Store Locator Map Center, Location Sensor, Address patches

Store Locator Plus® 5.7 has been released to assist with several features available in the Professional and Enterprise packages of our SaaS product as well as features for the Power and Experience add-on packages for the WordPress plugin.

Location Sensor Refinements

The locations sensor is available for users of the Professional or Enterprise SaaS service.    For those using the legacy WordPress plugins the Power add on is required.     Keep in mind your site must be an https-based URL which will require you have an SSL certificate.

This patch enhances the consistency of location detection features where some combinations of settings were forcing the location sensor to enable when the feature was turned off.

This setting is found under Store Locator Plus® | General | User Interface.

Center Map

Setting the center of the map can happen several ways.  The default for all maps is to use the value stored under Store Locator Plus® | Settings | Map for Center Map At.

Store Locator Postal Code , City Address Format

Store Locator Plus® 5.2 brings a new search results shortcode to assist in proper formatting of European addresses — especially German addresses which list the postal code followed by the city.   Prior to the 5.2 release the standard shortcode was [slp_location city_state_zip] which displayed a standard US-format address with a comma between the city and state when warranted.

A new variation of the shortcode [slp_location zip_state_city] puts the zip (postal code) first followed by the state and city WITHOUT any commas.   The new shortcode goes in the Store Locator Plus® | Settings | Results Layout setting.     To swap the address format change the [slp_location city_state_zip] entry in the Results Layout setting with [slp_location zip_state_city].

In addition to the new layout option, the [slp_location city_state_zip] output was patched to ensure a space remains in place between city and postal code if the state is not set.

MySLP Users

Users of our My Store Locator Plus®  SaaS service will automatically receive this new feature  as our servers are updated.    That is one of they many benefits of having a monthly MySLP subscription — no more plugin updates or migration concerns.   As soon as the newest features have been tested and scanned for security issues we update our servers.    Your JavaScript embed code keeps on working, automatically getting the latest features.

If you wish to change your Results Layout setting you can login at the MySLP Dashboard.

WordPress Plugin Users

Users that opt to stay with our legacy Store Locator Plus® products, we are continuing to patch these self-managed/self-installed plugins.   You are responsible for making sure your WordPress account is backed-up prior to upgrading and will need to manage the installs on a site-by-site basis.

Remember, WordPress users are not required to upgrade to the MySLP SaaS subscription.   If you have purchased the WordPress plugins and want to check on what was ordered and what updates are available you should login at the WordPress Plugin Store.

Store Locator Address Accuracy

My Store Locator Plus® was updated this weekend with new software. While we were at it the MySLP servers were upgraded.

Better address accuracy outside the United States

The biggest change to the My Store Locator Plus® software was the implementation of region data handling. The map domain, aka “region” setting under Store Locator Plus | Settings | Map influences the accuracy of the results returned for new location addresses as well as user searches.

Users in countries like Australia or parts of Western Europe should see a notable improvement in the accuracy of locations returned when searching for an address. The map engines, primarily Google, that are used to geocode addresses are more heavily influenced by the region setting in those countries.