February 22, 2017
Angular Google Maps is a set of directives that integrate Google Maps in an AngularJS application. It makes using Google Maps in such an application very easy as you don’t need to know the Google Maps API in order to use it.
You can calculate directions (using a variety of methods of transportation) by using the DirectionsService
object. This object communicates with the Google Maps API Directions Service which receives direction requests and returns computed results. You may either handle these directions results yourself or use the DirectionsRenderer
object to render these results.
When specifying the origin or destination in a directions request, you can specify a query string (for example, “Chicago, IL” or “Darwin, NSW, Australia”), a LatLng
value, or a google.maps.Place
object.
The Directions service can return multi-part directions using a series of waypoints. Directions are displayed as a polyline drawing the route on a map, or additionally as a series of textual description within a <div>
element (for example, “Turn right onto the Williamsburg Bridge ramp”).
Accessing the Directions service is asynchronous, since the Google Maps API needs to make a call to an external server. For that reason, you need to pass a callback method to execute upon completion of the request. This callback method should process the result(s). Note that the Directions service may return more than one possible itinerary as an array of separate routes[]
.
To use directions in the Google Maps JavaScript API, create an object of type DirectionsService
and call DirectionsService.route()
to initiate a request to the Directions service, passing it a DirectionsRequest
object literal containing the input terms and a callback method to execute upon receipt of the response.
These fields are explained below:
origin
(required) specifies the start location from which to calculate directions. This value may be specified as a String
(for example, “Chicago, IL”), as a LatLng
value or as a google.maps.Place
object. If you use a google.maps.Place
object, you can specify a place ID, a query string or a LatLng
location. You can retrieve place IDs from the Geocoding, Place Search and Place Autocomplete services in the Google Maps JavaScript API. For an example using place IDs from Place Autocomplete, see Place Autocomplete and Directions.destination
(required) specifies the end location to which to calculate directions. The options are the same as for the origin
field described above.travelMode
(required) specifies what mode of transport to use when calculating directions. Valid values are specified in Travel Modes below.transitOptions
(optional) specifies values that apply only to requests where travelMode
is TRANSIT
. Valid values are described in Transit Options, below.drivingOptions
(optional) specifies values that apply only to requests where travelMode
is DRIVING
. Valid values are described in Driving Options, below.unitSystem
(optional) specifies what unit system to use when displaying results. Valid values are specified in Unit Systems below.waypoints[]
(optional) specifies an array of DirectionsWaypoint
s. Waypoints alter a route by routing it through the specified location(s). A waypoint is specified as an object literal with fields shown below:
location
specifies the location of the waypoint, as a LatLng
, as a google.maps.Place
object or as a String
which will be geocoded.stopover
is a boolean which indicates that the waypoint is a stop on the route, which has the effect of splitting the route into two routes.(For more information on waypoints, see Using Waypoints in Routes below.)
optimizeWaypoints
(optional) specifies that the route using the supplied waypoints
may be optimized by rearranging the waypoints in a more efficient order. If true
, the Directions service will return the reordered waypoints
in a waypoint_order
field.(For more information, see Using Waypoints in Routes below.)provideRouteAlternatives
(optional) when set to true
specifies that the Directions service may provide more than one route alternative in the response. Note that providing route alternatives may increase the response time from the server.avoidHighways
(optional) when set to true
indicates that the calculated route(s) should avoid major highways, if possible.avoidTolls
(optional) when set to true
indicates that the calculated route(s) should avoid toll roads, if possible.region
(optional) specifies the region code, specified as a ccTLD (“top-level domain”) two-character value. (For more information see Region Biasing below.)When you calculate directions, you need to specify which transportation mode to use. The following travel modes are currently supported:
DRIVING
(Default) indicates standard driving directions using the road network.BICYCLING
requests bicycling directions via bicycle paths & preferred streets.TRANSIT
requests directions via public transit routes.WALKING
requests walking directions via pedestrian paths & sidewalks.Consult the Google Maps coverage data to determine to what extent a country supports directions. If you request directions for a region in which that direction type is not available, the response will return the DirectionsStatus
=”ZERO_RESULTS
“.
The available options for a directions request vary between travel modes. When requesting transit directions, the avoidHighways
, avoidTolls
, waypoints[]
and optimizeWaypoints
options will be ignored. You can specify transit specific routing options through the TransitOptions
object literal.
