20 Awesome Google Maps Tips and Tricks
1. Set Home and Work Location
Click on “My places” (located on the top left-side) and set your “Home” and “Work” address. This way, later when you are getting a direction from your home or work, instead of typing the full address, you can just type “home” (or) “work”.2. Save Directions to My Maps
If you have created a custom map, or a direction with multiple stops, or any other customization, you might want to save it for later use. Once you get the directions, click on the “Save to My Maps’, which is located at the bottom where it displays the text directions.Once you’ve saved a map, you can view them later by going to “My places” -> “Maps”.
You can also create custom maps with your own notes, markers, etc. The video on this creating custom maps page explains how to use this feature.
3. Collaborate Saved Maps
Once you’ve saved a map, go to “My places” -> “Maps” -> Select your map -> Click on “Collaborate” link on the top to manage the collaboration settings.
4. Favorite Locations
While viewing a particular location (restaurant, park, etc), you can click on the ‘star’ icon as shown below to mark it as your favorite location. Once you mark it, you can view all your favorite locations by going to “My places” -> “Starred”.5. Switch to Street View
You can switch to a street view from few places. When you are viewing a particular location from the map (i.e from the little location info pop-up) -> click on “more” -> and select “Street view”.You can also click on the “Man” icon that is located on top of the “zoom” scale, and drag this man and drop it anywhere in the map to view the “street view” of that location.
After you get your directions, from the left-side text directions, you can move your mouse on a specific line item, which will display the “Man” next to it as shown below. Clicking on this man, will split the right-side map into two half. The top portion will display the street view of that particular direction, and the bottom portion will show the 2d map.
6. Customize the Print View
Once you get your directions, click on ‘Print’ icon. From this page you can perform the following customization.You can add notes on the textarea given at the top. This is a good place to note down telephone numbers of the person you are going to meet at the destination, or reservation confirmation number, etc. This way when you print the direction, you have your custom notes along with it.
By default the print view will display the “Text only” directions. However, when you move your mouse on a particular line item in the direction (in the print view), it will show the option to display “Map” or “Street View” only for that line item. This is helpful when you want to print the “Street view” only for your destination location (and not for every turn).
7. Get Link for your Direction
Once you get your directions, if you want to quickly email it to your friends, you can get the link for the direction by clicking on the “Link” icon that is located next to the “Print” icon on the top left side.8. View Traffic
To view the traffic, on the top right-side, move your mouse to “Satellite”, which will display a drop-down list, select “Traffic” from this list. This will display the live traffic by default. If you are planning for a trip in the future date, you can approximately predit the traffic at that time by choosing your day and time of travel as shown below. This uses the traffic data from the previous day and time based on your selection.9. Google Earth View
You can also view the “Earth View” by installing the google earth browser plugin. This will give the option to view the maps in 3D from the browser itself. Currently this plugin is available only on Windows and Mac OS. Move your mouse to the “Satellite” at the top right-side, this will also display “Earth” icon next to “Satellite”, click on this to install the Google Earth plugin.10. Add Multiple Destinations
When you are planning for a trip, you can also add multiple destinations along your trip and get one route for all of these. Click on the ‘add destination’ link right below the “A” and “B” location as shown below. You can add as many destinations as you want.11. Locations with an Icon
Any location on the map that has an icon is clickable. When you click on it, you’ll get more information on that particular location. Typically you’ll see location with an icon for parks, colleges, airports, etc.12. Freeway Exit Numbers
At a closer zoom level, you’ll also see exit number on the freeway in the 2d map.13. Search Nearby
When you are viewing information about a particular location (from the little info pop-up), you can also click on ‘Search nearby’ and search for any nearby point of interest (for example, gas station, starbucks, etc.)14. Google Map Maker
Using Google Map Maker, you can update information about your local area to the google maps. Once the update you make are reviewed and approved, it will be visible for everybody to see.15. Moving Pane
Click on the little arrow shown at the bottom right corner, which will display a zoom pane. From here it is easy to move around the map in the current zoom level.16. Google Maps Lab
Click on the “Maps Lab” link located on the bottom left-side. Please keep in mind all the features available in the Maps Lab are beta only.You can enable Google maps add-ons like Distance Measurement Tool, LatLng Tooltip, etc, from here.
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