- Open Add Maps from Tools > Plugins — it starts in the Geocoding view
- Open Options > Geocoding Options and paste in a free API key
- Click Geocode All (or Geocode Selected for just the ticked rows)
- Switch to the Mapping view
- Select one or more individuals
- Set a folder (or turn on Temporary maps) and click Build Map(s)
- Publish your Family Historian website first
- Open Options > Mapping Options > Website embedding and tick Embed maps in web pages
- Select your individuals, set Make to “A page per individual”, and click Build Map(s)
Add Maps does three things, in order:
- Geocodes the places and addresses in your project. It uses alternative geocoders to the one supported in Family Historian, and supports bulk geocoding of addresses (which FH doesn’t support).
- Builds an interactive map, viewable in a browser, of where a person’s life happened.
- Embeds those maps into a Family Historian website, if you have one — a live map on each person’s page.
You can stop after step 1 or step 2. Embedding is optional, and so is almost everything else: the facts included, whether to include timeline and/or witnessed facts, a journey line, a time slider, historic maps and the rest are all switches you can turn on in options and (if you enable them) toggle on the maps.
| Term | Definition |
| Geocoding | Finding the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of a place or address, so Add Maps can plot it |
| Place / address | Family Historian holds both. Add Maps reads a coordinate from either, preferring the address when one has been geocoded |
| Standalone map | A self-contained web page Add Maps writes to a folder. You open it in your browser; it needs an internet connection for the map background |
| Embedded map | The same map, dropped into a person’s page on a Family Historian website |
| Base layer | The background map — street, satellite, or an historic Ordnance Survey map. You switch between them on the map itself |
| API key | A free key from a geocoding service (required for geocoding), or optionally from maptiler.com to unlock extra historic maps — see Map Keys in the Reference |
Add Maps has two views, Geocoding and Mapping, switched with the Geocoding and Mapping menus (the title bar shows which one you’re in). You can take it as far as you like — each way builds on the one before, and each stops somewhere useful.
What it does: Lists the places (and, separately, the addresses) in your project and geocodes them — singly, in a batch, or the whole list — recording each coordinate back onto the place or address
Use when: You just want the coordinates in your project — the coordinates stay there and Family Historian can use them in its own map window. You geocode once, and if you’re happy with Family Historian’s own geocoding, you don’t need this step at all.
What it does: Choose the people you want, then Build Map(s) — Add Maps writes a map for each person (or one combined map for the group)
Use when: You want an interactive map you can look at in a browser — building several maps opens the output folder, building a single map opens it directly
What it does: Turn embedding on and Add Maps drops each person’s map into their page on a published Family Historian website
Use when: You publish a Family Historian website and want a live map on each person’s page — build the website first, then run Add Maps
The rest of this guide is in three parts:
- Workflows — step-by-step: geocoding, building a map, embedding maps in your website
- Reference — the map’s features, the geocoders, map keys, privacy, and every option in full
- Troubleshooting & FAQ — when a map is blank, a place won’t geocode, or a page is missed
→ See All Frequently Asked Questions
Plugin Add Maps
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