Web Map Ver.0.3.2005020801 for Mozilla/Firefox+SVG

What's this? ...abstract

This extension visualise the history of your Web browsing, like the auto-mapping systems of "Rogue", "NetHack", and others. Not only "see" the graphical history, also you can "visit" each page from the history. It works as a graphical interface to access web pages. You can use this system instead of traditional history-interfaces: "Back", "Forward", or "History sidebar".

Why I develop this? Precedents like it have already exist? OK, see the background of this project.

By the way, this is developed as a experimental project of my graduation work in a univ., since 2004 Nov. So, you shouldn't install it, if you wish to browse WWW stable and safe. This is only for human sacrifices ;-)

Download Links to XPI packages

• How to install and update? (contains important notes)
• How to uninstall by hand?

• Download Web Map [webmap.xpi]
• Download Web Map/Testing Build [webmap_test.xpi] (changes from the version above [Japanese])
• Git repository / source code

See the FAQ if you meet troubles. When you cannot find out solutions from the page, throw bug reports to board or by E-mail, please. And, the RSS is available for tracking latest versions.

Screenshots and Features This package provides following features.

Web Map works as a visual history of the browser. When you load a new page into the browser, a new node (that is a metaphor) for the page will appear on the map automatically. And, when you traverse pages with links, nodes are also linked with arcs (metaphor of links.) Moreover, when you click a node on the map, browser loads the page of the node.

This has two modes; "detailed view" shows all nodes completely, "global view" shows nodes for each domain sketchily.

Clicking on arcs shows a popup, and you can go to the anchor node or the target node of the arc in an instant. When you double-click on the arc, you'll go to one of them automatically.

In the global view mode, each node pops up the list of pages of the domain. You can access each page directly from the popup.

This extension is developed supposing that you put the Web Map window on the top of desktop always, and you point on the toolbar to expand window with your needs. (Preferably, I recommend you to use this extension like above. Because, the Web Map window requires times to initialize itself on the startup. If you close and open the window frequently, each initializing will take you times.)

How to Use - installation

1. First, install Mozilla or Firefox built with SVG option. You can find it from links in the section of this page, download. Web Map uses SVG to show it's map, so generic releases cannot show the map. (But history information can be stored.)
2. SVG builds for Windows based on GDI+ technology, requrie the "GDI+" library. Windows XP includes it but old windows don't, so you may have to install the latest version of GDI+. Put the extracted file "gdiplus.dll" to the directory "c:\winnt\system32\". NOTE: Old GDI+ has a security problem. I strongly recommend you to update GDI+ to the latest version, if you installed it ago.
3. SVG builds of Mozilla/Firefox for Windows are often a zipped archive. (The optimized build made by MOOX are zipped wit the 7-zip, and the ".exe" file only extracts contents.) You have to extract contents in the downloaded file with compressed-folder of Windows XP or other software. After you did it, you should double click "firefox.exe" or "mozilla.exe" in the extracted folder.
4. Go to this page with the SVG Mozilla, and install Web Map from the link in the download section.
5. Restart Mozilla. After restarting, you'll see a new toolbar or a window. It's the Web Map.
6. Web Map can be closed and started with your request, by the toolbar button. (In Firefox, you have to add a new button from the customizing window.)
7. Installation completed. Use/take it easy :-)
8. History information and the cache of the visual map is stored into the "webmap" folder in your profile. If you see stupid behavior of Web Map, first, remove the cache file "webmapcache.xml" in the folder. If the problem still appears, delete the folder "webmap".

How to use the Web Map? There is an instruction manual of basic operations.

History There is the updating history and the list of known problems.

0.3.2005020801

• Improved: "IrfanView32" is available as a helper application to create thumbnails of webpages on Windows.
• Improved: ImageMagick is available to create screenshots on Linux.
• Improved: Nodes which have no thumbnail are shown with small icon.
• Improved: New prefs for the appearance of nodes are available.

0.3.2005020701

• Improved: Thumbnails of webpages supported by external applications are available. This feature requres the ImageMagick and a screen capturing program which can be started from command line.
• Improved: Subframes can be loaded.
• Modified: Appearance of nodes in the global view is modified on a few point.
• Modified: The algorithm of cropping long labels is modified.
• Modified: Operations of auto-locating for new nodes/arcs and redrawing are modified.
• Fixed: Ctrl/Shift/Alt-drag are available on the canvas.

0.2.2005011901

• Improved: Nearby nodes can be trailed when you drag.
• Improved: Speeding up redrawing of each node.
• Fixed: The "ondraggesture" event handler disappears from the code.

0.2.2004112501

• Some bugs in background operations disappeared.
• Oldest node will be removed automatically if there are too many nodes. The max number of nodes is 1024 by default.
• Arcs show the favicon of nodes outside the screen when they are pointed.
• Arcs show a popup to access their anchor or target nodes when they are clicked.
• When you drag to move a node, its children also move automatically. You can disable this feature with a secret preference.
• The algorithm about positioning newly created nodes is improved on a few points.

0.2.2004112201

• The data format of histories was modified. Old histories cannot be imported, so you have to recreate histories from the start.

0.1.2004112101

• Released.