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Welcome to the Humap updates page.

Feature update: improved API

We want Humap to be as versatile as possible, and your data should be easy to get in and out of our systems. Improving our API was the next logical step in this mission.

The improved API is built on the JSON:API standard, so it’s interoperable with a huge range of existing client libraries.

16/1/2023

Feature reveal: patterned overlays

Overlays can now consist of patterns created from the data.

A recent customer of Humap had a special requirement for a map. Their map showed a series of shifting claims and borders in a place over time. An overlay of purely lines was hard to parse visually, so each individual nation and claim needed to have its own pattern.

The main thing was making sure that the patterns were accessible and easy to understand. This was not as simple as it sounds, and we’re currently working on a blog on this subject!

Feature reveal: search for place

You can now search for a place directly on the map!

If location searching is switched on for the Humap you’re visiting, the search bar will appear in the top right of the screen. Type in a location name and results will be returned below. You can then click on the correct result.

20/12/2022

Feature reveal: feedback

The new feedback form options give users more of a chance to interact with one another and create great content.

Users can now leave more detailed feedback on pieces of content. This includes being able to suggest a better time and place.

To get to the feedback form, click ‘give feedback’ at the end of a record/collection.

17/12/2022

Feature reveal: custom HTML

You can now add custom HTML to your Humap site! Custom HTML allows you to embed code from third-party analytics or chat services into your Humap instance.

15/12/2022

Illustration from Undraw.

Feature reveal: activity logs

Activity logs are now available for maps with user-generated content. This feature is a handy directory of content contributed by specific users.

If activity logs are switched on for the Humap you’re visiting, they will appear automatically on the profiles of users.

13/12/2022

Illustration from Undraw.

Feature reveal: embeddable content

Embedding is the next step up from sharing. It’s more visually interesting and gives your content more of an opportunity to shine than a traditional hyperlink.

Your content on Humap is already sharable at a click on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook…and now it can be embedded too! Articles, blogs, other websites – it’s now extremely simple to embed pieces of Humap content into other places on the web.

30/11/2022

Feature update: user-generated content

We’ve given the user-generated content process a fresh coat of paint.

The new design is more dynamic and user-friendly! The illustrated progress bar along the top makes the content creation process more cohesive for users. The new layout also emphasises which parts of the process are required and which are optional.

The actual process of creating records/collections/projects/trails hasn’t changed much. This change is mostly aesthetic.

15/11/2022

Feature reveal: application programming interface (API)

We’ve just added an exciting new dev feature – API!

From our Chief Technical Officer, Ed Jones:

Subscribing to the Humap API means that your project can integrate automatically with other software. If you’re a developer, you might want to export data from Humap to explore new relationships between records. Or maybe you want to build a custom integration into another piece of archiving software.

Version 1 of the API allows you to import and export records and collections (including trails, routes and timelines if your subscription includes those features), and search for published content using free text and structured queries, accessing the taxonomies and terms you have created through the admin interface.

17/10/2022

Feature reveal: single sign-on (SSO)

Humap instances can now have SSO for their users and admins!

Humap SSO is currently available for Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.

SSO creates a more streamlined, seamless user experience – perfect for users/admins who already have accounts with Facebook, Google, and/or Microsoft.

14/10/2022

Feature reveal: routes and timelines

We’ve added two more ways to curate content on Humap

Routes are the evolution of trails; specially selected records that tell the story of a long journey.

Whereas every waypoint on a trail is a record, this new feature allows the user to draw a journey and place records along the route. Waypoints no longer require records, making this feature perfect for plotting extended travel.

Timelines allow clients to build chronology into the fabric of their records, using time, as well as location, to curate them.

Combined with routes, timelines add more information and interactivity to content on Humap.

Similar to collections and trails, the user can flick back and forth through each record – or pick and choose from the list.

1/10/2022

Feature update: nested collections

We’ve improved the user experience of collections. They are now nested together and internally linked.

How does it work?

  • Users can use the arrows in the top right of the toolbar to flick between records for a more satisfying narrative experience.
  • Users can now return to the overall collection more easily, by clicking the name of the collection in the toolbar.
  • This is also reflected in the new trail layout.
  • This feature is active across all Humap instances.

16/8/2022

Feature update: search function

We’ve improved the user experience for the Humap search function.

How does it work?

  • When you make a search, you can select and deselect content types & common search terms above the returned content. This will narrow down the returned items without the user having to start a new search.
  • This feature is active across all Humap instances.

5/8/22

Image from Layers of London.

Feature update: overlay tools

We’ve improved the user experience of our overlay tools.

What’s changed?

  • The order of enabled overlay maps now reflects the order they are in on the map.
  • Overlays can now be closed without having to reopen the overlay page (by clicking the X next to the overlay title).
  • Overlays with lots of different maps can now be minimised (by clicking the downwards arrow button next to the overlay title).
  • For overlays with multiple sources of data, there is now a colour key in the overlay tools popup.

1/8/2022

Feature reveal: data export

Clients can now export their data from Humap’s content management system (CMS).

How does it work?

  • Log into the Humap CMS.
  • Select the pieces of content you would like to export.
  • Select export GeoJSON for selected.
  • This feature is available across all instances.

29/7/2022

Feature update: search function

We’ve improved the user experience for the Humap search function.

What’s different?

  • The search button is now at the top, near the text box.
  • The content types are now at the top, above the taxonomies.

28/7/2022

Image from the UK Holocaust Map.

Feature reveal: new base maps

The base map can now be changed on the map home screen. You can now explore satellite images of Earth and/or enjoy several historical ordnance survey maps (from the collections at the National Library of Scotland, courtesy of their partnership with Mapbox) on Humap!

How does it work?

  • Navigate to a Humap instance with this feature enabled.
  • In the top right you’ll see a change map button. Click this to see the available options.
  • Select the base map you would like to use.
  • Voila! Repeat this process to return to the standard Humap base map.
  • At present this is only switched on for Mapping Memory – if you’ve got a few minutes before your next Zoom, we recommend having some fun with the historic OS maps of the UK layer.

13/7/2022

Image from Mapping Memory.

Feature update: user profiles

Contributors to user-generated content (UGC) enabled maps can now personalise their profile even more.

What’s changed?

  • UGC-ers can now add:
    • Social media links
    • A logo or profile image
    • A bio
    • Their location
  • This feature is active on Layers of London.

17/6/2022

Image from Layers of London.

Feature reveal: timeline searching

Users can now search via a timeline.

How does it work?

  • Navigate to an instance with timelines enabled, like Layers of London.
  • Go to the search page.
  • Use your mouse to click and drag the endpoints of the timeline, narrowing down the dates you would like content returned for.

15/6/2022

Image from Layers of London.

Feature reveal: favourites

Contributors to user-generated content (UGC) enabled maps can now favourite records and collections.

How does it work?

  • Scroll down to the bottom of the content you would like to favourite and click add to favourites.
  • Navigate to your profile home screen by clicking the + in the top right corner of the information tray and scrolling to the bottom.
  • To remove something from your favourites, go to its content page and click remove from favourites.
  • This feature is active on Layers of London.

21/4/2022

Image from Layers of London.

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