Google Maps

Maps are Going Google: Prepare, Respond, Recover

May 19th, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise, Google Maps

Posted by Jay Remley, Director, Google Maps for Business

Editor’s note: During public emergencies, quick response and recovery is critical. That’s why forward-thinking organizations are investing in tools to help them prepare for situations in advance, including mapping technology. Read more about the six ways Maps are Going Google.

Over the thousands of years people have lived in cities, we’ve developed sophisticated infrastructure to keep things humming. Generally, we’ve gotten pretty good at creating safe places where people can work and live. So when it comes to running cities in the year 2014, what could go wrong? Rolling blackouts, spikes in population, and natural disasters drive home one very important point: We can’t control the unexpected. We can, however, plan for it.

Take Pedro Junqueira, CEO and Chief Operating Officer of the Center of Operations (COR) in Rio de Janeiro. As Brazil’s second-largest city gets ready to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, Pedro needs to keep this vibrant city safe and running smoothly. He heads a team of 400 people who constantly monitor the city’s activities — while integrating the efforts of nearly 90,000 employees from 30 agencies, including the Mayor’s Office and the Municipal Guard.

With all of these different teams working together to minimize public risk, it’s crucial that communication be efficient. To gain a complete real-time picture of what’s happening, Pedro and his team are implementing maps to visualize information from various organizations and present it on a screen in the command center.

Like Pedro, government and business leaders are tapping into the richness that real-time location data can bring to operations. From the Red Cross to Florida Power and Light Company, a growing number of organizations are using maps as part of a solution to:

Spot potential crises, alert citizens to possible danger, and keep emergencies from becoming disasters.
Provide the public with up-to-date, critical information, such as evacuation plans, road closures, and shelter locations.
Coordinate rescue and relief efforts by seeing up-to-date status of teams, volunteers and citizens.
Verify employee whereabouts in affected areas and more efficiently communicate with remote workers.

Preparedness starts with having a game plan everyone understands and can implement quickly. Today, corporations, small businesses, and municipal governments have access to practical map solutions that can ease their day-to-day operations and help them run better. We can’t control the weather or prevent every single crisis, but we can take measures to plan for the unexpected.

To learn how maps can help your organization prepare, recover and respond, sign up for our exclusive “Maps are going Google” series or read Chapter 2 now.

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Google Play services 4.4

May 7th, 2014 | by Android Developers | published in Google Android, Google Maps

A new release of Google Play services has now been rolled out to the world, and as usual we have a number of features that can make your apps better than before. This release includes a major enhancement to Maps with the introduction of Street View, as well as new features in Location, Games Services, Mobile Ads, and Wallet API.

Here are the highlights of Google Play services release 4.4:

Google Maps Android API

Starting with a much anticipated announcement for the Google Maps Android API: Introducing Street View. You can now embed Street View imagery into an activity enabling your users to explore the world through panoramic 360-degree views. Programmatically control the zoom and orientation (tilt and bearing) of the Street View camera, and animate the camera movements over a given duration. Here is an example of what you can do with the API, where the user navigates forward one step:

We’ve also added more features to the Indoor Maps feature of the API. You can turn the default floor picker off – useful if you want to build your own. You can also detect when a new building comes into focus, and find the currently-active building and floor. Great if you want to show custom markup for the active level, for example.

Activity Recognition

And while we are on the topic of maps, let’s turn to some news in the Location API. For those of you that have used this API, you may have seen the ability already there to detect if the device is in a vehicle, on a bicycle, on foot, still, or tilting.

In this release, two new activity detectors have been added: Running, and Walking. So a great opportunity to expand your app to be even more responsive to your users. And for you that have not worked with this capability earlier, we hardly need to tell the cool things you can do with it. Just imagine combining this capability with features in Maps, Games Services, and other parts of Location…

Games Services Update

In the 4.3 release we introduced Game Gifts, which allows you to request gifts or wishes. And although there are no external API changes this time, the default requests sending UI has been extended to now allow the user to select multiple Game Gifts recipients. For your games this means more collaboration and social engagement between your players.

