How to display disputed borders based on visitor’s location

This tutorial shows how to automatically change disputed borders based on the geographical location of your map visitor’s location using the MapTiler Geolocation API.

By following this tutorial, you will be able to dynamically adjust disputed borders based on the location of the person accessing the map on your application or according to the official policy of the country your visitor joined from. The MapTiler Geolocation API serves as a powerful tool in achieving this functionality.

NPM module setup

Install the npm package.
```
 npm install --save @maptiler/sdk
```

Include the CSS file.

If you have a bundler that can handle CSS, you can import the CSS


 import "@maptiler/sdk/dist/maptiler-sdk.css";

or include it with a <link /> in the head of the document via the CDN


 <link href='https://cdn.maptiler.com/maptiler-sdk-js/v4.1.0/maptiler-sdk.css' rel='stylesheet' />

Include the following code in your JavaScript file (Example: app.js).


 import * as maptilersdk from '@maptiler/sdk';

 maptilersdk.config.apiKey = 'YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE';
 const map = new maptilersdk.Map({
   container: 'map', // container's id or the HTML element to render the map
   style: maptilersdk.MapStyle.STREETS,
      
   center: [75.503, 33.629], // starting position [lng, lat]
   zoom: 6, // starting zoom
      
 });

Replace YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE with your own API key. Make sure to secure the key before you publish it.
The next is up to you. You can center your map wherever you desire (modifying the starting position) and set an appropriate zoom level (modifying the starting zoom) to match your users’ needs. Additionally, you can change the map’s look (by updating the source URL); choose from a range of visually appealing map styles from our extensive MapTiler standard maps, or create your own to truly differentiate your application.

Create the showDisputedBorders function. This function changes the filters of the disputed border layers to show or hide the borders depending on the country’s policy.


 const showDisputedBorders = (map, country_code) => {
   /*You can uncomment the following line to force a country code to see the map boundaries changes. Use the country code you want to test.*/
   //country_code = "IN"; 
   const claimed_by_countries = ["RU", "UA", "XN", "AM", "XK", "IN", "PK", "CN", "NP", "BT", "TR", "SY", "PS", "IL", "SY", "ET", "EH", "SD", "SS", "KE"];
   if (!claimed_by_countries.includes(country_code)){ //if the country code is not in the list of disputed ones, do nothing and return
     return;
   }
   if ( map.getLayer("Disputed border")) {
     const boundary_disputed = map.getLayer("Disputed border");
     map.setFilter("Disputed border", [...boundary_disputed.filter, ["==", "claimed_by", country_code]]);
   }
 }

Add event handler for map load event. You will add code to change disputed borders according to your map visitor’s location in this handler.
```
 map.on('load', async () => {
    
 });
```

Get the user’s IP country code and call the showDisputedBorders function.


 map.on('load', async () => {
   const geolocationIP = await maptilersdk.geolocation.info();
   const {country_code} = geolocationIP;
   showDisputedBorders(map, country_code);
 });

Basic JavaScript setup

Copy the following code, paste it into your favorite text editor, and save it as a .html file.


 <!DOCTYPE html>
 <html lang="en">
 <head>
   <meta charset="UTF-8">
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
   <title>Display disputed borders based on visitor's view</title>
   <script src="https://cdn.maptiler.com/maptiler-sdk-js/v4.1.0/maptiler-sdk.umd.min.js"></script>
   <link href="https://cdn.maptiler.com/maptiler-sdk-js/v4.1.0/maptiler-sdk.css" rel="stylesheet" />
   <style>
     body { margin: 0; padding: 0; }
     #map { position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; width: 100%; }
   </style>
 </head>
 <body>
   <div id="map"></div>
   <script>
       maptilersdk.config.apiKey = 'YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE';      
       const map = new maptilersdk.Map({
         container: 'map', // container's id or the HTML element to render the map
         style: maptilersdk.MapStyle.STREETS,
            
         center: [75.503, 33.629], // starting position [lng, lat]
         zoom: 6, // starting zoom
            
       });
   </script>
 </body>
 </html>

Replace YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE with your own API key. Make sure to secure the key before you publish it.
The next is up to you. You can center your map wherever you desire (modifying the starting position) and set an appropriate zoom level (modifying the starting zoom) to match your users’ needs. Additionally, you can change the map’s look (by updating the source URL); choose from a range of visually appealing map styles from our extensive MapTiler standard maps, or create your own to truly differentiate your application.

