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Detailed User Guide
_**Step 1: Select the cities whose data you’d like to see in your app.**_
Each of them provides a number of datasets. Datasets are files in a proper Citadel-readable format (JSON format) which can include for instance information on parking lots, different kinds of POIs (museums, restaurants) and so on.
Step 2: After selecting a city, a list of available datasets appears. Now, you have to select one or more datasets from that list.
<img style="text-align:center" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2808/13583169214_e91ecda9f8_b.jpg" alt="Figure 2: Datasets Selection" aria-describedby="title_div"width="757" height="282">
The list of available datasets changes dynamically based on the city selected. The datasets are retrieved from remote locations. The location of each dataset is defined in the database, as a URL that points at a JSON file. You can open this URL on another tab to check the content of each dataset if you want to.
Alternatively, if you are interested either in another dataset not included in the displayed datasets list or in another city not included in the current city list, you can create a new dataset by clicking on the link “Click here if you want to import a new dataset”.
This link redirects to another form. In that form, you have to insert information about the new dataset in order for it to be saved into the database. For more information please here.
Step 3: Choose a color scheme for your app by selecting basic and secondary colors and adjusting them to your preference.
You have to define the appearance of your application by selecting two colors of your choice. In more detail, first select a color from the color palette to be applied for the application’s main components, such as buttons. After that select a secondary color in order to further customize your application’s appearance.
Step 4: Give your app a name and a description.
Step 5: Upload an image if you want and click “Create the App”.
The application’s name, description, and image are editable. Once your app is created, you can still change these values from your account in the Citadel Hub. This was the last step to complete your app creation. Now, simply click “See my app!” to view your application or “Create a new app” to make another.
When running the application a map is loaded displaying a message asking for your permission to share your location (Figure 1). In case your application includes data of only one city, the map is centered on the specific city’s center. In case you have chosen more than one cities while creating your application, the map is centered on the center of the city that is closer to your current location, provided that that the geolocation is supported and you have accepted to share your location. In any other case you can select a city from the upper right corner (Figure 2 , Figure 3).
After the map is centered on a city, a number of POIs for the selected city are loaded. Only the first category of POIs is selected by default (Figure 4), in order to reduce the number of POIs displayed and avoid a cluttered map. You can choose more POIs (Points Of Interest - any kind of data included in the selected datasets) to be displayed by selecting the filters on the top left corner.
Your application offers a filtering functionality. Every POI is categorized under one or more categories, e.g. ‘Museums’, ‘Transportation’, ‘Parking’, etc. The filter mechanism uses all the categories of POIs found in the chosen datasets and provides you with a list of checkboxes that correspond to these categories. This is an automated process, so the list will be updated and only show the existing categories for the datasets of a chosen city. Filters contain all data categories alphabetically. Different colors of a pin/marker represent different categories of POIs. As you can see in the picture below, the type of categorized data and the number of POIs are also displayed per category.
Social filtering functionality is also supported. As you can see there is a facebook and a twitter icon on the bottom right corner. This gives you the opportunity to share your app url both on facebook and twitter.
By clicking on a marker, an info window appears displaying information about the title (Figure 5), the location and the number of positive and negative votes of the specified POI. A voting mechanism is also supported by this application. You are allowed to vote negatively or positively just once per POI.
Clicking on the title inside the info window will take you to the details page where more information about the selected POI is displayed (Figure 6). Depending on the type of the POI this information can include start and end dates (in case of an event) or free parking spaces (in case of a parking lot).
Apart from the map view, a list view of the POIs is also available (Figure 7, Figure 8). This view presents the set of POIs that is currently presented on the map. It also provides a quick search mechanism to help you find a specific POI.
