Beta Essentials

NOTICE:

Any code or API version obtained from this page is to be considered incomplete, untested, and unsupported. Use at Your Own Risk! By downloading any code or using any API version obtained from this page you agree to our Terms.

Beta versions of the MapQuest Platform and libraries are only available to Developer accounts.


Server Connection Information
Hosted Tiled
Map APIs
<script src="http://btilelog.beta.mapquest.com/tilelog/transaction?
transaction=script&key=<KEY>
&itk=true&v=<VERSION>" type="text/javascript"></script>
Static Map Server Map.beta.mapquest.com
Geocode Server Geocode.beta.mapquest.com
Route Server Route.beta.mapquest.com
Spatial Server Spatial.beta.mapquest.com
API 5.3.0 Release Candidates
RC3 - 3/26/08
RC2 - 2/28/08
RC1 - 1/27/08
Other Beta Versions
AS3 Sample Controls for 5.2 - 3/26/08
API 5.2.1 - 3/14/08


Placebase Sample - 4/6/08
View Sample in action

A sample that demonstrates the ability of the MapQuest APIs (JS) to load and display PlaceBase TileLayer data on a TileMap. This sample was developed for our booth at the SXSW (South By SouthWest) show in Mar 2008. Click here for several other demos!



AS3 Sample Controls for 5.2 - 3/26/08
Download and View Sample Controls & their source-code

We have a package of additional sample drag & drop flex controls for your map, including overlay listing, zoom-to-rectangle, adding an overview map, adding a Magnifying glass, etc - theres quite a few of them, so check out the full list to see if there is anything useful for you. These are as-is samples to help you rapidly develop an application, and show you how to make your own controls.



5.3.0 Release Candidate 3 - 03/26/08
Language Component Docs Samples
JS v=5.3.0_RC3 Remote Collections
Traffic Flow and Traffic Incidents
POI MIn/Max zoom Levels
Remote Collections
Traffic Flow
Traffic Incidents
POI Min/Max zoom levels

This sprint has been focused on the JavaScript API

  • Drop Shadow setting for the map (JS)
We've added a visual drop-shadow graphic to the map, that you can turn on by calling
map.setMapShadowState(boolean)
This shadow is off by default.

  • Remote Collections (JS)
KML and GeoRSS support built into the API! Create a RemoteCollection, tell it the location of the feed and its format, and watch it get automagically sucked onto the map! And if you have another format, feel free to extend the feed loading classes to create your own loadable formats.
The KML of the Metro Lines is from Washington D.C. OCTO
NOTE: The remote feed needs to be in the same domain as your application - standard XHR Rules apply!

  • Min/Max Zoom levels on POIs (JS)
You can now set minimum and maximum zoom levels on POIs. The POI would then only be visible on the map between the set zoom levels.
poi.setValue('minZoomLevel', x) poi.setValue('maxZoomLevel', x)

  • Show Traffic Flow on the Map (JS)
You can now add traffic flow to your map. This is the first step of adding traffic functionality into the API - more will follow

  • Show Traffic/Incident POIs on the Map (JS)
You can now add traffic incident POIs to your map. This is the second step of adding traffic functionality into the API - more will follow

5.2.1 Beta Test - 03/14/08 -- Javascript Only: Change Version tag to v=5.2.1

The only change to version 5.2.1 is we have updated the delivered version of DOJO to 1.0.2

In 5.2 we used the DOJO GFX library to power our overlays. The pre-release version of DOJO (0.9.0) in 5.2.0 has a bug that can cause line overlays to "jump" at certain zoom levels. If you are experiencing this bug, we highly recommend you upgrade to 5.2.1

If you are not using Overlays, there should be no need to upgrade

Please use this beta version first to test that it is indeed fixing your overlays issue, and that no other issues are caused for you by having a different version of DOJO delivered to your application

This version ("v=5.2.1") has been pushed to production 5.2.1 as of 03/18/2008 @ 09:00 ET



5.3.0 Release Candidate 2 - 02/28/08
Language Component Docs Samples
JS v=5.3.0_RC2 Multiple Collections Multiple Collections
Shape Getters/Setters
FUJAX v=5.3.0.w_RC2 Multiple Collections Improved Globe View
Shape Getters/Setters
AS3 Download Zip Multiple Collections
Remote Collections
Multiple Collections (Flash CS3) Source
Multiple Collections (Flex)
Remote Collections - KML
Remote Collections - GeoRSS

***NOTE***
As of this version, the AS3 API requires Flash Player version 9,0,115

Major Changes this sprint are...

