New MapsPro Add-on released!

[Alejandro]

Hi

As a result of Google's pricing changes for usage of their maps api some users reported getting monthly bills in the hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Given that the GeoMaps Add-on was built entirely around the Google Maps API, there wasn't a quick way to simply port to a different solution. However, a couple of weeks later I came up with an idea to lessen the API requests and immediately released an update to the GeoMaps Add-on with the ability to pause the loading of maps until a user interacted directly with the map through a button. Many clients saw an immediate relief from this solution, while a few others still requested the ability to use OpenStreetMaps. As I mentioned in another related post, the problem with an entirely free solution is that it may not necessarily match the feature set of a paid solution, or the quality of service.

Over the last couple of months I've been arduously working on research and development of a new solution that would be able to seamlessly incorporate many different services and, most importantly, provide the freedom to choose the services that you prefer. The new MapsPro Add-on is the result of this effort. While on the surface everything looks like GeoMaps, the underlying code was completely re-written to support multiple providers, not just for maps, but also for geocoding services. I've kept the setting names and theme files the same for the most part to make the transition from GeoMaps as seamless as possible and you can even keep using the same mapview menus and modules you had already setup because these will be seamlessly migrated.

The new MapsPro Add-on supports maps from OpenStreetMap, Mapbox and Google out of the box. For geocoding you can choose service from Nominatim (the OpenStreetMap solution), ArcGIS and Mapbox. You can also use any base layer you want when using OpenStreetMap by just adding the layer URL in the respective settings. The default setup includes the standard OSM base layer, as well as a few base layers from ArcGIS and there are links to a couple of sites where you can find more layers.

So now you can have an all paid solution, or a mix of paid and free, depending on your particular needs and the terms of service of each provider. For example, when using Google, you must use Google for all services. It's also important to keep in mind that not all features are available for all providers. For example, streetview is a Google feature. And static map images for detail page covers are only available with Google and Mapbox.

MapsPro is available for purchase starting today. As mentioned in the October 14th pricing plan blog post, as a new Add-on, MapsPro is only available for the Standard plan, and it is included with the Professional and Developer plans. If you are on a Legacy plan you would need to upgrade to one of the new plans first.

Below you can find a screenshot of the "Providers" tab in MapsPro