Announcing the all new Map Search!

A common request we've gotten from users in the past has been to enable our Map Search feature for all properties, not just those for sale. So, when we were chosen by Google to be one of the official launch partners for Google Streetview in Ireland, we decided it was finally time to overhaul our current system with something more modern and available to all properties. This overhaul started with the map on each property's page and has now been rolled out to the full map search.

To use the map search, simply enter your search criteria as you usually would; then, when the search results are displayed, you should see a new 'Map Search' tab alongside the existing 'List View' and 'Photo Gallery' tabs. Clicking on this will load up a new page displaying a map centred around your chosen area(s). If you drag the map around, new properties are loaded automatically. Properties close together are clustered into one icon, to reduce clutter. Clicking on each purple 'house' icon will display a small information window with a summary of the property and a link to that property's page. Clicking on each 'cluster' icon will cause the map to zoom in on the cluster of properties.

Additionally, where available, you can see Google's Streetview for each property by click on the 'Street View' link in the information window. Clicking on this link will replace the map with Google Streetview for that property. You can return to the map by clicking the red 'X' in the top right on the image.

We hope that this new facility will help users find property in their desired location more easily. It saves needing to know the exact area names you require and can show you properties in areas you never knew about! So, if you don't know your Baldoyle from your Blanchardstown, searching for property has never been easier. Why not give it a go by trying a rental search in Dublin City Centre.

Now for the technical details! We opted for Google Maps Javascript API version 3 to display the map and information windows. The properties are stored in a Solr database with LocalLucene installed, which enables location specific searches. Whenever a map is displayed or moved, an AJAX call is made to the database, requesting all properties within the current bounding box of the map. New properties are then added to the map. We used Google's MarkerClusterer plug-in for the clustering.

As with all of our new feature launches, we’re keen to hear what you think about it, so let us know in the comments box below or via an email to support@daft.ie!