War Diaries Talk

Google Map Box Query

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    Is there a glitch on the Google Place Map Box today Saturday. When inserting place names some of them are coming up and I can enter where they are. Others, just the blank screen in the box. Noticed when I have name at the top of a diary page and it does not come up, sometimes further down the page when I tag the same name, it will come in the google box. For example Metz and Trescault.

    Seems to be taking a long time for the names to register in the google box. I refresh the pages now and again and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

    Anyone else having this problem? I am using Windows 10 and Chrome.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    I did some tagging earlier today, probably about the time that you posted, and I didn't have any trouble. Nor did I have a problem just now.

    Have you signed out, cleared your cache, and restarted your computer? I find I need to do all three of these steps to get rid of these types of problems with the Place tag.

    Do let us know if my suggestion doesn't help.

    Posted

  • erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be by erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be

    I don't worry anymore about the Google map box. All kind of strange things happens with that. 1) Sometimes I have a blank map 2) sometimes (as I mentioned before) I get another placename instead of the placename I entered 3) normally when one enters a nonexisting place, the marker, indicates a place in the sea, but sometimes the markers doesn't move 4) I also wonder why the placename one enters (e.g. Kemmel) reappears twice in the box. I always check the timebox to see if I the placenames I entered are there and if they do I suppose they will be saved somewhere.

    Posted

  • Stork by Stork

    I've also been having the blank-screen problem yesterday and today. Erik put it nicely- all kinds of strange things happen with the place box. I have no idea why it'll do something strange for a while and then suddenly go back to normal.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    Some of the odd quirks or strange things that happen may also be due to Google making changes to their maps. They do a lot of tweaking and changing. One thing I have noticed over the two-plus years I've been working on OWD is that the wooded areas in France used to be labeled as Bois Delville, or whatever it was, and now they are not.

    I get the double names, too, that become one when you click on it.

    It is a good idea to check the Timeline if you're concerned about whether a place name--or any tag, really--might not show up.

    It also seems that we all have more trouble with it on weekends. More traffic on Google Maps, maybe?

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    The map froze for me this afternoon. I tried to type in a trench name and it gave me a town name I had previously used rather than just the None of these choice. I cleared my cache just yesterday and it wasn't anywhere near full again. When I tried again several hours later, it worked fine.

    Posted

  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    I'm not having any problems this morning - I think Cynthia's right that these issues are on the google end, rather than OWD itself. However, we'll keep an eye on it, and if anybody is still having problems then do let us know.

    Posted

  • erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be by erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be

    After having stopped tagging a few hours I now become Wijtschate in the Google Box when I enter Siege Farm and Petit Bois when entering La Polka Farm. I tagged those names already today and then nothing appeared in the Google box which is normal because those places doesn't exist.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    Thanks for letting us know, Erik. And let us know if it continues.

    Did you try clearing your cache?

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    As Cynthis has commented, this always seems to happen during the weekend. No trouble with my google box though this weekend. Using Windows 10 and Chrome.

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    Sometimes this happens when tagging place names in the google box:

    Say I tag Siege Farm, which would not be a place name on the map - this place stays in the google box but with blank screen.

    When I go to tag another name in the box with the blank screen and it does not appear, I then (if I have it on the page) use the google box that has shown a name which does appear on the map, say Ypres which will show this place on the map.

    Now I have the google map box without the blank screen showing Ypres, I use this box again and put the new name in say Poperinghe and it will appear.

    I think there is some connection with the google box showing a blank screen and not showing the place on the map because like Siege Farm it is not a proper place. Hope you an understand this.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    Marie, Let me see if I understand you.

    First, you tag Siege Farm and the screen stays blank.

    Next, you tag another place, hit Enter on your keyboard, but nothing happens. So you click on a name of a real place, such as Ypres, that you have already tagged on the page and it opens with the map.

    Then you can tag another real place, like Poperinghe, and it works.

    Did I get it right?

    Sometimes I have hit Enter, with either a real place or a name of a trench or farm, and nothing happens, but if I hit Enter again, then it works.

    I did some tagging earlier today and had no problems.

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    Yes it is confusing, I don't use the google box with the Siege Farm screen blank. I go to another place that I have tagged which is a proper place and use that same box again putting in the new place name. If I don't have a google box with a proper place, I refresh the page. As a am doing a diary with casualty names lists, I cannot bring up a page where I could tag a place and explain it better.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    That's all right, Marie. I think I understand now.

    Posted