  • Beta Issues Forum now available
A forum for posting about Beta has been created in the Technical Resource Center. please use it to let us know of any issues you may find while using our Beta builds. thanks!

  • Old POI & Overlay Getters/Setters restored (JS)
We've added back in the 5.2 getters and Setters for POIs and Overlays. This should hopefully make transitioning to 5.3 easier, as that's less initial conversion work to do. The new 5.3 POI/Overlay features are NOT retro-fitted (so if you want HTML POIs, or to make your own overlay objects, you'll need to use the setValue/getValue methods)

  • POI & Overlay getValue & setValue methods added (FUJAX)
The new getValue and setValue functions have been added to the POI and Overlay objects in FUJAX so that both the old, and the new methods of setting properties on these objects are now available in both javascript and FUJAX. Refer to last month's javascript document to understand how getValue and setValue work.

  • Improved Globe View performance (AS3 & FUJAX)
A bug was discovered in the new full-axis globe view that was significantly hampering performance. Please give this new build a try and let us know if you see an improvement

  • Multiple Collections (JS, AS3, FUJAX)
Building on our efforts last month to combine POICollections and OverlayCollections into a single ShapeCollection, you can now add multiple ShapeCollections to a map. Effectively this means that you can now group your shapes. E.G: you can have a collection of gas stations, and a collection of restaurants, add and remove each separately rather than trying to loop through just a single collection thats attached to the map. Once a collection is attached to the map, add and/or removing shapes to it will be automatically reflected on the map. You can also specify whether or not each collection is affected by decluttering. Check out the samples and documents listed in the table for more information

  • Remote Collections (AS3, FUJAX)
Finally! KML and GeoRSS support built into the API! Create a RemoteCollection, tell it the location of the feed and its format, and watch it get automagically sucked onto the map! And if you have another format, feel free to extend the feed loading classes to create your own loadable formats.
The KML of the Metro Lines is from Washington D.C. OCTO
NOTE: The remote feed needs to either be in the same domain as your application, or needs to have a crossdomain.xml file available - standard XHR Rules apply!

5.3.0 Release Candidate 1 - 01/27/08
Language Component Docs Samples
JS v=5.3.0_RC1 Custom tile Layers
New POI properties
POIs Sample
Overlays Sample
FUJAX v=5.3.0.w_RC1 Custom tile Layers  
AS3 Download Zip Custom tile Layers  
.NET Download Zip    

Please consider this first Beta release a "Beta of the Beta". We are still bringing some systems up online, still making code changes, and still working hard towards a rapid iteration. The goal is to ultimately push a new version of any library that has been touched at the end of each development cycle.

Beta Advantage API servers for mapping, geocoding, routing, and spatial search (with the EXEC object) are:

Map.beta.mapquest.com
Geocode.beta.mapquest.com
Route.beta.mapquest.com
Spatial.beta.mapquest.com

It is important to note that currently Spatial.beta.mapquest.com actually points to Spatial.dev.mapquest.com - so you can't upload a separate set of data for beta yet.

Each beta push will iterate the RC tag (so hopefully next month we will push 5.3.0_RC2). We also do not yet have a dedicated forum on the TRC to provide feedback on the beta versions, so for now, please use the regular API forums, but title your posts specifically that you are using a beta build.

On with the software! This first month we are pushing four of our libraries to RC 1 Beta. Click on the link below for the language you are using:

Javascript Toolkit 5.3.0_RC1
ActionScript Toolkit 5.3.0_RC1
FUJAX Toolkit 5.3.0_RC1
.NET Library 5.3.0_RC1

Javascript Toolkit 5.3.0 RC1

Use the following code snippet to place the toolkit in your page:

<script src="http://btilelog.beta.mapquest.com/tilelog/transaction?
transaction=script&key=<YOUR_KEY_HERE>&itk=true&v=5.3.0_RC1" type="text/javascript"></script>

