14. Navigating with Maps
In this chapter, you learn to use the Maps app to find locations and get directions.
The Maps app is a great way to plan a trip—whether you’re going to the grocery store or across the country. Maps is basically an interface to Google Maps that gives you map and satellite views and street-level panoramic views and enables you to search for locations, get directions, and much more.
Finding a Location
The simplest thing you can probably do with Maps is to find a location.
1. Tap the Maps app on your Home screen.
2. Tap the Search button.
3. Tap in the Search or Address field.
4. Type the name of a place.
5. Tap the Search button on the on-screen keyboard.
What Can You Search For?
You can search for a specific address. You can also use a general time or the name of a place or person, and Maps does the best it can to locate it. For example, you can try three-letter airport codes, landmark names, street intersections, and building names. The search keeps in mind your current Maps view, so if you search for a general area first, such as Denver, CO, and then for a building name, it attempts to find the building in Denver before looking elsewhere in the world.
6. The map shifts to that location and zooms in.
7. Tap the i button next to the location name to get more information.
8. Use the Add to Contacts button to add the name, address, phone number, and other information to your Contacts app.
9. Use the Share Location button to email a contact (.vcf file) of the location to someone.
10. Use the Add to Bookmarks button to add the location as a bookmark in the Maps app.
11. Tap outside the information area and try dragging and pinching to get a feel for using Maps.
Where Am I?
Want to quickly center the map on your current location? Tap the GPS button (it looks like a compass arrow) at the top of the screen. Even if your iPad doesn’t have a GPS receiver, it takes a good guess as to your current location based on the local Wi-Fi networks it can see.
Searching for Places and Things
You can also use Maps to search for something that has more than one location. For instance, you could search for one location of your favorite computer store.
1. Start in Maps. You should see the last area you were viewing. If it is not your current location, search for that location or press the GPS button to go there.
2. Tap the search field and type the name of a store.
3. Tap the Search button on the on-screen keyboard.
4. Red pins appear on the map for all locations matching the search term in the general area. You might also see some dots representing other potential locations.
5. Tap a red pin to get the name of the location and an i button for more info.
Sometimes Being General Is Good
Don’t always restrict yourself to specific names such as “Apple store.” You can type in general terms such as “coffee” or “restaurant” to get a broader selection of results.
Sometimes It Gets It Wrong
The Google maps database is huge, which means it also contains errors. Sometimes an address is wrong or the information is out of date, so you find yourself in front of a shoe shop instead of your favorite restaurant.
Getting Directions
Although the Maps app is not the equivalent of some turn-by-turn GPS devices, it does offer detailed directions to get you from one point to another.
1. In Maps, tap the Directions button. At this point, you may be asked to confirm whether the Maps app is allowed to use your current location.
2. Two fields appear at the top right. The left field is already filled in with your current location. Change the location by tapping the X in the field to clear it and typing a new address.
3. Tap in the second field and type the destination location.
4. Tap the Search button on the on-screen keyboard.
5. The directions show up as a blue line on the map. You might need to pinch to zoom out to see the whole route.
6. Change the route for driving directions, public transportation options, and walking directions.
7. Tap the Start button to go through the route turn-by-turn.
8. Tap the right arrow inside the blue bar to look at the first step of the trip. Keep tapping the right arrow to go through each step.
9. Tap the List button to the left side of the blue bar to view the directions in a route overview.
10. Tap any of the steps in the route to jump to it on the map.
11. Alternate routes will be shown in a lighter blue overlay. Tap anywhere along that line to switch to that alternate route.
More Complex Routes
Sadly, the Maps app won’t let you have more than two waypoints for a route. And you can’t tap in the middle of a route. Fortunately, Google maps also works fine in the Safari browser on your iPad. So, you can always browse to http://maps.google.com and work with maps there.
Setting Bookmarks
If you find yourself requesting directions to or from the same location often, you might want to set a bookmark for that spot.
1. In Maps, search for a location.
2. Tap the i button to bring up the info box on that location.
3. Tap Add to Bookmarks.
4. Edit the name for the location if you want.
5. Tap Save.
6. Tap the Bookmarks button at the top of the screen to view your bookmarks.
7. At the bottom of the Bookmarks menu, tap Recents or Contacts to see a list of recently visited locations or pull up the address stored for a contact.
8. Tap the name of a bookmark to go to that location on the map.
9. You can also tap Edit to remove bookmarks.
Add a Bookmark Manually
You can also create a bookmark by manually dropping a pin on the map. Tap and hold any location on the map, and a purple pin appears there. You can then drag the pin to another location if it isn’t placed exactly where you want it. These pins have addresses and an i button just like any searched-for location. So, you can use the Add to Bookmarks button after tapping the i to add it as a bookmark. This comes in handy when Google doesn’t quite get the address right.
Using Views
One of the coolest things about online maps are the satellite and street views. Both are fun and helpful and a lot more interesting than a traditional map.
Using Satellite View
Satellite view is like the Classic Map view in that you can search for places and get directions.
1. In Maps, tap the bottom-right corner, where the map page is curled a bit.
2. Tap Satellite to see a satellite view of your location. If that view isn’t quite what you need, select Hybrid to see a satellite view that also gives you map references to identify items on the map.
3. Unpinch in the center of the map to zoom in.
4. The closer view helps show you what the streets actually look like.
Using Street View
1. Start by looking in Maps using the Normal Classic view.
2. Tap and hold on a spot in the map, preferably on a major street, until a pin drops.
3. Tap the i button.
4. If the information box includes an orange circle with a head and shoulder icon, you can go to Street view at this spot. Tap the picture or the icon.
Not in My Town
Although Street view is great for those of us who live in big cities, it isn’t available for every location. For there to be a Street view image, a Google car has to pass down your street at some point to take pictures. They’ve gotten to a lot of streets but not everywhere.
5. The whole screen is taken over by a panoramic image. Drag left and right to look around 360 degrees. Pinch to zoom in and out. Note the mini map at the bottom right with an indicator that shows which direction you are looking.
6. Turn to look down a street so you can see the street name and an arrow. Tap the arrow to move to the next panoramic image along the street.
7. Tap the mini map to return to the Classic Map view.
What’s It Good For?
You might wonder what the purpose of Street view is. Well, suppose you are going to a restaurant that you’ve never been to before. What does the entrance look like? Is there a parking lot on that block? Is there a place to lock up your bike? Street view can help you determine these things.
Getting Traffic Reports
Although Satellite views and Street view give you old photos, there is a way to get up-to-the minute data on your maps. For major cities, you can even get traffic information on your maps.
1. Bring up a Map view that shows some highways and major boulevards.
2. Tap the page corner.
3. Turn on Traffic overlays.
4. The map now shows green, yellow, and red indicators along highways and major streets representing fast-to-slow traffic patterns.
