Overview

Bingamajig! uses Bing services to collect business listing information and to render the map. You will need to obtain a Bing! API key to use this plugin. The API key is free. There are also several settings you may wish to configure before creating your Bingamajig! pages.

To configure your settings go to the Components / Bingamajig! entry on your admin menu. This will bring you to the Bingamajig! configuration page. Most of your default settings will be configured by using Parameters on the top icon bar.

Global Configuration Parameters

Bingamajig! API Key

This is the API key you will get from Bing! to make authorized data requests from their servers.

Get your key by signing up for a developer account at http://www.microsoft.com/maps/developers/. You will need to sing up for your Bing Maps account.

On you have your account select "Create of view keys" on the left side menu. Give your site an application name like "Bingamajig! for my site" and set your application type to developer.

Your Bingamajig! API key will be presented on the bottom of the page. Copy this key and enter it in the Bingamajig! API Key entry box.

Default Location

The Bingamajig! maps will try to determine the location of the user based on their internet connection and will show a list of businesses near them when the page is first rendered. However, you may wish to override this settings and force the initial map to a starting location of your choosing. Set the Default Location here to force the maps to start with a particular location.

Search Label

Bingamajig! will normally show the user an entry box where they can put in and address or zip code where they wish to locate businesses. Above the entry/search form is a label. Use this setting to change that label text to something more appropriate for your site.

Creating A Bingamajig! Page

Setup A Menu

Go to menus and add a new menu item that will service your new directory listings.

Give it a unique name like "bingamajig-directory".

Give it a title that people will recognize on the menu "Local Businesses".

Provide a description if you feel so inclined, "Our directory of local stuff".

Edit The New Menu

After you create your new menu you will want to add some specific content pages.

On the menu manager page click on the "Menu Items" icon to begin creating your category-centric content.

Click New on the toolbar to create your new Bingamajig! page.

Choose Bingamajig!, Bingamajig!, Default Layout as the type.

Enter a title that people will recognize like "Restaurants".

Go over to Parameters (Basic) on the right side and enter your search keywords that will create the directory, such as "restaurants".

If you are going to get a bazillion responses, try setting a limit. Usually 25 items is plenty.

If you don't want to have the system use the default address you set in Global Parameters, enter a new address here as the default starting point when the page loads.

Save.

Connect The Menu To The UI

Now that you have your menu and content ready, you need to decide where you want to connect this in the navigation structure of your site.

Go to Extensions/Module Manager.

Select New from the top toolbar.

Select Menu as the type.

Enter the title that the users will see on the main menus on the site.

On module parameters select the new Bingamajig! menu you created earlier.

Tweak the details and menu assignments as needed to have the the Bingamajig! content appear where you want it on your site.

Save.