Hi folks. Byron from Tripline here with an announcement of an upcoming change to the Tripline player.
As of September 2nd, Google is turning off their Maps API for Flash. This means I have no choice but to retire the current Flash-based Tripline map player and replace it with a Javascript version. I’ll be deploying a release with those changes at the end of August.
The Javascript version will have limited animation capabilities at first. I’ve been working on a new animation framework, but haven’t been able to get the experience as smooth as it is in Flash, so I’ve decided that the best approach is to release a simplified experience first, and continue developing the animation until I can get it working well. You can expect a series of releases this fall with those changes and more.
If you’re using our embedded maps on your own website, I’m working on a fix that will allow iframe-based embeds to display correctly without any changes. Object-based embeds may not work, so if you’re using those, you’ll need to replace your old embed code once we release the update at the end of August. I’ll share more info on that in the next few weeks.
I realize that changes like this can be frustrating, but we’re dependent on Google’s maps platform in this case, and we have to roll with the changes they make. Longer term, there are quite a few benefits from migrating to a pure Javascript framework (e.g., visibility of Tripline maps on mobile devices), so I think the net difference will be a positive one.
Also, in case you didn’t know, it’s just me working on the product at night and on the weekends, so please be patient as we go through this change. It’s going to be good.
Thanks for understanding, and look out for more updates over the next few weeks.
Safe travels,
Byron@Tripline
tl;dr: Google is turning off their Maps API for Flash on September 2nd, so Tripline is retiring their Flash-based map player at the end of August and replacing with a Javascript version. More info soon.
We are happy to announce a new Tripline release with a bunch of new functionality that we think you’ll love. Read on for the details, or head over to www.tripline.net and create a new map.
Travel Modes, Insert After & Custom Points
In the Tripline Editor, You can now click on the individual lines in your maps and set a travel mode. The options are:
1. Direct (straight line, default, good for flights) 2. Driving (line will follow recommended driving route) 3. Transit (line will follow rail/bus paths) 4. Bicycle (line will follow known bike routes / paths) 5. On Foot (line will follow known foot routes / trails) 6. Custom (you can manually adjust the line)
You’ll also notice an [ADD INTERMEDIATE WAYPOINT] button. That allows you to add a new waypoint in-between the two points on a line. Use this button if you want to have your path go through a specific city/town/intersection. Paths will update automatically.
You can also choose travel mode before adding a place by selecting [Travel Mode] from the dropdown above the search box. When you do this, the chosen mode will remain selected so all subsequent lines will get the same mode until you change it. This is a nice easy way to create road trips very quickly.
Another new addition to the search box is the [Insert After] dropdown list. This is a list of all the points in your map and you can use it to position new places in your list so you don’t have to add them to the bottom and then drag/drop.
You’ll also notice that we’ve changed the Custom Point section of the place search box. You can either paste in decimal lat/lng coordinates or click the [DROP POINT] button to drop a new point on the map wherever you want.
Map Types
You can now select a Map Type in the editor to display a different type of map. The default map type is still Terrain, but you can now turn off Terrain to display a regular Roadmap or choose Satellite mode.
Road maps and Satellite allow deeper zoom levels than Terrain, so they’re really useful for things like pub crawls, city walks and hikes where you want a lot of detail.
Player Updates
Based on your feedback, we’ve made some changes to the player to improve the playback experience.
1. Explore view by default – the player used to display a big play button when first loaded. Now the big play button is gone and you can hover over the places in your map right away. To start the animation, click the smaller blue play button at the upper right 2. Clickable links – Links in your place info are now clickable. 3. No delay on slideshows – When you set a place to slideshow mode, the photos will now start to display right away instead of displaying the place popup first.
Here are a few examples so you can see the new stuff in action:
LA Pub Crawl
Runyon Canyon Hike
Alamere Falls Day Trip
More New Features
We’ve also added a few new features in other areas of the site
1. Private user profiles – On your settings page, you can now select a checkbox to set your profile page to “Private”. This means that your profile page will only be visible to friends and it won’t be indexed by search engines.
2. Change your username – On your settings page, you can now change your username. This will also update the vanity url for your page.
3. Resizable maps – You can now resize the map in the Tripline editor. Just click and drag on the bottom edge of the map.
4. Full-width site – The Tripline site will now expand to fill your browser window
Bug Fixes
– Facebook Connect, Facebook App and Facebook photos are now working correctly
– Bug with Tripit Import putting places in the wrong location has been fixed
– Saving place info and uploading photos on the map page is now updating the player as expected
– Embedded videos will now be displayed without having to refresh the page
– We now support the new youtu.be links from YouTube
– You can now remove your profile photo on your settings page
Thanks as always for being part of Tripline and send an email to support@tripline.net if you have any questions, or add a comment below.
Newsmappers has created a great map of the Space Shuttle Endeavor’s final journey to Los Angeles, including photos and videos from the cross-country trip, the epic flyover of California landmarks and details of the overland route from LAX to the California Science Center next month.  Check it out:
We just launched a small release tonight with a few notable features:
We added the Facebook friend map to the main site (previously it was only available in our Facebook app). Â If you’ve connected your Tripline account to Facebook, you’ll now see a [Load Friend Map] button on the logged in home page. Â Click on this to display a map of your Facebook and Tripline friends, including:
Latest checkins around the globe
Tripline maps in progress
All Tripline maps with friends
Where your Facebook friends live now
Where your Facebook friends grew up
We changed the activity feed on the home page to load asynchronously (you know, the “Loading…” text with a spinner). Â Our activity feed is getting pretty active these days, so loading asynchronously will speed up initial page load time quite a bit.
The mobile app now loads your past 25 maps instead of 15
We also fixed several other small bugs
That’s it for now. We’re continuing to work on more features, so as always, email support@tripline.net if there’s something you’d like us to do, or if you’re having any trouble.
