distribution maps - free and easy

[Jim Croft]

> http://pubweb.parc.xerox.com/map/autozoom=4/iht=350/iwd=250/ht=70/wd=50/lat=-20.0/lon=-60.0/color=1/all/mark=-17.33,-59.66,4,2;-17.88,-63.08,4,2;-18.03,-63.20,4,2/grid

Has anyone tried pushing this to the limit?  Once you get to more than a
few hundred localities to be plotted and a URL over 10 lines or so, the
system gags... the situation is the same whether the URL is part of an
HTML file or cut and pasted into the browser URL window...

I have not run this one to ground yet but suspect it is a limitation of
the browser software rather than the Xerox map server.  Browsers like
NN and IE can handle huge incoming URLs but seem to have a limit on the
length of the URL they can send.  Does anyone know what the effective
limit might be?

If anyone have hit this barrier and come up with an effective work
around, I would be grateful in hearing about it.

The Xerox map server is a great and cheap (ie. free) way to deliver your
point locality to the web with a bit more interactivity than a fixed map
image.  It is already being used very effectively by a number of projects
such as the Flora Mesoamericana and the Flora of Madagascar, etc.

-- jim                     URL=http://www.anbg.gov.au/people/croft.jim.html
___________________________________________________________________________
Jim Croft         [Herbarium CANB & CBG]          internet: jrc at anbg.gov.au
Australian National Herbarium &                      voice:  +61-6-246 5500
Australian National Botanic Gardens               faxmodem:  +61-6-2509 484
GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA            fax:  +61-6-246 5249
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