It’s easy to use Google Maps to set up a customised route by adding placemarks at navigationally-significant locations (see this example), and you can easily add instructions (including pictures) at each point (try clicking on one of the “map pins”).

However in the real world, there is nothing to beat having a list of instructions that each person can print out. I didn’t want to re-type everything into a separate document, so created a web page to extract the key information from Google Maps and present it as a tabular list. Editing the data in Google Maps is immediately reflected in the web page.

There are three key components which are described in more detail (including source listings) on the associated wiki page.

• The KML representation of the map
• A PHP script to pull down the relevant KML file, manipulate it by application of an XSL stylesheet, and create the resulting web page
• The XSL stylesheet

Assumptions and Limitations

• Assumes that the order in which waypoints are added to the Google Map is the correct navigational order. (this could be a real pain if you later needed to add an intermediate point)
• URL transform to get KML file is hard-coded
• Assumes that the only placemarks on the map are navigational waypoints

References

• A lot of the insight on manipulating KML came from Mark Mclaren’s Weblog
• The PHP code to manipulate the XML was heavily lifted from the Zend Developer Zone

• Cleaning up iTunes plist XML:
  Two-pass approach – changing the iTunes plist format to a clean XML hieratrchy and then processing that
  Keywords: XML, XSL, iTunes
• GNU Wget – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation (FSF):
  Homepage for the GNU Wget project
  Keywords: tools/wget, GNU
• Windows Wget files:
  Windows builds of the popular wget tool
  Keywords: tools/wget
• Wget local copies of your online research (del.icio.us, digg or Google Notebook) – Lifehacker:
  More applications of wget
  Keywords: research, workflow, pkm, tools/wget
• Geek to Live: Mastering Wget – Lifehacker:
  Good review of practical uses for wget…
  Keywords: tools/wget, workflow, pkm
• Dan Bricklin / Ward Cunnigham Interview Podcast:
  Dan Bricklin interviews the creator of wiki
  Keywords: Wiki, DanBricklin, WardCunningham, podcast
• The Elements of Agile Style:Keywords: agile/methods

• XML.com: Hacking iTunes:
  Including how to import the iTunes Library XML into C# native objects
  Keywords: xml, xsl, itunes
• XSLT script to generate album listing from iTunes XML:

  Keywords: XML, XSL, iTunes

• The Top 50 Productivity Blogs (most of which you haven’t heard about) | zen habits:

  Keywords: PersonalProductivity

• The IT Service Catalog Toolkit:
  PDF by by Musab Qureshi on establishing a useful set of Service Catlogues
  Keywords: ServiceManagement, ITIL, ServiceCatalogues
• Open Source Service Catalog Community (OSCC):
  The OSCC is dedicated to the creation, sharing and distribution of Service Catalog and Service Portfolio best practices.
  Keywords: ITIL, ServiceCatalogues, ServiceManagement
• Spiral Presentation Maps and Virtual Donuts:
  Nick Duffil’s ideas on using software mindmaps tools for presentations
  Keywords: Mindmapping, Presentations
• More about MindManager PIA (Primary Interop Assembly) Add-ins and .Net Framework 2.0 & Visual Studio 2005:

  Keywords: MindManager/AddIns, DotNet

• Building Upgrade-Safe Add-ins for MindManager:
  How to use the MindManager PIA
  Keywords: MindManager/AddIns, DotNet

• WikiMatrix – Compare them all:
  Comparison of Wiki software engines
  Keywords: Wiki, Tools, Software
• Comparing and Replacing Strings:
  using XSLT to compare and replace strings
  Keywords: XSL, XML

• Using PHP and XSL to Transform XML into Web Content:

  Keywords: XML, PHP, XSL

• Using XSL to Transform Google Earth (KML) and GPX to Google Maps API:

  Keywords: Mapping, XSL, XML, Web

• Lessons from the Sony CD DRM Episode:
  Paper on the Sony root-kit episode by Alex Halderman and Edward Felten at Princeton University
  Keywords: DRM
• Online conversion tools for PDF:
  Online conversion tools for Adobe PDF documents to either text or HTML
  Keywords: PDF
• Knowledge hoarding:
  Shawn Callahan on knowledge hoarding – it’s all about culture, and a link to Max Boisot’s I-Space
  Keywords: Boisot, I-Space, KM
• XSLT Questions and Answers.:
  
  Keywords: XML/XSL
• SharpDevelop:
  The Open Source Development Environment for C# and VB.NET projects on Microsoft’s .NET platform
  Keywords: C#, Development/Tools, VB.Net
• XSL Concepts and Practical Use:
  
  Keywords: XML/XSL