Tag: Query String Parameters

  • Google Maps Query String Parameters

    The following is a list of query string parameters that can be passed to Google Maps.

    These arguments are helpful if you want to get Google Maps to display driving directions, which are not available under the API.

    Query

    Translation

    q= “q” stands for “query” and anything passed in this parameter is treated as if it had been typed into the query box on the maps.google.com page.
    near= “near” can be used as the location part of a query instead of putting the entire string into q=
    g= “g” is an address or location that provides extra context for the “q” parameter. Google Maps stores the last ran search here, but if it is the first search it can only contain your starting location. This is a potential information leak, so make sure you do actually mean to share the content of this parameter.
    mrt= “mrt” specifies a type of search. The default is blank, which searches for everything.
    start= “start” skips the first (start-1) matches.
    num= “num” displays, at most, the given number of matches. The valid range is 0 to 20.
    ll= “ll” stands for Latitude,longitude of a Google Map center – Note that the order has to be latitude first, then longitude and it has to be in decimal format.
    sll= “sll” Latitude,longitude of the point from which the business search should be performed.
    spn= “spn” Approximate lat/long span. The zoom level will be adjusted to fit if there’s no z= parameter.
    latlng= “latlng” takes three numbers separated by commas. The first two numbers (presumably representing latitude and longitude multiplied by 1000000) are ignored. The third number seems to be a Google internal “Company ID” number for a particular business.
    cid= “cid” is similar to “latlng,” but generating a different map size. It takes three numbers separated by commas. The first two numbers (presumably representing latitude and longitude multiplied by 1000000) are ignored. The third number seems to be a Google internal “Company ID” number for a particular business.
    geocode= “geocode” is a concatination of “geocode” encoded values for waypoints used in directions.
    radius= “radius” localizes results to a certain radius. Requires “sll” or similar center point to work.
    t= “t” is Map Type. The available options are “m” map, “k” satellite, “h” hybrid, “p” terrain.
    z= “z” sets the zoom level.
    layer= “layer” Activates overlay. Current option is “t” traffic.
    lci= “lci” activates layers of tiles and needs to be comma-separated.
    view= “view” can be used to select text view (view=text) or the normal map view (view=map).
    saddr= “saddr” source address. Use this when asking for driving directions.
    daddr= “daddr” Destination address(es). Use this when asking for driving directions.
    mrad= “mrad” gives you additional destination address.
    dirflg= “dirflg” is the route type: dirflg=h Switches on “Avoid Highways” route finding mode. dirflg=t Switches on “Avoid Tolls” route finding mode. dirflg=r Switches on “Public Transit” – only works in some areas. dirflg=w Switches to walking directions – still in beta.
    via= “via” gives a comma separated list of intermediate addresses for directions, that should be ‘via points’.
    doflg= “doflg” Distance Units. (Defaults to prevalent units in country of origin.) doflg=ptk outputs directions in metric (km) and doflg=ptm outputs directions in imperial (miles).
    cbll= “cbll” is latitude,longitude for Street View.
    cbp= “cbp” Street View window that accepts 5 parameters: 1) Street View/map arrangement, 11=upper half Street View and lower half map, 12=mostly Street View with corner map 2) Rotation angle/bearing (in degrees) 3) Tilt angle, -90 (straight up) to 90 (straight down) 4) Zoom level, 0-2 5) Pitch (in degrees) -90 (straight up) to 90 (straight down), default 5
    panoid= “panoid” is the panorama ID, which is the ID of the current nearby panorama object in Street View.
    hl= “hl” stands for “host language”.
    om= “om” stands for “overview map.” The presence of this parameter with a value other than 1 causes the overview map to be closed. If the parameter is omitted, or present with the value 1, then the overview map is open.
    ie= “ie” stands for “input encoding” and can be used to specify the input character encoding set.
    oe= “oe” stands for “output encoding” and can be used to specify the input character encoding set.
    output= “output” is for output format (blank is default).
    f= “f” stands for “form” and controls the style of query form to be displayed. f=d Displays the “directions” form (two input boxes: from, to). f=l Displays the “local” form (two input boxes: what, where). f=q (or no parameter) The default search form is displayed (single input).
    pw= “pw” stands for “print window.” It activates the print mode and initiates printing. Example, pw=2.
    iwloc= “iwloc” stands for “info window location” and specifies where the infowindow will be displayed. In a business search iwloc=A to iwloc=J will open the info window over the corresponding business marker, and iwloc=near will place it over the big green arrow if that’s currently displayed. iwloc=addr can be used on map search to explicitly request the info window to be open on the address, but that’s the default anyway. Directions search supports iwloc=start, iwloc=end and iwloc=pause1
    iwd=1 “iwd” stands for “info window display” and specifies that the infowindow displayed (iwloc=) will be a detailed (expanded) view.
    iwstate1= iwstate1=ssaddfeatureinstructioncard Specifies that the infowindow is in add place mode. Use with ssp=addf and iwloc=SS.  iwstate1=sscorrectthiscard Specifies the infowindow is in edit mode. iwstate1=sscorrectthiscard:ssmovemarkercard The infowindow is in Move marker mode, with the marker bouncing and draggable. iwstate1=sscorrectthiscard:ssedithistorycard The infowindow is in View history mode, displaying a graphical list of marker moves.
    msa= “msa” is involved in My Maps processing. It does nothing without the “/ms” and “/ms” does nothing without the msa=. msa=0 Used with msid= to show a particular My Map.msa=b Activates the “My Maps” sidebar when used in conjunction with “maps.google.com/ms”.  msa=1 shows the My Maps tab directly (like msa=b did). msa=2 Jumps directly to create new My Map form.
    msid= “msid” specifies a My Maps identifier. When used in conjunction with “maps.google.com/ms” and msa=0, the corresponding My Map is displayed.
    vp= “vp” stands for “view point” and the presence of this parameter causes maps.google.com to switch into Copyright Service mode. Instead of returning the html that draws a map, it returns information about the copyright ownership in Javascript format. The vp= parameter specifies the viewpoint (i.e. the centre of the map). Copyright Service only works when the spn= and z= parameters are also supplied, indicating the span and the zoom. Optional parameters are t=, which specifies the map type, and key= which specifies the API key of the site performing the request.
    sspn = “sspn” stands for “Screen span”. Map bounds dimensions in Degrees, to calculate this use: newGLatLng(map.getBounds().getNorthEast().lat() − map.getBounds().getSouthWest().lat(),map.getBounds().getNorthEast().lng() − map.getBounds().getSouthWest().lng()).toUrlValue()

