We just released TileMill 0.7.0, which is now available for download on MapBox.com. This release has some incredible new features like autocomplete for Carto map stylesheets and direct upload of MBTiles to MapBox Hosting. It also includes usability enhancements, such as the ability to browse your entire filesystem for data, as well as major bug fixes for SQLite datasources.

Watch this video for a walk through of the major additions to TileMill with this release.

Autocomplete

Autocomplete makes it easy for beginners to discover new Carto features and provides a speed boost for experts who already know the ropes. While typing a property name, variable, or value, press the tab key to receive suggestions based on what you’ve typed. Select a suggestion using the arrow keys and press Enter to accept the value. It’s a good complement to the existing built-in Carto reference.

Direct MBTiles upload to MapBox Hosting

TileMill allows you to export your interactive maps as self-contained MBTiles files. Now you can upload those maps to MapBox Hosting without leaving the application. Once they are uploaded you can copy them to your account and embed them on your website. If you don’t have an account, you can host your map for free for up to 7 days. This is handy for sharing the maps you make with friends or Twitter followers.

Usability and stability enhancements

TileMill 0.7.0 includes a few enhancements that improve usability and stability. The datasource file browser now allows you to browse any directory on your computer, not just the TileMill data folder. You can store data anywhere on your system, organized the way you want, and still easily add it to your TileMill projects with a few clicks.

TileMill allows you to add interactive tooltips that appear when you hover over certain regions. The custom token system has now been replaced with the popular Mustache template language. Existing projects will be migrated to the new language automatically when you save them, but be sure use tokens like {{page.code1}} instead of [this] on future projects. The new template system is critical because it restricts unsafe HTML and JavaScript. There's documentation on adding interactive tooltips to maps in the TileMill manual.

Finally TileMill’s backend rendering engine Mapnik received some bug fixes that make SQLite datasources more stable, add compatibility with PostGIS 2.x, and add support for rendering SVG icons when using marker symbolization on point datasources.

Download the new version of TileMill to start using these new features to design your custom maps, and take a look at the full changelog. We’re looking forward to hearing questions, feedback, and bugs at support.mapbox.com.