Google Map Tutorial in Android Studio [Step by Step]

Google Maps is one of the many applications bundled with the Android platform. In Addition, to simply using the Maps application, you can also embed it into your own applications and make it do some very cool things. This section describes how to use Google Maps in your Android applications and programmatically perform the following:

• Displaying Google Map.
• Change the type of Google Maps.
• Add markers to Google Maps.

1. Creating the  Project in Android Studio

2. Steps for getting the Google Map API key:

Step 1: Copy the URL from the google_map_api.xml file to generate a Google map API key.

Step 2: When we paste the URL in the browser, it will open the page. Then click                                  CONTINUE => Create API  key. The API Key will be generated.

Step 3: Copy this API key to the <string> element in the google_maps_api.xml file

3. Example to Access Google Maps in Android Studio:

We need to modify AndroidManifest.xml file by adding some user permission like:

1)INTERNET: To determine if we are connected to the internet or not.
2)ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION: To determine a user’s location using GPS.
3)ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION: To determine user”s location using Wi-Fi and mobile data.

AndroidManifext.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    package="com.example.dell.displayinggooglemaps">
  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />    
  <user-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>  
  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION"/>  
  <uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.providers.gsf.permission.READ_GSERVICES"/>   
  <application android:allowBackup="true" android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher" android:label="@string/app_name" android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"          android:supportsRtl="true" android:theme="@style/AppTheme"> 
  <meta-data android:name="com.google.android.geo.API_KEY" android:value="@string/google_maps_key" /> 
  <activity android:name=".MapsActivity" android:label="@string/title_activity_maps"> 
  <intent-filter> 
  <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />  
  <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" /> 
  </intent-filter>
  </activity> 
 </application> 
</manifest>

activity_maps.xml

We are going to implement the android MapView in a Fragment and subsequently add the Fragment to the MainActivity class.

<fragment xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:map="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:id="@+id/map"
    android:name="com.google.android.gms.maps.SupportMapFragment"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    tools:context="com.example.dell.displayinggooglemaps.MapsActivity" />

MapsActivity.java

In MapsActivity.java class to get the Google map object, we need to implement the OnMapReadyCallback interface and override the onMapReady() callback method, these are called when the map is ready to be used.

Changing the Map Type: There are four different types of map Normal, Hybrid, Satellite, and terrain. We can use them as below:

MAP_TYPE_NORMAL : The map includes a road map with street names and labels.

MAP_TYPE_SATELLITE: This type of map has a Satellite View without street names and labels.

MAP_TYPE_TERRAIN: The map includes colors, lines, and labels. Some roads and labels are also visible.

MAP_TYPE_HYBRID : This map type is the combination of a satellite View Area and Normal mode displaying satellite images of an area with all labels.

googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_NORMAL);
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_HYBRID);
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_SATELLITE);
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_TERRAIN)

Zoom Controls:  We can control Zooming gestures on the map by using built-in setZoomControlsEnabled() function. These can be enabled by calling:

googleMap.getUiSettings().setZoomGesturesEnabled(true); // false to disable

Add Marker on Map: We can place a marker to display location on the map by addMarker() method.

LatLng delhi= new LatLng(28.7,77.1);
mMap.addMarker(new MarkerOptions().position(delhi).title("Marker in Delhi"));

MapsActivity.java

package com.example.dell.displayinggooglemaps;</pre>
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.CameraUpdateFactory;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.GoogleMap;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.OnMapReadyCallback;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.SupportMapFragment;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.LatLng;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.MarkerOptions;

public class MapsActivity extends FragmentActivity implements OnMapReadyCallback {

private GoogleMap mMap;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_maps);
// Obtain the SupportMapFragment and get notified when the map is ready to be used.
SupportMapFragment mapFragment = (SupportMapFragment) getSupportFragmentManager()
.findFragmentById(R.id.map);
mapFragment.getMapAsync(this);
}

@Override
public void onMapReady(GoogleMap googleMap) {
mMap = googleMap;

LatLng delhi = new LatLng(28.7,77.1);
mMap.addMarker(new MarkerOptions().position(delhi).title("Marker in Delhi"));
mMap.moveCamera(CameraUpdateFactory.newLatLng(delhi));
}
}

build.gradle

In the app build.gradle file, we will add a Map dependency library. The modified version of the file is as shown:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
android {
compileSdkVersion 26
buildToolsVersion "26.0.0"
defaultConfig {
applicationId "com.example.dell.displayinggooglemaps"
minSdkVersion 19
targetSdkVersion 26
versionCode 1
versionName "1.0"
testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
}
buildTypes {
release {
minifyEnabled false
proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
}
}
}

dependencies {
compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
androidTestCompile('com.android.support.test.espresso:espresso-core:2.2.2', {
exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'support-annotations'
})
compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:26.+'
compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-maps:11.0.0'
testCompile 'junit:junit:4.12'
}

That’s all for accessing google maps in an android tutorial. Now if you run this demo, you will get the output as shown above.