NativeScript plugin for the Google Maps SDK
This is a cross-platform (iOS & Android) Nativescript plugin for the Google Maps API.
Prerequisites
NativeScript - The latest nativescript-cli@7 is highly recommended.
iOS - Cocoapods must be installed.
Android - The latest version of the Google Play Services SDK must be installed.
Google Maps API Key - Visit the Google Developers Console, create a project, and enable the Google Maps Android API
and Google Maps SDK for iOS
APIs. Then, under credentials, create an API key.
Installation
Install the plugin using the NativeScript CLI tooling:
ns plugin add nativescript-google-maps-sdk
or in case of nativescript < 7, proceed with the old command:
tns plugin add nativescript-google-maps-sdk
Setup
See demo code included here
See a live demo here
Configure API Key for Android
Nativescript 4+
Start by copying the necessary template resource files in to the Android app resources folder:
cp -r node_modules/nativescript-google-maps-sdk/platforms/android/res/values app/App_Resources/Android/src/main/res
Next, modify your app/App_Resources/Android/src/main/res/values/google_maps_api_key.xml
file by uncommenting the nativescript_google_maps_api_key
string, and replace PUT_API_KEY_HERE
with the API key you created earlier.
Finally, modify your app/App_Resources/Android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
file by inserting the following in between your <application>
tags:
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.geo.API_KEY"
android:value="@string/nativescript_google_maps_api_key" />
The plugin will default to the latest available version of the Google Play Services SDK for Android. If you need to change the version, you can add a project.ext
property, googlePlayServicesVersion
, like so:
// /app/App_Resources/Android/app.gradle
project.ext {
googlePlayServicesVersion = "+"
}
Nativescript < 4
Start by copying the necessary template resource files in to the Android app resources folder:
cp -r node_modules/nativescript-google-maps-sdk/platforms/android/res/values app/App_Resources/Android/
Next, modify your app/App_Resources/Android/values/google_maps_api_key.xml
file by uncommenting the nativescript_google_maps_api_key
string, and replace PUT_API_KEY_HERE
with the API key you created earlier.
Finally, modify your app/App_Resources/Android/AndroidManifest.xml
file by inserting the following in between the <application>
tags:
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.geo.API_KEY"
android:value="@string/nativescript_google_maps_api_key" />
Configure API Key for iOS
In your app.js
, use the following code to add your API key (replace PUT_API_KEY_HERE
with the API key you created earlier):
if (application.ios) {
GMSServices.provideAPIKey("PUT_API_KEY_HERE");
}
If you are using Angular, modify your app.module.ts
as follows:
import * as platform from "platform";
declare var GMSServices: any;
....
if (platform.isIOS) {
GMSServices.provideAPIKey("PUT_API_KEY_HERE");
}
Adding the MapView
Modify your view by adding the xmlns:maps="nativescript-google-maps-sdk"
namespace to your <Page>
tag, then use the <maps:mapView />
tag to create the MapView:
<!-- /app/main-page.xml -->
<Page
xmlns="http://www.nativescript.org/tns.xsd"
xmlns:maps="nativescript-google-maps-sdk"
>
<GridLayout>
<maps:mapView
latitude="{{ latitude }}"
longitude="{{ longitude }}"
zoom="{{ zoom }}"
bearing="{{ bearing }}"
tilt="{{ tilt }}"
mapAnimationsEnabled="{{ mapAnimationsEnabled }}"
padding="{{ padding }}"
mapReady="onMapReady"
markerSelect="onMarkerSelect"
markerBeginDragging="onMarkerBeginDragging"
markerEndDragging="onMarkerEndDragging"
markerDrag="onMarkerDrag"
cameraChanged="onCameraChanged"
cameraMove="onCameraMove"
/>
</GridLayout>
</Page>
Properties
The following properties are available for adjusting the camera view:
Property | Description and Data Type |
---|---|
latitude |
Latitude, in degrees: number
|
longitude |
Longitude, in degrees: number
|
zoom |
Zoom level (described here): number
|
bearing |
Bearing, in degrees: number
|
tilt |
Tilt, in degrees: number
|
padding |
Top, bottom, left and right padding amounts, in Device Independent Pixels: number[] (array) |
mapAnimationsEnabled |
Whether or not to animate camera changes: Boolean
|
Events
The following events are available:
Event | Description |
---|---|
mapReady |
Fires when the MapView is ready for use |
myLocationTapped |
Fires when the 'My Location' button is tapped |
coordinateTapped |
Fires when a coordinate is tapped on the map |
coordinateLongPress |
Fires when a coordinate is long-pressed on the map |
markerSelect |
Fires when a marker is selected |
markerBeginDragging |
Fires when a marker begins dragging |
markerEndDragging |
Fires when a marker ends dragging |
markerDrag |
Fires repeatedly while a marker is being dragged |
markerInfoWindowTapped |
Fires when a marker's info window is tapped |
markerInfoWindowClosed |
Fires when a marker's info window is closed |
shapeSelect |
Fires when a shape (e.g., Circle , Polygon , Polyline ) is selected (Note: you must explicity configure shape.clickable = true; for this event to fire)
|
cameraChanged |
Fires after the camera has changed |
cameraMove |
Fires repeatedly while the camera is moving |
indoorBuildingFocused |
Fires when a building is focused on (the building currently centered, selected by the user or by the location provider) |
indoorLevelActivated |
Fires when the level of the focused building changes |
Native Map Object
The MapView's gMap
property gives you access to the platform's native map object–––consult the appropriate SDK reference on how to use it: iOS | Android
UI Settings
You can adjust the map's UI settings after the mapReady
event has fired by configuring the following properties on mapView.settings
:
Property | Description and Data Type |
---|---|
compassEnabled |
Whether the compass is enabled or not: Boolean
|
indoorLevelPickerEnabled |
Whether the indoor level picker is enabled or not: Boolean
|
mapToolbarEnabled |
** Android only ** Whether the map toolbar is enabled or not: Boolean
|
myLocationButtonEnabled |
Whether the 'My Location' button is enabled or not: Boolean
|
rotateGesturesEnabled |
Whether the compass is enabled or not: Boolean
|
scrollGesturesEnabled |
Whether map scroll gestures are enabled or not: Boolean
|
tiltGesturesEnabled |
Whether map tilt gestures are enabled or not: Boolean
|
zoomGesturesEnabled |
Whether map zoom gestures are enabled or not: Boolean
|
zoomControlsEnabled |
** Android only ** Whether map zoom controls are enabled or not: Boolean
|
Styling
Use gMap.setStyle(style);
to set the map's styling (Google Maps Style Reference | Styling Wizard).
