Members Map

Members with a location on their profile, drawn on a map they can pan and zoom.

Before you start

Plugin	Ultimate Member - User Locations
Endpoint groups	Locations, Directory
Plan	Every plan
Also needs	A Google Maps mobile SDK key under Memberside → API Keys

This screen makes your app about two megabytes bigger

It is the only feature that pulls the Google Maps SDK into the build. Nothing else in the app carries that cost, and an app that places this feature carries it whether or not anyone opens the screen.

Worth it for a community organised around where people are. Not worth it for a map nobody asked for.

Add it to your app

1. Set a Google Maps mobile SDK key under Memberside → API Keys → Google Maps Platform. This is a different key from the Google Maps API key above it — see Connection and API keys.
2. Enable Maps SDK for Android and Maps SDK for iOS on that key, and restrict it to your package name and signing certificate.
3. Drag Members Map onto a navigation bar or into the side drawer.
4. Run a new build. The key is compiled in.

Settings

Setting	What it does	Default
Title, Description	Shown at the top	Empty
Location field	The meta key of the location field to plot. Blank uses every location field your site defines	Blank
Find members by	Whatever the map is showing, or A distance from the centre	Whatever the map is showing
Distance	How far from the centre to search, 1 to 20000	50
Units	km or miles	km
Map height	The map’s height in pixels, 160 to 900	300
Zoom	The zoom level it opens at, 1 to 20	2
Marker	The member’s avatar, their role’s icon, or a plain pin	The member’s avatar
Show a member list under the map	A scrollable list beneath	On
Search again when the map is moved	Re-query as the member pans	On
Restrictions	Which roles see the tab	Everyone

Distance and Units only appear when Find members by is set to a distance from the centre.

A Zoom of 2 opens on most of the world, which suits an international community. A city-sized community wants something nearer 11.

What your members see

A map with a marker per member, and — with the list on — the same members underneath. Tapping a marker or a row opens that Profile.

Under the map is Show members near me. Tapping it asks for the device location, centres the map there and lists whoever is within the distance you set. A member who does not tap it is never asked.

With Search again when the map is moved on, panning re-queries, so the list always matches what is on screen. Turning it off makes the map a viewer for one search rather than a live one, which is calmer on a slow connection.

Members on the map, re-searching as it is panned

record → src/assets/media/members-map.mp4

Members on the map, re-searching as it is panned

How precise the pins are

Coordinates are rounded before the app receives them. Set this under Memberside → REST API → Locations, beside the switches for the group itself.

Setting	Rounds to	Also returned
City	About 1.1 km
Neighbourhood	About 110 m
Street	About 11 m
Exact	Nothing — the true point	The street address and a maps link

Neighbourhood is what a site gets until someone changes it.

Exact is the one to think about. At that setting any signed-in member can read the exact location and street address of every member who has one, in bulk, through the app. That suits a directory of businesses. It is rarely what a community of people wants.

This rounding applies to the app only. It does not change what your website’s member directory shows — change that in Ultimate Member - User Locations.

Asking for location

The app asks for location permission in two places: when a member adds their own location to their profile, and when they tap Show members near me on this screen. Nothing asks on launch, and the map works for a member who declines — they see everyone else’s pins, just not their own position.

The prompt text is fixed, and App Review reads exactly those words — see Store readiness.

When it does not work

Symptom	Cause	Fix
A grey tile where the map should be	The server Maps key was used instead of the mobile one	Set Google Maps mobile SDK key and rebuild
A grey tile with the right key	Maps SDK for Android or iOS is not enabled on it	Enable both in Google Cloud
The map works in preview, not on the phone	The key restriction does not match the app’s signing certificate	Check the restriction, or Android signing
The map is empty	The Locations group is off, or no member has a location	Check both
Some members are missing	Their location is in a field the Location field setting excludes	Leave it blank to plot every field
The card is greyed out	Ultimate Member - User Locations is inactive	Activate it
The app got noticeably larger	This screen carries the Maps SDK	Expected. Remove the feature to remove the cost
Pins sit near a member but not on them	Coordinates are rounded before the app sees them	Expected. Change it under Memberside → REST API → Locations