Mapping and Geocoding

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Mapping and Geocoding - Configure a mapping provider (e.g. Google or Yahoo) to display maps for contact addresses.

You can choose to use either Google or Yahoo! as your mapping provider depending on your preference. Check which service has the best coverage for your contact's locations. If the provider has coverage for a contact and / or event location - CiviCRM will automatically populate / update the Latitude and Longitude fields (geocoding) when the record is added or edited.

You can view the provider options at their respective websites:
http://www.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html
http://developer.yahoo.com/maps/

Map Provider - From the drop-down list, choose Google or Yahoo.

Provider Key - Enter your Google API Key OR your Yahoo Application ID. You can click the icon for instructions on obtaining the Key or ID.

Click Save to save your action or Cancel to cancel it.

If successful you will see the message "Your changes have been saved."

Intranet Server and/or Firewall Issues

If CiviCRM is installed on a server which does not have access to the public internet OR there is a firewall which prevents CiviCRM from communicating with the Google or Yahoo web services - you will see one or more fatal errors when attempting to add or edit contact records. You will need to either disable Mapping and Geocoding - or resolve the connectivity issue to resolve this.

After enabling the mapping provider, you may need to use this script to generate latitude/longitude information for existing contact addresses:

http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/display/CRMDOC/Batch+Geocoding+Script