Question

I’m currently working on a new projekt using GoogleMaps V3 and kml layers.
What I’m currently trying to achieve is to change the size of my markers on the fly, depending on the zoomlevel.

After searching a bit I found this post which basically tells me that I can’t scale the icons in the kml layer after the layer has been loaded. GoogleMaps V3 KML PlaceMark StyleURL change

So it seems that I’m left with three options here…
1. Make one kml layer for each zoomlevel.
2. Use a third party kml parser like geoxml_v3.
3. Print out all my markers directly in my js code.

If I succeed with my projekt I’m going to have tons of markers on my site which leads me to the following questions:

Which method will result in the lowest loadingtime for my visitors webbrowsers if the map is full of markers?

Are there any other method I should consider?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Options:

1. Make one kml layer for each zoomlevel.
   • [~] would require ~ <20 KML files
   • [+] retains the advantage of KmlLayer tiled rendering
2. Use a third party kml parser like geoxml_v3.
   • [-] renders the markers using native Google Maps API v3 objects
   • [+] easier to access the objects externally if you want to have a clickable sidebar.
3. Print out all my markers directly in my js code.
   • [-] loses the advantage of tiled rendering
   • [-] large page size

The end result will depend on the number of markers (the more markers the bigger the advantage of tile based rendering), how comfortable you are with automatically generating KML files, and how your map functions (not enough information in your post to tell).