Questions regarding use of any Version of Family Historian. Please ensure you have set your Version of Family Historian in your Profile. If your question fits in one of these subject-specific sub-forums, please ask it there.
After typing a location into the map search bar, and selecting one of the choices, the map centres the choice on the screen and indicates it with a Very Thin Cross which is barely visible.
Is there anyway of making the symbol more prominent, so it is more easily seen, or is this more suited to the wish list?
I know the place required is centred in the map, but even so, the indicator is sometimes difficult to spot, unlike the normal place markers which are clearly visible. (Eyesight doesn't improve with age )
I agree with you, the cross at the center of the screen can be very difficult to see especially if the background map has a lot of detail.
In addition it would be nice when FH auto- geocodes it places the marker in line the cross as well, it does when the co-ordinates are present, so why not after generating co-ordinates even if they are not correct.
David Wilkinson researching Bowtle, Butcher, Edwards, Gillingham, Overett, Ransome, Simpson, and Wilkinson in East Anglia
Deterioration is contagious, and places are destroyed or renovated by the spirit of the people who go to them
I haven't used the Map Search feature before. But I just tried it to see what you were talking about and I also noticed that as you zoom in & out on the map that the cross-hair does not stay fixed on the search location, i.e., it just stays in the center of the map screen.
I would have expected it to stay attached to the search location.
I’ve been caught out by that before! It only stays static if you zoom in/out using the slider bar, but not if you use the mouse scroll wheel!
What were you using?
I was using the mouse scroll wheel. Your are right, when using the slider bar, the cross-hair stays fixed to the correct map position.
However, I also noticed that if I use the slider bar as the initial zoom activator, then subsequent zooming with the mouse scroll wheel works the same as the slider bar, i.e., the cross-hair continues to stay fixed to the correct position.
Bob,
That must have been a coincidence! I just tried it and map moves all over the place when I use scroll wheel!
What I didn't realise however (because cross is so insignificant) is that the Cross is a permanent feature of the map. I thought it only appeared when searching for a location, just goes to show how observant I am
Doesn't seem to be a coincidence. I just opened FH again, opened the Map window and typed a location in the Search box. The Map window went right to the correct location and centered the cross-hair right on the spot.
I then moved the slider bar up & down and the cross hair stayed in the correct position at all zoom levels. Then I placed my mouse cursor inside the Map window and rotated the scroll wheel back & forth. The Map display zoomed in & out with the cross hair staying on the correct location at all zoom levels.
I then typed another location into the Search window. With the cross-hair centered on the new location, I placed my mouse cursor over the map display and rotated the zoom wheel. This time the cross-hair just stayed in the middle of the map display window and would not sync with the search location as I zoomed in & out with the scroll wheel, i.e., as I zoomed in & out, the cross-hair veered away from the "search results" location.
BobWard wrote:I then moved the slider bar up & down and the cross hair stayed in the correct position at all zoom levels. Then I placed my mouse cursor inside the Map window and rotated the scroll wheel back & forth. The Map display zoomed in & out with the cross hair staying on the correct location at all zoom levels.
Bob,
Interesting... I am using Google Chrome and if I follow these instructions, the cross hair stays in the middle of the map and doesn't stay on the correct location when using the scroll wheel regardless of whether or not I first use the slider bar.
That is strange Bill. Yes, my cross-hair always stays in the center of the Map display window, regardless of whether I use the slider bar or mouse wheel to do the initial zoom.
However, in the case where I use the mouse wheel for the initial zoom, the cross-hair remains in the middle of the display window, but the search location begins to move off-center. Of course, when I use the slider bar for the initial zoom, the search location stays in the center of the map display window as well, right with the cross-hair. Then subsequent zooms with the mouse wheel keep the search location centered as well.
Last edited by BobWard on 20 Mar 2019 23:59, edited 1 time in total.
BobWard wrote:the cross-hair remains in the middle of the display window, but the search location begins to move off-center.
I think I may have said it poorly, your description is better. This is what happens for me even if I first use the slider bar. Same thing happens if I first use the scroll wheel.
Guys,
I think we are confusing ourselves. The Cross Hairs are Always there, centred on the map, it is a permanent feature of the map and they never move!
The real question is whether the location stays there when using the Slider versus the Scroll Wheel.
I say location wanders when using the Scroll Wheel but stays static when using the slider.
