So I have some working code which fetches results from my DB and displays them on a Google map. I also have some code which uses my location to place a marker on a Google map.
My issue is that when I add them together the page loads the results from the DB then I accept geoloaction and it centers the map to my location but doesn't display my marker and also removes the markers for the DB results.
Here is the DB result code:
<!DOCTYPE html >
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>
<title>PHP/MySQL & Google Maps Example</title>
<script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=API_KEY"
type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
var customIcons = {
restaurant: {
icon: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_blue.png'
},
bar: {
icon: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_red.png'
}
};
function load() {
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
center: new google.maps.LatLng(47.6145, -122.3418),
zoom: 13,
mapTypeId: 'roadmap'
});
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow;
// Change this depending on the name of your PHP file
downloadUrl("/Models/phpsqlajax_genxml2.php", function(data) {
var xml = data.responseXML;
var markers = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("marker");
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var name = markers[i].getAttribute("name");
var address = markers[i].getAttribute("address");
var type = markers[i].getAttribute("type");
var point = new google.maps.LatLng(
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lat")),
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lng")));
var html = "<b>" + name + "</b> <br/>" + address;
var icon = customIcons[type] || {};
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point,
icon: icon.icon
});
bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html);
}
});
}
function bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html) {
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infoWindow.setContent(html);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
});
}
function downloadUrl(url, callback) {
var request = window.ActiveXObject ?
new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP') :
new XMLHttpRequest;
request.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (request.readyState == 4) {
request.onreadystatechange = doNothing;
callback(request, request.status);
}
};
request.open('GET', url, true);
request.send(null);
}
function doNothing() {}
//]]>
</script>
</head>
<body onload="load()">
<div id="map" style="width: 500px; height: 300px"></div>
</body>
</html>
This is my geolocation code:
// Check if user support geo-location
if (navigator.geolocation) {
navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(position) {
var latitude = position.coords.latitude;
var longitude = position.coords.longitude;
var geolocpoint = new google.maps.LatLng(latitude, longitude);
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('nearMeMap'), {
zoom: 11,
scaleControl: false,
scrollwheel: false,
center: geolocpoint,
mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
});
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
var marker, i;
for (i = 0; i < locations.length; i++) {
marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: new google.maps.LatLng(locations[i][1], locations[i][2]),
map: map
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', (function(marker, i) {
return function() {
infowindow.setContent(locations[i][0]);
infowindow.open(map, marker);
}
})(marker, i));
}
// Place a marker
var geolocation = new google.maps.Marker({
position: geolocpoint,
map: map,
title: 'Your Location',
icon: 'https://mt.google.com/vt/icon?psize=20&font=fonts/Roboto-Regular.ttf&color=ff330000&name=icons/spotlight/spotlight-waypoint-blue.png&ax=44&ay=48&scale=1&text=%E2%80%A2'
});
});
}
Also I get this in the console:
ReferenceError: locations is not defined
for (i = 0; i < locations.length; i++) {
As the ReferenceError already says, you do not have the variable locations defined in your geolocation code.
Related
I am creating a project using google map. My project contains hospital address ( in longitude and latitude) to be stored in database. But I want to show nearest hospital from my current location. And I am unable to figure out how to do it. Please help me with best algorithm and with some code.
Following code is used just to display all hospital address in map now I want is how to show only 3 nearest hospital from my current positiom.
