Exploring the Maps on Live Search
If you use Hotmail and you enjoy the features that Microsoft brings to its many online applications, you’ll love Live Search maps.
They are powered by Microsoft Virtual Earth, and that name should give you a good idea as to how impressive the maps themselves actually are. The home page of this site is well laid out and easy to understand at a glance, which makes simple work of any location or directions you need to find – especially if you are in a hurry.
Using the search facility
The welcome page shows three options for you to choose from:
- Search the map to find what you need, whether it’s a location, a business or even a type of place, such as a castle
- Get point by point directions from A to B
- Explore collections of places according to the keywords you enter
You can find far more using Live Search than you might think – and the knowledge packed into the site is amazing, especially given the simple home page design.
All you need to do is enter your search criteria in the search box and hit the green search button to view your results. You can search for:
- a postcode (partial or full)
- a type of business
- a location
- a type of building or road
- … and virtually anything else you can think of
You’ll soon find yourself searching for lots of things using this search facility, which actually makes looking at maps far more fascinating than you might think.
Whenever you use the search facility, the location of your result is shown on the map with a small orange marker depicting a blue arrow. If your search query returns more than one result the orange markers are numbered and relate to the numbered list you will see on the left hand side of the page.
If the results relate to a landmark, a business or another suitable location, full address and contact details will be included, making it easy to get in touch should you need to.
How user friendly are the maps themselves?
The maps are very clear and easy to read, and can be dragged using your mouse. You can elect to see the road map, or change to the aerial view which uses satellite imagery to show you detailed images of the location you are searching for. You can zoom in and out simply by using the wheel on your mouse, or by using the plus and minus signs on the left hand navigation bar.
If you like the look of the satellite images but you need more detail, you can have that too. Simply click on the hybrid option to see the satellite images overlaid with the road names, making it easy to drag the map around to find the exact road you need.
However for even better pictures try using the new 3D maps to see even more detail and a totally new way of searching a map online. You’ll need to download it but it’s worth doing if you’d like to see your destination from a bird’s eye view. As you’ll see when you click the 3D option, once you’ve ‘flown’ round Niagara Falls and seen that in 3D, you’ll be spending hours zooming around the world looking at plenty of other notable landmarks, cities and locations.
The maps are all clearly marked, highly detailed and whatever you search for, the listings on the left hand side will change as you scroll around and move the map to see other areas.
Other useful features
The Collections feature allows you to share your collections with other people, as well as exploring those created by others. If you come across a particular location that you think ought to be marked, you can add a virtual pushpin to the map. This allows you to give the location a title and description, and you can even upload a photo if you wish.
This feature essentially creates a huge collection that can be shared worldwide, as you are able to access the collections of others as well. So if you are looking for fish and chip shops in a specific area, there may well be a review of one in particular that a delighted customer has already left, making it easier to make your choice.
You can also begin your search vaguely if you wish, visiting a county first and then homing in on specific places. This is ideal if you are going on holiday to a certain region and you don’t have any specific places in mind to visit to begin with.
Perhaps the most useful feature on Live Search is the lack of complication on the site. You’ll find it easy to get around and even easier to save your searches, make favourite collections and look at the collections you have already created.
Driving directions
Searching for a set of directions couldn’t be easier with Live Search. All you need to do is click on the directions tab (which has a symbol of a steering wheel next to it) and then fill in the boxes on the left hand side of the page.
Apart from your start and end points, you also get to choose whether you want to travel in the shortest time possible, or by the shortest distance. You map will then appear and show you your route marked with a blue line. Your start point is a green arrow and your end point is a red square. You can then zoom in to see the route in much more detail.
Step by step directions are listed on the left hand side, and if you click on any numbered step the map will automatically zoom in to this point, marking it clearly for you to see. This feature makes easy work of understanding any set of directions.
If you need help
The help facility can be located at the bottom of the screen. Once you are in it, you can use the search box to make your problem easier to solve. Simply type in what you want to find information on and the help topics section will return all the relevant results for you to sort through.
The step by step features of this help section make it quick and easy to use, so you won’t be wandering round for long trying to find the answer to your question. You’ll be back on the maps in no time.
In conclusion
Live Search Maps is a real joy to use. The maps themselves are highly detailed but also very versatile, allowing you to alter them depending on what kind of information you are looking for.
The added benefits of the 3D option also bring a whole new dimension – literally – to online mapping. Once you’ve tried them you won’t want to go anywhere else.