HTML ImageMap feature

[Larry]

Hi Krein,

I've just discovered how useful the 'Generate HTML ImageMap' function can be.  It's a huge timesaver for site documentation. Just carry the GPS and take pictures.
One minor issue however is that if the pictures are taken in close proximity, unless you zoom way in, the clickable camera icons in the HTML file overlap, sometimes so that some are not accessible.  If one is trying to get an overview of an area, it my not be desirable to zoom in to the point where the icons are not overlapped.

Any quick and dirty solutions?  Perhaps one could edit the icon with an icon editor and make it smaller. Or maybe it would be possible to have the camera icon function as a callout with a line pointing to the exact spot the picture was taken as well as positioning itself so that it does not overlap any other icon. Another solution might be to place the icons in a bitmap file so the user could edit them.

For my part, it would be worth tinkering. For my latest little project, the HTML ImageMap feature generated an intuitive map that I can distribute easily and can be read by anyone with a browser. It explains the situation better than anything I think I could have come up with, and it took only a minute or two. I would have spent perhaps a whole day trying to do it myself.

I think this is a hidden gem!

Larry

[Krein]

Yeah, it can be a pretty cool feature.  There have been some cool examples of what people have done with it.

The problem you describe hasn't been solved cleanly yet, but it needs it.  A quick and dirty solution is to get an EXIF header editing program and move the time stamps of your images so they are more spaced apart.

Or, grab the gps points and separate them by hand.

All of your ideas are good.  We need to give this feature a little more attention.

[tymbee]

Quote (Larry @ June 12 2005,7:52)

Hi Krein, Any quick and dirty solutions?   Larry

Would you settle for slow and dirty??  '>

I encountered the same thing when HTMLizing some aerial shots. Some areas were shot "low and slow" and many shots were taken, while others were spread out more. But the total area of the track was very large so where the images taken were bunched up... well, you know the story there.

One thing I did was to create multiple views-- close up where there were many photos, and farther out where there was more room to show the icons.

Then you can use the main map as a clickable hot-spot to zoom in on the area you want (your zoomed in map with more detail).

Another option would be make two identical maps-- one with and one without the icons. Overlay them on layers in an editor such as Photoshop, then build your own "callouts" using the underlying image with the icons as a guide. Then hide that layer and use your hand crafted map for display.