Google Map Style

Posted by cici in Enterprise, Map, Professional, Settings

Store Locator Plus® Professional subscriptions support the Google map style rules. These rules let you control the “inner style” of the map itself. You can turn off built-in Google map icons, change the width or roads, change the font size of various labels. Some styles will even change the color of the land and water bodies if you are truly looking to customize the map style to better match your brand. You will find some basic examples of these JSON settings below or you can use the Google styling wizard to create your own custom look and feel.

Changing The Google Map Style Setting

Settings > Map > Map Style

Go to the Legacy Map style wizard to generate the JSON value to copy and paste into this field.

The value of this entry is a Google Maps JSON style string. Some of our Plugin Styles in the Style Gallery will set this for you.

Display Category Icons on Maps and in Results

Posted by cici in for Everything

Power add-on required if king the WP SLP plug-in or available with the MySLP SaaS Professional Level Plan

Add Icons to your categories under your Categories Manager. Select under Settings/View the Default with Legend below if you wish to show the icons represented for individual categories.

Under the Settings/Results check off the box to show category icons.

Search Form Labels

Posted by cici in Advanced, Search, Settings

Set the Labels for the Search Form

The label that will be displayed in front of the Search form box on your locator page can be changed under Settings/Search in the Appearance section Label. If none are set, a blank box will appear on your site. The “Address” Label you enter will appear in front of the search box. The “radius” information indicates to the site visitor that this is the radius (whatever radii you entered in the search form for radii options.

Consider this label as a help text tool for the site visitor to assist them as to what to enter in the box. Label Examples: zip code, city, street, or a combination such as address / zip code. The more detailed the better. We find address and zip code to be the most useful hint. If you leave this label blank nothing will appear in front of the search form box and your site visitors will be guessing what to enter to start their search.

Additional Search settings and labels are available with MYSLP Professional or Enterprise level or the WPSLP self managed with the Experience or Premier add-ons.

With the WP Add-ons or the MYSLP SaaS professional level plan and higher you will find additional help search boxes such as Address Placeholder.

Results Layout Shortcodes and Attributes

Posted by cici in Advanced, Our Add Ons, Professional, Results, Settings

Changing the results layout is a feature provided for Professional level accounts. Users of the self-managed WordPress plugins will find this in the Experience add on.

Default Format

The default format for the results string uses the numerical encoding for the various data elements that can be rendered. This default string format is present in the base Store Locator Plus plugin. You can reset to the default at any time by deleting the entry in the Results Layout field under Settings/Results/Appearance and saving the settings.

Step 2: Add A Location

Posted by cici in Advanced, Enterprise, for Everything, Getting Started, Locations, Plans, Professional, Support

Locations are added to Store Locator Plus® via the sidebar menu via the locations submenu. This option presents a list of all locations along with a menu option to add a location via a web form.

If you have many locations to add you can import them via a CSV import file.

Reports

Posted by cici in Professional, Reports

Reports are included with the Professional or Enterprise plan.

Current reports include:

Location Searches shows the address entered by users on your map display page.
Location Results are the results returned by those searches.

Results Panel Settings

Posted by cici in Advanced, Our Add Ons, Professional, Results, Settings

There are five to seven sections under the Settings/Results tab admin panel depending on which add-ons you have activated. Each section describes when and/or where the results will appear under your map.

Not all of the settings will appear if you have the Advance level plan for SaaS or do not have the Experience and/or the Power add-ons for the basic WPSLP self managed plug-in.

At Startup

You determine the Number of results you want to appear on the map and locator page as soon as the page loads when you have “Show locations at startup” checked. We recommend 50 for most sites unless you have the Premier add-on or Enterprise level plan (if using MYSLP) which allows less clutter on the map by virtue of “cluster markers”.

The next setting is the radius to search initially when “Show locations at startup” is checked. Leave empty to use the map radius default. Recommended : Set to a large number to search everywhere.

And the third setting is : ” Number to show initially.” How many results do you want to show under the map? This is the part that populates the actual information regarding your locations (under or next to your map depending on the style) with the address, website info, phone, etc.