Mobile Ads

For Mobile Ads, we’ve added new APIs for publishers to display in-app promo ads, which enables users to purchase advertised items directly. We’re offering app developers control of targeting specific user segments with ads, for example offering high-value users an ad for product A, or new users with an ad for product B, etc.

With these extensions, users can conveniently purchase in-app items that interest them, advertisers can reach consumers, and your app connects the dots; a win-win-win in other words.

Wallet Fragments

For the Instant Buy API, we’ve now reduced the work involved to place a Buy With Google button in an app. The WalletFragment API introduced in this release makes it extremely easy to integrate Google Wallet Instant Buy with an existing app. Just configure these fragments and add them to your app.

And that’s another release of Google Play services. The updated Google Play services SDK is now available through the Android SDK manager. Coming up in June is Google I/O, no need to say more…

For the release video, please see:
DevBytes: Google Play services 4.4

For details on the APIs, please see:
New Features in Google Play services 4.4

Join the discussion on
+Android Developers

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Atlanta Police Department makes city streets safer with Google Maps and Google Search Appliance

May 7th, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise, Google Maps

Posted by LeAnne Browning, Lieutenant and Video Integration Center Project Director, Atlanta Police Department

Editor’s note: Today’s guest blogger is Lieutenant LeAnne Browning from the Atlanta Police Department (APD). She and her colleagues have incorporated search and mapping data into police operations to make the department more efficient. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

At the Atlanta Police Department, our 2,000-plus sworn officers are devoted to working with the community to develop innovative problem-solving strategies. Thanks to these efforts, the crime rate dropped by 44% between 2000 and 2012. We’re proud of our strong reputation among Atlanta residents and law enforcement agencies around the world.

But we know we can always do better, which is why we started Operation Shield back in 2007. The goal is to further prevent crime and improve emergency preparedness with cutting-edge technology and private sector partnerships. One major component is our Video Integration Center (VIC), a surveillance hub and physical security information management platform built with Google Maps technology that gives us instant access to 2,500 cameras throughout the city. When a 911 call comes in, it’s automatically plotted in Google Maps and paired with the nearest live camera images. That way, operators can give real-time information to responding officers rushing to the scene.

Now we’re using Google Search Appliance (GSA) to make the VIC even more powerful. Our partner, Edge360, helped us develop Search360, a search and investigative tool built with GSA that allows operators to search across multiple databases for details like prior incidents at the same address, license plate numbers or descriptions of subjects. Since the system is integrated with Google Maps, it runs automated searches based on geocoding to give analysts fast visual representation of search results. This helps them generate a photographic lineup to send to the responding detective’s mobile data terminal, smartphone or tablet before he or she reaches the crime scene.

Gathering information for investigations used to be slow and tedious. As a detective seven years ago, I had to travel to the scene, interview victims and witnesses, then spend hours or even days back in the office running searches in multiple databases, such as our mugshots database or our report management system. With help from Edge360 and Google, that process is almost instantaneous.

When I joined the department 19 years ago, I never imagined how technology could work in tandem with the traditional tools police officers rely on—our instinct and experience. But that’s exactly what’s happening with Operation Shield. We’re hoping it will improve the quality of life for Atlanta residents by making our streets, parks and neighborhoods safer and more prepared than ever before.

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Maps are going Google: Six ways maps are transforming the way we work

May 1st, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise, Google Maps

Posted by Jay Remley Director, Google Maps for Business, Americas

Family road trips have changed a lot in the last few decades. Remember when we were kids and the drive to Disneyland required four printed maps? When we whined and asked “Are we there yet?” our parents had to unfold a mess of paper maps and estimate the distance in knuckles.

Things are different now. Thanks to smartphones and connected cars, drivers know exactly how long it takes to get where they need to go. No map-unfolding required. But for organizations, it’s no longer just about getting from point A to point B. Mapping technology can solve problems across scenarios at work, from sales planning to emergency management. The next transformation of business is here — and maps is a big reason why.

According to Boston Consulting Group, geospatial services generated $1.6 trillion in revenue for U.S. businesses in 2011, and saved them another $1.4 trillion. Yet, the same research shows that 95% of businesses still aren’t realizing the broad benefits of maps. That’s both the challenge and the staggering potential: most leaders don’t understand all that location information can do for their operations and revenue.