NB I am using using Openstreet map within FH itself, not via an external browser.
BTW: Any mention of an external browser, such as Bill referring to Google Chrome, is irrelevant because the Map Window is always internal to FH and always uses the Internet Explorer Shell browser engine.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
Coming to this discussion late, I am a bit surprised at the confusion. The slide bar and the mouse wheel do different things, both of which are useful. As Jane says, if you use the mouse wheel it will zoom in to the point where you have positioned the mouse on the map. If you use the slide bar it zooms in to the centre of the current map display. In either the case the cross hairs remain in the centre of the map display. The cross hairs are not tied to any particular location.
The difference between using the mouse wheel and the slide bar is fairly standard. For example Google maps behave the same way, (you can switch between +/- signs and a slide bar in Google maps but they do the same, while the mouse wheel zooms on the location of the mouse pointer.)
Yes, and that behaviour is described in the Help page (obtained by pressing F1 key) in The Map Viewer section under Map.
The oddity is that BobWard says that after using the slider his mouse wheel behaves like the slider whereas beforehand it behaves as expected.
Bob, after using the slider, where is your mouse cursor?
Is it centred on the cross-hair?
If so, then yes the mouse wheel will zoom and maintain the original location, but move the mouse cursor and the mouse wheel zoom will reposition the map.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
tatewise wrote:BTW: Any mention of an external browser, such as Bill referring to Google Chrome, is irrelevant because the Map Window is always internal to FH and always uses the Internet Explorer Shell browser engine.
tatewise wrote:Bob, after using the slider, where is your mouse cursor?
Is it centred on the cross-hair?
If so, then yes the mouse wheel will zoom and maintain the original location, but move the mouse cursor and the mouse wheel zoom will reposition the map.
Mike,
After I make the initial zoom adjustment with the slider bar, I moved my mouse cursor to the extreme left side of the screen by the Focus Window icon. I leave the cursor there and rotate the mouse wheel and the map window zooms in & out with the cross-hair staying centered on the correct search location.
With the cursor outside the map pane, the mouse scroll wheel should not zoom the map at all.
When you do that does the slider move up & down in sync with the mouse scroll wheel?
For me, if the cursor is anywhere inside the vertical slider box, then the mouse scroll wheel moves the slider up & down, and so the cross-hair remains in the same place on the map.
So, I suspect that for Bob the area outside the map is being mistakenly treated as if it is part of the slider box.
Bob, if you move the cursor inside the map pane, and then use the mouse scroll wheel, what happens?
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
I can replicate Bob's findings with FH running on a desktop with Windows 7, but not on a laptop with Windows 10.
With Windows 10 I get the same results as Mike (Tate).
With Windows 7 I get the following:
If the slide bar is not used first, the behaviour is as expected:
With the cursor outside the map pane the mouse wheel has no effect
With the cursor inside the map pane the mouse wheel zooms to the location of the cursor (and the slide bar moves at the same time)
If the cursor is then moved back outside the map pane the mouse wheel again has no effect.
If the slide bar is used first:
With the cursor outside the map pane (even right outside the FH window) the mouse wheel zooms to the centre of the current map display (and the slide bar moves at the same time).
With the cursor inside the map pane but without left-clicking to shift focus the same continues to happen.
With the cursor inside the map pane and after left-clicking to shift focus the mouse wheel zooms to the location of the cursor. This continues to happen if the cursor is moved within the map pane, without any further left-clicking.
If the cursor is then moved outside the map pane with or without left-clicking to shift focus the mouse wheel zooms to the centre of the map display.
With the cursor outside the map pane, the mouse scroll wheel should not zoom the map at all.
When you do that does the slider move up & down in sync with the mouse scroll wheel?
Mike, when I have the mouse cursor outside the map pane, and use the scroll wheel to zoom the map, the slider does move up and down in sync with the mouse wheel. The selected search location stays centered under the cross-hair.
Bob, if you move the cursor inside the map pane, and then use the mouse scroll wheel, what happens?
With the cursor inside the map pane window, zooming with the mouse wheel causes the search location to veer away from the cross-hairs.
To acknowledge Lorna's observation, I am using Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit on a desktop computer.
To add to all the confusion, I have noticed that on the odd occasion, the slider goes missing from the screen, and on these rare occasions, the mouse scroll wheel acts like the slider - go figure!
)