If you are signed up for the MYSLP, the Professional level plan) additional settings can be enabled , for example do NOT show the results until after a search has been performed”. The setting is labeled “Disable Initial directory”

Where to find the Store Locator Plus for WordPress Plug-in versions and updates

Posted by cici in FAQ, for WordPress

For the WordPress SLP stand alone (do it yourself) plug-in , the latest update to the Word Press base plugin normally appears in your WordPress site Plugin menu for auto update

To check your version against what is currently available please see the site home page under Support/Versions

The WordPress Store Locator Plus base plug-in is again available in the WordPress plug-in directory. If you purchased an add-on you will need to log into your WPSLP account and download it manually the first time you use it.

ALWAYS BACK-UP your site immediately before updating any Plug-ins.

How to manually update.

Most Common “What Should I Buy” Questions

Posted by cici in What To Buy

Some of the most common features requested are included with either the Plug-in for WordPress using add-ons OR a higher level plan if you use the all inclusive (but separate from the plug-in) Store Locator Plus Software as a Service (SaaS)

Import Locations ( SLP PLUGIN needs add-on Power or the SLP Software as a service needs the Professional level MySLP )
Export Locations ( Power add-on or if using the SaaS Professional level MySLP )
Map Markers Based On Category ( Power add-on or if using the SLP SaaS Professional level or higher MySLP
Cluster Map Markers ( Premier SUBSCRIPTION PLUG-IN or the SaaS Enterprise level )
Change The Layout ( Experience add-on or the Professional level SaaS plan)
Change The Look Of The Map ( Experience add-on or the Professional level SaaS plan)
Add Location Search To Other Pages ( Experience /add-on or the Professional )
Categorize Locations ( Power add-on or the Professional level or higher MySLP )
Associate Products With Locations ( Power add-on or the Professional level or higher MySLP )
List By City or State ( Experience SLP plug-in add-on or the Professional level or higher SaaS)
Creating SEO Pages From Locations ( Power add-on for the WordPress SLP plug-in. Not available for SLP SaaS)
Add directory listing from Locations (Power/Professional level or higher MySLP)
Bulk filters such as geocode all uncode (Power/Professional level or higher MySLP)
Add url controls (Premier subscription WPSLP or Enterprise level MySLP)

MySLP to WPSLP Comparison

Advanced is comparable to the basic Store Locator Plus plugin.

Professional is the Power level (excluding SEO Pages) plus the Experience add on.

Enterprise is the Professional level plan plus the Premier subscription features, functionality and support services.

Read below for answers to these questions and check out our other “What To Buy” articles.

Locations Panel: Manage Locations

Posted by cici in Advanced, FAQ, Locations, Professional

The Locations panel in Store Locator Plus is where you add, manage, edit and/or delete locations.

Bulk Actions and Filters

SLP Locations panel has a bulk tab with drop down actions and other filters that can be applied . If you have a large number of locations, bulk actions can be a very useful tool. If you have more locations than can fit on the display, you can set the display filter to show more locations. You may also use filters to display and manage non – geocoded locations, or show locations with certain properties. The display can be adjusted to suit your needs but configuration constraints and/or server constraints may effect your outcome.

Not all Bulk actions will appear if you have only the base plugin installed. Bulk action filters for removing Tags, performing Exports, geocoding all uncoded, and bulk categorize certain locations will be shown only if you have the WPSLP Power add-on or Professional or Enterprise level Plans for MySLP

The default number of locations that will be displayed on the admin user Interface is 10. Selecting a large number to display can be useful to view or manage but if your server capacity cannot handle it or changes and you go back to manage locations months or years later and try to access your locations panel, you may see no locations panel. If you see the wheels churning on your computer with no results this could be the reason. If you are not sure of the capabilities of your server, browser and various other factors that effect memory, and inhibit loading and displaying fields, err on the side of caution and set the Filter Display locations back to a manageable size before leaving the panel. If you are migrating servers from a “heavy duty” server to a less robust server, or if your memory becomes an issue you will need to reset the display to a manageable number. See Troubleshooting for more info.