Wayfinding

A-B wayfinding is a valuable feature that identifies the most efficient route between any two locations on the map. The usefulness of wayfinding increases as the map complexity grows.

Our wayfinding extension is designed to be user-friendly and easy to configure for anyone, without any special skills, thanks to the built-in route editor.

Be sure to check out the wayfinding setup tutorial.

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The Wayfinding feature is only available with the Professional plan. View pricing for details.

Options

Name	Description
On/Off	Turn wayfinding on/off.
Controls	Position of the wayfinding control: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right or undefined to disable the control.
By default	Open the controls by default.
Line width	Line width in pixel.
Line color	Hex color of the animated route.
Duration	Animation duration in seconds, per layer — a route crossing multiple layers animates for this duration on each.
Smoothing	Rounds the corners of the animated route.
Fixed from	ID of the location that should be used as a fixed from position. Can also be set with the `data-fixedfrom` embed attribute.
Back button	Position of a back button that returns the user to the Fixed from location.
Accessibility	Enable accessibility support.

Editor

The built-in route editor is compatible with any Mapplic base map (raster or vector).
When the Wayfinding panel is selected, the editor becomes active.

Paths

Clicking on the map adds a new path, and each subsequent click adds a new point to the polyline.
Paths can be selected by clicking on the line, anchor zone, or fill (when active).
Selected paths can be deleted by clicking the icon on the path panel.
Paths can be deselected using the Esc key or the on the path panel.

Property	Description
ID *	Unique path identifier.
Connect	Use the path for connecting layers.
Endpoint	ID of the connected location or layer connector.
Weight	Used to multiply the weight of a path.
Type	Switch between a line or a closed shape.
Accessible	Mark the path as inaccessible (shown dashed) so it is avoided when accessible mode is on.
One-way	Limit a line path to a single direction of travel. Paths are two-way by default.

* Required fields

Anchor points

Each anchor point of a selected path can be moved by drag-and-drop or removed using double click.
Intermediate anchor points can be inserted by clicking on the line connecting any two adjacent points.
Clicking the first point will toggle type between line and closed shape.
Anchor points are snapped when moved close to each other.

Configuration

Configuration involves establishing a network of paths using lines and ensuring that each location is connected to this network.

Paths are connected through overlapping anchor points.
Locations can be linked by a path with endpoint set to the location ID.
When a shape is closed, all of its points are interconnected with each other.

Below, you can discover the optimal workflow for implementing wayfinding on any map.

Draw main arterial route

Use the editor to draw the main route using one or more connected paths.
Add extra anchor points on the main route where locations will be connected.

Connect locations

Use autolink, then link generated path to the main route.

Connect layers (optional)

If the map has multiple layers, connect them.

Adjust options

Fine-tune wayfinding using the built-in options.

Autolink

Clicking the Run autolink button generates a new path with a single point for each existing location, and the endpoint property is configured to the location ID.

This accelerates the configuration process, eliminating the need to create a shape and manually input the location ID as an endpoint for each shape.

However, the work is not finished yet, as these shapes must be selected one by one and connected to the main path by overlapping points to complete the setup.

Multi-layer support

To connect the path network of one or more layers, add a new linked path for each connection (staircase, elevator, escalator) on each layer, ensuring that:

the connect property is set to Layer
the endpoint property is filled with any string, matching the endpoint property of the same connection on other levels.

Accessibility

When needed, the algorithm can focus on finding accessible routes.

To implement this, you must set particular paths as inaccessible.
For instance, this includes pathways to escalators, staircases, or non-accessible restrooms. Consequently, elevators and accessible toilets will be utilized.

The editor uses dashed lines to represent inaccessible paths.