function initMap() {
var mapType = google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP;
var animationType = google.maps.Animation.DROP;
var currentLocationAnimationType = google.maps.Animation.BOUNCE;
var mapElement = document.getElementById('map');
var nepalLocation = {
lat: 28.3949,
lng: 84.1240
};
var mapOptions = {
center: nepalLocation,
zoom: 7,
mapTypeId: mapType,
};
// actual map
map = new google.maps.Map(mapElement, mapOptions);
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
var latlngbounds = new google.maps.LatLngBounds();
var geocoder = geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();
if (navigator.geolocation) {
navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(p) {
var LatLng = new google.maps.LatLng(p.coords.latitude, p.coords.longitude);
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: LatLng,
map: map,
title: "My Location",
animation: currentLocationAnimationType
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, "click", function(e) {
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
infoWindow.setContent(marker.title);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
});
});
} else {
alert('Geo Location feature is not supported in this browser.');
}
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var data = markers[i]
var myLatlng = new google.maps.LatLng(data.lat, data.lng);
var image = "img/iconHospital.png";
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: myLatlng,
map: map,
icon: image,
title: data.district,
animation: animationType
});
}
}
google.maps.event.addDomListener(window, 'load', initMap);
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?v=3.exp&sensor=true&libraries=places"></script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="map"></div>
</body>
</html>
See this example at. I adapted your code accordingly.
function initMap() {
var mapType = google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP;
var animationType = google.maps.Animation.DROP;
var currentLocationAnimationType = google.maps.Animation.BOUNCE;
var mapElement = document.getElementById('map');
var nepalLocation = {
lat: 28.3949,
lng: 84.1240
};
var mapOptions = {
center: nepalLocation,
zoom: 7,
mapTypeId: mapType,
};
// actual map
map = new google.maps.Map(mapElement, mapOptions);
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
var latlngbounds = new google.maps.LatLngBounds();
var geocoder = geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();
if (navigator.geolocation) {
navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(p) {
var LatLng = new google.maps.LatLng(p.coords.latitude, p.coords.longitude);
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: LatLng,
map: map,
title: "My Location",
animation: currentLocationAnimationType
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, "click", function(e) {
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
infoWindow.setContent(marker.title);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
});
});
} else {
alert('Geo Location feature is not supported in this browser.');
}
infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
var service = new google.maps.places.PlacesService(map);
service.nearbySearch({
location: nepalLocation,
radius: 50000,
type: ['hospital']
}, callback);
}
function callback(results, status) {
if (status === google.maps.places.PlacesServiceStatus.OK) {
for (var i = 0; i < results.length; i++) {
if (i == 2) {
break;
}
createMarker(results[i]);
}
}
}
function createMarker(place) {
var placeLoc = place.geometry.location;
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: place.geometry.location,
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infowindow.setContent(place.name);
infowindow.open(map, this);
});
}
google.maps.event.addDomListener(window, 'load', initMap);
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?v=3.exp&sensor=true&libraries=places"></script>
<style>
/* Always set the map height explicitly to define the size of the div
* element that contains the map. */
#map {
height: 100%;
}
/* Optional: Makes the sample page fill the window. */
html,
body {
height: 100%;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="map"></div>
</body>
</html>
I am working on a dealerlocator with google maps. The problem is that when I click on a icon the infowindow opens the wrong window. I use a xml import. Everything is going well until the infowindow.
see website https://www.turbho.com/dealerview.php
<script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=AIzaSyD2maN7CjzWtwI6yuHj8lX078NzV0Ywkg0&sensor=false"></script>
{literal}
<script>
var map;
function initialize() {
var mapOptions = {
zoom: 12,
mapTypeId: 'roadmap'
};
map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map-canvas'), mapOptions);
// Try HTML5 geolocation
if (navigator.geolocation) {
navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function (position) {
var pos = new google.maps.LatLng(position.coords.latitude,
position.coords.longitude);
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow({
map: map,
position: pos,
panControl: true,
zoomControl: true,
scaleControl: true,
content: 'U bent nu hier.'
