In this
closed thread,
the question of requiring a payment method for aquiring an API Key was left a bit open.

I just had to establish a payment method for API key use. After aquiring a key, maps failed to load until I set up a payment method. I note that jAlbum staff have said that it is unlikely that jAlbum users would hit the top of the free tier of use; Google indicates that users will be notified if this is imminent.

Acquiring a key is not for the faint of heart. A tutorial would certainly be most welcome. Good luck.

This note is being posted under General because it cuts across many skins for which the map option is desired.

/Roger

It's been said that OpenStreetMap is just a provider of map tiles, and not really a direct replacement for Google. No features, so you have to do it yourself. I see a fair number of sites now using MapBox, which is like Google. Different coding for the API, of course, so you can't just swap one for the other.

A few problems....

First, if you offer skin users several options, they really don't have any way of choosing one over the other. Each will require that you sign up for an account, and get a key of some sort. You might not have to provide a credit card number for some services, but I don't think any of them is totally free, no matter how much you use them. So the user is left scratching his head - "Gee, these all look good. Which one should I use?!"

Second, if you offer several options, the code bloat sets in. You have to set up the UI to handle each of them (since they don't have the same settings), then build the code to generate the page or page element for each service. If you think it's messy making one map look like the rest of your skin pages, try doing it for three or four of them, and then having to maintain all of the variations as the API's change. Ugh.

Finally, on the subject of providing tutorials about how to get a key, you're at the mercy of the map providers. They change things. Regularly. If you look online for information about how to get a Google map key, what you'll find is a bunch of information that's outdated, even some of it from Google itself. I think the best you can do is point a user to the starting page for the provider - after that, he's just going to have to navigate through the labyrinth to get what he needs. Google in particular isn't set up to make things easy for the casual hobbyist who's after only one thing. It's set up for large corporate clients who are there to get all sorts of services, with maps being just one of many.

Just went back and looked at my now-locked thread in the Tips section (locked to prevent it turning into the place where everyone who ever has any problem with a map posts his questions). It needs a bit of updating, which I will do shortly.

But the first link still seems to be the best guide to getting a Google map key (it was updated on May 1, 2019):

https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/get-api-key

Is there really any need to replicate that information? Wouldn't that just introduce errors?

I'm just saying that any attempt to rewrite the "official" explanation of how to get a key is likely to make a muddle of it. But have at it, if you're so inclined.

Look up the "tragedy of the commons."

In short, if just one jAlbum user hosted a hugely popular site that got oodles of traffic, all of it using Google maps, the cost could spiral out of control in a hurry, and all with no way to monitor or control it.

If you like you can use OSM maps for the locations if you use the FancyBox skin or the PhotoSwipe skin or the LightGallery skin. For other skins see here.