Angular
Use this.mapView.setStyle(<Style>JSON.parse(this.styles));
inside of the onMapReady
event handler. In this example, this.mapView
is the MapView
object and this.styles
is a reference to a JSON file that was created using the Styling Wizard. The <Style>
type was imported from the plugin as { Style }
.
Basic Example
// /app/main-page.js
var mapsModule = require("nativescript-google-maps-sdk");
function onMapReady(args) {
var mapView = args.object;
console.log("Setting a marker...");
var marker = new mapsModule.Marker();
marker.position = mapsModule.Position.positionFromLatLng(-33.86, 151.20);
marker.title = "Sydney";
marker.snippet = "Australia";
marker.userData = { index : 1};
mapView.addMarker(marker);
// Disabling zoom gestures
mapView.settings.zoomGesturesEnabled = false;
}
function onMarkerSelect(args) {
console.log("Clicked on " +args.marker.title);
}
function onCameraChanged(args) {
console.log("Camera changed: " + JSON.stringify(args.camera));
}
function onCameraMove(args) {
console.log("Camera moving: "+JSON.stringify(args.camera));
}
exports.onMapReady = onMapReady;
exports.onMarkerSelect = onMarkerSelect;
exports.onCameraChanged = onCameraChanged;
exports.onCameraMove = onCameraMove;
Custom Info Windows (Beta)
To use custom marker info windows, define a template in your view like so:
<!-- /app/main-page.xml -->
<Page
xmlns="http://www.nativescript.org/tns.xsd"
xmlns:maps="nativescript-google-maps-sdk"
>
<GridLayout>
<maps:mapView mapReady="onMapReady">
<!-- Default Info Window Template -->
<maps:mapView.infoWindowTemplate>
<StackLayout orientation="vertical" width="200" height="150" >
<Label text="{{title}}" className="title" width="125" />
<Label text="{{snippet}}" className="snippet" width="125" />
<Label text="{{'LAT: ' + position.latitude}}" className="infoWindowCoordinates" />
<Label text="{{'LON: ' + position.longitude}}" className="infoWindowCoordinates" />
</StackLayout>
</maps:mapView.infoWindowTemplate>
<!-- Keyed Info Window Templates -->
<maps:mapView.infoWindowTemplates>
<template key="testWindow">
<StackLayout orientation="vertical" width="160" height="160" >
<Image src="res://icon" stretch="fill" height="100" width="100" className="infoWindowImage" />
<Label text="Let's Begin!" className="title" />
</StackLayout>
</template>
</maps:mapView.infoWindowTemplates>
</maps:mapView>
</GridLayout>
</Page>
...and set the infoWindowTemplate
property like so:
var marker = new mapsModule.Marker();
marker.infoWindowTemplate = 'testWindow';
This will configure the marker to use the info window template with the given key. If no template with that key is found, then it will use the default info window template.
** Known issue: remote images fail to display in iOS info windows (local images work fine)
Usage with Angular
See Angular demo code included here
// /app/map-example.component.ts
import {Component, ElementRef, ViewChild} from '@angular/core';
import {registerElement} from "nativescript-angular/element-registry";
// Important - must register MapView plugin in order to use in Angular templates
registerElement("MapView", () => require("nativescript-google-maps-sdk").MapView);
@Component({
selector: 'map-example-component',
template: `
<GridLayout>
<MapView (mapReady)="onMapReady($event)"></MapView>
</GridLayout>
`
})
export class MapExampleComponent {
@ViewChild("MapView") mapView: ElementRef;
//Map events
onMapReady = (event) => {
console.log("Map Ready");
};
}
Angular 8 Support
If you are using Angular 8, there is a temporary fix needed for the @ViewChild
directive, and will not be needed in Angular 9:
@ViewChild("MapView", {static: false}) mapView: ElementRef;
Angular 10 Support
Full Angular 10 (with Ivy Compiler) support is under development and will be released in the next two weeks, starting from today (09/06/2020).
#57)
Clustering Support (IssueThere is a seperate plugin in development thanks to @naderio: see nativescript-google-maps-utils.
Get Help
Checking with the Nativescript community is your best bet for getting help.
If you have a question, start by seeing if anyone else has encountered the scenario on Stack Overflow. If you cannot find any information, try asking the question yourself. Make sure to add any details needed to recreate the issue and include the “NativeScript” and "google-maps" tags, so your question is visible to the NativeScript community.
If you need more help than the Q&A format Stack Overflow can provide, try joining the NativeScript community Slack. The Slack chat is a great place to get help troubleshooting problems, as well as connect with other NativeScript developers.
Finally, if you have found an issue with the NativeScript Google Maps SDK itself, or requesting a new feature, please report them here Issues.