Venues Map
Venues Map displays JEM venues on an interactive map. Unlike Events Map, which focuses on events happening at venues, Venues Map focuses on the venues themselves. It is useful for venue directories, cultural networks, location discovery pages and maps where visitors first choose a place and then open its venue page or venue calendar.
For a venue to appear on the map, it must have valid latitude and longitude values. Address fields are useful for users, but coordinates are what make the marker precise.
Venues Map Compared With Events Map
| View | Main focus | Best used for |
|---|
| Venues Map |
Venues with coordinates. |
Venue discovery, venue directory, venue calendar navigation. |
| Events Map |
Events assigned to venues with coordinates. |
Finding events by date, category, country and location. |
When To Use This View
| Scenario | Recommended setup | Reason |
|---|
| Venue directory map |
Enable country filter and show all geocoded venues. |
Visitors can browse locations visually. |
| Museum or cultural network |
Use venue types and high-quality venue images on venue pages. |
The map becomes an entry point to the venue catalogue. |
| Single-country site |
Set a default country and disable unnecessary country browsing. |
Keeps the map focused. |
| Large international site |
Enable country and city filters. |
Prevents users from navigating a very large marker set manually. |
| Venue calendar navigation |
Use marker popups and the venue calendar link. |
Visitors can move from a place to its event schedule. |
Data Requirements
| Venue data | Needed for | Recommendation |
|---|
| Venue name |
Marker popup and venue link. |
Use the official or recognisable place name. |
| Latitude |
Marker placement. |
Use decimal GPS coordinates. |
| Longitude |
Marker placement. |
Use decimal GPS coordinates. |
| City |
City filter and venue list below the map. |
Keep city names consistent. |
| Country |
Country filter and country display. |
Use the JEM country selector instead of free text where possible. |
| Published state and access |
Frontend visibility. |
Only visible and accessible venues should be shown to visitors. |
Map Options
| Option | Default | Purpose |
|---|
| Auto center map |
Yes |
Centers the map using the available venue markers. |
| Map center latitude |
54.526 |
Fallback latitude when auto-centering is disabled or no marker is available. |
| Map center longitude |
15.255 |
Fallback longitude when auto-centering is disabled or no marker is available. |
| Map zoom |
4 |
Initial zoom level. |
| Map type |
Political |
Chooses the base map style, such as political or physical. |
| Show my location |
Yes |
Allows visitors to show their current browser location. |
| Venue marker file |
media/com_jem/images/marker-red.webp |
Marker image used for venues. |
| My location marker file |
media/com_jem/images/marker-blue.webp |
Marker image used for the visitor’s current location. |
| Full screen map |
No |
Allows the map to be expanded when supported by the layout. |
| Map height |
500px |
Controls the visible height of the map container. |
| Heat layer |
Yes |
Shows density when many venues are available. |
Country, City And Category Filters
Venues Map can filter by country, city and category. The category filter is event-aware: it can be used to show venues that are connected to events in selected categories.
| Filter | Default | Behaviour |
|---|
| Show Country Filter |
Yes |
Shows a frontend selector with countries that have geocoded venues. |
| Default Country |
None |
Starts the map focused on one country. |
| City Filter |
Available after country selection |
Shows cities belonging to the selected country. |
| Show Category Filter |
No |
Allows visitors to filter venues by event category context. |
| Category IDs |
Empty |
Limits the available categories in the category filter. |
Marker Popups
Each marker represents one venue. The popup normally provides a link to the venue page and may include navigation options or a venue calendar link depending on layout and configuration.
| Popup element | Purpose |
|---|
| Venue name |
Links the visitor to the venue detail page. |
| Country flag or country information |
Gives quick geographic context. |
| Navigate link |
Opens external map navigation using the venue coordinates. |
| Venue calendar link |
Allows visitors to view events hosted at the selected venue. |
Venue List Below The Map
The view can also show a venue list below the map. This makes the page usable even when users prefer scanning a list rather than interacting with markers.
| Column/action | Purpose |
|---|
| Venue |
Links to the venue detail page. |
| City |
Shows the city stored on the venue. |
| Country |
Shows the venue country name. |
| Calendar |
Links to the venue calendar. |
| Edit |
Shown only when the current user can edit that venue. |
Menu Item Target
The JEM Itemid option can be used to control the menu context used by links generated from the map. This is useful when the site has specific menu items for venue detail or venue calendar pages and you want consistent routing, breadcrumbs and module assignment.
| Configuration | Result |
|---|
| No JEM Itemid selected |
Joomla resolves links using the available route context. |
| JEM Itemid selected |
Venue and calendar links use the selected menu context where possible. |
Page Text
Venues Map supports page intro and footer text. This is useful for explaining that only venues with coordinates are shown, or for inviting users to submit corrections through the Submit Venue form.
| Text area | Position | Example use |
|---|
| Introtext |
Below the page heading and above the filters/map. |
“This map shows published venues with GPS coordinates.” |
| Footer text |
Below the map and venue list. |
“If a venue is missing, please submit it or contact the site administrator.” |
Recommended Configurations
| Page type | Recommended options | Why |
|---|
| Local venue map |
Auto center on, country filter off or default country set, higher zoom. |
Best for one city or region. |
| National venue directory |
Default country set, city filter available, medium zoom. |
Visitors can move from country to city. |
| International directory |
Country filter on, city filter on, lower zoom, heat layer on. |
Useful for many venues spread across countries. |
| Category-aware venue map |
Category filter on and limited category list. |
Shows venues connected to selected event programmes. |
| Venue maintenance map |
Use intro text and allow edit permissions for trusted users. |
Editors can identify venues and correct data from the frontend. |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | Solution |
|---|
| A venue does not appear on the map. |
The venue has no valid latitude or longitude, is unpublished, or is not accessible. |
Edit the venue and check coordinates, publication state and access level. |
| The country filter is too long. |
Too many countries are active in JEM settings. |
Disable unused countries in the JEM Countries settings. |
| City filter is empty. |
No country is selected or the selected country has no geocoded venues with city values. |
Select a country or complete city data on venues. |
| The map opens in the wrong area. |
Auto center has no valid markers, or fallback center values are not suitable. |
Check venue coordinates or set map center latitude, longitude and zoom manually. |
| My location does not work. |
The browser denied geolocation or the site context does not allow it. |
Use HTTPS and ask visitors to allow location access. |
Related Project Notes
- #2151 discusses country availability and reducing long country selectors.
- #2130 relates to venue links and venue calendar behaviour.
- #2131 relates to generating a complete JEM frontend menu.
- #2154 standardises intro and footer text options across JEM views.
