How to create and manage Guided Tours

This How-to article will outline when the feature Guided Tours can be used, what options and limitation there are, and step-by-step instructions on how to create, manage and remove Guided Tours.

Guided Tours

• Overview:
  Guided tours display a predefined route on the map without using standard paths or directions.
  Its purpose is to provide structured and customisable routes for various use cases.

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• Key Benefits:

  • Guided tours provide a possibility to show end-users predefined routes.

  • They’re easy to spot on the map and easy to locate by search.

  • Guided tours can showcase specific points of interest along the route.

  • Path visualisation and other POI-based interactivity, making the “routes” more informative and engaging.
    
    

• How It Works:

  • Guided tours display a predefined route on the map without using standard paths or directions.
    Its purpose is to provide structured and customisable routes for various use cases.
    Unlike regular paths in MazeMap, which calculate the fastest route from A to B, guided tours can showcase longer routes, such as hiking trails.
    
    

• Use Cases:

  • Campus Tours – Helps new students and visitors navigate key locations.

  • Hiking & Nature Trails – Highlights specific and different routes.

  • Safety Routes – Defines evacuation or emergency response paths.

  • Training Routes - training /workout paths with different lengths and difficulty levels.
    
    

• Limitations:

  • Guided Tours are primarily for outdoor routes as they are essentially highlighted POI polygons that are created on the outdoors layer.

  • The POI polygon cannot be both inside buildings and outdoors at the same time.

  • Outdoor POIs can not cross or be in contact with any building layers.

  • If the guided path is to lead inside a building, it may be worthwhile to experiment with creating additional indoor POI polygons in the same colour. However, the indoor POI polygon will not be connected to the outdoor POI polygon.
    
    

• How to create Guided Paths:

  • Make sure you
    - Have MazeMap admin user access to Map Editor
    - Have a basic understanding of how to work with custom POIs.
    
    

  • Map Editor steps

    • Go to Points of Interest (POI Editor)

    • Check the “Outdoors” box in the Map Display Options.

    • Create a POI, and select “draw Area”

    • Edit the polygon shape according to the route you want it to represent.

    • Change the name and colour of the POI polygon.

    • Add a description and picture to the POI polygon.

    • Place point POIs along the route in case there are any (add description + picture).

    • Create a POI category (e.g. “Walking Tours”) and connect the route POIs you’ve created to the POI category.
      
      

• How to maintain and remove Guided Paths:

  • Update a Guided Path

    • Click on the POI polygon

      • Change the outline of the polygon in case it should be tweaked.

      • Change the colour, description, and picture.

      • Publish Changes

  • Remove a Guided Path

    • Click on the POI polygon

    • Click the three dots in the upper right corner and click “Delete POI”.

    • Publish Changes

  • Temporarily hide a Guided Path

    • Click on the POI polygon

    • Remove the color and outline

    • Make the POI un-clickable

    • Remove the connected POI type.

    • Remove searchable names and titles.

    • Publish Changes
      
      

• Additional Resources:

  • Please contact support@mazemap.com in case you have any questions.
    
    

  • Real-world examples.
    Örebro University Walk and Talk: MazeMap Indoor Navigation App
    Sunnaas Hospital Heritage Tour: MazeMap Indoor Navigation App
    Sunnaas Hospital Floor navigation lines: MazeMap Indoor Navigation App

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