A. You can mark any Location as Private.
Q. How can I mark a location so it does not show up in the results?
How to delete multiple tags under locations
With the Power add-on you will find additional Bulk Actions under the Locations/Manage panel. There is a drop down menu under the Bulk actions tab that can be utilized to remove many, some or all tags associated with the location data. Check off which locations you want to remove the tags from, or you may check off all and select the filter to “Apply to all”
Power (WPSLP)add-on or Professional Level (MySLP/SaaS) Overview
The Power add on for WordPress Store Locator Plus and the Power level for MySLP product line is within the Professional plan share similar features and functionality. Whereas they are similar, they are not interchangeable. There is a feature for MySLP subscribers that will allow some basic location loading from your SLP or other WP locator base plug-in. See News feed here for more info. MySLP SaaS version does not have SEO Pages or Directory Builder capability.
Note: Where the WP symbol appears below, those features are built into the WordPress SLP Power add-on only.
Categorization
Assign categories to your locations that allow users to pick a category and show only those locations. Great for showing service versus retail centers or locations that carry specific products.
Gray map or blank map and/or search does not work
JavaScript Problems:
Note: Major Updates to WordPress versions (example 5.0 , 5.5 ,5.7) may effect themes behaviors and plug-ins and cause additional errors. We strongly advise updating on a staging site or dev or test site first instead of allowing AUTO UPDATES)
Many times we hear that an update to SLP plug-in broke “everything”. Upon asking for clarification we find out that they also updated WP and/or other plugins or did not update their themes. WordPress explains how to use your browser to diagnose javascript error
Issues with the JavaScript part of the plugin usually manifest themselves by showing the search form but either a blank map, a map that is all gray, or a map that appears but search does not wor properly. To identify what is causing your issue use the Firebug add-on with Firefox or any Browser developer tools (see above info in the link to WordPress on how to diagnose with browser).
The WordPress Store Locator Plus map rendering is managed by the slp.js JavaScript file. It sets up the communication with the built-in WordPress AJAX handler, admin-ajax. Your server must be setup to allow the built-in WordPress AJAX handler to execute. Additionally, ANY PLUGIN or THEME that is breaking javascript will break SLP functionality. This is rarely an issue with the SLP plugin.
Common errors or issues:
The PHP JavaScript connector did not load
We have come across this error on several installations. The short answer to this problem is that something in the WordPress installation prevented the Store Locator Plus JavaScript component from loading. This means that the map system cannot communicate with Google. This prevents the map from appearing and search results from working properly on your locations page.
Here are some issues we’ve come across that cause this to happen:
-
- PHP version is < 5.3, this generates an error message that you will not see in the browser. Any error message will prevent the JavaScript PHP file from loading. SLP will not work with versions lower then PHP 5.3.
- PHP Error Reporting Enabled, if PHP error reporting is enabled and ANY PLUGIN has bugs, uses deprecated WordPress functions, or uses deprecated PHP functions they will generate an error message. This error message can be hidden in the browser if the error happens in something that is creating page header information. This will also break the page loading process and prevent the JavaScript PHP from loading.
- Plugin Errors, any plugin that does not load properly and does ANYTHING with page header output will break and thus cause a domino effect prevent the Store Locator Plus PHP JavaScript component from loading.
In many cases the cause of the maps not loading is because our PHP JavaScript file could not load. We can often detect this and pop-up the “PHP JavaScript connector did not load” warning. However we cannot catch all errors. Why good Javascript is critical.
One of the best tools for searching for errors in the HTML page headers is to use Firefox with the Firebug plugin or any browser developer tool. Turn on the console and check the responses tab under console for any errors. We have resolved many client installation and map problems with this plugin. More often than not we are finding errors in other plugins, themes, or server/site configuration settings.
The PHP JavaScript page header is a critical part of a working Store Locator Plus installation. Since it loads very late in the page creation process it is susceptible to failures from almost anything else you may be loading on the page or your WordPress site. The the map is not loading and you are receiving this message get some page debugging/tracking tools like Firebug and isolate any plugins that are generating coding/output errors.
IF YOU Update your WordPress environment , BE SURE TO review the WordPress VERSION changes as they have changed.