By combining multiple types of data in one clear picture, organizations can use mapping technology to:

Prepare, respond and recover in any situation. Create a common operating picture, and respond to circumstances more quickly and efficiently.
Decide with instant insights. Make savvy decisions with data you can see, and stay a step ahead of changes.
Inform stakeholders quickly and reliably. Transparency = loyalty. Share information that matters with customers and citizens.
Drive acquisition, from online to offline. The world’s gone digital, but many brands still want to inspire purchases in-store. Create a seamless buying experience from on-to-offline.
Coordinate mobile teams, wherever they are. Business starts, and ends, with people. Better coordinate your teams, no matter where they are.
Monitor assets, anytime, anywhere. Get your assets in gear: Know their location and status at all times.

Over the next few months, we’re going to share stories from six business leaders who are embracing maps. They’ll tell us how turning to cloud-based mapping technology is driving impressive results, including reducing operating costs, dramatically increasing revenue, driving an uptick in collaboration, and helping them better understand business insights.

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Code School and the Google Maps SDK for iOS

April 16th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

Are you an iOS developer interested in adding a map to your application? The instructional experts at Code School set out to create a course introducing the Google Maps SDK for iOS to developers like you — and they delivered!

Exploring Google Maps for iOS is a free course covering everything from adding a simple map, to using geocoding and directions, to incorporating Street View in iOS. You’ll end up with a working sample application and gain the knowledge you need to build your own amazing Google Maps-based apps. Learn from videos, sample code, and Xcode-based coding challenges.

Check out the introduction video below, and then head over to Code School to get started with their interactive course!

You can also read our official developer documentation and reference docs at https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/ios/.

Posted by Mike Jeffrey, Maps API Team

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Build a map infographic with Google Maps & JavaScript

April 9th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

We recently announced the launch of the data layer in the Google Maps JavaScript API, including support for GeoJSON and declarative styling. Today we’d like to share a technical overview explaining how you can create great looking data visualizations using Google Maps.

Here’s our end goal. Click through to interact with the live version.

Data provided by the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

The map loads data from two sources: the shape outlines (polygons) are loaded from a public Google Maps Engine table and we query the US Census API for the population data. You can use the controls above the map to select a category of data to display (the “census variable”). The display is then updated to show a choropleth map shading the various US regions in proportion to the values recorded in the census.

How it works

When the map loads, it first queries the Google Maps Engine API to retrieve the polygons defining the US state boundaries and render them using the loadGeoJson method. The controls on the map are used to select a data source and then execute a query against the US Census Data API for the specified variable.

Note: At the time of writing, the data layer and functions described here require you to use the experimental (3.exp) version of the Maps API.

Loading polygons from Maps Engine

The Maps Engine API’s Table.Features list method returns resources in GeoJSON format so the API response can be loaded directly using loadGeoJson. For more information on how to use Maps Engine to read public data tables, check out the developer guide.

The only trick in the code below is setting the idPropertyName for the data that is loaded. When we load the census data we’ll need a way to connect it with the Maps Engine data based on some common key. In this case we’re using the ‘STATE’ property.

Importing data from the US Census API

The US Census Bureau provides an API for querying data in a number of ways. This post will not describe the Census API, other than to say that the data is returned in JSON format. We use the state ID, provided in the 2nd column, to look up the existing state data (using the lookupId method of google.maps.Data) and update with the census data (using the setProperty method of google.maps.Data)

Styling the data

Data can be styled through the use of a Data.StyleOptions object or through a function that returns a Data.StyleOptions object. Here we create a choropleth map by applying a gradient to each polygon in the dataset based on the value in the census data.

In addition to the coloring, we’ve created an interactive element by adding events that respond to mouse activity. When you hover your mouse cursor (or finger) over a region with data, the border becomes heavier and the data card is updated with the selected value.

We’ve also used a custom basemap style in this example to provide some contrast to the colorful data.

Check out Google Maps Engine if you need somewhere to store your geospatial data in the cloud, as we’ve done here. If you have any questions on using these features, check out the docs for the data layer and the Maps Engine API or head over to Stack Overflow and ask there. You can also check out this article’s permanent home, where the interactive version lives.