Important Changes for RC1

As this is the first beta release of what will be the next version of the toolkit, there are many MAJOR changes. Do NOT expect your existing code to work without some significant changes.
  • All 3rd party libraries have been removed from the API (no Prototype, no Dojo). This should clear up any conflicts with versions of these libraries that you may have been using separately
  • The entire API has been namespaced to "MQA" and all "MQ" leading characters removed. This means it is now, for example, MQA.TileMap and MQA.LatLng and MQA.MapInit
  • MQMapIcon is now MQA.Icon, and is now purely an interface,taking the image URL and the setup values in the constructor. Eg:
    • myIcon = new MQA.Icon(imageURL, width, height, offsetX, offsetY);
  • Pois and Overlays have been completely overhauled. They are now both extended off the same base object. All their getters & setters are now:
    • .setValue(propertyNameAsString, valueObject);
    • returnedValue = .getValue(NameAsString);
    • for example:
      • myPoi.setValue("LatLng", new MQA.LatLng(40.55,-70.123));
      • var theLL = myPoi.getValue("LatLng");
    • There is also .setValues(); which takes literal notation to set as many properties at once as you want
    • See this PDF for a list of the new getValue & setValue strings
    • There is a new setValue("HTMLElement" HTMLasString); that allows you to construct a POI totally out of HTML instead of using an icon
    • You can also see a sample showing how to do a bunch of different POI functions here: POIs Sample
    • An example for overlays can be found here: Overlay Drawing Sample
  • MQA.ShapeCollection replaces both PoiCollection and OverlayCollection. This means it is now MQA.TileMap.addShape(shape); .removeShape(shape); addShapes(shapeCollection); .replaceShapes(shapeCollection); removeAllShapes(); and MQA.ShapeCollection.append(shapeCollection);
    • Pois and overlays now go into the same collection
    • This is in anticipation of adding multiple shapecollections to the map in the next iteration
  • Custom Tile Layer functions are now available
    • See this PDF for some more details:

ActionScript Toolkit 5.3.0 RC1

Download this zip for the components: MQActionScriptAPI_5.3.0_RC1.zip

Changes for RC1

  • ShapeCollection replaces both PoiCollection and OverlayCollection. This means it is now TileMap.addShape(shape); ..removeShape(shape); addShapes(shapeCollection); .replaceShapes(shapeCollection); removeAllShapes(); and ShapeCollection.append(shapeCollection);
    • Pois and overlays now go into the same collection
    • This is in anticipation of adding multiple shapecollections to the map in the next iteration
  • Custom Tile Layer functions are now available
    • See this PDF for some more details:
  • Globe View has been upgraded
    • now spins on all axes.
    • You can set the number of triangles used, to adjust for performance
    • There are now two zoom levels of globe view
    • Smooth zoom animations work with globe view
    • Overlays and route highlights work with globe view
    • There is now a Map Rotation setting ? when you zoom in from globe view, the flat maps will now rotate to match the rotation of the globe

FUJAX Toolkit 5.3.0 RC1

Use the following code snippet to place the toolkit in your page:

<script src="http://btilelog.beta.mapquest.com/tilelog/transaction?
transaction=script&key=<YOUR_KEY_HERE>&itk=true&v=5.3.0.w_RC1" type="text/javascript"></script>

Changes for RC1

As this is the first beta release of what will be the next version of the toolkit, there are many MAJOR changes. Do NOT expect your existing code to work without some significant changes.

  • All 3rd party libraries have been removed from the API - no Prototype, no Dojo. This should clear up any conflicts with versions of these libraries that you may have been using separately
  • The entire API has been namespaced to "MQW" and all "MQ" leading characters removed. This means it is now, for example, MQW.TileMap and MQW.LatLng and MQW.MapInit
  • MQW.ShapeCollection replaces both PoiCollection and OverlayCollection. This means it is now MQW.TileMap.addShape(shape); ..removeShape(shape); addShapes(shapeCollection); .replaceShapes(shapeCollection); removeAllShapes(); and MQW.ShapeCollection.append(shapeCollection);
  • Custom Tile Layer functions are now available
    • See this PDF for some more details:
  • Globe View has been upgraded
    • now spins on all axes.
    • You can set the number of triangles used, to adjust for performance
    • There are now two zoom levels of globe view
    • Smooth zoom animations work with globe view
    • Overlays and route highlights work with globe view
    • There is now a Map Rotation setting ? when you zoom in from globe view, the flat maps will now rotate to match the rotation of the globe

.NET 2.0/3.5 Library 5.3.0 RC1

Download this zip for the DLL: MQDotNetAPI_5_3_0_RC1.zip

Changes for RC1

  • The library has been renamed to mapquest20.dll to reflect that this is for .Net 2.0 and above only
  • It has been tested with the 2.0 framework AND the 3.5 framework
  • It has been tested with both 32-bit and 64-bit environments
  • No interface changes have been made