General Settings

Posted by cici in Admin, Advanced, Enterprise, General, Our Add Ons, Professional, Server, User Interface

(This section has been updated to reflect updates in SLP version 5.5.)

There are settings under the General tab for Admin , User Interface, (Server and Data tabs in earlier versions, now are included under the APP tab). This documentation has been updated to reflect the Google API changes for our WPSLP self managed plug-in customers. The tab “App” Map is where you will enter your own Google API keys. MySLP customers do not need to worry about that. We do it for them.

Admin

The Admin tab is where your SLP Premier subscription Accounts ID , Log Schedule Messages, and other info is located. There is also a Reset Manage Locations button available for use to reset the back end Manage Locations display page to the default view (10 locations per page view). This feature was previously only available with the free SLP Janitor Add-on.

Scroll To Map

Posted by lcleveland in Enterprise

By adding the scroll_to_map class on any of the Results Layout HTML elements, WordPress Premier or MySLP Enterprise subscribers can enable the scroll to map functionality on any Store Locator Plus plugin style. When the class has been added to an element in the results layout that element becomes clickable. Clicking that element will scroll the map back into view and open the map marker and info bubble for the location that was clicked.

We have used this feature in the new Bennett plugin style.

To add the feature to other styles you will need to have the Premier plugin installed for WordPress. Under Settings/Map in the functionality section see the check box ,

For MySLP Enterprise users the feature is already enabled.

Go to Store Locator Plus (MySLP) or Store Locator Plus (WPSLP) | Settings | Results | Results Layout.

Edit the layout and add scroll_to_map to an existing class on an html element you want to trigger the scrolling feature or add class=”scroll_to_map” if the HTML element does not have a class assigned.

Learn more about other Premier / Enterprise features like the new Category Button Bar.

Gray map or blank map and/or search does not work

Posted by cici in Advanced, FAQ, Map, Search, Troubleshooting

JavaScript Problems:

Note: Major Updates to WordPress versions (example 5.0 , 5.5 ,5.7) may effect themes behaviors and plug-ins and cause additional errors. We strongly advise updating on a staging site or dev or test site first instead of allowing AUTO UPDATES)

Many times we hear that an update to SLP plug-in broke “everything”. Upon asking for clarification we find out that they also updated WP and/or other plugins or did not update their themes. WordPress explains how to use your browser to diagnose javascript error

Issues with the JavaScript part of the plugin usually manifest themselves by showing the search form but either a blank map, a map that is all gray, or a map that appears but search does not wor properly. To identify what is causing your issue use the Firebug add-on with Firefox or any Browser developer tools (see above info in the link to WordPress on how to diagnose with browser).

The WordPress Store Locator Plus map rendering is managed by the slp.js JavaScript file. It sets up the communication with the built-in WordPress AJAX handler, admin-ajax. Your server must be setup to allow the built-in WordPress AJAX handler to execute. Additionally, ANY PLUGIN or THEME that is breaking javascript will break SLP functionality. This is rarely an issue with the SLP plugin.

Common errors or issues:

The PHP JavaScript connector did not load

We have come across this error on several installations. The short answer to this problem is that something in the WordPress installation prevented the Store Locator Plus JavaScript component from loading. This means that the map system cannot communicate with Google. This prevents the map from appearing and search results from working properly on your locations page.

Here are some issues we’ve come across that cause this to happen:

- PHP version is < 5.3, this generates an error message that you will not see in the browser. Any error message will prevent the JavaScript PHP file from loading. SLP will not work with versions lower then PHP 5.3.
- PHP Error Reporting Enabled, if PHP error reporting is enabled and ANY PLUGIN has bugs, uses deprecated WordPress functions, or uses deprecated PHP functions they will generate an error message. This error message can be hidden in the browser if the error happens in something that is creating page header information. This will also break the page loading process and prevent the JavaScript PHP from loading.
- Plugin Errors, any plugin that does not load properly and does ANYTHING with page header output will break and thus cause a domino effect prevent the Store Locator Plus PHP JavaScript component from loading.

In many cases the cause of the maps not loading is because our PHP JavaScript file could not load. We can often detect this and pop-up the “PHP JavaScript connector did not load” warning. However we cannot catch all errors. Why good Javascript is critical.

One of the best tools for searching for errors in the HTML page headers is to use Firefox with the Firebug plugin or any browser developer tool. Turn on the console and check the responses tab under console for any errors. We have resolved many client installation and map problems with this plugin. More often than not we are finding errors in other plugins, themes, or server/site configuration settings.

The PHP JavaScript page header is a critical part of a working Store Locator Plus installation. Since it loads very late in the page creation process it is susceptible to failures from almost anything else you may be loading on the page or your WordPress site. The the map is not loading and you are receiving this message get some page debugging/tracking tools like Firebug and isolate any plugins that are generating coding/output errors.

IF YOU Update your WordPress environment , BE SURE TO review the WordPress VERSION changes as they have changed.

Review the WordPress suggested requirements

Update PhP to 7 or higher
Update MySQL to 5.6 or higher
Site move to HTTPS

2017 was the year WordPress was requiring hosts to have HTTPS available. Just as JavaScript is a necessity for smoother user experiences , updated PHP versions are critical for performance, and SSL just makes sense as the next hurdle users are going to face. Note: Google also weighs SSL as a search engine ranking factor and have begun flagging unencrypted sites in Chrome.

User Interface Settings for WPSLP plug-in

Posted by cici in Advanced, General, Professional, User Interface

Settings that impact how JavaScript works on your site. Note, if you subscribe to the MySLP SaaS, you will not see a General tab. With the MySLP we take care of this for you! The My Store Locator Plus service is a fully-managed application that works with any website or mobile development platform.

UI jQuery Version –

reflects the jQuery version that is currently used with the Store Locator Plus version you are using. The SLP jQuery versions are in compliance with the WordPress minimal version requirements.

Force Load JavaScript

This settings forces the Store Locator Plus JavaScript (slp.js) to be loaded when your WordPress Theme header is loaded. This is NOT the way to go. It is recommended that you turn OFF “Force Load JavaScript” and instead contact your theme author. See Troubleshooting for more information

Why are my store pages messed up?

Posted by lcleveland in FAQ

Check to make sure the SLP shortcode is not in quotes. WordPress changed how quotes can be implemented in shortcodes.

Check to make sure you do not have the Force Load JavaScript box checked.

Q: I am receiving error messages and something isn’t working the way it used to, what is wrong?

Posted by lcleveland in FAQ

The most common issue is that there were updates in Store Locator Plus, WordPress, a non-Store Locator Plus plugin, or your theme that may be interacting with and breaking Store Locator Plus.

Update Your Store Locator Plus Add Ons

The first step should always be to check the Store Locator Plus versions page and make sure you are running the latest version of your Store Locator Plus plugins. There is often a free upgrade to a newer version of a Store Locator Plus add on that works with the current release of the base plugin.

Map Not Showing

Posted by lcleveland in Advanced, FAQ, Troubleshooting

You activated the Store Locator Plus base plug-in and followed all the instructions but when you visit your locator page no map is there.

Here are some common reasons why the map will not appear:

Did you obtain a Google MAP API key?

As of June 22, 2016 Google requires all new domains, sites to obtain a key. There are many options based on how often your locations are queried. There are instructions in the SLP documentation site , in the SLP User Interface under INFO. See Getting Started Guide. More recently, 2018, Google has introduced security measures requiring SSL certification (HTTPS) for sites that may want the search to locate their customers location. (Location Sensor)