Posted by Mark McDonald, Google Developer Relations Team

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Maps made easier: GeoJSON in the JavaScript Maps API

March 18th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

Maps give us an easy way to visualize all types of information, from patterns in health expenditure across the world, to oceans with the highest concentration of coral reefs at risk. The tools used to create these maps should be just as easy to use. That’s why, starting today, the JavaScript Maps API will support GeoJSON, making it simpler for developers to visualize richer data, with even cleaner code.

GeoJSON has emerged as a popular format for sharing location-based information on the web, and the JavaScript Maps API is embracing this open standard. This means, as a developer, you can now pull raw data from multiple data sources, such as the US Geological Survey or Google Maps Engine, and easily display it on your website.

How does it work? The new Data layer allows you to treat a dataset like… well, a set of data, rather than individual and unrelated features. If you have a GeoJSON file, you can now load it on the map simply by adding a single line of code to your JavaScript:

map.data.loadGeoJSON(‘earthquakes.json’);

Earthquakes over the past week loaded on the map

USGS All Earthquakes, Past Week courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

Tada! And what’s more, most places have attributes beyond just location: stores have opening times, rivers have current speed, and each Girl Guide troop has cookie selling turf. The Data layer allows you to represent all attributes in GeoJSON right on the map and make decisions about what data to display more easily.

You can use this information to create a styling function that says, “show the earthquakes as circles, scaled to their magnitude” and as the data or rules are updated, the styling will automatically be applied to every feature. This beats having to manually update each feature or rule as more information is added to the map.

Earthquakes over the past week, with a styling function applied

USGS All Earthquakes, Past Week courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

Earthquakes over the past week, with additional color and basemap styling applied

USGS All Earthquakes, Past Week courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

Get started by checking out our developer docs, the code for these earthquake maps, this cool demo showing data from different sources, and this Google Developers Live video. This is a new feature, so if you run into problems or think of any additions you’d love to see, get help on StackOverflow and check our support page for the right tags to use.

We’re looking forward to seeing what you build with this new tool and, as always, we’re eager for your feedback. Please comment on this post or on our Google+ Page.

Posted by Jen Kovnats, Product Manager on the Maps API Team

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Streamlining code in the JavaScript Maps API

March 13th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

Since the Google Maps JS API v3 launched in 2009, we have added lots of new features. And we’ve also made occasional modifications to the API to minimize and simplify common code pathways for developers.

Today we want to announce two small, but useful, changes we have recently made. The first lessens the amount of code required to create a map. The second evolves the API towards a more standard pattern of using plain JavaScript objects.

The first change was introduced quietly a few versions ago, and made the Map Type an optional parameter (defaulting to the standard ROADMAP type) when instantiating a new map.

The second change is available in versions 3.16 of the API and above, and introduces a new way of creating a location: instead of google.maps.LatLng(37.5, -122.5), you can now simply pass in a plain JavaScript object like {lat: 37.5, lng: -122.5}.

Let’s take a look at how these changes affect the original code from our launch announcement above:

Original:

var myOptions = {
     zoom: 8,
     center: new google.maps.LatLng(-34.397, 150.644),
     mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
   };

New

   var myOptions = {
     zoom: 8,
     center: {lat: -34.397, lng: 150.644}
   };

Note that since the order of the values no longer matters, the following is equally valid:

center: {lng: 150.644, lat: -34.397}

The end result is less code needed to instantiate a basic map, less opportunity for confusion regarding coordinate ordering, and a more flexible way to create locations.

Note that google.maps.LatLng will continue to work, and there’s no need to modify any of your existing code. These new features are simply designed to help those getting started, and help you create more streamlined and readable code.

As always, we love to get feedback on how even minor changes like this affect your workflow. You can comment on this post or on our Google+ Page. And as always, you can get help on StackOverflow. Check out our support page for the right tags to use.

Posted by Josh Livni, Maps API Team

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World Bank adds maps to Google Maps Gallery, opening data for the world to see

March 13th, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise, Google Maps

Posted by Neil Fantom, Manager, Development Data Group, Nicole Klingen, Sector Manager, Health, Nutrition and Population, and Aleem Walji, Director, Innovation Labs at the World Bank

Editor’s note: Today’s guest bloggers are from the World Bank, which provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

Almost half of the world’s population lives each day on the equivalent of just a few dollars. In 2010, 1.2 billion people tried to feed and clothe their families, put roofs over their heads and pay for healthcare and other essential services with less than $1.25 a day. About 3 billion people lived on less than $4 a day.

