katherine, do u know if there is anything like zipcodelocators for Ireland & the UK?



abbeyvet -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 19:21:55)

I searched and searched and searched and found nothing.

Actually I searched and searched and searched and found very little before I found that one for the USA. The people I set it up for had been quoted $1000' s to do something like this and for a long time I thought that was the only available price range. Not only was that a heck of a lot cheaper but it was super easy to set up.

By the way it would be a problem in Ireland - we do not have either zip or area codes! [:j]
In the last house I lived in I got a postcard once addressed, precisely, like this:

quote:

Katherine Nolan
The pink house just off the last roundabout on the ring road
Kilkenny
Ireland


It got me without a hitch! [:D]



scarednewbie -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 19:33:48)

I have Animation Factory CD' s, I have some cool Flag buttons and stuff like that, if you need any just private message me, otherwise i don' t have the whole map



Eli -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 6:40:18)


quote:

ORIGINAL: abbeyvet

In the last house I lived in I got a postcard once addressed, precisely, like this:

quote:

Katherine Nolan
The pink house just off the last roundabout on the ring road
Kilkenny
Ireland


It got me without a hitch! [:D]



my goodness! [:D]



Eli -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 6:47:35)

Katherine, its the big vote today isn' t it?



Seventh -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 7:33:05)

quote:

quote:

Katherine Nolan
The pink house just off the last roundabout on the ring road
Kilkenny
Ireland

Good Lord! I thought my grandparents were the only ones that received mail like that. Example below:

Mista & Missus Thompson
A few roads past Old Oaky and up the hill between Mista Crickle and Mista Highwater
Poteau

Old Oaky (a bull that is older than me and lives near the biggest Oak tree, hence the name)
Mista Crickle (a lake my granparents built in the 1940' s)
Mista Highwater ( a pond my grandparents also built, but for some reason it will rise and fall whether it rains or not. Legend is, it' s alive. When it rises above the surf it' s breathing in.)



abbeyvet -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 10:01:02)

quote:

Katherine, its the big vote today isn' t it?


You mean the big REVOTE?

We already had a referendum on precisely the same question less than a year ago as you probably know. Government did not like the answer so they are asking the same question again.

Having said that, I think it is interesting to note that Ireland is the ONLY country where there is a referendum before each major EU treaty, our government cannot just sign anything without asking us first, and I think that is a very good thing. I really would be curious to know, though I never will, if the Nice Treaty would have had such easy acceptance in other countries if they had been asked to vote on it.

The reason we have a referendum on each of these treaties goes back to a court case years ago where a very great friend of mine, a local Kilkenny man, now deceased, challanged the constitutionality of any such treaty being signed without recourse to the people, and in spite of being reviled politically for taking it, he stuck to his guns and won this important right for us all. So all hail Raymond Crotty, a great democrat.

Having said all that I think the Nice treaty is a good thing, but I think it makes a mockery of democracy if a referendum is simply rerun by the politicians until the people give the " right" answer.



scarednewbie -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 10:02:26)

Hey.... I would suggest, if you cant find a interactive map, I would just find a regular US map with all the states, then open it in a image editor program, and cut every single state out, and create your own java if you want.



_gail -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 10:35:03)

quote:

ORIGINAL: abbeyvet

quote:

Katherine, its the big vote today isn' t it?


You mean the big REVOTE?



Dear Lord, one never knows what interesting things you' ll discover when clicking around Outfront. From a US of A Interactive Map to Irish elections. How fascinating.

Since we' re digressing, may I make another turn in the road?

How' s it working out with the Euro?

Half of my husband' s family live in a country that accepted the EU, the other half does not. They are certainly divided in their opinions about the benefits.

Certainly as a tourist, it was easy using the Euro. But, as an outsider looking in, I' ve always wondered if you give up any rights as autonomous nations for economic benefits the Euro is said to afford. My first inkling that I may be right was when there was a flap about one or two countries going over budget then being admonished by EU officials to get in line.

gail



abbeyvet -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 10:44:21)

I think the Euro is fantastic. Ireland took to it without any problem and although our old coins and notes were supposed to remain valid for use for 3 weeks after its initial introduction on Jan1 in fact they had all but disappeared after about 3 days.

It is terribly handy for anyone traveling, it makes comparing prices with other EU countries much easier, I love looking at the reverse of the coins in my pocket and seeing all the different countries they came from. We too have a situation where the South of Ireland is now in the Eurozone, but the North of Ireland still uses Sterling. It does not seem to be causing any difficulty though.

For business of course it is fantastic for anyone trading with other EU countries as the uncertanties and costs of dealing with currency exchange are removed.

A good (and lucky!) friend of mine has just returned from a holiday on a yacht in Europe during which she visited Spain, Italy, France and Greece and the only time she needed to change currency was when they spent a day in Gibraltor, which is part of the UK and still uses sterling. She raved about the convenience of it, half her holiday would have been taken up with juggling currency in the past.



scarednewbie -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 10:48:28)

Man abby, sorry, I just gotta comment...
quote:

Inkk Design

Wowza..... you have competetion with http://www.powweb.com



_gail -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 11:01:10)


quote:

ORIGINAL: scarednewbie

Wowza..... you have competetion with http://www.powweb.com


" There' s nothing new under the sun," scarednewbie. The secret is providing services better than the competition and, if anyone can, Katherine can. And so can a lot of the fine folks who frequent the Outfront forums.

gail



scarednewbie -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 11:04:06)

Yes sir, like I told whatever his name on on a different post, the guy with bully ad or something like that... I said this to him " I hope you get more visitors than anyone else" and that applies to abby too. [;)] Just wanting her to know what her competetion is and how she can improve her site, not that it is bad now, it is pretty good.



