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Maps Blog — Sep 2008

Sep

30

20 08

Geocoding with the Virtual Earth Web Service

For those of you who may want to get access to the 85 million unique rooftop or parcel centroid accurate points we've aggregated in the Virtual Earth Web Service (VEWS), I figured it was only fair that I post a little something to help move you along. Hopefully, this helps you get past a sticking point in your application development. Also, I did all of this on staging so everyone who has an account can do this. Okay, so, first things first, you need to authenticate - see my post Authentication and Tokens with Virtual Earth for authentication. You'll need a token to use any part of the VEWS and there's a good explanation on how to do that for VEWS in my other post (and information on getting a map) - Getting a Map with the Virtual Earth Web Service , but I'll copy the code to be nice. The application consists of 3 files - Authentication.cs (a class file for getting me a token); Geocoding.aspx (the UI file for adding web parts); and, Geocoding.aspx.cs (the code behind file where the magic happens). As for my code, it's only meant to get you up and running to understand architecture - it is not production code. You'll want error handling and try catches and all the good stuff - this is... Read More For those of you who may want to get access to the 85 million unique rooftop or parcel centroid accurate points we've aggregated in the Virtual Earth Web Service (VEWS), I figured it was only fair that I post a little something to help move you along. Hopefully, this helps you get past a sticking point in your application development. Also, I did all of this on staging so everyone who has an account can do this. Okay, so, first things first, you need to authenticate - see my post Authentication and Tokens with Virtual Earth for authentication. You'll need a token to use any part of the VEWS and... Read More
Sep

29

20 08

Virtual Earth Gallery in trueSpace; Plus...

We're looking for a few good 3D designers to submit their best 3D work in Microsoft Virtual Earth (or Live Search Maps ). A new addition to the Caligari (trueSpace) 3D Authoring and Collaboration site is a Virtual Earth Gallery specifically dedicated projects with geolocation in mind. You can browse through user submitted 3D objects to place them in your collection in Live Search Maps. For more information on how to do this, you can review my post - Announcing trueSpace for Virtual Earth 3D Development - please note trueSpace 7.6 is FREE. Don't pay for it on some rip off web site - Register and Download trueSpace 7.6 for free . In addition to my post, the Caligari team has improved some of their own documentation explaining Windows Live ID and some finer details about the integration with a Virtual Earth and trueSpace primer . Also, we've setup a monthly trueSpace / Virtual Earth integration contest to up the ante, as it were. We hope to see some really cool 3D models uploaded into Live Search Maps as a part of this effort. The movie above was submitted by Stephen May, our first winner (August, 2008) whose "Wizitch Tower" model is a beautiful addition to Live Search Maps'... Read More We're looking for a few good 3D designers to submit their best 3D work in Microsoft Virtual Earth (or Live Search Maps ). A new addition to the Caligari (trueSpace) 3D Authoring and Collaboration site is a Virtual Earth Gallery specifically dedicated projects with geolocation in mind. You can browse through user submitted 3D objects to place them in your collection in Live Search Maps. For more information on how to do this, you can review my post - Announcing trueSpace for Virtual Earth 3D Development - please note trueSpace 7.6 is FREE. Don't pay for it on some rip off web site - Register and... Read More
Sep

26

20 08

Getting a Map with the Virtual Earth Web...

The most basic element of Virtual Earth - maps. The Virtual Earth AJAX control is pretty simple because you could just copy and paste code into notepad, save it and run it in a browser. Well, the Virtual Earth Web Service (VEWS) is a bit of a different animal. It uses WCF and WSDL to specify service pointers of where you should be getting maps, directions, YP and Collections, and routes. I figured it would be helpful, what with my deep background in MapPoint Web Service which has a similar architecture, to provide some help on how the Virtual Earth Web Service works. So, over the next few weeks I'll post some (hopefully) helpful samples that will get you past some sticking points. We'll start with just getting a map. I should mention that because I work at Microsoft, these samples will be in ASP .Net (C#), so hopefully understanding the logic will help you translate to whatever language you're working with. If you only do JavaScript / Web Development, you're going to need some more books, because you have some learning to do. With the VEWS, it is required that all users authenticate. So, you'll need to sign up for a developer account , then authenticate your usage with our HTTP Digest... Read More The most basic element of Virtual Earth - maps. The Virtual Earth AJAX control is pretty simple because you could just copy and paste code into notepad, save it and run it in a browser. Well, the Virtual Earth Web Service (VEWS) is a bit of a different animal. It uses WCF and WSDL to specify service pointers of where you should be getting maps, directions, YP and Collections, and routes. I figured it would be helpful, what with my deep background in MapPoint Web Service which has a similar architecture, to provide some help on how the Virtual Earth Web Service works. So, over the next few weeks... Read More
Sep

25

20 08

Building Virtual Earth Applications for...