Review the WordPress suggested requirements
- Update PhP to 7 or higher
- Update MySQL to 5.6 or higher
- Site move to HTTPS
2017 was the year WordPress was requiring hosts to have HTTPS available. Just as JavaScript is a necessity for smoother user experiences , updated PHP versions are critical for performance, and SSL just makes sense as the next hurdle users are going to face. Note: Google also weighs SSL as a search engine ranking factor and have begun flagging unencrypted sites in Chrome.
Search and results not loading
AJAX Blocked
It is common for web hosts and system administrators to disable the built-in WordPress AJAX processing. Store Locator Plus requires AJAX to be enabled. This typically manifests itself with the AJAX call to the admin-ajax.php script not executing.
You can test this by directly surfing to the admin-ajax script on your server with a URL similar to this:
/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=csl_ajax_onload&addressInput=&ignore_radius=1
This should return a JSON response showing curly braces that start with {“success”:true,…
If it comes back with nothing, or a warning/error about being blocked, your AJAX security is not set properly. Check you web server log files and talk to your system admin for assistance on configuring access to WordPress AJAX scripts.
Featuring Locations – Top of Results and Highlighting
Store Locator Plus allows you to feature specific locations in your search results. This requires the Experience add on (or Premier ) for WordPress or a Professional or Enterprise account for My Store Locator Plus. Some of the interface styles provided by the style gallery support featured location highlighting “out of the box”, such as the Default With Font Tweaks style.
Select A Style That Supports Featured Locations
The Default With Font Tweaks Style is one of the styles that highlights locations and is a good starting point for testing this functionality. You can adjust the layout and styling afterwards to meet your specific design requirements.
WPSLP – Select the Store Locator Plus entry in the side menu.
MYSLP – Select Store Locator Plus in the side menu.
Go to the Settings Tab and select the View subtab.
Click on the activate button on Default With Font Tweaks in the style gallery.
Using Custom Map Markers
Store Locator Plus allows you to set a custom marker for all of your locations.
Upload Your Marker
Start by uploading the marker to a web accessible location.
WP SLP
Go to Media / Add New in the WordPress admin panel.
Upload your marker.
View the attachment details for the newly uploaded marker and copy the URL.
The [slp_search_element] Shortcode for WP plug-in users
The [slp_search_element] shortcode is only processed within the Search Layout setting. It is used to display user input elements on the search form.
Attributes
Attributes are the keywords that appear after the opening [slp_search_element and before the closing ].
Default attributes include:
button=<slug>
Output a form button. <slug> should be an input supported by the base plugin or an add on such as:
submit
Output the Find Locations button.
[slp_search_element button="submit"]
dropdown_with_label=<slug>
Output a dropdown selector with a preceding label for the specified input. <slug> should be an input supported by the base plugin or an add on such as:
radius
Output a dropdown of radius selections based on the Experience / Search / Radii Options setting.
hard_coded_value=<value>
Outputs the specified value. Used by some add ons to add a specific [slp_search_element] output.
input_with_label=<slug>
Output a input selector with a preceding label for the specified input. <slug> should be an input supported by the base plugin or an add on such as:
address
Output a the address/zip-code input box.
Tech Geek Stuff
Processed by the SLP_UI class via add_shortcode in create string_SearchForm() which calls crease_SearchElement().
Filter shortcode_slp_searchelement is used to manipulate attributes. Many add ons use this to render specific output using attribute ‘hard_coded_value’ => ‘xyz’ to output a specific value.
Locator Data – The Field Names
Store Locator Plus includes a default set of data fields that is included with every installation as well as extended fields provided by add-on packs.
For data fields, including those added with the Power add-on, you can output the data in the map info bubble or results layout, by using the following shortcode:
[slp_location data.<field_slug>]
For example:
[slp_location data.contact]
[slp_location data.facebook_custom_url] (for someone that added a field named Facebook Custom URL).
Both the default data and extended data can be displayed in the search results, (for SEO Pages some fields will be [storepage field=contact] for SEO-friendly details pages. Most of the tools provided by the various add-on packs work best when using the field slug. The slug is a unique name for the field that is similar-to, but not exactly the same as, the field name.