    Here are some reference books on Google Maps programming that may also be useful:

    Google Maps APIMap Scripting 101Google Web Toolkit ApplicationsBeginning Google Maps API 3 (Expert’s Voice in Web Development) [Paperback]Map Scripting 101: An Example-Driven Guide to Building Interactive Maps with Bing, Yahoo!, and Google Maps [Paperback]Google Web Toolkit Applications [Paperback]

    One reviewer said about Svennerberg’s book, “It’s been a constant struggle for me to find accessible Google Maps API resources that not only cover the capabilities of the API, but also explain the JavaScript concepts behind them in a way that I can understand.” You might also be interested in Gabriel Svennerberg’s blog.

    What is a Query String Anyway?

    A query string is the part of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that can contain data (called parameters) to be passed to web applications such as CGI programs. When a web page is requested via a web browser, the remote server locates a file in its system based on the requested URL. This file may be a simple file or a program. If it is a program, the server may run the program (depending on its configuration), and send output as the required page. The query string is a part of the URL which is passed to the program. It’s use permits data to be passed from the HTTP client (often a web browser like Mozilla Firefox) to the program which generates the web page. This site uses software from WordPress which uses query strings to indicate criteria to search for specific posts or sets of posts in the database. This default use of query strings may reduce search engine optimization (SEO) efforts so pretty permalinks are used here instead. I use the /%category%/%postname%/ permalink, which is probably the most popular.