Ok, so let's just jump in with both feet here. I have a post for "Getting a Map with the Virtual Earth Web Service" to tip your toe in the water, but with all of the emails I'm getting about this I better go ahead and just write it up and get it out there so I can just point people to it. This will be an architectural overview to get you started. I haven't written the code, my iPhone is on order, and my Objective-C needs work, but for the folks who are building iPhone applications and saw Loopt and Weather Central's applications and saw my post about Announcing The Virtual Earth Web Service and Virtual Earth Map Control 6.2 , well, it's time to party on iPhone. "This is so exciting!" - Craig Robinson, Pineapple Express. Sign Up & Documentation First things first, you'll need a Virtual Earth Web Service developer account to get started so go sign up. VEWS is fully documented on MSDN , so you'll want to have that accessible. Also, it is downloadable as a .chm file if you don't want to have to look online all the time. Coding - 4 Major Steps (1) First, you'll need to authenticate against the Virtual Earth Web Service (VEWS) so, you'll want to review the MSDN technical... Read More Ok, so let's just jump in with both feet here. I have a post for "Getting a Map with the Virtual Earth Web Service" to tip your toe in the water, but with all of the emails I'm getting about this I better go ahead and just write it up and get it out there so I can just point people to it. This will be an architectural overview to get you started. I haven't written the code, my iPhone is on order, and my Objective-C needs work, but for the folks who are building iPhone applications and saw Loopt and Weather Central's applications and saw my post about Announcing The Virtual Earth Web Service... Read More
Sep

24

20 08

Announcing The Virtual Earth Web Service...

If you follow Microsoft Virtual Earth I'm sure you've picked up some blog posts that posted some of the features for this release, but those posts mysteriously disappeared. Information leaked out and you wondered, "Was that real?" Well, finally the definitive source on the new Virtual Earth Web Service and the new Virtual Earth Map Control 6.2 I deliver to you. If you want to skip the descriptor and just get coding you'll be happy to know the Virtual Earth AJAX Control SDK on MSDN , as well as, the Virtual Earth Interactive SDK have both been updated. New Mobile Support Users can now build mobile applications with Virtual Earth, which offers more features and enhancements to support mobile platforms such as, Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry and Apple iPhone. Rich imagery creates immersive mobile end-user experiences that bring location-based information to life. Rich Imagery for Mobile. Mobile applications feature geocoding and new maps rendered specifically for mobile devices. More flexibility to develop mobile features. The new Virtual Earth Web Services will support features (mapping, geocoding, and routing) that can be implemented for use on mobile devices. Enhanced... Read More If you follow Microsoft Virtual Earth I'm sure you've picked up some blog posts that posted some of the features for this release, but those posts mysteriously disappeared. Information leaked out and you wondered, "Was that real?" Well, finally the definitive source on the new Virtual Earth Web Service and the new Virtual Earth Map Control 6.2 I deliver to you. If you want to skip the descriptor and just get coding you'll be happy to know the Virtual Earth AJAX Control SDK on MSDN , as well as, the Virtual Earth Interactive SDK have both been updated. New Mobile Support Users can now build mobile... Read More
Sep

24

20 08

New Feature Release of Live Search Maps...

We've just made updates to our consumer site, Live Search Maps which are tied back to some of the updates in the Virtual Earth platform - there's a slough of posts coming from me today! For the release we've included some AWESOME new features for users to enjoy, so please...enjoy! Communities Community submitted collections are now indexed immediately after upload and can be searched seconds after they are created. In addition to this, we provide better overall information retrieval by using collections data to augment search results in the “business” scope in cases where limited or no business listings exist that meet the search criteria. Local Search Vertical Search refinement - Searches can now be refined further through filters that become available based on what you search for. Hotels, Restaurants, and generic queries each have filters that you can use. Related searches - Related categories and neighborhoods with result counts allow you to see how many results there are before selecting a related search. This is the first time we’ve expose aggregate counts on the results page. These will be present for many filters and related searches in future releases. YPC... Read More We've just made updates to our consumer site, Live Search Maps which are tied back to some of the updates in the Virtual Earth platform - there's a slough of posts coming from me today! For the release we've included some AWESOME new features for users to enjoy, so please...enjoy! Communities Community submitted collections are now indexed immediately after upload and can be searched seconds after they are created. In addition to this, we provide better overall information retrieval by using collections data to augment search results in the “business” scope in cases where limited or no business... Read More
Sep

24

20 08

New Version of Microsoft Virtual Earth...