});
map.setCenter(pos);
}, function () {
handleNoGeolocation(true);
});
} else {
// Browser doesnt support Geolocation
handleNoGeolocation(false);
}
var image = 'https://turbho.com/img/logoturbhogooglesmall.png';
// Change this depending on the name of your PHP file
downloadUrl("xml/datacomplete.xml", function (data) {
var xml = data.responseXML;
var markers = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("marker");
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var name = markers[i].getAttribute("name");
var address = markers[i].getAttribute("address");
var zipcode = markers[i].getAttribute("zipcode");
var town = markers[i].getAttribute("town");
var anchor = markers[i].getAttribute("anchor");
var website = markers[i].getAttribute("website");
var point = new google.maps.LatLng(
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lat")),
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lng")));
var html = "<span style='font-size:12px;'><b>" +
name + "</b> <br />" +
address + "<br />" +
zipcode + " " + town + "<br /><br />" +
website + "<br /><br />" +
anchor + "</span>";
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point,
icon: image
});
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow({
content: html
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function () {
infowindow.open(map, marker);
});
}
});
}
function downloadUrl(url, callback) {
var request = window.ActiveXObject ?
new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP') :
new XMLHttpRequest;
request.onreadystatechange = function () {
if (request.readyState == 4) {
request.onreadystatechange = doNothing;
callback(request, request.status);
}
};
request.open('GET', url, true);
request.send(null);
}
function doNothing() {}
function handleNoGeolocation(errorFlag) {
if (errorFlag) {
var content = 'Error: The Geolocation service failed.';
} else {
var content = 'Error: Your browser doesn\'t support geolocation.';
}
var options = {
map: map,
position: new google.maps.LatLng(60, 105),
content: content
};
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow(options);
map.setCenter(options.position);
}
google.maps.event.addDomListener(window, 'load', initialize);
</script>
{/literal}
<div id="map-canvas"></div>
The problem is solved. I used a function see below and that worked for me.
function add_marker(latlng, title, box_html, image) {
//create the global instance of infoWindow
if (!window.infowindow) {
window.infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
}
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: latlng,
map: map,
title: title,
icon: image
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function () {
infowindow.close();
infowindow.setContent(box_html);
infowindow.open(map, this)
});
return marker;
}
Thanx for the help
Ruud
I have searched and searched for an answer with no luck. I can get the xml data to display fine and it appears that my markers refresh but just wont remove the previous one so they stack up. Any help would be great! I just need to remove the markers before the new ones appear. Thanks!
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
var markersArray = [];
var customIcons = {
restaurant: {
icon: 'pin.png',
shadow: ''
},
bar: {
icon: 'loc1.png',
shadow: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_shadow.png'
},
airport: {
icon: 'loc2.png',
shadow: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_shadow.png'
}
};
function load() {
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
center: new google.maps.LatLng(37.0923204, -95.9042496),
zoom: 5,
mapTypeId: 'roadmap'
});
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow;
// Change this depending on the name of your PHP file
setInterval(function() {
downloadUrl("phpsqlajax_genxmlall.php", function(data) {
var xml = data.responseXML;
var markers = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("marker");
resetMarkers(markersArray)
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var name = markers[i].getAttribute("name");
var address = markers[i].getAttribute("address");
var amount = markers[i].getAttribute("amount");
var time = markers[i].getAttribute("time");
var type = markers[i].getAttribute("type");
var point = new google.maps.LatLng(
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lat")),
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lng")));
var html = "<b>" + name + "</b> <br/>" + address + "<br/>$" + amount + " at " + time;
var icon = customIcons[type] || {};
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point,
icon: icon.icon,
shadow: icon.shadow
});
bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html);
}
});
}, 5000);
}
function resetMarkers(arr){
for (var i=0;i<arr.length; i++){
arr[i].setMap(null);
}
//reset the main marker array for the next call
arr=[];
}
function bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html) {
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infoWindow.setContent(html);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
});
}
function downloadUrl(url, callback) {
var request = window.ActiveXObject ?
