Exploring the World With Yahoo Maps
From the simple but well laid out home page, Yahoo Maps can take you on a fascinating journey around the globe – all without leaving your computer.
The interactive map feature makes light work of finding countries, locations, cities and towns, and together with the search feature on the left hand side you can narrow your results right down to the very address that you need.
Using the search facility
The same facility is used for finding maps and directions; you simply fill in either the first or both boxes depending on what you are looking for.
Finding a location is simplicity in itself. All you need to do is enter the location name in the search box. Adding the country in which the place is makes the search far quicker. The map then zooms in to that area and marks it with a black arrowed box.
If it’s a location you need the box is marked with the letter A. If you have requested a route map then your start point will be the letter A and your destination will be indicated by a black arrowed box containing the letter B.
You can also search for businesses within the area you have located, giving the maps a more interactive angle.
How user friendly are the maps themselves?
The maps are extremely easy to use and move around in. If you are specifically looking for directions then the map option is the easiest one to use, as you’ll find all the roads to be clearly marked. You can zoom in and out to find the right level of detail for the area you want to visit.
If you want to see how the area looks from the air, then the satellite images will meet your needs wonderfully. This is an outstanding feature which is excellent if you are planning on visiting an area and want to see what it looks like in more detail. You can zoom in to around a hundred metres with this feature – plenty close enough to see a lot of detail.
Zooming in and out is also made easier by using the sliding scale on the left hand side of the map itself. If you simply hover over it you’ll see four arrows appear, marked with the following options:
- Country
- State
- City
- Street
Clicking on any one of these enables you to zoom in or out to the correct distance you need, without having to try and find it yourself. It’s a much quicker way of finding the level of detail without scrolling or doing anything other than clicking your mouse button.
There is also a small navigational box inside the map itself, positioned in the top right hand corner. This is excellent for helping you get around faster, as you can drag the arrows to move from city to city and country to country. Once again when you’re in the general area you need you can zoom in quickly by clicking on the appropriate arrow next to the sliding scale.
Other useful features
If you have a website and you want to link to Yahoo Maps, there is a simple step by step process you can follow in the help section. It even provides helpful examples of what your links should look like and how to create them.
There are also plenty of short cuts and quicker ways to find what you need once you get used to how the site works. For example if you hover over any spot on a map and right click on your mouse button, a box will appear allowing you to request driving directions either to or from the point you clicked on. You can also access the tips and tricks section which enables you to get even more from the site.
In this sense Yahoo has designed the site in such a way that anyone – regardless of their level of knowledge – can get started and find the information they need far more quickly than they might think.
There are also a number of quick selections at the top of each map, giving you the opportunity to send, save or print each one. You can also request traffic updates for the area you want, simply by selecting that option.
Driving directions
If you need directions then Yahoo Maps can help you to get around in well over thirty European countries.
You can search from location to location, or if you need a more specific set of directions all you need to do is enter the start and finish postcodes to go from door to door. Your route is shown on the map in purple, and if you need to make a slight change and alter your destination it couldn’t be easier.
Simply hover your mouse over the route and click and drag it to your new destination. The directions will change accordingly and a box will appear displaying the data for your new and previous routes. You can then tell at a glance whether your old or new route is preferable, what the difference in distance is, and also what the estimated journey time will be for each option.
Yahoo Maps makes finding the directions you need quick and easy, and the list of directions themselves couldn’t be easier to read. All road names and numbers are listed in bold to make them easy to see at a glance, and you can get round trip directions at the click of a button.
If you need help
The help menu can be easily accessed via the small text link in the top right hand corner of the screen. This takes you swiftly into the help home page for Yahoo Maps, and allows you to see at a glance the most popular questions that people ask, as well as the sections on using maps, using the driving directions and much more besides.
The help section is as user friendly as the rest of the site, so whatever your query may be you are certain to receive the information you need in double quick time.
The best way to use the help pages is to enter your search keywords or phrases in the search box near the top of the screen. Once you hit the search button the site will return a complete set of results for that query, allowing you to scroll down and select the most appropriate one for your needs.
In conclusion
Yahoo is a big player online, and it is certainly a big player when it comes to online maps as well. The site is easy to use and is backed up by a comprehensive help section to come to your rescue if you do get stuck, or you simply want to find out more about a certain feature.
The beauty of Yahoo Maps is that it’s set out for the beginner and the newcomer to the site. The real advantage is that they include plenty more links, information and services which you can start to use as and when you need them. What you see when you arrive is the basic starting point, and from there you can literally go anywhere you like.
You’d be hard pushed to find a site that is as well organised as Yahoo Maps.