Zoom controls on MapHub

A screenshot of the MapHub interface showing a map centered on Italy with multiple location pins. A red bounding box highlights the region, demonstrating how to set a custom 'Start view' using the zoom controls in the editor sidebar. visitors see the most important area of the map first.

One of MapHub’s most frequently requested features is to specify the initial view of a map. This is now possible, as well as other advanced zoom-related features.

Note: By “zoom” or “view”, in this blog post, I’m referring to the map’s bounds or “bounding box”, as it’s called in the GIS world.

Start view

The “Start view” button allows you to specify the initial view the map should open at.

For example, your map is based around Italy, but you have one single point very far in San Francisco. This is how it’d open automatically.

A world map showing a single point in San Francisco, USA and many points clustered around Italy, illustrating a wide default map view before setting a start view.

By clicking Zoom Controls / Start view / Set

A screenshot of MapHub's 'Zoom Controls' menu, with red arrows pointing to the 'Start view' button and 'Set' button, indicating the procedure for setting a map's initial view.

You can specify the current view as the map’s initial view. A red rectangle will show the current view’s bounding box.

After you are done, click the “Start view” button again to hide the red rectangle.

If you save and reload the map now, it will open showing the selected area only.

A map zoomed in on Italy and surrounding regions, showing points concentrated only within Italy, demonstrating the effect of setting a specific start view.

View limits

This button works the same as “Start view” but allows you to specify the view limits of the map. If you have view limits activated, your visitors won’t be able to browse the map outside of that area.

This button allows you to generate a link that opens the map centered on a specific item. You have to select the item first, then go to the Map tab and click the “Link to selected item” button. After setting the preferred zoom level, you can generate a link by clicking the “Generate link” button.

A screenshot of MapHub's 'Zoom Controls' menu displaying the options for 'Link to selected item', including zoom level input and a 'Generate link' button.

Preview as visitor

This button allows you to view the map as a visitor or viewer. On MapHub the same URL opens a map in “editor mode” or “viewer mode”, depending on if have the rights to edit a given map or not.

By clicking this button, you can check how the map would look for a visitor.

A screenshot of MapHub's 'Privacy & Collaboration' menu, with a red arrow highlighting the 'Preview as visitor' button.