The slugs are used in the add-on packs such as the layout strings from the Experience Add On in as well as the column headers for CSV Import in the Power Add On.
Default Location Fields
ID
Slug: id Data field: sl_id Type: integer (auto-assigned)
Name
Slug: store Data field: sl_store Type: string up to 255 characters
Address
Slug: address Data field: sl_address Type: string up to 255 characters
Address Line 2
Slug: address2 Data field: sl_address2 Type: string up to 255 characters
City
Slug: city Data field: sl_city Type: string up to 255 characters
State
Slug: state Data field: sl_state Type: string up to 255 characters
Zip
Slug: zip Data field: sl_zip Type: string up to 255 characters
Country
Slug: country Data field: sl_country Type: string up to 255 characters
Latitude
Slug: latitude Data field: sl_latitude Type: string up to 255 characters
Longitude
Slug: longitude Data field: sl_longitude Type: string up to 255 characters
Tags
Slug: tags Data field: sl_tags Type: Text up to 4096 characters
The Pro Pack tags field. Requires Pro Pack for full functionality.
Description
Slug: description Data field: sl_description Type: Long text, as determined by your MySQL settings. More than 4096 characters.
Slug: email Data field: sl_email Type: string up to 255 characters
Website
Slug: url Data field: sl_url Type: string up to 255 characters
Hours
Slug: hours Data field: sl_hours Type: string up to 255 characters
Phone
Slug: phone Data field: sl_phone Type: string up to 255 characters
Fax
Slug: fax Data field: sl_fax Type: string up to 255 characters
Image
Slug: image Data field: sl_image Type: string up to 255 characters
An fully qualified image URL, http:: with a full domain.
Private
Slug: private Data field: sl_private Type: A single character string.
May be used in the future as a 1|0 value to determine if a location is to only appear on the admin interface and not front end searches.
Neat Title
Slug: neat_title Data field: sl_neat_title Type: string up to 255 characters
May be used in the future as an alternate store name or subtitle.
Linked Post ID
Slug: linked_postid Data field: sl_linked_postid Type: integer, auto-assigned
The ID of the related store_page entry where extra taxonomy data and other location data is stored. Used with Store Pages and Tagalong. Should not be modified.
Pages URL
Slug: pages_url Data field: sl_pages_url Type: string up to 255 characters
The relative URL for the Store Pages linked post ID. Provides a processing shortcut for the Store Pages add-on pack.
Pages On
Slug: pages_on Data field: sl_pages_on Type: a single 1|0 character
Used with Store Pages to determine which locations have been populated with Store Pages template content.
Option Value
Slug: option_value Data field: sl_option_value Type: text up to 4096 characters
A serialized JSON data object which can store extra location data. Slower and less direct than extended data fields.
Last Updated
Slug: lastupdated Data field: sl_lastupdated Type: timestamp
A date and time MySQL timestamp indicating the last time the main data for the location was updated.
Initial Distance
Slug: initial_distance Data field: sl_initial_distance Type: A float.
The initial distance calculated between your center map latitude/longitude and the location.
Add On Pack Import Fields
These fields appear in the extended data table, slp_extendo. The field metadata, used to manage the slp_extendo table, is store din the slp_extendo_meta table.
Power Add On : Contacts Enabled
Identifier a unique location identifier from an external database that can be used to update existing locations in Store Locator Plus
Contact
First Name
Last Name
Title
Department
Training
Facility Type
Office Phone
Mobile Phone
Contact Fax
Contact Email
Office Hours – long formatted text
Contact Address – long formatted text
Notes – long formatted text
Featured – valid values are “1” for featured and “0” (zero).
Rank – an integer from 1 (highest rank/top of list) to 999999. 0 = no rank.
Power Add On : Categories Data
Power categories utilize the built-in WordPress custom taxonomy system. Standard WordPress category IDs are kept in the term_relationships and term_taxonomy tables. The relationship between locations and categories is managed via the slp_tagalong table that maps the Store Locator Plus id field to the WordPress Taxonomy term_id.
Table: slp_tagalong field: sl_id = the store id field: term_id = the WordPress taxonomy id