Getting your addresses to Google Maps

OK, I have a GIGANTIC database of addresses from road trips, art sites and more (5000+). I want to get this info to My Maps on Google Maps, (and eventually my Garmin) so I can plan trips more easily without reinventing the wheel.

Because there is so muc to sort through, it feels overwhelming, so I am breaking the info into bite-sized pieces - listings by states.

1 - Export your date from the original source (address book, filemaker database, whatever) to an Excel spreadsheet.

2- Create categories of Name, Address, City, State, Zip, phone and additional info if you wish) BE SURE TO CREATE FIELD HEADERS

3- Go to BatchGeoCode (free) and copy and paste your data into the box (include the headers). Validate the source (step 3 on their site), select the proper location field to match your field headers, (step 4) then click on Run Geocoder (step 5 on their site)

4 - Copy the data in their step 6 and paste back into your spreadsheet. I like to rename the bg_lat and bg_long to just longitude and latitude

5 - You are going to want to reduce the info into 4 groups/headings: Name, Description, Latitude, and Longitude. Because I want my Google map to show the addresses, not just a point, I merge the address cells and any additional data. This is a tedious step, but I am a bit of a freak.

Save as an .xls file.

6 - Now you are going to use another great free resource, GPS Visualizer. Click on "Google Earth KML"

7 - Upload your xls file, and click on Create KML file:

8 - Open up Google maps and create a new map. Click on Import, and chose your KML file.

Tada! (I go in and color code the sites, to help me determine what is what)

To export your Google map to your Garmin, please read the next Getting it to Your Garmin.

Getting it to the Garmin - from Google maps...

So, if you have a Garmin GPS you can upload those maps to your device or a folder in 3 easy steps with a PC, or 7 with a Mac.

1. Select your map and click on "Link" to copy the code (upper right hand corner).
2. Go to TakItWithMe (another great FREE resource) and paste the code into the box and click on "Load My Map"
3. If your Garmin is connected to your PC choose "upload to Garmin". And that is it! If you have a Mac (like me) select "Download GPX"

NOTE: For some reason when it downloads, the file name is MyMapsGPX.gpx.html - You MUST go in and delete the .html extension (and say "OK" to the "are you sure" question.)

4. For Mac users - Download and install Garmin Road Trip

5. Under File > Import your file

6. I like to put each import into it's own folder, so I can keep things straight when I pick what to upload to my Garmin. (I have a lot of folders, and a ton of POIs)

7. Make sure you Garmin is plugged into your computer (via the USB port) Go to Transfer > Send Folder to GPS

Dreamweaver Class Notes, Day 3...Finishing in Dreamweaver

Launch Dreamweaver and open your index page that you created in Fireworks.

Getting the basics
- To get your website to be centered on the page, go to the inspector and align > center.
- Modify > pick background color or pattern

- title your page (appears on the top of the site when someone goes there)
- go to Sites > New site > Advanced
- Name site
- Local roots folder, click on the folder, don't open it. If you move the site folder to some other location - BE SURE TO CHANGE THIS to the new location.
- Click on "document"
- Add the web site URL
- Click Enable Cache

Now, in the same window, click on the next item in the list >Remote
This info will come from the folks that you got your URL (godaddy, etc.) your web service provider
- Access > FTP
- FTP host > (from your provider)
- Host directory > (from your provider)
- Login > (from your provider)
- Password > they give it to you first, sometime it can be changed
- Smaller sites are usually "passive FTP"
- test it
- don't automatically upload file on save
- if in a team environment, check in and check out (contribute)

Testing Server
- big companies use this

Design Notes
- team environments
Hit OK

Now you will see your files:
Green Arrow: Get files from server
Blue Arrow: Put files on server
White arrow - check it out
Other white arrow - check it in
Box - split screen view: (click on the box again to re-dock it)Navigate to other sites that you are working on:

Click ob tge plugs to connect to the ftp server


Getting Linked
Click on the target by Link and drag over to the menu with the files and point to the proper file


home doesn't need a link on the index: , (by entering a "#")
Do this for all of your pages...linking each one's menu,Drag each of the pages that are completed into the ftp folder. Click YES for dependent files.

All of the pages are there now:
Get rid of the footer graphic from being in the cell, to be behind the cell. Highlight the source file (Src) and cut/copy (cmd x)
Click away, then click on the gray box ...
and delete....
Paste the source into the background (Bg)...
And it becomes the background....do this for all of the static graphics, so that people can't swipe them, and they become background to write over...(like the scroll-y part)
Do the same for the text background ...
But when you click into the to-be-box, just change the Bg color
Always set your defaults to left top.


Creating a Library:
Go to your assets tab and here is where your universal color palette resides for your reference:

To create your library, click on the book icon. At the bottom click on the plus sign and create a new file. Call this "footer"
Type in your footer information and be sure to link everything...as well as the email address which should be in this format: mailto:address@url.com
Make sure you have all of your rollover buttons correct on each page, with the index as a rollover image, going back to index.html and the proper colors, and the name of the page as an image.

Style sheet
Class
- MUST start with a dot (period) then name, no spaces
- chose define in "new style" not this document (only that particular page)






Padding is for pictures, margins is for text...usually. But you can pad the cell (and give it a style sheet)