Customize Google Maps

1. Organize your data into a excel spreadsheet. Separate data into the following columns: address, city, state (or country), title (for the popup) and text (the text will be put into the popup balloon.)
2. Go to the web site: http://www.batchgeocode.com/
3. The web site has easy steps. I won’t go into detail here.
4. At the end, click “Save Map as a web page.”

If you want to put the map into Google Maps, it is a bit harder. You also need a Google Docs account (which you have if you have gmail).

1. Do the steps above, but on step four download the KML file. Save this file to the desktop.
2. Open KML file with MS-Word. Go to the Replaice window (Edit->Replace…). Search for “^p” and replace with “”. In English, replace all the line returns with nothing. Click replace all. The ending document should be one long line.
3. Open a MS-Excel spreadsheet. Cut and paste the big long line created above into Cell A1. The entire line should be in A1 and no other. Save the spreadsheet on the desktop.
4. Go to Google Docs in your web browser. In the main menu, press Upload. Upload the spreadsheet you just created.
5. Open the newly created spreadsheet in Google Docs.
6. Press the “Publish Tab” on the right hand side of the screen.
7. Click “publish now.”
8. Check the box beside “Automatically re-publish when changes are made” and click “Republish now.”
9. Now press the “More Publishing options link.” A window will pop up.
10. In the new window set the file format to txt. In the “What Cells?” field type A1.
11. Press generate URL button. A URL will appear in that window. Copy that URL.
12. Now, go to maps.google.com. In the search field, paste the newly crated URL.
13. Press Search.
14. If all went correctly, Google Maps should populate with all your points. Keep in mind they cut you off after 65 points.