T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM

T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM is the scope resolution operator.    In most languages it is the double-colon (::).

Most people that are looking for this odd-looking word are probably running into an issue with a PHP program.   For as often as it comes up, there is very little information on what is causing the problem.

With PHP it typically means the application has a syntax error.    The PHP interpreter cannot figure out how to compile your code properly and crashes with the Unexpected T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM error message.   Often it is due to a class name or static method reference that PHP cannot handle.  Either the class name is entered incorrectly OR your PHP version is so old it cannot process variable names before the double-colon operator.

For Store Locator Plus™ users that are still using the WordPress plugins it most likely means the version of PHP you are running on your web server is very outdated.  Upgrade PHP to a newer version, preferably something that is supported in the past 5 years like PHP 7.

User that chose the fully managed Store Locator Plus™ service don’t have to worry about things like this.

Location Limit URL control

Location Limit

The location limit feature is available exclusively to our Store Locator Plus Premier/Enterprise customers.

When the URL Control module is active you can enable location ID passing by turning on “Location Limit” under the General / User Interface tab.

When this is enabled you can pass in a limit for the number of locations to be returned when the map initially loads and when a search is performed by adding ?limit=<id> to the end of the page address where your locator map is deployed with the [slplus] shortcode.

Example: Client has 250  results to return by default but when the site via a URL link loaded they only wanted 5 to come back.

Location Limit functionality supersedes the initial default limit.

CSV Import Zip / Postal Codes formatting

Note: IMPORT requires  Power add-on for the stand alone WPSLP plugin  or if you are using MYSLP SaaS, the  Professional level or higher plan. 

When creating a CSV import file make sure the zip / postal code column is properly formatted as text so you do not lose leading zeros.

The column header for postal/zip codes is zip or sl_zip.

In the United States many northeastern postal codes start with zero.   Many sheets, Microsoft Excel in particular, LOVE to leave off the leading zero if you enter a zip code as 03907 and save as CSV.

Invalid Postal Codes
Invalid Postal Codes

In Excel, and many other apps, you can force a field where you are typing in numbers to be text by starting your entry with an apostrophe (‘).  Type ‘03907 when entering the data NOT 03907.

A good test to see if this is happening to you,  open your CSV file in Google Sheets and see what it looks like.  Does it look like the sheet above missing a zero and right aligned?

Another indicator that this column is set to a numeric type and not an text type is the data is on the RIGHT SIDE of the cell.  Text is left-justified (like sl_state) and numbers are right-justified.

MySLP SaaS: Deploying On WordPress

These instructions are for MySLP SaaS users only.  

MySLP is a monthly subscription service that allows you to deploy a locator map on ANY platform including WordPress.   It is a managed service where we handle the hosting of the locations, settings, and map software as well as handle the Google API key.   We keep the software updated so you don’t have to worry about it.

These instructions DO NOT APPLY to the stand alone, self managed WordPress plugin(s).

For our buy-it-and-own-it solution you will want to look at the WPSLP plugins instead of this page.

If you are NOT using My Store Locator Plus® you should think about it.

If you are using MySLP, read on…

You’ve already added your locations and generated your embed code per the instructions in our Getting Started post.  Now you are ready to deploy on your WordPress site.

Here we are going to deploy the script in a new page on our site.

MySLP : Deploying With Basic HTML

My Store Locator Plus can be deployed on any website technology that can publish basic HTML pages.   The functionality of the service depends more on the browser technology used by your site visitors than your web stack.

The most basic deployment is a local HTML file that is opened by your web browser.   Your desktop or laptop and even some mobile devices will allow you to create a basic HTML file on your device.   You can then open this file using that device’s web browser.

Deploying A SquareSpace Map

Deploying a SquareSpace map is a simple process that uses the SquareSpace embed block and a simple My Store Locator Plus (our SLP SaaS solution) JavaScript snippet.

Setting up a SLP  SaaS account, adding locations, setting up a SquareSpace account, adding the map, and deploying a site can take as little as 15 minutes.

Squarespace map.
Using Store Locator Plus to deploy a SquareSpace map.

Removing distance fields and editing Results

Settings > Results > Results Layout

Removing the distance from the results can be done by editing the Results Layout. You will see the results layout box if you have the Experience add-on for WPSLP or have the professional level plan or higher for MYSLP.

For MySLP go to Store Locator Plus > Settings > Results > Appearance
For WPSLP go to Store Locator Plus > Settings > Results > Appearance

With the Results Layout setting find the HTML span tag with the slp_location distance shortcode.

Delete that line.