| Q: | For which countries/states/areas can I get maps? |
| Q: | Can I use MapFling if there are no street maps for my area? |
| Q: | How is MapFling related to Google Maps? |
| Q: | How can I advertise on MapFling? |
| Q: | Can I get an integrated/custom-branded MapFling for my website? |
| Q: | Does MapFling collect my personal information? |
| Q: | Are my maps private? Can other people see my maps? |
| Q: | Can other people change my MapFling map? |
| Q: | Who is MapFling exactly? |
| Q: | Does Google own MapFling? |
| Q: | Who helped make MapFling possible? |
| Q: | What is MapFling? |
| A: |
MapFling is a free online service which lets you:
Each time you create a map, we give you a short MapFling Link (URL) for that map, which you paste into an e-mail, IM, or blog post. People who click on your MapFling Link will see your map, complete with the markers that you created. Here is a sample MapFling Link:
https://mapfling.com/q2ri25oTo use MapFling, you don't have to log in or provide any personal information whatsoever—try it now!.
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| Q: | How can MapFling help me? |
| A: | Throwing a party? Add a MapFling Link to your invite and
everyone can see where it's at with a single click! If you're a real estate agent, blow away your customer with a custom MapFling map showing multiple properties with your customized comments. Got a house or apartment for sale or rent? Include a MapFling Link in your online ads to get an edge over the other listers. With one click, your renters will know where you are. Customers flying in to visit your office? Impress them with a MapFling map that shows your office, their hotel, and maybe a few of your favorite restaurants too! Label each location with whatever description you want to include ("Excellent sushi here!"). Meeting a friend at Central Park? It's a big place: with a MapFling satellite image, you can pinpoint the exact park bench where you'll be waiting for her! Any time you find yourself sending a paper map old fashioned-style, or copying a huge map link that leaves your recipient confused due to the lack of labels, you can fling it instead! They will receive your map instantly, complete with your markers and comments. They will be able to zoom in and out on the map, explore the area, and print if they like. What's more, they can even create their own custom version of your map, adding more markers and adjusting existing ones, and send it back to you (without disturbing your original map)! Collaborate on real estate searches, travel plans, party arrangement, or even scavenger hunts! The possibilities are endless!
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| Q: |
Can I use MapFling on my mobile phone? Can I use MapFling on my tablet? Can I use MapFling on my laptop/desktop computer? |
| A: | Yes! MapFling works on both desktop/laptop computers (e.g. Windows, Mac)
and also mobile phones and tablets (e.g. iOS, Android).
You can even create and fling maps on mobile devices.
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| Q: | How is MapFling different from other services? |
| A: | Unlike other services, MapFling:
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| Q: | Does MapFling cost money? |
| A: | No! MapFling is a completely free service, supported by the advertising that you see next to the maps. |
| Q: | How do I share my MapFling map with others? |
| A: | When you have finished choosing and marking a map, our service
gives you a MapFling Link, which looks something like this:
https://mapfling.com/q2ri25oTo send your map to others, you either use one of our convenient share buttons (Email, Facebook, Twiter, Google+, Pinterest) or you copy and paste the MapFling Link into any chat message you want to send by any means, or any web page or blog entry you want to write. If you aren't familiar with what "copy and paste" means, see this question. When others read your message, your MapFling Link will look something like this: https://mapfling.com/q2ri25oThey will be able to click on your MapFling Link. When they do, they will see your MapFling map, complete with the markers and descriptions you created (try the sample link above!).
