Wherever you are, you can view, filter, and search your maps faster than ever before. We have completely updated BatchGeo Mobile, our native iOS app for accessing your maps. You can now use any iOS device and see the same great interface to your map data that you’ve come to expect with BatchGeo.

Among the improvements we’ve added to BatchGeo Mobile are:

• Updated to support the latest versions of iOS 10
• Added Google Maps rendering for a consistent, fast look
• Included our advanced mode features like heat map and data view

The latest enhancements for BatchGeo Mobile make it an even better choice for on-the-go maps. Use the GPS-enabled app for customer visits, sales maps, or other data you want to access anywhere.

Google Maps: Filter, Zoom, Select

As with the web version of BatchGeo, the iOS app now is built upon the industry-leading Google Maps platform. We’ve taken a speed-first approach, ensuring you can see your map and data as quickly as possible. To orient you easily, we’ve modeled the interface after the web version, so you know exactly how to use your data, no matter where you are.

Use the powerful grouping feature to drill down at a specific subset of your data. Non-location columns in your spreadsheet are available to filter your map by category values or numeric ranges. Maps with thousands of locations can keep you focused when you select just the fields you need to see in the moment. Pair this with your current GPS location, and you’ll see what’s important in any locale.

Find your nearest marker, search across the data, or drag and zoom your way to what you seek. Tap a marker to see its underlying data. BatchGeo Mobile means fast access to your own data.

BatchGeo Pro: Advanced Mode for Your Whole Team

The new version of BatchGeo Mobile also makes our popular advanced mode available on your iOS device. Visualize your data with heat maps, a layer that shows the density of your markers to show the “hot spots.” Or check out the details in your data with a spreadsheet-like view that takes you to each location in a click.

You may have noticed that maps with many markers end up communicating density through the overlap of markers. Additionally, you can use clustering to aggregate and visualize underlying data. But neither of those quite get the story within the data across like a heat map. Our algorithm calculates the areas of highest density, then layers a partially-transparent visual over the map so you can see the underlying areas. Our customers frequently identify new insights with this view at their own data.

On the other end of the spectrum is data view, which helps BatchGeo Pro users dig into the details within their data. Use data view to take a quick look into tabular data akin to a spreadsheet. Sort by any field to find the best and worst in a category, then tap a row to see it quickly appear on the map above.

To turn on either of these features, tap and hold on your map, then select the option you’d like to enable. Inspect your locations with data view and make it come to life with heat maps.

Share Maps Across Web and Mobile

We think you’ll enjoy BatchGeo Mobile so much, you’ll want everyone on your team to see the world the way you do. That’s why we’ve built sharing into the app from the start. Some improvements in the latest version make it even more useful.

Filter your map list to distinguish your personal maps from those the rest of the team is sharing. That way, you always know whose map is whose.

Even better, sharing maps with others is simpler than ever. Now BatchGeo Mobile supports both email and the native iMessage platform to send links to shared maps. You’ll save your team time and always have maps at your fingertips.

Try BatchGeo Mobile Today

BatchGeo Mobile is faster than ever, with a consistent look powered by Google Maps. Take advantage of grouping data, heat mapping, sharing, and more. Download BatchGeo Mobile today and access your maps wherever you go.

Huzzah! Thou art findeth the map you seek!

All around the world, though particularly in the United States, thousands gather to pretend they have none of the comforts of modern life. They trade their iPhones for eye patches and other 16th century garb. They wear baggy, colorful clothes and often get into character with others at Renaissance Fairs (though many choose the more traditional “Faire”).

These events, often simply abbreviated RenFaire, encouraged cosplay before that was even a term. The stories of the setting, and the characters, are often elaborate. The map below shows 76 RenFaires, along with the year established, season, attendance, and more.

View Renaissance Fairs in a full screen map

Though clearly a US phenomenon, RenFaires are also seen throughout Europe, as well as in Canada and Australia. There is only one RenFaire in England, which serves as the fictional setting for most fairs throughout the world. England’s fair, which takes place in York, is not exactly renaissance (the period between 1300 and 1700). York’s fair is called the Viking Festival, set in the town of “Jorvik” in 948 A.D.

Accuracy vs Entertainment

Most RenFaires choose England of the 1500s or 1600s as their setting. A dozen specifically call out the Elizabethan era of 1558-1603. The backstories, official and otherwise, can become highly involved, of course. Some choose real towns and settings, while others fictionalize the details, including monarchs who never reigned.

Whether to stay true to the history is one of the biggest questions in the renaissance fair community. Some take accuracy very seriously in terms of costume, setting, and events. Others see the fair as collaborative entertainment, with authenticity taking a back seat to fun. Still others go deep into the fictional nature, adding fantasy elements to the festivities. One third of the fairs mapped above describe some fantasy element, some even calling their events “immersive fantasy” experiences.