That’s why at the World Bank, our goals are as enormous as the challenges people face. We’re working with countries to end extreme poverty by 2030 and boost the prosperity of the poorest 40% of people in developing countries.

These goals are ambitious. But they’re also achievable if we start with data that’s open and accessible to everyone who needs it: the policymakers, researchers, civil society, journalists and citizens who are effecting transformational changes in their countries. At the World Bank, we’re serious about open data because it helps countries understand where their nations’ poorest live in relation to the resources they need most, such as food and medical supplies.

We’ve curated estimates for years of indicators, such as infant and maternal mortality, life expectancy, malnutrition, and access to water and sanitation. These indicators give country-level estimates that help shape a country’s development agenda—but we need to look beyond national totals and averages to better understand what’s happening locally, where there’s a unique set of challenges with an equally unique set of solutions.

Recently, we’ve been working with the World Health Organization to curate a dataset of malnutrition indicators. Now, this malnutrition dataset is in Google Maps Gallery—and it’s just one of the datasets that are helping countries map their people in relation to essential services, systems and resources. With Maps Gallery, we’re making national, subnational and granular data more understandable—and we’re also creating rich, multi-layered maps that paint a vibrant picture of the challenges countries face and the opportunities that await.

For example, through Maps Gallery, if policymakers overlaid statistics about sanitation, health services and poverty on top of a map of malnutrition rates, they could better understand the specific causes of malnutrition in a particular area and guide planning on how to address them. This knowledge spurs debate and improves decision-making—helping countries target their investments and most importantly, save lives.

These datasets are part of our Open Data Initiative. We’ve also geo-coded our World Bank projects in countries with the locations where they operate, making this data publicly available. And we’ve created our own “mash-ups” with this information and other datasets through Mapping for Results. We’re looking forward to seeing the innovative ways that others are using the datasets.

For years, at the World Bank we’ve been gathering and curating data that we’ve made available through our Open Data Initiative, in machine-readable formats. Bringing the figures in a spreadsheet to life, through maps in the Gallery and other ways, helps reveal the story hidden among the data. And that story helps governments make better, more informed decisions and develop innovative solutions to their trickiest problems.

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Adding the new Google Maps to your website just got easier with the new Google Maps Embed API

March 11th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

Since we introduced the ability to embed the new Google Maps, a growing number of sites across the web have been helping their visitors visualize and remember places, using maps built for them. However, we know that many sites require multiple maps, and repeatedly generating them can be a challenge.

Today we’re making this easier by launching the Google Maps Embed API, giving developers the ability to generate HTML snippets that embed Google Maps within their own website. Using the API to take control of your embedded maps, you can now effortlessly customize the location and appearance of the map with a handful of simple URL parameters.

For example, our friends at the Guggenheim in New York are using the Google Maps Embed API, allowing visitors to save the location to Google Maps directly from the website. Visitors can then quickly plan their day and navigate to the museum by pulling up their saved places on any device with Google Maps.

Over in San Francisco, SFMOMA is using the Google Maps Embed API to show the museum’s temporary exhibit locations. Visitors can get easily get directions to these locations and save them to Google Maps for later viewing on any of their devices.

In addition, over the coming weeks, we’ll be updating existing classic Google Maps embeds to the new format so visitors can enjoy a consistent embedded Google Maps experience across the web. This also means that starting today, the Maps/Earth APIs Terms of Service will apply to all updated embedded Google Maps.

Finally, as with our existing embedded maps, the Google Maps Embed API is free and without limits, and the new API also includes the same on-map ad experience we introduced to embedded maps in November.

To get started, head over to our developers page and embed away!

Posted by Ben Greenwood and Ken Hoetmer, Product Managers, Google Maps APIs

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Fab Friday Android Video Roundup

February 14th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

Hey everyone! Last November I moved to Zürich. The chocolate has been so entrancing that I’m falling behind on my Fab Friday posts! The last few weeks have seen a number of Google Android Maps API videos going out, so I thought I’d do a roundup for you.

