Google no longer allows the use of its maps API unless you obtain a key. Pages on domains that used the Google Maps API before June 22, 2016, will continue to work (though it's not known for how long), but a page that's on a domain that didn't formerly use the API will not work properly without a key. A key may be obtained without any cost. Visit the
Google developer page and click the
Get a Key button. You will have to create a Google account if you don't already have one (also free). Follow the prompts to create a project (you can just accept the default name) and to create a
Browser API key. Each of these steps will take some time, so don't get impatient and start clicking things repeatedly.
You may restrict use of the key to just your domain by going to the
Google API Manager / Credentials section, and editing the entry for your key. But if you do so, local preview of your album will fail, because the map request will be coming from your PC, rather than from your domain. Restricting use of the key is probably an excess of caution. In theory, someone else could get your key and use it on his or her own site. This would become a problem only if the key were used for more than 25,000 map views per day, a stunningly high number. And even if that happened, it's a simple matter to delete that key, get a new one from Google, and plug it into your album(s).
If you do opt to restrict the use of your key, be very careful about how you enter the domain name. To cover all bases, enter your domain as, for example,
*.example.com/* and as
example.com/*, each on a separate line. Then wait at least 15 minutes before testing your page - the setting may not take effect immediately. Then, you should build and preview your album
without entering your API key. When you have everything the way you want it, enter the API key, click
Make Album one more time, then upload the album.
Skins that currently use the Javascript API to display maps include
Gromit,
Matrix,
MatrixSlide,
Neptune,
Photoblogger,
PhotoSwipe,
Saturn,
Slide Show 4,
Tiger, and
Turtle, and each provides a place in its settings to enter the key. While
Chameleon,
FotoPlayer,
FotoSlides,
Improved Slide Show 3,
Minimal, and
SimpleViewer also include links to Google maps, they do not use the API and so do not require a key. A few older, unsupported skins include Google map displays - the method used is not known, so test before using these skins.
Edited by: jGromit on 02-May-2018 17:07 to update skin list
