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Map widget

Put a real address or place on a desk, on an OpenStreetMap map you can search, drag and zoom, then open in OpenStreetMap.

All plansUpdated

The Map widget shows a real address or place on a real map, with a pin on it. Use it to keep a location in view next to the work it belongs to: the venue for an event, a client's office, a property you are looking at or the address for a site visit.

Before you start

  • Plans. The Map widget is on every plan.
  • An internet connection. The map and the place search come from OpenStreetMap, so PlexiDesk needs to be online to find a place and draw the map.

Add a map

  1. Open the desk.
  2. Click Add widget in the middle of the header, then choose Map. It is in the Web & apps column.
  3. The new map is empty and says Search an address to put it on the map.

You can also press ⌘ K on a Mac (Ctrl K on Windows), type map and choose Add Map.

Find a place

  1. Click the search box at the top of the map. It says Search an address or place.
  2. Type a street address or the name of a place.
  3. Press Enter, or click the magnifier at the right of the box (Find).

While it searches, the magnifier turns into an hourglass, and an empty map says Looking it up…. Then the map centres on the place, with a pin on it. A new map starts at street level. The strip along the bottom shows the full name of the place it found, so you can check it is the one you meant.

To put a different place on the map, type it in the search box and search again. The pin moves to the new place.

Move around the map

  • Drag the map to look around. The pin stays on the place you searched for.
  • Scroll over the map to zoom in or out. While the pointer is over the map, scrolling zooms the map rather than the desk.
  • Zoom in and Zoom out, the + and − buttons at the top right, change the zoom one step at a time. The map stops when it reaches its closest or farthest zoom.
  • Back to, followed by what you searched for, appears at the bottom of the map when you have dragged the pin out of view. Click it to centre the map on the pin again.
  • Open in OpenStreetMap, the button under −, opens the area you are looking at on the OpenStreetMap website in your web browser.

What the map remembers

The place you found and the zoom you chose are saved with the widget. When you come back to the desk, the map opens centred on the pin at that zoom. Dragging the map never moves the pin: to change the place, search again.

Messages you might see

  • No match for, followed by what you typed, with Try adding the suburb or postcode. Nothing matched. Add more detail and search again.
  • Couldn't reach the map service. PlexiDesk could not connect to the place search. Check your internet connection, then search again.
  • Map tiles couldn't load. The location is saved. The map pictures did not arrive, for example because you are offline. The place you found is kept. When you are back online, click in the search box and press Enter to load the map again.

The first two messages show on a map that has no place yet. If the map already shows a place and a new search does not find one, the map stays where it was.

Use AI with a map

The AI button, the sparkle at the start of the buttons on the right of the map's title bar, opens the Plexii panel with this map attached. Plexii can then read the place the map found and what you searched for, so you can ask about it. The map has no AI controls of its own. See Use a widget's AI button.

Sharing a desk with a map

Good uses

  • Events. Pin the venue on the event's desk, next to the run sheet and the guest list.
  • Clients and suppliers. Keep the office address on the client's desk, beside your notes and contacts.
  • Property and site work. Pin each address on its own desk, with the photos and documents that go with it.
  • Travel. Put the hotel or the meeting place on the desk for the trip.

Common questions

Can I put more than one pin on a map? No. Each map shows one place. Add another Map widget for each address you want to keep in view.

The map shows the wrong place. The map uses the first match for your search. Add the suburb, city or postcode and search again, then check the name along the bottom.

Can I get directions? The Map widget shows a place rather than a route. Click Open in OpenStreetMap to look at the same area on the OpenStreetMap website in your web browser.

Where does the map come from? The map and the place search come from OpenStreetMap. The credit © OpenStreetMap contributors shows at the bottom right of every map.

More about this widget Coming soon

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].