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| Q: | For how long can I use my MapFling Link? Does it expire? |
| A: | Here's how it works:
If nobody has looked at a particular MapFling map for 3 months, then it might expire, in which case all information in it (map position, markers, descriptions) will be lost. Might last longer: As mentioned above, your map may actually last longer than 3 months since it was created or last viewed. In practice we try to keep maps alive as long as possible given our available storage, but for you the figure that matters is our guarantee above. Do not assume maps expire: Do not use MapFling if you require that map to expire at any particular time. There is no way to predict ahead of time how soon it will expire. And, as we mentioned in our answer about privacy, MapFling does not use passwords, so you should never create any map that contains sensitive information that you wouldn't want someone else guessing just as someone might guess at a telephone number. Currently there is no way to explicity delete a map, again because MapFling keeps things simple by avoiding the use of passwords. Note on policy changes: In the unlikely event that we decide to change our policy in a way that might make your old map expire sooner, we will a. guarantee that your map stays valid for 3 months after the policy change, and b. make it so that when you view your map, you see a warning that the expiration policy has changed, along with the new information. So, as long as you view your maps at least once every 3 months, you are guaranteed to be notified of the policy change and you can take any steps you need to save your data. |
| Q: | How do I begin? |
| A: | To begin, visit MapFling.com, type an address in the
box under step 1, and then click the GO
button. In the address, you should provide at least the city, as in these examples: new york, nyHowever, for most countries, if you provide a specific street address with street numbers and ideally postal codes, like this: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500then we can pinpoint the exact location of your address and mark it on the map for you. That's usually the best way to start. The few areas of the world for which we do not yet have street maps have very detailed satellite images. So you can find the city by typing in its name. Then, click the "Satellite" button at the top right of the map. Now you can zoom in on a precise point in the city and place one or more markers. You can also just start with the world map at step 1 and zoom in on the map yourself to choose locations for markers, rather than having us find an address for you. To do that, click the GO button and then click the link that says "skip straight to step 2."
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| Q: | How do I copy and paste the MapFling Link? |
| A: | When you have finished creating your MapFling map and you get to step 3,
MapFling gives you a MapFling Link, which looks something like this:
https://mapfling.com/q2ri25oNow your goal is to send that MapFling Link in an e-mail (or other type of) message to others. The easiest way is to use one of the convenient sharing buttons we provide (Email, Facebook, Twiter, Google+, Pinterest). But if one of those doesn't work for you, then you need to copy and paste. "Copy and Paste" is a common, useful thing you can do with text on your computer. It allows you to copy text from one place to another without having to type the text yourself. So you can use "copy and paste" to copy your MapFling Link into the program you use to send messages. The easiest way to copy is to use the "Copy" button we provide. Push this button and the MapFling Link will now be in your clipboard/pasteboard ready to paste into another app. In the rare case where "Copy" does not work, you can copy and paste with the mouse. In general, to learn how to copy and paste, you should consult the manuals and help that comes with your computer. But here is a procedure, which works on most computers, that should help you get started. This assumes that you have already created your MapFling map and you are at step 3, where MapFling has just given you your MapFling Link:
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| Q: | My MapFling Link didn't work. Why? |
| A: | If you are reading this, it probably means that you clicked on, or
typed in, a MapFling Link and you were directed here instead of seeing
your map. There could be several reasons why your MapFling Link might not have worked:
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| Q: | Can I enter latitude/longitude (GPS coordinates) directly? |
| A: | Yes. In the field where you would normally type a street address to
add a new marker, just type the latitude, a comma, and then the
longitude. For example,
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| Q: | Can I get driving/transport directions with MapFling? |
| A: |
Yes. When you are viewing a completed MapFling map, use the  button that you see to the
right of your desired map label to open that location in Google Maps.
From Google Maps you can request directions to or from that
location.
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| Q: | How can I print the map I made with with MapFling? |
| A: |
MapFling itself doesn't have a specific button for printing, but you can
print the map nicely using your web browser. Generally, you will want
to fit the map on one printed page, and for that you need a modern
browser (not the inferior Internet Explorer 6 browser that comes with
Windows XP) that supports a "zoom" function when printing. For
example, in the Firefox web browser,
before you print, go to "File...Page Setup" and in the "Format and
Page Options tab" try different values of "Scale" until it looks right
on the printed page (or, if available, try "Shrink to fit Page
Width"). In many browsers there is a "File...Print Preview" option
that you can use to check your settings before you waste any paper.
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| Q: | How can I print the markers I made with with MapFling? |
| A: |
MapFling itself doesn't have a specific button for printing the map
markers, but we are considering adding such a button for maps that
have a large number of markers. In the meantime, here are some hints that may get you close enough if you have a lot of markers:
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| Q: | How many markers can I have? |
| A: |
Currently MapFling supports a whopping whopping 801 markers (A-Z then 1-99 then AA-ZZ). It is certain that you will hit some other limit before you ever hit the marker limit (for example, a map with a large amount of markers might be unacceptably slow on your computer).
