time zones

A Quick Update about Quicker Maps

January 16, 2024 by Randy Majors

Remember when randymajors.org map tools took 10 seconds or more to draw, especially more complex tools such as ZIP Codes or especially Section Township Range? Now, based on some exciting technology improvements, most of the maps draw nearly instantly! Check out the following map tools and their much faster drawing speeds as you move around the map: We hope these improvements, together with last year’s improvements to map labels, make your mapping experience that much more productive and enjoyable! Happy New Year and Happy Mapping!

New powerful ways to select features on the map tools!

June 14, 2022 by Randy Majors

Now you can use the Selection Tools button to select map features on any map tool! You can select the map features using any points, lines or shapes that you draw, or select map features by specifying a radius around any shape you draw. The map features that get selected depend on which tool you are using: counties, city limits, civil townships, ZIP Codes, Section Township Range, historical U.S. counties, time zones, area codes or the custom map tools. Here’s how it works: Using the County Lines map tool as an example, click the Selection Tools button on the left … Read more

New feature: DRAW ANY SHAPE on the map to reveal all of the Counties, ZIP Codes, Cities, Townships and more

June 8, 2023 by Randy Majors

With all of the Map tools on the randymajors.org Research Hub, you’ve always been able to click on the map to know what ZIP Code, city, county or Section Township and Range that you clicked on. Now with this latest version of the map tools, you can DRAW ANY SHAPE and identify what’s there! Here are the simple steps: Click the “Selection Tools” button on the left side of the map Select the shape you want to draw (line, custom polygon or rectangle) in the upper left corner Draw any shape on the map and double-click the map when you’re … Read more

A quick update on the increased speed of the mapping tools

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

After some infrastructure upgrades, all of the randymajors.org mapping tools are now operating faster! In my time tests, I was seeing drawing speeds that were 2.5x to 3x faster than before the upgrade. The very largest of map layers, such as Section Township Range on Google Maps, seem to see the biggest improvement (drawing in 5-6 seconds now vs 25-30 seconds before the upgrade), although other layers such as Historical Counties, County Lines and ZIP Codes also drew about 2x faster that before. So you should on average see the information panel above the maps update a bit faster and … Read more

See for miles and miles…or at least a few more inches

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

Probably the most common request I hear is something along the lines of “can you make the map window larger?” Well the wait is finally over. All of the randymajors.org map windows are now optimized to fill more of your screen, no matter what your screen resolution is. This update applies to County Lines on Google Maps, City Limits on Google Maps, Township Range on Google Maps, ZIP Codes on Google Maps, Location Explorer on Google Maps, Historical U.S. County Boundary Maps, Climate Info on Google Maps, Time Zones on Google Maps and Area Codes on Google Maps. For those on … Read more

Several upgrades to the City Limits on Google Maps tool

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

Following on from the enhancements to the County Lines on Google Maps tool, I’ve made several improvements to the City Limits on Google Maps tool as well: 1. In addition to the city limits drawing, you can optionally choose to show county lines as well. Just check the “Also show county lines” checkbox in the bottom left corner of the map: 2. There are a couple of enhancements related to Latitude/Longitude or GPS coordinates. The first one is that the Latitude/Longitude of the place you clicked on (or typed) appears at the bottom of the map (Also, the area of … Read more

County Lines on Google Maps enhancements, Time Zones and Area Codes tools released

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

QUICK LINK TO THE MAP TOOL: County Lines on Google Maps This is just a quick note to let you know of a few enhancements to the County Lines on Google Maps tool, as well as the release of the worldwide Time Zones on Google Maps tool. First, for the county lines tool: 1. When searching in the US, you can now choose to also show City Limits at the same time as County Lines. Just check this little box in the lower left corner of the map: With “Also show US city limits” checked, you’ll be able to click on … Read more