Patent ID: 8560600

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for providing map data to a client device via a communication network, the method comprising: generating map data that conforms to a non-raster format, wherein the map data is for rendering a raster map image of a geographic area at a selected zoom level at the client device, wherein the raster map image includes a plurality of map elements, each corresponding to a respective physical entity or a portion of a physical entity in the geographic area, wherein each of the plurality of map elements is visible at the selected zoom level; generating map feature data that specifies a map feature selectable from the map data at the client device, wherein the map feature includes two or more of the plurality of map elements and does not include at least one of the plurality of map elements, wherein the map elements included in the map feature correspond to related physical entities, wherein the related entities are associated with a common commercial, business, academic, or a residential entity, and wherein the map feature includes at least two map elements that correspond to physical entities of different types, including: providing an indication of a portion of the map data that corresponds to the map feature, and providing a map feature identifier that uniquely identifies the map feature; and causing the map data and the map feature data to be transmitted to the client device via a communication network; receiving, subsequently to causing the map data and the map feature data to be transmitted to the client device, a request for additional map data corresponding to the geographic area; generating a description of a set of additional map elements in the non-raster format, wherein the additional map elements were not provided with the map data; identifying a map element in the set of additional map elements that is associated with the map feature; providing an indication that the identified map element corresponds to the map feature, including providing the map feature identifier with the identified map element; and causing the description of the set of additional map elements and the indication that the identified map element corresponds to the map feature to be transmitted to the client device via the communication network.