"Share map center" shown on Google Maps with wrong position

[svartbjorn]

The follwing is really weird in Google Maps:

 - I choose "Sharing map center"/"Insert coordinates as URL" and send it with email.
 - If open the email on my PC and click on the URL. Google  Maps displays the map center with a green arrow, but centers the map at a quite different location where a red marker is displayed with an address. By testing this seems to be the closest location where Google Maps can find a valid street address. That makes no sense if I share my position far out in the woods or in the mountains.
 - If I open the email on my mobile and choose Google Maps to show the position, Google Maps only displays the location with the red marker (which is the closest location with a street address.
 - If I open the email on my mobile and choose Locus to show the position, Locus shows the correct location I shared.

So Locus seems to send the correct coordinates, but Google Maps tries to map that to a valid street address. I can't find any setting in Google Maps to control this.
However, if I send my position with another GPS program, the link sent looks dofferent:

Locus link: http://mapof.it/h/xxxxxx
Another GPS program: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:xxx,yyy

Does this explain why the position sent is interpreted differently? If so, the Locus way of sending the location should be changed to the other approach.

[svartbjorn]

Menion - any ideas?

[menion]

hmm forget to answer ...

I'm using "geohash" to create url on map point and then server http://mapof.it that allow to use this geohash directly. Nice feature I think. Short url, fast to create and also not directly attached to google maps. Anyway as you mentioned ... some place issue. Problem is that google maps support many url values like as you wrote ?q= but also some ?ll= and few more. Every show result in different way and using ?q=, seems to display data in behavior you mentioned. But interpreting data to ?q= format, do mapof.it server and not my url. So if I want use geohash url syntax, there is no other way.

Solution should be to use own direct web url to some map. Question here is ... why you care a lot about it? All softwares and apps except mobile GMaps opens data correctly right?

[svartbjorn]

Question here is ... why you care a lot about it? All softwares and apps except mobile GMaps opens data correctly right?

I often send my position to friends. Opening the link in Google  Maps would be the natural way for most people. What else would they use? So this is actually important. I now have to use other apps like MyPosition or GPS Status to send my position. That's a pity. Would it be possible to choose the url syntax? E.g. today the command is "Share map center" > + > "Insert coordinates as URL". May be you could add another line saying "Insert coordinates as Google Maps URL"? Or would that create a problem with mapof.it?

[menion]

nono no problem, I'll look at it .. do you need it till you vacation? eh .. I'll look at it now, till I forget it

EDIT: do you know (or do you have already tested) some perfectly working url syntax to google maps?

[stebu]

Hi
You mean like:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=N+60.2222+E+24.8888
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=N+60%c2%b ... 44+%28some text%29
They seem to work.

[svartbjorn]

Menion - no hurry. This is not urgent at all. Just this Locus feature is great, so it should work with such a key app as Google Maps.
I have not tested url syntax. But you could verify with the apps I mentioned - "GPS Status & Toolbox" and MyPosition. Both of them use a syntax that shows the correct position on Google Maps.

[menion]

ok, so try this test (Free) version please and let me know if this format fits your needs ...

[svartbjorn]

Sorry, but same problem. The location shown on Google Maps is far from my sent position. GMaps shows the closest location is can find with a street address.

You can easily recreate the issue by moving map center to a point out in the wilderness with no streets around. Send it to yourself and display it in GMaps.

[menion]

hmm fine, so new way probably found
check these ...
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=locus@50.0,15.0
and
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=50.0,15.0

so first seems to be correct way, implemented ...

[svartbjorn]

Exactly. The first one is correct. The second one is how I get it. I'll be busy until late tonight, so you know in case you want me to test something.

[menion]

no more testing needed, thanks. This is working and it's too simple to test. I'll release new version at the end of week (depend on speed of new maps generating - so I hope it will be done till end of week)

[dag0]

I would apreciate having the ability to choose between these url-formats when sharing the coordinates of a poi too! Would this be possible?