Thickbox and Google Maps API - avoiding random thickbox initialization problems

Thickbox is a very nice JQuery-based Javascript plugin that allows you to present images and other stuff (even whole pages!) in your page in a popup manner but without leaving the current page or opening a new one. Essentially, it's considered an evolution of the Lightbox script which only works with images.

Many developers use Thickbox with Google maps, in order to provide clickable links on Google Map bubbles that lead to enlarged photos or other info. Some of them (including me) noticed, to their surprise, that suddenly Thickbox wouldn't work correctly inside Google Maps. Specifically, it would work once in a while, and the only way to ensure it worked would be to click on a bubble, close it an then click on another. Then all Thickbox links inside bubbles would work.

There seems to be a problem with the new version of the Google Maps API that kills the functionality of Thickbox. According to this discussion on Google Groups, a way to ensure Thickbox is working correctly is to "lock" on version 2.122 of the Google Maps API inside the Javascript that creates the markers. That is, use: google.load("maps", "2.122"); instead of google.load("maps", "2.x");

I've been using Thickbox and Google Maps in some DNN sites and I was panicked to see this happening in the first place. Although this post is not exactly DNN-related, I think it'll be useful to all of you working with DNN out there. I was very happy to know that there wasn't anything wrong with my DNN development, it was only Google's API.

Hope it helps.