Using Flash to create a web mapping app?

[Iain71]

This is something I've been tasked with having a look at - I've done a bit of
web design work, and have used Flash a little, so familiar with the principles
of the timeline, keyframing, and twining etc.

The sort of thing we might be looking to produce would be similar to this site
below :

http://www.waterscape.com/Northern_Marches/map/

If anyone could give me any pointers as to how technically challenging that
might get, or is it the sort of thing that although looks complex, might be
relatively easy to achieve armed with a reasonable understanding of the Flash
principles that are driving it.

Cheers.

[The Feldkircher]

Hi

Its curious that you chose a site with absolutely no Flash content what-so-ever, so I am a liitle confused as to what it is you need. Is it the look, feel or design? your after.

[Iain71]

The mapping app, where you zoom and pan around, and click on icons to pull up
info was all built with Flash apparently - or to be more specific using Ming,
which I hadn't heard of, but is an open source PHP thing that let's you create
Flash apps without Flash itself.

[The Feldkircher]

Hi again

Now I understand, the complexity of the controls is minor to the complexity of
the map data.
A simple solution is to use a system that already exists and implement it in
your site.

Take a look at http://www.google.com/apis/maps/

Hope it helps

[Iain71]

I work for a mapping company, so what we're looking at is producing something
in house. We may end up licencing street level data through the google maps API
thing, but we saw this, and thought it might be worth looking at to get some
idea of what we might be able to come up with ourselves.

So I guess the first step would be create an SWF of a set size, with some
sample mapping of several times the dimensions of the SWF, and add in the
navigation functionality - ie moving around the map image.

[The Feldkircher]

Hi

Yes exactly, although I would tend towards an Actionscript solution rather
than using the Timeline.
Refresh speed and ease of motion are paramount in this type of application,
Actionscript undoubtedly
will give you a more defined approach to control and extensibility.

It's an interesting task, neither simple nor too complex - Flash would
definetly be my tool of choice.

If you need any help with sample coding or how-to's then don't hesitate to
post me a line.

[Iain71]

Cheers - it's really an initial looksee. I've done a bit of website design up
to database stuff using mySQL / PHP, and some basic flash stuff, so I get
collared with any web related stuff - but I enjoy it (do a bit of freelance
stuff in my own time) so am keen to develop those skills as much as i can. So
my checking it out on here is really to try to keep me a step or two ahead of
anything we might look to do.

So I'm really coming to it knowing that Flash can do it, but not sure where to
start with - on the one hand it's reinventing the wheel of something like the
non Flash Multimap, but on the other we need to start somewhere, and we came
across an interesting article in a cartographic journal about the site above
that did it in house, on the cheap, and with a good user experience (ie smooth
zooming, rather than redrawing) just using Flash.

I don't really know much about action script - so if you know of any good
tutorial type things kicking around the net anywhere that might achieve in the
first instance that exercise of having a big map image load in the background
with a limited area that could be navigated around, that would be a great start.

[The Feldkircher]

Hi

I will cobble together an example of a simple structure, at least you'll have something to improve.

Stay Tuned

[Iain71]

Thank you - that would be much appreciated.

[The Feldkircher]

Hi

OK! I have something, it's relatively primitive - but it will give you an
indictation of how easy it is to manipulate objects in Flash.
Obviously I don't have access to Dynamic Map Data, so I have used a static
image that you can move around, zoom in an out.

I need an email address where I can send you the file.

[Iain71]

Thank you - you can send it to iain dot macdonald at blueyonder dot co dot uk

If I can get that bit sussed it'll be a start, and then maybe get on to some
of our techies here about the dynamic data.