Often a fair’s accuracy is built into the theme created by the organizers. Four separate fairs are specifically set in the folkloric times of King Arthur, while another is focused on the Three Musketeers. Yet, to the outside observer, there’s probably more in common between RenFaires than differences.

Where Can I Find a Renaissance Fair?

Most RenFaires (over 75% of the map above) take place in the United States. However, those fairs are spread throughout 30 states. They are based as far west as Alaska and all the way to Massachusetts to the east. The state with the most RenFaires is Florida, home to seven fairs. You could entertain yourself at five RenFaires from January through April in Florida, then come back for the two that take place in November.

California and Texas each have five fairs each. Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Michigan all have three fairs. Another eight states have two fairs. You can find many of these by using the grouping feature of the map. Select Region from the dropdown in the lower left of the map, then choose the state(s) you’d like to filter.

You can do the same thing with countries. Select Country from the dropdown in the lower left, then choose the countries to filter. As mentioned before, the United States has by far the most (58). Next comes Canada and Italy, both with three. Australia is next with two, and all other countries have at most one on this map.

Some fairs are small and some are large, both in terms of space and attendance. The fair that claims the most number of people is the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission, Texas. Over nine weekends in October and November, the fair claims 678,500 participants. Norman, Oklahoma, is home to the next-largest, which sees 350,000 people across a single weekend in April. Minnesota Renaissance Festival comes in next at 320,000 attendees. Another eight fairs see 200,000+ attendees.

One of those eight is the largest in another way—acreage. The Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur takes place on 338 acres, most of which is dedicated to camping. The fair itself is 60 acres, which still may make it the largest. A big area does not always mean many attendees. The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival (in West Newton, outside Pittsburgh) has a modest 55,000 people, but maintains 300 acres.

You can find your nearest RenFaire using the location search in the map above, or filling out this form:

Just enter your city or postal code and the closest RenFaire will display, along with its details. Every BatchGeo map comes with a location finder like this one.

History of RenFaires

RenFaires started in early 1960s Southern California with the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. The event is still happening every April and May in Irwindale. Two others have joined it at different time of years in the south of the Golden State, with another two further north.

The midwest is home to some other early RenFaires: Minnesota Renaissance Festival started in 1971 and Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin came a year later. The latter is interesting in that it is set in 1574 in the English city of the same name–Bristol, England.

At least a dozen RenFaires opened in the 1970s, with another 10 on the map coming in the 1980s. There were 21 in the 1990s and 20 in the 2000s, though it’s hard to really claim that as the heyday. Since the map includes fairs currently operating, there could have been fairs that started earlier that no longer operate. Still, it clearly continues to be popular, with 10 already added in the 2010s.

Almost half of RenFaires have permanent locations, often with structures that remain year-round. This is especially true of the larger venues in less populous areas. Yet, for as little as one weekend to as much as two months, these places bring to life a time from the past.

You have some data you want to put on a map, but then you want to make your interactive map available for others to use. You want to put that map into a website, on social networks, in emails, and everywhere else someone might look.

We’ve created this article to help you embed a map anywhere:

• Websites in HTML
• WordPress
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Google Slides
• iPhone

Are there other places you’d like to put a map? Let us know!

Embed a Map in HTML

If you have control of your whole website, or use a platform that lets you include full HTML, an interactive map is the way to go. You’ve likely used these to get driving directions, look up store locations, or find restaurant reviews. You can drag and zoom the map with your mouse, and there are icons on the map (typically called “map markers”) to show locations.

While these maps have become easier to create in the last decade, they still require some knowledge of JavaScript code to make them behave exactly as you want. Since learning to code is beyond the scope for many people who want to create embedded maps, we’ve compiled a few easy ways to make a Google Map.

Rather than learn to code, use one of these non-code approaches.

Point and Click Maps

Google provides a tool that allows you to create maps through its simple interface. You can create markers, lines, and add directions.

1. Go to Google My Maps
2. Click “Create a New Map”
3. Click the marker icon, then click on the map to add markers
4. To add addresses or businesses, search then choose “Add to map” in the results

Continue until you have all the markers on the map. To embed, choose the settings menu (three vertical dots) and select “Embed on my site” option.

You’ll need to make your map publicly shareable for the embed option to work.

PROS: Easy to create small maps
CONS: Unable to create complex maps, especially when marker filtering is needed

Copy and Paste Maps

Many times when you want to create an interactive map it’s because you have a lot of data you want to make visible. For example, you might have a spreadsheet of locations that you want to turn into a map. You want something as easy as copy and paste.

1. Go to BatchGeo’s map maker
2. Copy and paste your spreadsheet data, including the header rows

BatchGeo does the rest, up to spreadsheets with thousands of rows. It will intelligently find the columns that reference location data and there are options for you to override its settings. Then, it quickly turns every address into latitude and longitude coordinates on the map.

