General Guidelines

The following guidelines are common to all new content, and should be observed.

1. Submission of Information

   Remember that the information you are typing on your home computer is on your home computer! It does not become a part of the web site until you send it to our server!

   After you have finished typing, please remember to click on the Submit button at the bottom of your page. This will save your work onto our server. Do not look at another page, or even click on the back button, until you have submitted the information, or you may have to do all the typing again.

   You can always go back and change something. That is far better than having to re-do everything. If you are hesitant, Submit it anyway, then go back later and change anything you wish.

2. Title

   The Title field is required for every page. It should be descriptive. For example, if you are putting up a farm listing, the title should be the name of the farm, and should include the word 'Farm'.

3. Description

   The description field is the heart of your listing. Do not skimp on words!

   This is where you personalize your listing, and we recommend that you write at length about what you do, how you do it, and what makes you special. The ideal length of the description is between 200 and 400 words. Anything less and you are short-changing yourself. Any more, and it becomes more difficult to hold someones attention. Most listing types can display images, but if you wish to do something special with your, get in touch with us and we can see if we can help you.

   Farms and organizations who cannot yet afford their own web site should take full advantage of this space.

4. Location

   The Location field set is collapsible, and may be closed when you see it. Click on the Location title to open it, and you will see a number of fields, and a Google map.

   Some of the fields are required, and must be filled in. Others are optional, and will not appear if you do not enter anything.

   Location Name

   This is not the name of the Organization. If your market is at the local community center, this should be the name of the community centre.

   Street

   Enter the civic address of the location. (eg 123 Any Street).

   Additional

   An additional address line if required. We recommend that you do not enter it until you have saved the page. It tends to confuse the Google geo-positioning API which is activated the first time you save your page.

   City (Required)

   Enter the name of the municipality.

   State/Province (Required)

   Select which Province the municipality is in.

   Postal Code

   Entry is optional. Should only be entered if this is also the postal address. We recommend that the postal address, if different from the location, be given as part of the Description (above).

   Phonenumber and Fax number

   If entered, should include area code, and any extension.

   Longitude and Latitude

   Do not enter anything in these fields unless you have an accurate decimal GPS to give you the numbers. Let the Google Maps API fill them in for you.

   The first time you save your page, if you have left Latitude and Longitude blank, the Google Maps Geolocator will try to interpret the address and to place your map market for you. If Google cannot place the marker accurately, return to the edit screen. Each time you click on the map, you will place the marker where you click, and the map will zoom and center on your marker. You will also notice that Google fills in the Latitude and Longitude fields each time you click. Simply repeat the process until you have the marker precisely where you want it on the map. If you zoom in too far, use the minus sign (-) on the map control to zoom out a bit so you can see where you are working. The map may be dragged to show a different area by placing the mouse pointer on the map, holding down the left mouse button, and dragging the map by moving the mouse. Submit the page again when you are satisfied with your marker placement.

5. Macro Fields

   The fields in this field set control the display of the Google map. Each is a required field, and they give you limited control over the way the map is presented. We recommend the following defaults, and in some cases enforce them:

   Map Width

   450px

   Map Height

   300px

   Marker

   big blue

   Map Magnification

   Depending on the region, we recommend the magnification, or zoom factor be set to between 10 and 13. Lower numbers are more suited to rural areas where an overview is required to decide a route. Larger numbers are more suited to a close grid of streets where street names and civic numbers become more important.

   Control Type

   Please use the Small Control. This one gives the user good control over the map display without obscuring the map content.

   Map Type

   Please use Street Map. Few if any will understand the other formats.

   Map Alignment

   Please leave as Left