new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP') :
new XMLHttpRequest;
request.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (request.readyState == 4) {
request.onreadystatechange = doNothing;
callback(request, request.status);
}
};
request.open('GET', url, true);
request.send(null);
}
function doNothing() {}
//]]>
</script>
</head>
<body onload="load()">
<div id="map" style="width: 1400px; height: 800px"></div>
</body>
The problem is, you are not adding your markers to markerArray, it stays empty, so there is nothing to remove when you call resetMarkers
After creating the marker, add it to markerArray:
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point,
icon: icon.icon,
shadow: icon.shadow
});
markerArray.push(marker);
I am pretty experienced when it come to php mysql, but javascript has got me scratching my head. I am trying to add google maps to my website to show where picture in my database were taken. I got the static google map to work, but it will only display 37 markers due to the url character limitations. I followed the tutorial at google maps api docs, and i have a map that will display all the coordinates for the images in my database. My problem is that i cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the map to auto center and auto zoom to fit all of my markers. my test website for my map is at maptest. I found this tutorial on how to auto center/zoom my map by no matter where i put his code i get errors. this is the code i have for my map that does not auto zoom/center:
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
<title>Google Maps AJAX + mySQL/PHP Example</title>
<script src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js? key=AIzaSyDnMkDkoCHNE7BG4eobjeMJdWWZtdZvzeg&sensor=false"
type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
var customIcons = {
restaurant: {
icon: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_blue.png',
shadow: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_shadow.png'
},
bar: {
icon: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_red.png',
shadow: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_shadow.png'
}
};
function load() {
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
center: new google.maps.LatLng(42.293564,-39.07617),
zoom: 2,
mapTypeId: 'roadmap'
});
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow;
// Change this depending on the name of your PHP file
downloadUrl("phpsqlajax_genxml3.php", function(data) {
var xml = data.responseXML;
var markers = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("marker");
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var name = markers[i].getAttribute("name");
//var address = markers[i].getAttribute("address");
//var type = markers[i].getAttribute("type");
var point = new google.maps.LatLng(
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lat")),
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("lng")));
var html = "<b>" + name + "</b> <br/>";
//var icon = customIcons[type] || {};
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point,
//icon: icon.icon,
//shadow: icon.shadow
});
bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html);
}
});
}
function bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html) {
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infoWindow.setContent(html);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
});
}
function downloadUrl(url, callback) {
var request = window.ActiveXObject ?
new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP') :
new XMLHttpRequest;
request.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (request.readyState == 4) {
request.onreadystatechange = doNothing;
callback(request, request.status);
}
};
request.open('GET', url, true);
request.send(null);
}
function doNothing() {}
//]]>
</script>
</head>
<body onload="load()">
<div id="map" style="width: 600px; height: 400px"></div>
</body>
</html>
Tried this?
var fitToMarkers = function(markers) {
var bounds = new google.maps.LatLngBounds();
var length = markers.length;
for (var i = 0; i < length; i++) {
bounds.extend(new google.maps.LatLng(markers[i].lat, markers[i].lng));
map.fitBounds(bounds);
}
};
I am using the code below to show the marker for each location saved in MySQL database.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>All Locations</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/alllocationsstyle.css" type="text/css" media="all" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false&language=en"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var customIcons = {
0: {
icon: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_red.png',
shadow: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_shadow.png'
},
1: {
icon: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_green.png',
shadow: 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_shadow.png'
}
};
function load() {
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
center: new google.maps.LatLng(54.312195845815246,-4.45948481875007),
zoom:6,
mapTypeId: 'roadmap'
});
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow;
// Change this depending on the name of your PHP file
downloadUrl("phpfile.php", function(data) {
var xml = data.responseXML;
var markers = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("marker");
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var locationname = markers[i].getAttribute("locationname");
var address = markers[i].getAttribute("address");
var finds = markers[i].getAttribute("finds");
var totalfinds = markers[i].getAttribute("totalfinds");
var point = new google.maps.LatLng(
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("osgb36lat")),
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("osgb36lon")));
var html = locationname + ', No.of finds: ' + "<b>" + totalfinds + "</b>";
var icon = customIcons[totalfinds] || {};
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point,
title: address,
icon: icon.icon,
shadow: icon.shadow
});
bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html);
}
});
}
function bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html) {
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infoWindow.setContent(html);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
});
}
function downloadUrl(url, callback) {
var request = window.ActiveXObject ?