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| Q: | Is there a limit as to the label length? |
| A: |
None that we are currently aware of, although it is possible certain
versions of certain web browsers may impose limits.
|
| Q: | Can I change the marker colors? |
| A: |
Yes! Just click/tap one of the colored tiles that appears below your
label in step 2. When you create a new marker, we use the last color you chose, so you only have to choose a color once to use it for many markers.
|
| Q: |
Can my labels have multiple lines? Can I have line breaks or blank lines in my labels? |
| A: |
Yes, if you are using a laptop/desktop computer (e.g. Windows, Mac). As
you are editing your label in step 2, just hold down shift as you type
the enter key. Mobile keyboards (e.g. iOS, Android) are too limited to
support entry of blank lines.
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| Q: | Can I import/export GIS/GPS data files with MapFling? |
| A: | No. MapFling is designed to be simple and easy-to-use for the
average non-technical person. There are several excellent
applications, and a few recent web services, that allow
creation of maps from GPS/GIS data files. Try Google
searches for "GPS/GIS annotated maps."
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| Q: | What changed recently in MapFling? |
| A: |
In the most recent (November 2017) release of MapFling:
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| Q: | Can you add a certain feature to MapFling? |
| A: | We always love to hear how people are using MapFling and to hear
your suggestions for new features. You can send feature requests
to feature@mapfling.com.
We'll implement the features that are most requested.
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| Q: | How can I advertise on MapFling? |
| A: | Currently, we use Google for our advertising. To place your ad on our
website, click
here. If there is a good business case, we might also consider ad exchanges with high-profile sites and quantity advertising deals that do not involve Google. If you are interested in this, contact advertising@mapfling.com.
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| Q: | Can I get an integrated/custom-branded MapFling for my website? |
| A: | Yes! Imagine having the easy-to-use interface and all the
functionality of MapFling integrated directly into your site or online
service with your own site's branding. Leap ahead of your competition
with technology like this:
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| Q: | Does MapFling collect my personal information? |
| A: | MapFling does not collect any personal information about you whatsoever.
When you visit our site, you immediately use our service without the need
to log in, provide your name, email address, or any other information.
We then give you a MapFling Link which you share with others by your own
means (for example, by emailing the MapFling Link to them). MapFling has the same information about you as all general sites on the internet, such as your IP address. MapFling uses cookies to store your preferred marker color so that you can easily make many markers with the same color, and to store the most recent set of edits you made to your map (so you can undo your edits). MapFling uses Google Ads and you can click the info button on the ads to read Google's privacy policy.
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| Q: | Are my maps private? Can other people see my maps? |
| A: | Viewing Once you have created a map, anyone can look at your map if they have (or can guess) your MapFling Link. Although it is not particularly easy to guess a MapFling Link (it's about like guessing someone's telephone number), you must understand that MapFling is designed as an open system for non-secret data. For example, if you guess at a random MapFling Link and type it in, you can look at someone else's map, in the same way that if you dial some random digits on your telephone, you will reach someone else's phone. None of the information in your map (such as the map position, marker positions, marker descriptions, etc.) is protected from viewing in any way. For example, there is no password for the map. Do not use MapFling to store any type of sensitive data; we take no responsibility for any exposure of your data to anyone. Furthermore, you are explicitly forbidden from using MapFling for any illegal purpose. Modification Nobody, not even you, can modify a MapFling map once it has been created. So, while people can see your map, they cannot change it. See this question.
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| Q: | Can other people change my MapFling map? |
| A: | Once a MapFling map is created with its associated MapFling Link, nobody (not even you) can change it. You and others can create other maps starting with the information on your map, but those "customized" maps will have a different MapFling Link from your original map. |
| Q: | Who is MapFling exactly? |
| A: | MapFling Incorporated is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, USA. We develop a number of interactive web services. Email us at info@mapfling.com for more information. |
| Q: | Does Google own MapFling? |
| A: | Nope. Although we use Google's excellent map service,
MapFling is in no way affiliated with Google.
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| Q: | Who helped make MapFling possible? |
| A: |
MapFling uses Google's excellent map service. MapFling also uses an SVG marker image graciously provided by Magicon from the Noun Project under a Creative Commons license.
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