_gail -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 11:08:32)

quote:

I think the Euro is fantastic.


So, no real or perceived problems with autonomy/self-governance?

gail



Eli -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 19:29:45)

quote:


I really would be curious to know, though I never will, if the Nice Treaty would have had such easy acceptance in other countries if they had been asked to vote on it.


i think, speaking as an englishman, the Irish seem to be alot more interested in political matters than other EU countries. (perhaps apart from Germany). I don' t think that the average person in the UK has heard of the Nice Treaty let alone be able to vote on it.

quote:


I think it makes a mockery of democracy if a referendum is simply rerun by the politicians until the people give the " right" answer.


yes, you' re right. Happens here all the time when the House of Commons want to pass a law - it gets blocked by the House of Lords - then the House of Commons use the parliamentary bill to push it thru anyway!

quote:

Original: _gail

How' s it working out with the Euro?


I mainly work in the leisure & tourism sector and even though we don' t offically have it as a currency in the UK there are tons of business accepting it as cash. Its about time the Uk followed Ireland.



_gail -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/19/2002 19:45:06)

quote:

ORIGINAL: micah

quote:

Original: _gail

How' s it working out with the Euro?


I mainly work in the leisure & tourism sector and even though we don' t offically have it as a currency in the UK there are tons of business accepting it as cash. Its about time the Uk followed Ireland.



It sure makes it easier for tourists, particularly Americans because right now the Euro and $ are pretty much worth the same, plus or minus a few U.S. cents.

Before the Euro, I used to feel like an absolute dork holding out my hand in the stores and letting a salesperson pick and peck through my money for what I owed. Most of the time I' d pay with paper to avoid sorting through coins. I ended up with a ton of small change in my pocketbook because I couldn' t figure it out.

btw, micah, I really enjoy watching your parliament in action on C-SPAN. Quite animated, to say the least.

gail



Eli -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/20/2002 4:25:26)


quote:


btw, micah, I really enjoy watching your parliament in action on C-SPAN. Quite animated, to say the least.


yeah, they wanna get a REAL job [:)]



garry -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/23/2002 6:32:41)

Hi Laurie

Being in Australia, I just happen to have a US interactive map........

Not sure if it is what you are after, but it is quite effective (and will work for may other sites out there)

http://www.didj-territory.com.au/clientmap.htm

Cheers from the Outback

Garry



Laurie Cesario -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/23/2002 7:13:57)

Garry,

Thanks for the reply! I just checked out your map and have a couple of questions:

1. How was it built? (Java?)
2. How did you get the information in there? (i.e. California -23%) Is this tied to a database, or just typed in to a page and then linked?
3. Could it be searchable? (i.e. if you wanted to know how many states accounted for above 10% of your web purchases)

FYI...You' ve got a few errors in your states. I noticed Michigan is coming up as " Ohio" , Ohio as " West Virginia" , West Virgina as " Maryland" . Hope that helps!

Thanks Again,
Laurie



garry -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (10/23/2002 7:22:19)

Hi Laurie

It is just javascript !

Cut & paste it to play with it.

Not searchable unless you have good eyesight . [;)]

I was trying to improve things for West Virginia by moving Drew Carey there. [:D]

After rereading your post, I dont think it will be suitable for your client in this era of database driven sites.

Cheers



zeroin -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (12/9/2004 10:34:35)

you can try www.ammap.com



Nigel -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (12/10/2004 12:44:29)

On this political theme (even though it started with a question about an interactive map) I also wish the Uk government was more accountable and a referendum on important issues would be very welcome. Take the Iraq war for example - we don't get asked what we think and we get lied to about the reasons. What sort of democracy is that?

As for the Euro I'm all for it - after all its only a form of money. The main reason the Uk hasn't gone for it is because is comes with strings attached i.e. European Central Bank but that doesn't put me off. It would be much easier in than out.

Nigel



walrus -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (12/13/2004 18:32:27)

quote:

referendum on important issues would be very welcome.
I'm sorry to say this Nigel, but the British public (unlike the Irish) are far too naive, easily misguided and completely mislead about anything political, and geographically fiscal to offer anything like an opinion, let alone a vote, about anything that would affect their future. Otherwise how on earth would a grinning muppet like Blair be in a position to think that he might actually be 'President of Europe' one day. Even if that hadn't crossed his mind, he's in a position to think it. Most of the voters in England don't even turn up. [:@]Get real.
quote:

Katherine Nolan
The pink house just off the last roundabout on the ring road
Kilkenny
Ireland

We have a complex postcode system in London, and I get everyone else's mail.
Now back to the map.....
from having similar requirements in the past, I would say there is probably a market for this type of dynamic imagary, so someone please go out there and create the necessary (royalty free) templates. I would be happy to purchase at the right price... (London please)[:D]



Nigel -> RE: Need Interactive Map of USA (12/14/2004 14:44:05)

quote:

I'm sorry to say this Nigel, but the British public (unlike the Irish) are far too naive, easily misguided and completely mislead about anything political


That will be Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley you're referring to then![;)]

It's the system thats wrong and no wonder it breeds apathy. The majority (who did vote) did not vote for Blair.

Anyway - a bit off topic this so we'll leave it at that. Frontpage to politicians is what the newspapers say about them.

Nigel



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