First up, Paul Saxman worked on a video with the Android team. Let’s take a look at that one first: UXD – What is Context and Why Does it Matter? Nazmul Idris and Paul Saxman distill user research data to show you how people use their devices, what expectations they have from them, and how this changes with their context.

Paul also brings us Getting Started with Markers on Android, where he covers the basics of adding markers to your map using the Google Maps Android API v2.

Next up, we have one from a newcomer to GDLs, Sarah Maddox. Sarah brings you Map Padding in the Google Maps Android API v2. With map padding, you can allow a sidebar or other UI features to hide part of a map, without hiding the Google logo and map UI controls.

Lastly, two of our fantastic interns, Emma Yeap and Iris Uy, worked on additions to the Google Maps Android API Utility Library, and included this video explaining the new and much asked for Heatmap library. Great work!

That’s all for now. Have a great weekend and happy mapping!

Posted by Mano Marks, Google Maps API Team

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Marker Clustering and Heatmaps: New features in the Google Maps Android API Utility Library

February 12th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

A new version of the Google Maps Android API Utility Library is now available, which includes some cool new data visualisation features – marker clustering and heatmaps.

Marker ClusteringWhen you have a lot of data to show, it can be hard to keep your…

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Forget Cupid, all you need is Google Maps this Valentine’s Day

February 12th, 2014 | by Lat Long | published in Google Earth, Google Maps

Are you in a last minute scramble to plan a lovely evening for your Valentine? Hop to it! Reservations are going quick because according to Zagat’s 2014 Valentine’s survey, 42% of respondents will be hitting the town to celebrate the day of love. Whether you’re searching for a restaurant to take your date to, scouting for the perfect gift in a store nearby or looking up directions to a movie with friends, Google Maps has the ingredients to cook up a successful night.

Step one: we all gotta eat. If you’re still reading this post, chances are you’ve left dinner reservations — how shall we say it? Up in the air. Here’s a hint: book Italian. Whether it’s pizza or pasta, Italian cuisine is the top pick for 2014 Valentine’s day meals, topping the survey chart at 28%. And to be sure the ambiance is just right, with Google Maps’ 360-degree virtual tours of venue interiors, you can scope out the perfect place to woo your date.

Delfina Restaurant in San Francisco

River Cafe in London, UK

Next up: a token of your love and affection. Whether you’re a guy or a gal, survey respondents agree that giving a gift is a must. No idea where to start? You can never go wrong with candy and flowers, whether it’s a lollipop bouquet or a dozen roses. Just fire up Google Maps on your phone and find the nearest one to your date destination, by tapping the search box to “explore nearby”.

Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC, USA

Aoyama Flower Market Ramura Iidabashi in Tokyo, Japan

Finally: don’t be late. Navigating to your destination has never been easier on the new Google Maps. Quickly get directions from your saved home location to the restaurant, including a stop at your date’s place displayed right on the map — whether you’re taking public transit, a car or riding a tandem bike.

A parting tip: if you’re thinking of popping the question, consider waiting until after dessert. Apparently, 73% of Zagat survey respondents feel marriage proposals at restaurants are “cheesy”.

Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Posted by Pegman

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Gradient Polylines and Structured Reverse Geocoding Results: Google Maps SDK for iOS v1.7

February 5th, 2014 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

A new release of the Google Maps SDK for iOS is now available! Read on to find out about the new features included in v1.7.

Gradient Polylines

In this release we’ve included gradient polylines which allow you to apply different colors to different segments of your polylines. This allows you to easily indicate changes along your polyline such as speed or elevation.

There are two options:

the first is to have the color gradually changing into another color (gradient polyline),
the second is to use different blocks of color along your polyline.

The example below visualizes the elevation along a route using a gradient polyline.

Structured Reverse Geocoding

In the past, our reverse geocoder, GMSGeocoder, has responded to a latitude/longitude request with the address as a formatted string. In v1.7, GMSGeocoder can return the address as a GMSAddress object, enabling you to easily access the different parts of an address without needing to parse a string. For example if you’re only interested in the country, this is available as address.country. Check out the developer guide for further information about the properties available to you.