  • Google Video Uploads with Comcast

    Comcast Users Experiencing CONNECTION INTERRUPTED at Google Video

    Google VideoComcast users trying to upload video to Google Video lately have experienced a CONNECTION INTERRUPTED message. If you are upset about this, please contact Comcast. It is not Google, it is Comcast or your Internet service provider.

    But just to be sure, in Windows XP, check your “hosts” file located in: C:WINDOWSsystem32driversetc
    Replace “C” with whatever drive you have Windows installed on. The Windows host file should look like this:

     

    # Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
    #
    # This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
    #
    # This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
    # entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
    # be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
    # The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
    # space.
    #
    # Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
    # lines or following the machine name denoted by a ‘#’ symbol.
    #
    # For example:
    #
    # 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
    # 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

    127.0.0.1 localhost


    More > Learn about query string parameters.

  • How to Delete a Digg Submission

    The short answer is, you can’t.  According to Digg.com:

    We are able to edit submission titles, categories & descriptions. Contact us from the email address associated with your username and include the Digg.com URL of the submission as well as the changes you’d like to make.

    However, as stated in the section 6 of the Terms of Use, we don’t delete content unless it is in violation of our Terms of Use. Please note that un-Digging a story removes it from your profile, but not from Digg.com. Additionally, we can’t switch a submission’s thumbnail for you, but we can remove it if you’d like.

    So what are your options?

    1. Undigg it. This is irreversible. You can’t redigg something you’ve undug. This is the weakest option.
    2. Bury it. This pushes it down, but it can be promoted by someone else’s digg. Again, nothing permanent.
    3. Narc it. Turn it in for violating something in their Terms of Use.  That should be easy enough as it has many, many rules.

    Note that everything you post becomes public domain under the Creative Commons license.  This means it is not your own, other than you being one member of the public.  So, when you post things to Digg, just be aware of the long-term implications.  Post wisely!


    More > Learn what query string parameters mean.

  • Youtube Query String Parameters

    I’ve been experimenting with the query string parameters after the main Youtube address. Some people may refer to them as “Youtube codes”, but the easiest way to explain them is that they are the ampersands and snippet of text at the end of the web address. This string of of code, the Youtube query string parameters, adds functionality to what is presented. There is no real comprehensive guide on the Internet for this, but I’ve compiled a short list of the Youtube codes I could find here so that when you need them, you’ll be able to find the Youtube codes or “query string parameters” faster than I did.

    Update: If you’re looking for query strings for Youtube or Google Maps, you might try Map Strings if the other link isn’t working.

    Thanks to sysop073 for the heads up on Reddit.

    Query

    Translation

    &hl= hl stands for Host Language (thank you MapKi!) It is followed by “hl Parameter Values” which correspond to “Language/Locales” ex. en-US means English (United States and Canada).

    It also can stand for hoc loco, which is Latin for “in this place” or hl stands for “human language”, but not in this case.

    &video_id= Youtube video ID – used in conjunction with &get_video? to embed a Youtube video into another application. Not supported by Youtubes terms of service and may no longer work.
    &t= Youtube video tag – used in conjunction with Youtube video ID.
    &fmt= &fmt=6 is good quality, &fmt=18 is better, and &fmt=22 is the best. Video must originally be in high definition (HD) to work. May not work regardless as this feature is in beta and not available for all videos.
    &rel= Rel stands for related. In relation to youtube, rel=1 means show related feeds and rel=0 means don’t.
    &fs= Allows the fullscreen button to show up or not. 1 means it will show up, 0 means it is disabled.
    &start=225 Starts the video 225 seconds into the video.

    I recommend this extensive post on Youtube plugins and tools for more information and for advanced users, check out the Youtube Reference Guide. Also, check out this Google Maps Parameters Guide from MapKi and Youtube Query String Arguments.


    More > Learn how to delete a Digg submission > How to Delete a Digg Submission…