Create the showDisputedBorders function. This function changes the filters of the disputed border layers to show or hide the borders depending on the country’s policy.


 const showDisputedBorders = (map, country_code) => {
   /*You can uncomment the following line to force a country code to see the map boundaries changes. Use the country code you want to test.*/
   //country_code = "IN"; 
   const claimed_by_countries = ["RU", "UA", "XN", "AM", "XK", "IN", "PK", "CN", "NP", "BT", "TR", "SY", "PS", "IL", "SY", "ET", "EH", "SD", "SS", "KE"];
   if (!claimed_by_countries.includes(country_code)){ //if the country code is not in the list of disputed ones, do nothing and return
     return;
   }
   if ( map.getLayer("Disputed border")) {
     const boundary_disputed = map.getLayer("Disputed border");
     map.setFilter("Disputed border", [...boundary_disputed.filter, ["==", "claimed_by", country_code]]);
   }
 }

Add event handler for map load event. You will add code to change disputed borders according to your map visitor’s location in this handler.
```
 map.on('load', async () => {
    
 });
```

Get the user’s IP country code and call the showDisputedBorders function.


 map.on('load', async () => {
   const geolocationIP = await maptilersdk.geolocation.info();
   const {country_code} = geolocationIP;
   showDisputedBorders(map, country_code);
 });

Complete source code

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8" />
  <title>Display disputed borders based on visitor's view</title>
  <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1,maximum-scale=1,user-scalable=no" />
  <script src="https://cdn.maptiler.com/maptiler-sdk-js/v4.1.0/maptiler-sdk.umd.min.js"></script>
  <link href="https://cdn.maptiler.com/maptiler-sdk-js/v4.1.0/maptiler-sdk.css" rel="stylesheet" />
  <style>
    body { 
      margin: 0;
      padding: 0;
    }

    #map {
      position: absolute;
      top: 0;
      bottom: 0;
      width: 100%;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div id="map"></div>
  <script>
    maptilersdk.config.apiKey = 'YOUR_MAPTILER_API_KEY_HERE';
    const map = new maptilersdk.Map({
      container: 'map', // container's id or the HTML element to render the map
      style: maptilersdk.MapStyle.STREETS,
      center: [75.503, 33.629], // starting position [lng, lat]
      zoom: 6, // starting zoom
    });

    const showDisputedBorders = (map, country_code) => {
      /*You can uncomment the following line to force a country code to see the map boundaries changes. Use the country code you want to test.*/
      //country_code = "IN"; 
      const claimed_by_countries = ["RU", "UA", "XN", "AM", "XK", "IN", "PK", "CN", "NP", "BT", "TR", "SY", "PS", "IL", "SY", "ET", "EH", "SD", "SS", "KE"];
      if (!claimed_by_countries.includes(country_code)){ //if the country code is not in the list of disputed ones, do nothing and return
        disputedLayers.forEach(layer => {
          const boundary_disputed = map.getLayer(layer);
          map.setFilter(layer, [...disputedLayersFilters[layer]]);
        });
        return;
      }
      if ( map.getLayer("Disputed border")) {
        disputedLayers.forEach(layer => {
          const boundary_disputed = map.getLayer(layer);
          map.setFilter(layer, [...disputedLayersFilters[layer], ["==", "claimed_by", country_code]]);
        });
      }
    }

    map.on('load', async () => {
      const geolocationIP = await maptilersdk.geolocation.info();
      const {country_code} = geolocationIP;
      showDisputedBorders(map, country_code);
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Learn more

Check out the tutorials How to center map based on visitor’s location, How to change the map labels language based on visitor’s location and How to display the cookies consent bar according to the visitor’s location.

Visit the MapTiler Geolocation API reference for Geolocation response object properties. Like for example, the name of the country, the city, etc.

Visit the MapTiler Planet schema to know how it is organized into different thematic layers and which attribute and values each layer contains.

Learn more about Disputed borders on your maps

Check out the List of disputed border names and tags

How to display disputed borders based on visitor’s location

NPM module setup

Basic JavaScript setup

Complete source code

Learn more

Geolocate control (GPS)

Center map by IP

Map language by IP

Center map by visitor’s country IP

How to display disputed borders based on visitor’s location

NPM module setup

Basic JavaScript setup

Complete source code

Learn more

Related examples

Geolocate control (GPS)

Center map by IP

Map language by IP

Center map by visitor’s country IP