These fields are explained below:
arrivalTime
(optional) specifies the desired time of arrival as a Date
object. If arrival time is specified, departure time is ignored.departureTime
(optional) specifies the desired time of departure as a Date
object. The departureTime
will be ignored if arrivalTime
is specified. Defaults to now (that is, the current time) if no value is specified for either departureTime
or arrivalTime
.modes[]
(optional) is an array containing one or more TransitMode
object literals. This field may only be included if the request includes an API key. Each TransitMode
specifies a preferred mode of transit. The following values are permitted:
BUS
indicates that the calculated route should prefer travel by bus.RAIL
indicates that the calculated route should prefer travel by train, tram, light rail, and subway.SUBWAY
indicates that the calculated route should prefer travel by subway.TRAIN
indicates that the calculated route should prefer travel by train.TRAM
indicates that the calculated route should prefer travel by tram and light rail.routingPreference
(optional) specifies preferences for transit routes. Using this option, you can bias the options returned, rather than accepting the default best route chosen by the API. This field may only be specified if the request includes an API key. The following values are permitted:
FEWER_TRANSFERS
indicates that the calculated route should prefer a limited number of transfers.LESS_WALKING
indicates that the calculated route should prefer limited amounts of walking.You can specify routing options for driving directions through the DrivingOptions
object. You must supply a Google Maps APIs Premium Plan client ID when loading the API if you want to include a drivingOptions
field in the DirectionsRequest
.
These fields are explained below:
departureTime
(required for the drivingOptions
object literal to be valid) specifies the desired time of departure as a Date
object. The value must be set to the current time or some time in the future. It cannot be in the past. (The API converts all dates to UTC to ensure consistent handling across time zones.) For Google Maps APIs Premium Plan customers, if you include the departureTime
in the request, the API returns the best route given the expected traffic conditions at the time, and includes the predicted time in traffic (duration_in_traffic
) in the response. If you don’t specify a departure time (that is, if the request does not include drivingOptions
), the returned route is a generally good route without taking traffic conditions into account.trafficModel
(optional) specifies the assumptions to use when calculating time in traffic. This setting affects the value returned in the duration_in_traffic
field in the response, which contains the predicted time in traffic based on historical averages. Defaults to bestguess
. The following values are permitted:
bestguess
(default) indicates that the returned duration_in_traffic
should be the best estimate of travel time given what is known about both historical traffic conditions and live traffic. Live traffic becomes more important the closer the departureTime
is to now..pessimistic
indicates that the returned duration_in_traffic
should be longer than the actual travel time on most days, though occasional days with particularly bad traffic conditions may exceed this value.optimistic
indicates that the returned duration_in_traffic
should be shorter than the actual travel time on most days, though occasional days with particularly good traffic conditions may be faster than this value.The DirectionsResult
contains the result of the directions query, which you may either handle yourself, or pass to a DirectionsRenderer
object, which can automatically handle displaying the result on a map.
To display a DirectionsResult
using a DirectionsRenderer
, you simply need to do the following:
DirectionsRenderer
object.setMap()
on the renderer to bind it to the passed map.setDirections()
on the renderer, passing it the DirectionsResult
as noted above. Because the renderer is an MVCObject
, it will automatically detect any changes to its properties and update the map when its associated directions have changed.The VehicleType
object exposes the following properties:
Value | Definition |
---|---|
VehicleType. |
Rail. |
VehicleType. |
Light rail transit. |
VehicleType. |
Underground light rail. |
VehicleType. |
Above ground light rail. |
VehicleType. |
Monorail. |
VehicleType. |
Heavy rail. |
VehicleType. |
Commuter rail. |
VehicleType. |
High speed train. |
VehicleType. |
Bus. |
VehicleType. |
Intercity bus. |
VehicleType. |
Trolleybus. |
VehicleType. |
Share taxi is a kind of bus with the ability to drop off and pick up passengers anywhere on its route. |
VehicleType. |
Ferry. |
VehicleType. |
A vehicle that operates on a cable, usually on the ground. Aerial cable cars may be of the type VehicleType. . |
VehicleType. |
An aerial cable car. |
VehicleType. |
A vehicle that is pulled up a steep incline by a cable. A Funicular typically consists of two cars, with each car acting as a counterweight for the other. |
VehicleType. |
All other vehicles will return this type. |
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