Personalized viewports for interactive digital maps

1. A computer-implemented method for efficiently changing viewports for viewing digital maps, the method comprising:

displaying, for a certain user via a user interface, a digital map in a current viewport;

receiving viewport parameters that indicate geographic centers and zoom levels for a plurality of viewports, wherein each of the plurality of viewports is personalized independently of every other one of the plurality of viewports and determined based on at least one of: (i) how much time the user spent viewing the digital map within the viewport, (ii) how many times the user selected the viewport, or (iii) how many searches the user performed within the viewport;

displaying respective viewport indicators for the plurality of viewports, including centering each viewport indicator on the digital map at the geographic center of the corresponding viewport; and

in response to one of the viewport indicators being selected via the user interface, automatically displaying the digital map in the viewport corresponding to the geographic center and the zoom level of the selected viewport indicator.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each viewport indicator is shaped as the current viewport and scaled so as to cover a portion of the digital map covered by the viewport corresponding to the viewport indicator.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein each viewport indicator has a substantially rectangular shape.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of viewports is a first plurality of viewports, and wherein the viewport data further specifies geographic centers and zoom levels for a second plurality of viewports; the method further comprising:

when the digital map is displayed in the viewport corresponding to the geographic center and the zoom level of the selected viewport indicator, displaying respective viewport indicators for the second plurality of viewports on the digital map.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting the selection of the one or more viewport indicators via a single user operation.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein:

the user interface includes a touchscreen, and

the user operation is one of (i) a tap or (ii) a double tap.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein:

the user interface includes a mouse, and

the user operation is one of (i) a click or (ii) a double click.

8. A method in a network device for personalizing interactive digital maps, the method comprising:

receiving, from a client device, a request for map data for a specified geographic area;

determining viewport parameters for a plurality of viewports based on a plurality of past activities corresponding to a user, wherein determining the viewport parameters includes personalizing each of the plurality of viewports independently of every other one of the plurality of viewports and based on at least one of: (i) how much time the user spent viewing the digital map within the viewport, (ii) how many times the user selected the viewport, or (iii) how many searches the user performed within the viewport, and wherein:

the viewport parameters indicate, for each of the plurality of viewports, (i) a respective portion of the geographic area displayed within the viewport and (ii) a zoom level at which the portion of the geographic area is displayed; and the method further comprising:

providing the requested map data and the viewport parameters to the client device.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein personalizing each of the plurality of viewports independently of every other one of the plurality of viewports includes personalizing each of the plurality of viewports further in view of preferences corresponding to the user.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein indications of one or more of (i) how much time the user spent viewing the digital map within the viewport, (ii) how many times the user selected the viewport, or (iii) how many searches the user performed within the viewport were received from a plurality of devices operated by the user.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the viewport parameters specify, for each viewport, a boundary of the portion of the geographic area.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the viewport parameters specify a geographic center of the portion of the geographic area.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing thereon instructions for efficiently changing viewports for viewing digital maps, wherein the instructions, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

display, for a certain user via a user interface, a digital map in a current viewport;

overlay a plurality of selectable viewport indicators on the digital map, wherein each of the plurality of selectable viewport indicators includes a shape covering a portion of the digital map at a respective location to define a respective viewport, and wherein each of the respective viewports is generated independently of every other viewport based on at least one of: (i) how much time the user spent viewing the digital map within the corresponding viewport, (ii) how many times the user selected the corresponding viewport, or (iii) how many searches the user performed within the corresponding viewport; and

modify the current viewport in response to one of the plurality of selectable viewport indicators being selected, whereby the portion of the digital map covered by the shape occupies substantially the entire modified viewport.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the shape of selectable viewport indicators is geometrically similar to the shape of the current viewport.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the digital map is displayed in response to a request from the user.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein to modify the current viewport, the instructions cause the one or more processors to zoom in on the location at which the viewport indicator is disposed.