It is possible to test locally, assuming your computer or LAN provides a web server. You won't get much help with coding questions, though, if people here can't look at a live example of what you're trying to solve.
My suggestions would be (please forgive if some is obvious): A. Put up a map with markers, starting with a simple map with hard- coded marker coordinates [1]. B. Then make a map with a set of markers added dynamically from data generated in your server. The data could be in XML, JSON, or a data structure of your own [2] -- the main issue being how to efficiently generate it in the server and then parse it in the browser. A key piece of dynamic mapping is to store the place information in a Javascript variable/object for later access, rather than just iterating through it when creating placemarkers. A common approach is to push the marker objects into an array as they are being created. C. Then make a map to which users may add markers, say by clicking, and give them a way to add additional info about the point they clicked. D. Then provide a way for the user to initiate a "Save" action that sends the data back to your server and stores is with the other place data (or maybe in a queue if you need human review before permanently adding the point to the map). You could also make the map itself initiate the save. E. By this point, I suspect you'll be able to connect the dots to your Excel Add-On. [1] Check out Mike Williams's tutorials at <http://econym.org.uk/gmap/ >. [2] A note on data structures: A KML file is a type of XML file. KML is certainly the best option in many cases for shunting place data around. Some good thought has gone into the way KML organizes mapping data, and any system you build would benefit from understanding it. However, lots of maps made with the Google Maps API never see a KML file. For my maps, I often prefer JSON as a way to package output from the server to the map (including instructions as well as data). JSON is easy to generate directly from Perl, my preferred server language; and JSON objects eval() efficiently in Javascript -- no XML parsing needed. JSON also serializes well for storage by either of those two languages. (But this post is NOT about language preferences/wars!) HTH On Jun 11, 6:23 am, Christine <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > I am trying to develop an Add-On in Excel that incorporates the Google > Maps API. The user should be able to add (many) locations on the map, > and details about the location. This ideally would be done either by > clicking on the appropriate site using the Google Maps interface, or > by extracting/(reverse-)geocoding coordinates from cells in the > spreadsheet. > > I don't really have any idea where to start. I registered the API key > with a localhost address, and would also like to play with some of the > other APIs available. The application will eventually be available > online as per the TOS, but I don't currently have access to a server > to store KML files. > > Is there any way to test locally? > > Any helpful starting points would be greatly appreciated. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google Maps API" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
