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Another mapping program

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:17 am
by hpaulsen
I know there have been several mapping programs and methods posted here, but none did quite what we wanted in our ward. So, I have been working on a program that I hope will be helpful to others:

http://hpaulsen.com/hpaulsen.com/WardMap.html

I've tested it in Mac and Windows, but it should work in Linux as well. Note that this is definitely beta software - standard disclaimers apply.

I'd love to hear comments, pro and con.

Note: to use this, you need a membership.csv file from MLS.

Note 2: there are no instructions yet. I tried to make it simple, but...

Getting started:
-Go to the website above and install the program (and the Adobe AIR runtime).
-Make sure you have an active internet connection while using the program
-Run the program
-Click on "Create New Ward File"
-Choose a name and location for the file
-Follow the prompts to import your Membership.csv file
-Follow the prompts to map the members

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:27 pm
by lajackson
HPaulsen wrote:-Make sure you have an active internet connection while using the program
This program appears quite promising, but I have a question. Does the membership information actually go out onto the internet, or does it stay on the local computer. If it stays on the local computer, I think it would be ok, but if the information goes out onto the internet, I think there would be a problem.

I read the information you posted at your site, and you do mention that the program could be run without a connection, although it would be desirable to be connected.

So, I was just wondering if the membership data stays local.

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:05 am
by hpaulsen
The only information that is sent to google is the address.

-Edit-
Also, there will be no map without the internet connection, though you will be able to get quick lists of people/families in each GEO code.

-Another edit-
Also (again), the membership information is stored on the computer in an encrypted sqlite file to further enhance the security - though I'm not currently requiring a password to open/view the information within the program.

Updated!

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:19 am
by hpaulsen
The program has been updated! It now allows for drawing regions directly on the map, manually placing addresses that the geocoder couldn't find, and automatically determining which members are not assigned to the correct GEO codes in MLS! Several other minor improvements, and a few lingering known issues....

Wow !!

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:45 pm
by jeromer7
I finally carved out a few minutes to give this a spin. I'm really impressed and offer many thanks for sharing the efforts of your labors.

I haven't worked through all the options yet, but interface is pretty intuitive so far. Took 1601 entries from my stake membership.csv with no complaint, but I wouldn't suggest doing that on a dial-up. :D

Only comment after my cursory review: it would be nice to be able to get the Geo codes listed alphabetically.

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:32 pm
by hpaulsen
I hadn't meant this for stakes. I'm glad (and a little surprised) that it worked ok. I don't currently, have any method for viewing individual wards within the stake. Would that be useful, or do you think the GEO code filtering is sufficient?

Thanks for trying it, and thanks for the suggestion - I'll try to have that for the next version.

Incidentally, although I haven't tried it, I would expect the geocoding to be only slightly slower on dialup. The reason is that the program puts a small pause between each address (per google's request) to slow it down.

-Hyrum

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:57 pm
by jeromer7
HPaulsen wrote:I don't currently, have any method for viewing individual wards within the stake. Would that be useful, or do you think the GEO code filtering is sufficient?
I'll have to play with it as I have time available. Right now, just being able to get a map with the current relationships you have provided is awesome. Being able to segregate by ward would be a nice future feature if you could figure it out.

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:22 pm
by opee
JLRose wrote:Being able to segregate by ward would be a nice future feature if you could figure it out.

I tweaked the Membership file so that the Stake GeoCode in corresponded to each unit. (i.e. All of First Ward said "1st" in the Stake GeoCode, all of 2nd ward had "2nd", etc.) I was then able to go into the program and filter by Stake GeoCode to see each unit separately.

This is a work-around. It would be nice if you could automatically see all of the units in different colors without having to tweak the GeoCodes.

HPaulsen's Interactive Ward Maps.Version 0.5

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:20 pm
by pete_arnett-p40
Brother Hyrum Paulsen,

The new version appears to be working great and thanks for the update

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:48 pm
by hpaulsen
Thanks. For others interested, it now imports home/visiting teaching and organization data. I am storing the wards for stake files, but forgot to include a filter for it. Sorry. I'll have that out soon.

I hadn't thought of different colors for the different wards. Unfortunately, that would require a semi-major overhaul of the code; instead, I would suggest drawing the ward boundaries as regions.