Adding Maps to the Map Store

Professional-use maps are not permitted on the Avenza Map Store without permission. If you are interested in using the Avenza Maps App for professional purposes, please contact sales@avenza.com for more information.

 

There are two methods of uploading maps to the Map Store, through the vendor site and the batch uploader. This article will describe the vendor site process to upload an individual map. You can read how to upload multiple maps at once through the Batch Uploader in this support article:

Batch Uploading Maps

 

Uploading a Map

Click the +Add new button. As a new vendor without any maps, this button will appear in the middle of the page. If you already have a map uploaded, the button will instead be at the top-right of your map list.

The homepage of the vendor site with no maps uploaded

 

Once you have clicked on the +Add new button, select Map from the dropdown and then a prompt will appear asking you to upload your map file:

The dropdown menu that appears when + Add new is clicked on

The Add a New Map prompt

 

Click  to open up your computer directories to select a map for upload. Once you select a file, a progress bar will appear which indicates the upload progress. Once the bar is at 100%, the button will turn green  and clicking it will send your map to our servers to be processed. 

The option Convert this map to indexed color when processing is by default checked and is recommended. Indexed color decreases the size of your map and makes it more optimized to be used in the App.

The  button gives you more options to upload your maps like the Batch Uploader, Geographic Imager and MAPublisher.

The dropdown menu for Other methods

 

After you click , you’ll be brought to the Edit Product page!

 

Editing the Map Details

After the map is uploaded, the Edit Product page will load. This is the product listing information displayed to users in the Map Store. Please note that when editing this page, map information changes are not saved automatically and must be manually saved. Click the  button at the top and bottom to save your map information. Some metadata fields are required to release your map for sale within the Map Store. Other fields are optional, but supplying the information for them will improve how searchable your map is within the Map Store. The following fields can be edited:

Title (Required) - The title of the map displayed in the Map Store. Your title defaults to the file name, however, we recommend using a clear and concise title so users immediately understand your map’s location and purpose.

Formatting - Title length must be between 5 to 100 characters 

 

Description  (Required) - A summary of what the map displays, and why a user should download it.

Formatting - Description length must be between 32 to 4096 characters

 

Language (Optional) - The languages that appear on the map.

 

Publisher (Optional) - The original creator of this map, can either be an individual or company name.

Formatting - Publisher length must be between 2 to 100 characters

 

Published (Optional) - The publishing date of the map. 

 

Price (Optional) - The price you wish to charge for your map in USD.

The price will be automatically converted to each user’s local currency when they view the map in the Map Store. The default price is Free.

 

Hidden (Optional) - When checked , the map will be hidden and not displayed to the public in the Map Store. It will only be accessible via a QR Code or link. When not checked , the map will be displayed publicly and will be searchable by users.

 

Category (Required) - Any category from the category list that you feel the map falls into. This identifies what type of map you are presenting to the public, and all maps must have one category. Users can filter maps based on your selection, so it’s best to be as accurate as possible. Only one category can be chosen per map.

For a complete list of available categories, please consult the support article: Map Categories and Activities

 

Activities (Optional) - Any activity/ies from the activity list that you feel the map falls into. This identifies what you can do with the information shown on your map. Users can filter maps based on your selection, so it’s best to be as accurate as possible. You may choose up to five activities per map. 

For a complete list of available activities, please consult the support article: Map Categories and Activities

 

Country (Required) - The countries or continents covered by the map.

 

Previews and Thumbnails - The preview images are generated by the server during processing and are what the user sees displayed on the Map Store. Custom preview and thumbnails can also be set but they must match the exact image size and type of the auto-generated images. The following are the requirements for custom preview and thumbnails:

Preview #1, #2, #3 - 

• JPG format
• Less than 1MB in size

Large Thumbnail - 

• JPG format
• Less than 1MB in size
• Length and width 233 pixels x 233 pixels

Small Thumbnail - 

• JPG format
• Less than 1MB in size
• Length and width 95 pixels x 95 pixels

While you fill this product listing information, the Map Store will begin processing your file. Your map will be in one of four states:

• Waiting 
• Processing
• Finished
• Error

Our servers can only process a few maps at a time, so if many vendors upload maps at the same time, the maps wait in a queue. Once a processing spot becomes available, your map will automatically move from Waiting to Processing. Maps typically process in a couple minutes, however, if your map has a large page or file size, this can take longer. Once the map finishes processing, either a green Finished message will appear, or a red Error message. If the map errors, you can check the error message, and reupload. For more information about map processing notifications, please visit this support article:

Map Processing Notifications

The newly uploaded map will be displayed on the vendor site homepage:

Newly uploaded map in the Prepare state

 

If you need to edit the information of the map at any point, the Edit Product page for the map can be accessed by clicking on the corresponding map title on the vendor site homepage.

 

Submitting the Map for Review

Once the map has been successfully processed and the product details have been populated and saved, it can be submitted for review. A map can be submitted by clicking the button on the right of the map details page, or by selecting it on the Maps page and selecting Submit for Review from the menu at the top of the page.

 

Map Promotion and Actions sidebar with Submit for Review highlighted

 

Submit for Review prompt

 

Our Map Store Team looks at every map submitted to review, including all their associated product listing information. Large volumes of submissions may occasionally extend the time frame in which our team is able to review maps, so please allow 1-2 business days for the review process to be completed. If there is an urgent rush for your map, please email mapreviews@avenza.com. If a map is being submitted with a price that you have never charged for a map before, please allow another 5-10 business days as this price point must be approved beforehand by Apple and Google. This additional waiting period is only necessary once per price point. Any subsequent maps submitted at the same price will not have to undergo Apple’s approval process.

Upon clicking Yes, update the map, the map’s state will change from Prepare to In Review. Once the map has been approved it will automatically become for sale in the Map Store!