View US President Births and Burials in a full screen map

You can also use other columns in the spreadsheet to filter the map, such as only viewing locations by a specific type or category. In the example above, the map shows US president birth and burial locations. Using the menu in the lower left of the map, you can select to only see the birthplaces or only see the burial locations. These grouping options are automatic and also work with number ranges.

PROS: Simple interface for creating maps with many markers
CONS: Unable to manually add markers, though you can rearrange them

WordPress

The most popular way to host website can also display your excellent maps. WordPress allows you full control of the code that produces your website, and you can use any HTML when you create WordPress pages and blog posts.

HTML embeds, like both of those mentioned in the previous section, use an IFRAME to hold the contents of the map, similar to how YouTube videos are embedded. The frame references an entirely other site, but it’s made to seamlessly blend in to look like it belongs on the site. If you use a lot of custom CSS on your website (or use a WordPress theme that does) you may have issues with your map embed. Look out for “iframe” in the CSS file and double check that you aren’t forcing the width of the IFRAME larger than the available space available.

Alternatively, there are over 150 WordPress plugins for Google Maps. The use cases these plugins support varies. Some will only show a single place, while others let you build entire maps. If you have more than a few

Facebook

Unlike web properties that you control, the world’s largest social network does not allow for embedded HTML. That means you will not be able to have your interactive custom map on Facebook. However, you still have several options to get your location data in front of friends and fans through the use of image posts.

If you’d like your map to show up in the news feed, the size Facebook recommends Is 1200×900 (that is: 1,200 pixels wide and 900 pixels tall). At a minimum, look to maintain an aspect ratio of 4:3 with news feed images, where the image is 1/3 wider than tall.

There are a couple ways to generate the image for your Facebook post:

1.Take a screenshot: you can use the screenshot feature of your operating system or get software that lets you capture whatever is on your screen.
2.Automate with BatchGeo: BatchGeo Pro comes with high resolution, printable files in PDF and PNG. The latter is ready to go as the recommended format for Facebook posts.

Once you have your image, upload it to Facebook. Be sure to write a status that points back to your site or map.

Better yet, include the image in your HTML and Facebook will pick it up and include it automatically.

Twitter

Twitter is similar to its social media counterpart in many ways, yet there are also differences between the platforms. When it comes to interactive maps, the story is the same: no embedded HTML in tweets, so we need to use images.

The size specifications are a little different for Twitter. Here you’ll want to keep a 2:1 ratio (two times as wide as tall). The minimum size to show up in a user’s timeline is 440×220 (440 pixels wide, 220 pixels tall).

You can use the same methods as described in the Facebook section to make your Twitter images, too: manual screenshot or automatic with BatchGeo Pro. In addition, due to Twitter’s image format, another choice available is BatchGeo’s map badges.

These graphics provide a small preview of the map to give you a feel of what’s to come with the larger map.

There are two main ways to include images in your tweets:

1. As an image attachment: include a direct link to the image or upload it to Twitter. Be sure to also include a link to your website or map so your followers can see the interactive version.
2. As a Twitter card: If you have access to the full HTML of the site with your map embed, you can add special header meta tags to point to your image. That way, Twitter will include the image automatically, even when someone else tweets our your link.

For those extra-serious about their Twitter presence, you can even use special versions of these cards in the second example on Twitter’s ad platform.

Email

Email is a great way to re-engage an audience who is already interested in hearing from you. Once someone is reading your email, you need a way to capture their attention and likely encourage them to take some kind of action (like click to your website). A beautiful map sparks the kind of curiosity you want readers to feel in an email.

For a couple reasons, it’s probably best to borrow from social media and use images for emails, rather than depending on an interactive map:

1. Since you likely want the reader to take an action in your email, you don’t want to give everything away before that happens. Let the image be the taste that leads to the full meal on your site.
2. There are so many email clients that you can’t be certain how an interactive map would display. It might show up a different size, strangely positioned, or not at all. That’s the nature of email design.

For these reasons, both business and technical, it’s best to use an image when embedding a map in your email.

Google Slides

A previous version of Google Slides supported IFRAME embeds, but the current version does not. Unfortunately, that means you can no longer embed interactive maps in Google Slides. Instead, we recommend you use an image of a map. If you wish to have the feeling of an embedded map, you can record your screen and use an animated image in your presentation.

iPhone

Many websites include maps that are mobile-optimized. When you load them on your iPhone, you’ll be able to explore them as you might expect on a phone, with an experience slightly below desktop.

For easy and fast access to your maps on the iPhone, there’s BatchGeo Mobile. It provides a native experience and gives you direct access to any maps you’ve created.

---

Are you ready to easily create an embedded map? Try BatchGeo for free.