Working with encartus - Build a Google Maps KML file plus an engenu folder structure from a list of street addresses

That's a screen shot of the user interface of the beta version of encartus, map-making software with built-in engenu support.

What does it do?

encartus creates a Google Maps KML file from a list of street addresses
It assigns a user-selectable map marker to those addresses
It optionally creates a folder on the file server for that address -- to serve as an engenu folder
It optionally creates folders and folder structures, thus to create an engenu hierarchy
And it optionally builds links from the map markers to the individual street address folders

Here is a brief outline of the software's features and capabilities:

Any valid addresses, one to a line, will produce a KML file that can be imported into Google Maps.

Like this, which is me and my best beloved:

314 East El Caminito Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85020

You will have the map marker you choose.

If you select Folders, a folder will be created for that address:

"314_East_El_Caminito_Drive,_Phoenix,_AZ_85020"

If you select Links, the folder will be linked from the map marker.

If you select Links without Folders, neither one happens, for obvious reasons.

If you precede a line with a tilde -- "~" -- a folder is created, and subsequent address lines and their respective folders and links are created hierarchically. Like this:

~Top Level Folder

would create a folder at the top level named "Top_Level_Folder".

This structure:

~Top Level Folder
314 East El Caminito Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85020

would create a link to a folder from the map marker for my house inside of the "Top_Level_Folder" folder, hence:

"Top_Level_Folder/314_East_El_Caminito_Drive,_Phoenix,_AZ_85020"

If you do this:
~Top Level Folder
~Top Level Folder/Second Level Folder
314 East El Caminito Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85020

You would get this:

"Top_Level_Folder/Second_Level_Folder/314_East_El_Caminito_Drive,_Phoenix,_AZ_85020"

You have to build each level of the hierarchy as you go. No harm, no foul if you try to create a folder that already exists.

You can do this:

~Love
~Love/Barefoot Boy With Cheek
314 East El Caminito Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85020
~Love/Barefoot Boy With Cheek/Girl Next Door
322 East El Caminito Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85020
~Love/Barefoot Boy With Cheek/Girl Next Door/And Baby Makes Three
402 East El Caminito Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85020

and you will have created what I hope will be a by-now obvious hierarchy.

If all you want to do is create a folder hierarchy, you don't have to add any addresses. You'll make a KML file, anyway, but it won't do anything.

You don't have to use the map, in any case, whether or not your hierarchy includes addresses.

You don't have to create folders. If you were mapping schools or Starbucks locations, you probably wouldn't.

A Google Maps map can be accretive, which means that you could add one database of addresses after another -- schools, hospitals, fire stations, etc., each with its own marker.

Here's live work from me, a full-blown home search:

~The Bannister Home Search
~The Bannister Home Search/Day One - Laveen and Ahwatukee
~The Bannister Home Search/Day One - Laveen and Ahwatukee/Laveen
1721 West Magdalena Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85041
9709 South 46th Drive, Laveen, AZ 85339
2205 West Harwell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85041
2514 West Darrow Street, Phoenix, AZ 85041
4521 West Paseo Way, Laveen, AZ 85339
4419 West Lodge Drive, Laveen, AZ 85339
~The Bannister Home Search/Day One - Laveen and Ahwatukee/Ahwatukee
15830 South 33rd Place, Phoenix, AZ 85048
16813 South 28th Place, Phoenix, AZ 85048
16040 South 18th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85045
11439 South 45th Court, Phoenix, AZ 85044
~The Bannister Home Search/Day Two - The East Valley
~The Bannister Home Search/Day Two - The East Valley/Gilbert
383 South Ironwood Street, Gilbert, AZ 85296
448 South Bay Shore Boulevard, Gilbert, AZ 85233
989 South Roles Drive, Gilbert, AZ 85296
3577 East Vaughn Ct Gilbert, AZ 85234
920 North Blue Marlin Drive, Gilbert, AZ 85234
431 South Laguna Drive, Gilbert, AZ 85233
745 East Barbarita Avenue, Gilbert, AZ 85234
~The Bannister Home Search/Day Two - The East Valley/Mesa
720 South Glenview Circle, Mesa, AZ 85204
2833 East Downing Circle, Mesa, AZ 85213
1017 East Fairfield Street, Mesa, AZ 85203
7830 East Portobello Avenue, Mesa, AZ 85212
11332 East Fairbrook Street, Mesa, AZ 85207

This is all about engenu, of course. You can use this software for lots of purposes, but my ideal deployment is to create the hierarchies and the maps, then dump the photos into the folders, then auto inherit everything into engenu, then go in any do any needed touch-ups. This cuts my engenu time in half for projects like the one shown above.

Installation: encartus will be installed with engenu. If you have a previous version of engenu, register for and install a new copy. You don't need to change your copy of engenupageDex.bin (your password file) if you don't want to.

Note that encartus requires you to have a Google Maps API Key. The software will instruct you how to get one and how to install your key for your engenu installation.

To launch encartus, just go here, making the appropriate substitution for "YourServer.com":
http://YourServer.com/engenu/encartus.php