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Location Services
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Location services are tools to use location information in fediverse posts . There are a number of different tools .
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An important location tool is a * Map Provider addon * , which displays embedded maps for location targets . Currently , one Map Provider addon is provided - "openstreetmap" . Only one Map Provider addon can be installed / active on the system at any time , so if somebody creates a Google Map Provider addon and you wish to use that on your site , the openstreetmap addon must be disabled .
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Location data may be represented by a text string "49 Main street, Oakvale" or geographic coordinates such as "-32.683,147.78" . It is important to know that text locations may be ambiguous , as there is a "Santa Cruz" in California , USA and also Bolivia . As a result , many of this software ' s location services require the use of geographic coordinates - due to their precision . Maps can be displayed for text locations , but please use coordinates to obtain full access to the available location tools . If something resembling map coordinates are present in the text location field , an attempt will be made to extract them .
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# # Setting location
Location settings are on the main Settings page . First select Settings from the main menu ( "hamburger menu" at the top right of the page ) .
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! [ screenshot showing location settings ] ( [ baseurl ] / doc / guide / en / locationsettings . png )
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The available settings are as follows :
# # # Default post location
Set this to a text based location if you wish . This will be attached to all your posts and comments . Some fediverse software may attempt to display this location if it is relatively unambiguous . Often used to indicate the region or country you are posting from .
# # # Obtain post location from your web browser or device
If this option is enabled , your web browser will ask your permission to obtain your device geographic coordinates every time you post something . You may also approve this to happen automatically . This uses your browser location , which is generally quite accurate on mobile and handheld devices , and is often wildly incorrect ( in many countries ) if you are using a desktop computer .
# # # Over - ride your web browser or device and use these coordinates ( latitude , longitude )
This setting is often used on desktop computers , allowing you to over - ride the browser location if it is incorrect . The input should in the format "latitude,longitude" and should consist of two floating point numbers representing your geographic coordinates . If both numbers evaluate to 0 , location services will not be enabled , despite the fact that this is a valid location off the coast of Africa .
# # Using location in posts
Location services make use of several buttons in the post editor . These are show in the following diagram :
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! [ diagram showing location service buttons in post editor ] ( [ baseurl ] / doc / guide / en / locationwitheditor . png )
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Some or all of these buttons may be missing and will only be available if a coordinate - based location has already been provided .
1 . The first button ( represented as a globe ) will always be shown . This allows you to set or change your current location . A text input field is provided . You may provide geographic coordinates in the "latitude,longitude" format * * or * * you can enter a period '.' which instructs your browser to ask you just this once to insert your current device location into the current post .
2 . The next button ( represented by an empty circle ) is offered any time location data has been inserted into the current post . Clicking this button removes your location information from the post .
3 . The next two buttons display any time geographic location is available in the post . They are "enter" and "leave" icons and are used here to to turn the current post into a "checkin" ( Arrive ) network activity or a "checkout" ( Leave ) activity . When either of these options are selected , the icon will change colour to indicate that the post is now a checkin / checkout activity and a map will be inserted into the post . You may add additional text or basically any content . Use the preview ( "eye" icon ) button to view the results without publishing or click 'Share' to share the post . Clicking one of these buttons a second time undoes the action and turns it back into a normal post .
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! [ example post preview of a checkin activity ] ( [ baseurl ] / doc / guide / en / checkin . png )
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# # Distance search
Any post which contains geographic coordinates can be used to search by distance . This allows you to quickly see ( for instance ) restaurant reviews by performing a distance search on any post near that restaurant . To perform a distance search , click on the avatar or photo of the post author . This opens a popup mini - panel with a number of options . If the post contains coordinates , one of these options will be "Nearby" , which performs a distance search based on that post .
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! [ screenshot showing how to navigate to distance search ] ( [ baseurl ] / doc / guide / en / nearby . png )