We've released a new version of Virtual Earth 3D today. When you get to Live Search Maps and click 3D you'll be prompted to update your 3D control. As a part of this, you can also download the latest and greatest bits of 3DVia from Dassault Systèmes (or go to the 3DVia download center on Live.com ). As for Dassault, well, they've just opened up their 3D model inventory hosted in 3DVia.com's 3D online content library as a part of a program called "remix" which is effectively a 3D mashup creator with Virtual Earth. You now have access to thousands of models hosted on 3DVia.com that can be "remixed" in 3DVia and hosted on Live Search Maps for rendering in your Virtual Earth application. Whoa. Additionally, they've updated the UI and navigation to be more user friendly (thank you!) and released video tutorials illustrating among other things how to build a house in less than 5 minutes. I'll be putting THAT to the test! Check out this sweet castle. I'm going to make it mine and put it on North Beach in Coronado. You can read more in their press release which included the following quote from our very own Microsoft Virtual Earth General Manager Stephen Lawler, "Through... Read More We've released a new version of Virtual Earth 3D today. When you get to Live Search Maps and click 3D you'll be prompted to update your 3D control. As a part of this, you can also download the latest and greatest bits of 3DVia from Dassault Systèmes (or go to the 3DVia download center on Live.com ). As for Dassault, well, they've just opened up their 3D model inventory hosted in 3DVia.com's 3D online content library as a part of a program called "remix" which is effectively a 3D mashup creator with Virtual Earth. You now have access to thousands of models hosted on 3DVia.com that... Read More
Sep

23

20 08

Authentication and Tokens with Virtual...

So, there's an MSDN technical article posted online showing users how to authenticate and grab tokens for their Virtual Earth application - Implementing Customer Identification . Microsoft Virtual Earth authentication is required for (1) Enterprise Customers with a Virtual Earth license; (2) access to the staging platform; (3) access to certain features like traffic overlays and extracting route geometry. I found some of these things didn't work as I thought they should, so I started troubleshooting. I added my ASMX web reference and found CommonServiceSoap() didn't exist (a MapPoint Web Service relic), so I changed it to CommonService() and it worked fine. If you're having issues getting tokens, this is likely why. Also, I should mention if you're getting a 401 Unauthorized, it means your account doesn't have access to the service you're requesting - so make sure (a) your account is valid - go to the customer service site for this; or, (b) ensure you have the right level of permissions in your account for accessing the services you want. Here's the code that worked for me. Default.aspx <%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="Default... Read More So, there's an MSDN technical article posted online showing users how to authenticate and grab tokens for their Virtual Earth application - Implementing Customer Identification . Microsoft Virtual Earth authentication is required for (1) Enterprise Customers with a Virtual Earth license; (2) access to the staging platform; (3) access to certain features like traffic overlays and extracting route geometry. I found some of these things didn't work as I thought they should, so I started troubleshooting. I added my ASMX web reference and found CommonServiceSoap() didn't exist (a MapPoint Web Service... Read More
Sep

22

20 08

Disabling the Bird's Eye View Indicator

Microsoft Virtual Earth has a very helpful indicator window that lets you know when Bird's Eye View is available in a particular spot on the map; however, you may find the indicator annoying or a nuisance for smaller maps, so here's how you disable it. First, here's an application centered on Las Vegas. Check out the Bird's Eye indicator just getting in the way, because the map is so small (400 x 300). Now, here's the code for the application of just getting a map and by default the Bird's Eye indicator pops up when you get to zoom level 10. <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" " http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd" > <html> <head> <title>Disabling the Bird's Eye View Indicator</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">  <script src=" http://dev.virtualearth.net/mapcontrol/mapcontrol.ashx?v=6.1" ></script> <script> var... Read More Microsoft Virtual Earth has a very helpful indicator window that lets you know when Bird's Eye View is available in a particular spot on the map; however, you may find the indicator annoying or a nuisance for smaller maps, so here's how you disable it. First, here's an application centered on Las Vegas. Check out the Bird's Eye indicator just getting in the way, because the map is so small (400 x 300). Now, here's the code for the application of just getting a map and by default the Bird's Eye indicator pops up when you get to zoom level 10. <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0... Read More
Sep

22

20 08

Texas Loves Virtual Earth

And, Virtual Earth loves Texas! Check out the Texas Department of Transportation web sites that are leveraging Microsoft Virtual Earth to better visualize their traffic flow and incident information. Check out these cities with their respective information visualization. El Paso launched a few months ago with a simple checkbox format. Check the box for turning on information (1) along certain routes - Interstate Highway 10, US Freeway 54, the 375 Loop, Mesa St, Montana Ave, or all side streets where data is available; (2) live web cameras; (3) Digital Messaging Signs (which I LOVE, btw - being able to see what it is displayed on the road signs from the web - so cool!); (4) incidents; and (5) closures. A simple interface for some really great data. Houston has also been live for a while and is robust with links for data and a drop down for map controls. If you click the links down the left, you'll be taken to another web page; however, if you want to see the data integrated with the map you simply need to pull down the "Map Controls" arrow at the top for checking off flow data, incidents, lane closures, cameras, and message signs. You can also zoom in and out of the map there... Read More And, Virtual Earth loves Texas! Check out the Texas Department of Transportation web sites that are leveraging Microsoft Virtual Earth to better visualize their traffic flow and incident information. Check out these cities with their respective information visualization. El Paso launched a few months ago with a simple checkbox format. Check the box for turning on information (1) along certain routes - Interstate Highway 10, US Freeway 54, the 375 Loop, Mesa St, Montana Ave, or all side streets where data is available; (2) live web cameras; (3) Digital Messaging Signs (which I LOVE, btw - being... Read More