Screenshot of an easy to create map of Estes Park, CO

Let's add interactive maps for a richer experience using `maplink`

This is a how-to guide for creating simple but beautiful maps that use OpenStreetMap data and Wikimedia tile images. We've recently created a method to add maps to articles – using a link for users to click and view an interactive map – and wanted to have a step-by-step guide for new users. This new method is called maplink and more detailed information about the Maps project can be found here.

Find an article to update with a map

Let’s find an article that the addition of the map would make it just that much richer in content, an easy article would be the city that you live in, or a notable location nearby. For purposes of this guide and for the easy map samples, we'll use the small but very scenic town of Estes Park located in the state of Colorado in the USA.

Find the coordinates (latitude and longitude) for your map

The article for Estes Park has coordinates (latitude and longitude) in the information section: 40°22′38″N 105°31′32″W . This makes it easy for us to add in a maplink, in which to display an interactive map using Wikimedia tiles and map data from OSM.

If you click on the coordinates on the page, a new page is opened up that contains the GeoHack information for Estes Park. We’ll need to copy the coordinates that are in decimal degrees as displayed: 40.377117, -105.525514.

Add a map link to your page

Now that you know where you want to add a map and have the coordinates, it's time to have fun adding links to interactive maps to your articles or media.

Additional information about your map

Each map that you create, once the link is clicked on, will open in a new tab (or window).
Every map is fully interactive. It can be zoomed in and out or panned to view different areas.
Each map will have a caption below the map that will contain (by default) the center of the map coordinates or custom text.
There is a more details button that displays additional ways to display the map: satellite, topological, terrain, aerial or other external service providers (as available). The more details button is meant as a replacement for the GeoHack templated map service.
Each map will have a attribute line with a link to the OpenStreetMap copyright and license as well as a link to the Wikimedia maps terms of use and licensing page.
The interactive map can be closed by clicking the X in the top right hand corner of the map, clicking your browser's back button (if the map opened in your existing browser tab) or closing the tab (if the map opened in a new tab or window).

Easy map link samples

Just a link with coordinates: 40°22′38″N 105°31′32″W

<maplink latitude="40.377117" longitude="-105.525514" />

A link with custom text: Estes Park, CO You can also add in custom text to display something like this:

<maplink latitude="40.377117" longitude="-105.525514" text="Estes Park, CO" />

A link with custom text without a map icon in your article: An interactive map of Estes Park, CO If you would prefer your map link to display without the map icon, you can edit your code to be something like this:

<maplink latitude="40.377117" longitude="-105.525514" text="An interactive map of Estes Park, CO" class="no-icon" />

Set a custom zoom level for the map, once it's opened: A custom zoom level map of Estes Park, CO Let's now set a zoom level for the interactive map, since you might want to display your map closer into the city:

<maplink latitude="40.377117" longitude="-105.525514" text="A custom zoom level map of Estes Park, CO" zoom="15" />

Please read the notes after the code samples to be more informed about things that are good to know.