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Create custom maps with mapBuilder
Draw & measure on any map
Save maps to your account
Plus, enjoy an ad-free experience across the entire randymajors.org Research Hub website!
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mapBuilder: custom maps made easy!
Create custom interactive maps with mapBuilder
Draw & measure on the map
Draw points, lines and shapes on maps. Automatically measures length and area as you draw.
Add your saved drawings to any map!
Points can also be added by address or latitude longitude
Add custom points and lines to the map
Map points from a live-linked Google Sheets spreadsheet* containing latitude longitude points or addresses
Import a KML file** containing points or lines (routes) from Google My Maps, Google Earth, or GIS software
Create custom areas from ZIP Codes or Counties
Create a custom area from a list of ZIP Codes
Color-code ZIP Codes or Counties from a live-linked spreadsheet*
Perfect for mapping sales/service territories, delivery zones or for visualizing research data
Save maps to your account
Personalize your maps with titles, colors, map type and more
Overlay your custom map on any of our map tools
Create shareable links to your maps
Mix and match: You can add any combination of drawings, custom areas and custom points to the same map!
Compare Versions* Map up to 10,000 rows per spreadsheet
** Point KML files MUST contain longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal degrees; geocoded addresses without coordinates are NOT supported
Dynamic Maps show you the answer by simply hovering your mouse
Monthly Contributors also get Dynamic Maps: Hover your mouse on desktop browsers, and the name of the feature will automatically appear.
This makes exploring, selecting and drawing much simpler and more powerful.
Compare Versions
FREE VERSION
Ad-supported website
Limited workspace
Clickable maps
mapBuilder:
Create Custom Areas from ZIP Codes or Counties (1,000 row maximum per map)
Map custom points from a live-linked spreadsheet, or import points or lines from Google My Maps, Google Earth & more** (100 row maximum per map)
Historical U.S. Counties Chrome extension (optional):
Active while searching on Ancestry & FamilySearch
MONTHLY CONTRIBUTOR VERSION
Completely Ad-Free website
Fullscreen map tools
Clickable maps plus Dynamic Maps
Draw points, lines and shapes on the map and see area and length measurements, or add points by address or lat/long. You can also import GPX files* as drawings.
Save your drawings and finished maps to your My Account page
Create Custom Areas from ZIP Codes or Counties (up to 10,000 rows per map**)
Map custom points from a live-linked spreadsheet, or import KML points or lines*** from Google My Maps, Google Earth & more (up to 10,000 rows per map)
Historical U.S. Counties Chrome extension (optional):
Active while searching on Ancestry & FamilySearch
Location fact-checking in Ancestry Trees
LifeMap for Ancestry Trees
Choose your contribution from $4 to $9 per month:
Access ALL tools & the same benefits at all contribution levels
Easy sign-in: direct Sign in or Sign in with Google
Flexible payment methods and subscription management: Cancel in one click at any time and retain access for the remainder of your current monthly term
* Import route, waypoint and track data from GPS devices using GPX files, then save it as a drawing for use in any map. (GPX, or GPS Exchange Format, is a common GPS data format for importing route, waypoint and track data exported from GPS devices).
** If you’re trying to work with over 10,000 ZIP Codes, you would likely benefit from combining 5-digit and 3-digit ZIP Codes, explained here.
*** Point KML files MUST contain longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal degrees; geocoded addresses without coordinates are NOT supported
View Monthly Contributor FAQs
Historical U.S. Counties Chrome extension
Genealogy lovers: let this FREE tool do the location work for you as you search on Ancestry & FamilySearch!
While searching on Ancestry or FamilySearch, the free Historical U.S. Counties Auto-Checker extension for Google Chrome* automatically checks that the county existed in the year you are searching.
It also checks for valid places, warns of boundary changes, and links to historical county boundaries on Google Maps for the place and years you are searching!
Install for free today and never let an ancestor fall off the map again!
Install
U.S. county boundaries have changed over 17,600 times since America was settled in colonial times. Don’t sabotage your search for ancestors by not knowing the correct county for the historical years you are researching.
Location fact-checking in Ancestry family trees
Monthly Contributors also get Auto-Checker functionality for all U.S. locations on person profile pages in Ancestry.com trees!
LifeMap for Ancestry family trees
Monthly Contributors also get LifeMap: from each person profile page on Ancestry.com, you can link to a LifeMap showing all of the U.S. locations for each fact on the page. Then, click the points on the map and see the historical U.S. county boundaries as they existed at the time of each life event!
* The Auto-Checker extension supports the following browsers: Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge Chromium
Frequently Asked Questions
Sign In / Monthly Contributor
Why can’t I Sign in with Google?
You need to be a Monthly Contributor in order to Sign in with Google.
Sign In / Monthly Contributor
I am a Monthly Contributor. How do I sign in?
Sign In / Monthly Contributor
Does this website store my credit card number?
This website does NOT store your credit card number. This is made possible by tokenization, whereby your actual credit card number is stored on the payment gateway, which includes Stripe for credit card processing, Google Pay, or Apple Pay.
Sign In / Monthly Contributor
How do I cancel my monthly contributions?
Go to your My Account > Subscriptions page where you can cancel or modify your subscription.
When you cancel, you will still have access to the ad-free website through the end of your current monthly term.
mapBuilder – Custom Maps
How can I create a custom map?
There are many types of custom maps you can create by using the mapBuilder form found below most of the map tools. Create maps from US ZIP Codes (5-digit or 3-digit), US counties, and create maps live-linked to Google Sheets or imported from Google My Maps, Google Earth and more. Plus, Monthly Contributors can interactively draw points/lines/shapes. Also, learn more in the Custom Maps section of this website!
mapBuilder – Custom Maps
Can I draw and measure on the map?
Yes, Monthly Contributors can draw points, lines and shapes on any map, and then save the drawings and finished maps to their My Account dashboard for easy access and retrieval. The saved drawings can then be added to any map you create, and can be combined with any other mapBuilder module (such as custom areas and custom points). Also, length and area are displayed when you draw or edit a line or shape.
mapBuilder – Custom Maps
How can I add multiple addresses or latitude longitude points to the map?
To add a spreadsheet of addresses to the map, use mapBuilder’s “Add custom points to the map” module. It is fastest to have latitude longitudes in your spreadsheet, but if you only have addresses, the tool will automatically geocode the addresses using the US Census Bureau’s geocoder, which will convert the addresses into lat longs that can be pasted into your Google Sheet. The Address column must contain U.S. addresses in this format: address, city, state, ZIP Code.
Note the Census Bureau’s geocoder isn’t always accurate, and it takes about 1 second per 10 addresses, and only works with US addresses. So if you have a lot of addresses and/or you need higher accuracy, you may want to use some other address geocoder service (Start by Googling “free online address geocoder”). Then, use mapBuilder’s “Add custom points to the map” module.
Monthly Contributors can also interactively add points to the map in 3 ways while using mapBuilder’s “Draw & Measure on the map” module: 1) add address markers by using the “Search Places” box, 2) add latitude longitude points by using the “Find lat long” box, or 3) click on the map.
Historical U.S. Counties Auto-Checker
How do I use the Historical U.S. Counties Auto-Checker Chrome extension?
Find general information on the Chrome extension here. Then, once installed, follow all of these steps. You can also watch a video walkthrough of the Auto-Checker.