URL Schemes & x-callback-url

The comgooglemaps URL scheme lets you launch Google Maps for iOS, displaying the map at a particular location and zoom level, showing the results of a search, or showing directions. In addition to driving, public transit and walking directions, we’ve now added biking directions to the URL scheme.

There may be times, though, when you want to open Google Maps for iOS directly from within your app, but also want to provide the ability for users to easily return to your app via a back button when they are finished. X-callback-url, an open specification for inter-app communication and messaging between iOS apps, lets you do just that. We’ve documented how to use x-callback-url to launch Google Maps for iOS, and also how to help guide users back to your app when they are ready.

High fidelity 3D buildings

Finally, some of you may know that Google Maps for iOS now has some higher fidelity 3D buildings. If you’d like your app to have access to these 3D buildings, you’ll need to upgrade to v1.7 of the Google Maps SDK for iOS. Check out our favorite, the Eiffel Tower!

We’ve also included a few bug fixes which you can read about in the release notes.

We’re always interested to hear how you’re using the Maps APIs, so let us know if you’ve got something cool to show by tagging +Google Maps API on your posts (or comment right here). For technical questions that aren’t answered in the developer documentation, check out the Google Maps developer community on Stack Overflow. Don’t forget to tell us what you’d like to see in the next release using the Google Maps API issue tracker.

Posted by Megan Boundey, Product Manager, Google Maps Mobile APIs

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Fab Friday is a Google Maps video fest

December 26th, 2013 | by Maps Devel | published in Google Maps

Author photo
G’day and welcome to Fab Friday! It’s holiday time in many places around the world, and what better way to celebrate than to watch a series of videos. So kick back, relax, and snag some cool mapping skills.

Mano Marks presents an entire series in one go – four videos on getting started with the Google Maps JavaScript API. Here’s episode 1:

That rocks! Follow right along with the episodes 2, 3 and 4. Now you’re ready to map and roll.

See how to import data into Google Maps Engine with Josh Livni and Mark McDonald. Google Maps Engine (GME) provides an easy way to create and share maps, and to put data into the Google cloud. Josh and Mark walk through some Python examples, showing various ways to import vector and raster data into your GME account:

Tap the geospatial data in Freebase to put knowledge on your map. Freebase is a dataset of well-known facts about people, places, businesses, and other entities, derived from the web. Josh Livni and Ewa Gasperowicz show you how to query the Freebase API and get back information to put on a map:

Looking for some stylish color schemes for your maps? Want to simplify, hide, or highlight specific map features? Paul Saxman talks about Snazzy Maps by Atmist, a community-driven repository of map styles for Google Maps. Paul shows you how to add the custom map styles to your app using the Google Maps JavaScript API, and also how to contribute styles to Snazzy Maps yourself:

Ready for more shows from the Google Maps API team? Find them all at Google Developers Live.

Posted by Sarah Maddox, Maps Developer Relations team

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Google Data

Google Maps

Maps are Going Google: Prepare, Respond, Recover

Google Play services 4.4

Google Maps Android API

Activity Recognition

Games Services Update

Mobile Ads

Wallet Fragments

Atlanta Police Department makes city streets safer with Google Maps and Google Search Appliance

Maps are going Google: Six ways maps are transforming the way we work

Code School and the Google Maps SDK for iOS

Build a map infographic with Google Maps & JavaScript

How it works

Loading polygons from Maps Engine

Importing data from the US Census API

Styling the data

Maps made easier: GeoJSON in the JavaScript Maps API

Streamlining code in the JavaScript Maps API

World Bank adds maps to Google Maps Gallery, opening data for the world to see

Adding the new Google Maps to your website just got easier with the new Google Maps Embed API

Fab Friday Android Video Roundup

Marker Clustering and Heatmaps: New features in the Google Maps Android API Utility Library

Forget Cupid, all you need is Google Maps this Valentine’s Day

Gradient Polylines and Structured Reverse Geocoding Results: Google Maps SDK for iOS v1.7

Gradient Polylines

Structured Reverse Geocoding

URL Schemes & x-callback-url

High fidelity 3D buildings

Fab Friday is a Google Maps video fest

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