new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP') :
new XMLHttpRequest;
request.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (request.readyState == 4) {
request.onreadystatechange = doNothing;
callback(request, request.status);
}
};
request.open('GET', url, true);
request.send(null);
}
function doNothing() {}
</script>
</head>
<body onLoad="load()">
<div id="map"></div>
</body>
</html>
I'd now like to be able to extend the functionality of the page a little further by adding a sidebar, whereby if the user clicks on the location in the sidebar it highlights the selection with a yellow background and then pans the map to the center it on the associated marker where it opens up the info window. If the user should click on the marker, I would like the info window to open and the associated location on the sidebar to be highlighted, again, with a yellow background.
I have been researching this for sometime and I found the exact type of sidebar that I would like here http://econym.org.uk/gmap/example_map2c.html but the problem is, is that this is in v2 of the Google maps API.
I just wondered whether it would be at all possible that someone could please show me what I need to do to get this to work.
UPDATED CODE
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" />
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>
<title>All locations</title>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"></script>
</head>
<div id="map_canvas" style="width: 900px;height: 600px;">
</div> <div id="locations"></div>
<body onload="showLocations()">
<script>
var map;
var markers = new Array();
function showLocations() {
downloadUrl("phpfile.php", function(data) {
var xml = data.responseXML;
markers = xml.documentElement.getElementsByTagName("marker");
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var locationname = markers[i].getAttribute("locationname");
markerId = "id_"+i;
location_list += "<div id="+markerId+">"+locationname+"</div>";
}
document.getElementById("location_list").innerHTML = location_list;
initialize_member_map("lang")
});
}
function initialize_member_map(lang) {
map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map-canvas"), {
center: new google.maps.LatLng(54.312195845815246,-4.45948481875007),
zoom: 6,
mapTypeId: 'roadmap'
});
var xml = data.responseXML;
var bounds = new google.maps.LatLngBounds();
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
var infoWindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow;
var locationname = markers[i].getAttribute("locationname");
var address = markers[i].getAttribute("address");
var locationid = markers[i].getAttribute("locationid");
var point = new google.maps.LatLng(
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("osgb36lat")),
parseFloat(markers[i].getAttribute("osgb36lon")));
var html = "<b>" + locationname + "</b> <br/>" + address;
bounds.extend(point);
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: point,
locationid: locationid
});
markerId = "id_"+i;
bindInfoWindow(gmarker, map, infoWindow, html, markerId);
}
map.setCenter(bounds.getCenter());
map.fitBounds(bounds);
}
function scrollToMarker(index) {
map.panTo(gmarkers[index].getPosition());
}
function bindInfoWindow(marker, map, infoWindow, html, markerId) {
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infoWindow.setContent(html);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
});
markerObj = document.getElementById(markerId);
google.maps.event.addDomListener(markerObj, 'click', function() {
infoWindow.setContent(html);
infoWindow.open(map, marker);
map.panTo(marker.getPosition());
});
}
function downloadUrl(url, callback) {
var request = window.ActiveXObject ?
new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP') :
new XMLHttpRequest;
request.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (request.readyState == 4) {
request.onreadystatechange = doNothing;
callback(request, request.status);
}
};
request.open('GET', url, true);
request.send(null);
}
function doNothing(){
}
</script>
</body>
</html>
My recommendation it's looking first documentation there you can find examples and a tutorial, then go to google playgorund which have live examples. It's completely possible make the sidebar, the only thing that you need to consider it's if the sidebar will be inside or outside of the map, in the link of the playground i are the example to make you're own controls. To store the data you need to understand how are make asynchronous calls by ajax to save the locations