Introduction
Sometimes it can be useful to locate a vendor in order to understand in which part of the world it carries out his business activities. This blog describes how to encapsulate Google Maps directly into MDM so that it will show the vendor address each time a vendor is selected. h3. Getting to work… Using the Google maps Web site (http://maps.google.com/) it is possible to search an address everywhere in the world. Once an address has been located, the “link“ functionality (the hypertext indicated by the red arrow) can be used in order to obtain the full link to the map, as highlighted in the red frame.
In the example above the link is http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Italy,+MILAN,+VIA+CALDERA+21 where the parameters are language (English, in this example) and address (Italy, MILAN, VIA CALDERA 21, in this example).
SAP MDM provides us with a tool named Web Tab which can be used to call an external application just by adding an URL in the Links table in Console and specifying same parameters.
It is necessary to paste a new link version into the Web Tab URL: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=<f:geo_map>
where parameter geo_map is a calculated field in MDM that contains Country name, City and Company Name separated by a comma.
Additionally, it is necessary to set the Web Pane URL in the configuration option in MDM Data Manager:
From now on, it will be possible to select a vendor and see the related map, as in the following examples:
And, finally, hoping to have sooner or later open a branch at Beau Vallon Beach :wink: ….
Enjoy your maps!
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