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| # Leaflet FAQ | ||
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| This is a collection of answers to the most frequently asked questions about Leaflet. | ||
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| 1. [Data Providers](#data-providers) | ||
| 2. [Commercial Use and Licensing](#commercial-use-and-licensing) | ||
| 3. [Features](#features) | ||
| 4. [Performance](#performance) | ||
| 5. [Misc](#misc) | ||
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| ## Data Providers | ||
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| #### What map tiles can I use with Leaflet? Is it limited to OpenStreetMap? | ||
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| Leaflet is provider-agnostic, meaning you can use any map provider as long as you conform to its terms of use. | ||
| You can roll your own tiles as well. | ||
| [OpenStreetMap](http://openstreetmap.org) is the most popular data source among different tile providers, | ||
| but there are providers that use other sources. | ||
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| Check out [this example](http://leaflet-extras.github.io/leaflet-providers/preview/) | ||
| with half a hundred different layers to choose from. | ||
| Popular commercial options, free up to a particular number of requests, include | ||
| [MapBox](http://mapbox.com), | ||
| [CloudMade](http://cloudmade.com), | ||
| [Bing Maps](http://www.microsoft.com/maps/choose-your-binge's-maps-API.aspx) (using a [plugin](https://github.com/shramov/leaflet-plugins)), | ||
| [Esri ArcGIS](http://www.arcgis.com/features/maps/imagery.html) ([official plugin](https://github.com/Esri/esri-leaflet)) | ||
| and [Nokia Here](http://developer.here.com/web-experiences). | ||
| Notable exception is [MapQuest Open](http://developer.mapquest.com/web/products/open/map), free for any number of requests. | ||
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| Always be sure to **read terms of use** of a chosen tile provider, **know its limitations**, and **attribute it properly** in your app. | ||
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| #### I'm looking for satellite imagery to use with my Leaflet map, any options? | ||
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| [MapBox](http://mapbox.com), | ||
| [Bing Maps](http://www.microsoft.com/maps/choose-your-bing-maps-API.aspx), | ||
| [ArcGIS](http://www.arcgis.com/features/maps/imagery.html) | ||
| and [MapQuest Open](http://developer.mapquest.com/web/products/open/map) provide satellite imagery among others. | ||
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| #### I want to use Google Maps API tiles with Leaflet, can I do that? | ||
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| The problem with Google is that its [Terms of Use](https://developers.google.com/maps/terms?hl=ru) forbid any means of tile access other than through Google Maps API. | ||
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| You can add Google Maps API as a Leaflet layer with a [plugin](https://github.com/shramov/leaflet-plugins). But note that the map experience will not be perfect, because Leaflet will just act as a proxy to the Google Maps JS engine, so you won't get all the performance and usability benefits of using Leaflet when the Google layer is on. | ||
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| #### I want to roll my own OSM tile server for Leaflet, where do I start? | ||
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| Check out [this excellent guide](http://switch2osm.org/serving-tiles/). | ||
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| #### I want to create tiles from my own data for use with Leaflet, what are the options? | ||
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| There's a number of services that allow you to do this easily, | ||
| notably [MapBox](https://www.mapbox.com/), [CartoDB](http://cartodb.com/) and [GIS Cloud](http://www.giscloud.com/). | ||
| If you want to make tiles on your own, probably the easiest way is using [TileMill](https://www.mapbox.com/tilemill/). | ||
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| ## Commercial Use and Licensing | ||
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| #### I have an app that gets lots of hits a day, and I want to switch from Google/Bing/whatever to Leaflet. Is there a fee for using it? | ||
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| Leaflet, unlike Google Maps and other all-in-one solutions, is just a JavaScript library. | ||
| It's free to use, but doesn't provide map imagery on its own — | ||
| you have to choose a tile service to combine with it. | ||
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| There are [plenty of options](#what-map-tiles-can-i-use-with-leaflet-is-it-limited-to-openstreetmap) for a tile service, | ||
| each with their own terms of use, prices (some of them free), features, limitations, etc. | ||
| Choice is yours. | ||
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| #### I'm building a commercial app that I plan to sell. Can I use Leaflet in it? | ||
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| You're welcome, as the code is published under the very permissive [2-clause BSD License](https://github.com/Leaflet/Leaflet/blob/master/LICENSE). | ||
| Just make sure to attribute the use of the library somewhere in the app UI or the distribution | ||
| (e.g. keep the Leaflet link on the map, or mention the use on the About page or a Readme file, etc.) and you'll be fine. | ||
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| That only applies to the code though. | ||
| Make sure you conform to the terms of use of the tile images provider(s) that you choose as well. | ||
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| ## Features | ||
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| #### Why is there still no feature X in Leaflet? | ||
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| First of all, did you check out the [Leaflet plugins page](http://leafletjs.com/plugins.html)? | ||
| It lists about a hundred plugins doing all kinds of crazy stuff, | ||
| and there's a high possibility that it has what you're looking for. | ||
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| Generally, we do our best to keep the Leaflet core small, lightweight and simple, | ||
| focusing on _quality_ instead of _quantity_, and leaving all the rest to plugin authors. | ||
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| Check out [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P2SaCPbJ4w) of a talk by the Leaflet creator for more background on the story and philosophy behind Leaflet. | ||
| Another essential read is [Advocating Simplicity in Open Source](http://blog.universalmind.com/advocating-simplicity-in-open-source/) by the same guy. | ||
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| ## Performance | ||
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| #### I have thousands of markers on my map. How do I make it faster and more usable? | ||
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| Check out the [Leaflet.markercluster](https://github.com/Leaflet/Leaflet.markercluster) plugin. It's amazing. | ||
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| #### I have vector data with many thousands of points on my map. Any performance tips? | ||
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| Leaflet generally does a pretty good job of handling heavy vector data | ||
| with its real-time clipping and simplification algorithms, | ||
| but browser technology still has its limits. | ||
| Try [switching from SVG to Canvas as the default rendering back-end](http://leafletjs.com/reference.html#global), | ||
| it may help considerably (depends on the app and the data). | ||
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| If you still have too much data to render, you'll have to use some help of a server-side service | ||
| like [MapBox](https://www.mapbox.com/), | ||
| [CartoDB](http://cartodb.com/) | ||
| and [GIS Cloud](http://www.giscloud.com/) | ||
| (they all work great with Leaflet). | ||
| What they do under the hood is serving rendered data as image tiles, | ||
| along with additional data to enable interactivity like hovering shapes | ||
| (e.g. done using [UTFGrid](https://www.mapbox.com/developers/utfgrid/) — | ||
| Leaflet [has a nice plugin](https://github.com/danzel/Leaflet.utfgrid) for it). | ||
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| ## Misc | ||
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| #### I downloaded the Leaflet source but didn't find `leaflet.js` there. Why is that? | ||
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| You can download the built versions using links from the [download page](http://leafletjs.com/download.html). | ||
| It even includes the latest build of the development version (`master` branch), | ||
| updated automatically on each commit to the repo. | ||
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| We removed the built versions from the repository because it's a chore to build and commit them manually on each change, | ||
| and it often complicates merging branches and managing contributions. | ||
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| There's a common complaint that Leaflet can't be used with [Bower](http://bower.io/) because of that, but we'll resolve the issue soon. |
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