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Latest Project
GP Surgery Dot Info
The GP Surgery idea was created after we were approached by a GP and comissioned to create a website for this GP. Rather than just build a single website, we decided to work with Google Maps and create a visual interface for the directory we are going to create. The process, or processes, is outlined within the subdirectories on our main site.
Going Live
Our latest project is a combination of WordPress, DirectoryPress and Google Maps. Suffice to say that nothing we had anticipated to be easy was that easy. We managed to get to grips with the directory script within the wordpress quite quickly. Setting the single post page (single.php) up however was not as straight forward. The process saw us work on a number of other directories at the same time to experiment with various integartion of various functions. This project went “live” in March 2011.
Database Includes
For those that have browsed some of our other sub directories on our website you might have noticed the other directory scripts we have worked on. In the plugin directory, we had quite a challenge to include the videos (courtesy of Youtube).
The problem was getting the full url of the YouTube video to be called from the database within the embed code. This created a major headache with lots of errors. The solution was actually quite easy. Reduce the length of the url and just focus on the specific YouTube video ID. This ”shortcut” will come to haunt us in the future when we are required to work with another video sharing site, or the client will require the full YouTube url. 
Page Layouts
You will also notice the varied layouts on the turnkey directory site and the plugin directory site. These were just basic experiments to see how much we can manipulate the layout without any manual work after the submit form in the directory has been completed. The layouts are varied and we look forward into completing our ACTUAL project to showcase our experience and understanding of this script. WordPress power.
Google Maps
Within our GP Surgery Directory site we have extensively researched the integration of various google maps from the database we have created. These maps are all created differently using a variety of code. Firstly there is the map on the homepage.
HomePage Map
The home page map is an example of using an iframe and displaying a html page with googlemap and map functions on. The map in this instance is the UK with a directory for GP surgeries in the UK.
This map is ”created” by using the SUBMIT form on the GP Surgery Directory. This ”writes” the relevant data to the WordPress database. This ”data” is then used on various instances to effect a different display.
Streetview Map
With Google adding streetview functionality to their interactive maps we wanted to try the function as well. We have displayed a ”streetview” of the specific GP Surgery address, as listed in the directory. This created a problem in that the available data and the Google Map Streetview function doesn’t always correlate.
The UK Post Code location, courtesy of Royal Mail, and the Google exact longitude and latitude placement can sometimes create ”unique” locations for the desired address.
Pin Location Change Map Function
To address this issue, we had to create a map that would allow users (GP Surgery staff or the public users) have a chance to place the pin location for the GP Surgery correctly. You can view an example of this map here.
Practice Area Map
The last map we have used on the GP Surgery web directory was a area map for a specific GP Surgery Practice. Of course we had image options and static map options, but it seemed something new to try. The map can be more specific and the included area can be quite exactly created.
You can view the practice-map area-map here
Map development Project
The Map Functions that Google have provided with the free API v3 release is very creative. We are developing some new combinations of these functions on working websites.
We have also added a seperate section on our website that will deal with the maps we create.
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