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).

Clustering Support (Issue #57)

There 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.