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Google Maps

With Google Maps modules in Make, you can search for places or get directions, location, elevation, roads, or static map images in your Google Maps account.

To use the Google Maps modules, you must have a Google account and billing enabled in the Google Cloud Console. You can create an account at accounts.google.com.

Refer to the Google Maps API documentation for a list of available endpoints.

Connect Google Maps to Make

To establish the connection, you must:

Create and configure a Google Cloud Console project for Google Maps

Before you establish the connection in Make, you must create and configure a project in the Google Cloud Console to obtain your API key.

Cloud Billing

Your Google account must have Cloud Billing set up in order to enable the required APIs in your project. For information regarding how to create and manage Cloud Billing, see Google's Manage your Cloud Billing account guide.

Create a Google Cloud Console project for Google Maps

To create a Google Cloud Console project:

  1. Log in to the Google Cloud Console using your Google credentials.

  2. In the top menu, click Select a project > New project.

  3. Enter a Project name and select the Location for your project.

  4. Click Create.

  5. In the top menu, check if your new project is selected in the Select a project dropdown. If not, select the project you just created.

Enable APIs for Google Maps

To enable the required APIs:

  1. Open the left navigation menu and go to APIs & Services > Library.

  2. Search for and enable the following APIs:

    • Geocoding API

    • Maps Elevation API

    • Time Zone API

    • Directions API

    • Distance Matrix API

    • Maps Static API

    • Places API

    • Geolocation API

    • Roads API

    For more information on Google Web Service APIs, refer to the Google Maps Platform API documentation.

Obtain your Google Maps API key

To obtain your API key:

  1. In the left sidebar, click Credentials.

  2. Click + Create Credentials > API key.

  3. Copy Your API key value shown and store it in a safe place.

You will use this value in the API Key field in Make.

Establish the connection with Google Maps in Make

To establish the connection in Make:

  1. Log in to your Make account, add a Google Maps module to your scenario, and click Create a Connection.

  2. Optional: In the Connection name field, enter a name for the connection.

  3. In the API Key field, enter the value you copied in the Obtain your Google Map API key section above.

  4. Click Save.

  5. If prompted, authenticate your account and confirm access.

You have successfully established the connection. You can now edit your scenario and add more Google Maps modules. If your connection requires reauthorization at any point, follow the connection renewal steps here.

Build Google Maps Scenarios

After connecting the app, you can perform the following actions:

Search Map

  • Search for Places

Get a Map

  • Get Directions

    Origin

    • If you enter an address, the service geocodes the string and converts it to a latitude/longitude coordinate to calculate directions: 24+Sussex+Drive+Ottawa+ON

    • If you enter coordinates, they are used unchanged to calculate directions. Ensure that no space exists between the latitude and longitude values: 41.43206,-81.38992

    • Place IDs must be prefixed with place_id:. You can retrieve place IDs from the Get a Location module and the Search for Places module. For more about place IDs, see the Place ID overview. place_id:ChIJ3S-JXmauEmsRUcIaWtf4MzE

    • Plus codes must be formatted as a global code or a compound code. Format plus codes as shown here (plus signs are URL-escaped to %2B and spaces are URL-escaped to %20):

      Global code is a 4-character area code and a 6-character or longer local code (849VCWC8+R9 is 849VCWC8%2BR9).

      Compound code is a 6-character or longer local code with an explicit location (CWC8+R9 Mountain View, CA, USA is CWC8%2BR9%20Mountain%20View%20CA%20USA).

    Destination

    Enter the address, textual latitude/longitude value, or place ID to which you wish to calculate directions. The options for the Destination are the same as for the Origin (described above).

    Departure Time / Arrival Time

    Enter the desired time of departure or arrival. You can specify the time using one of the options from the supported date and time formats list. Alternatively, you can specify a value of now, which sets the departure time to the current time (correct to the nearest second). Applies when the Transit or Driving option is selected in the Travel Mode field.

  • Get a Location

  • Get a Timezone

    For Date and Time, enter the time to determine whether or not Daylight Savings should be applied, based on the time zone of the location. See the list of supported date and time formats.

  • Get an Elevation

  • Get a Distance Matrix

    Origin

    • If you enter an address, the service geocodes the string and converts it to a latitude/longitude coordinate to calculate directions: 24+Sussex+Drive+Ottawa+ON

    • If you enter coordinates, they are used unchanged to calculate directions. Ensure that no space exists between the latitude and longitude values: 41.43206,-81.38992

    • Place IDs must be prefixed with place_id:. You can retrieve place IDs from the Get a Location module and the Search for Places module. For more about place IDs, see the Place ID overview. place_id:ChIJ3S-JXmauEmsRUcIaWtf4MzE

    • Plus codes must be formatted as a global code or a compound code. Format plus codes as shown here (plus signs are URL-escaped to %2B and spaces are URL-escaped to %20):

      Global code is a 4-character area code and a 6-character or longer local code (849VCWC8+R9 is 849VCWC8%2BR9).

      Compound code is a 6-character or longer local code with an explicit location (CWC8+R9 Mountain View, CA, USA is CWC8%2BR9%20Mountain%20View%20CA%20USA).

    Destination

    Enter the address, textual latitude/longitude value, or place ID to which you wish to calculate directions. The options for the Destination are the same as for the Origin (described above).

    Departure Time / Arrival Time

    Enter the desired time of departure or arrival. You can specify the time using one of the options from the supported date and time formats list. Alternatively, you can specify a value of now, which sets the departure time to the current time (correct to the nearest second). Applies when the Transit or Driving option is selected in the Travel Mode field.

  • Get Roads

    The Speed Limit service is available to all customers with an Asset Tracking license. For Google Maps Platform Premium Plan customers who transitioned to pay-as-you-go pricing, the feature remains active.

  • Get a Static Map Image

    There are 4 Map Types: roadmap (default), satellite, terrain, and hybrid (a hybrid of satellite and roadmap).

Other

  • Make an API Call

Getting the current time information

The Get time zone information trigger allows you to get the local time for any location on earth, for any date in the past. The trigger returns two elements:

  • the time zone offset from UTC (in seconds) and

  • the offset for the daylight-savings time from UTC (in seconds).

To get the current local time of a given location, you need to calculate the sum of both values. However, the result refers to the UTC. To translate the UTC to your local time, you need to add or subtract the time zone difference between UTC and your location.

For example, let's say, you are in Prague and you want to know the current local time (9.6.2014) in New York. The trigger Get time zone information returns the Time zone offset from UTC -18000 and the Daylight Savings offset from UTC 3600. The sum of both values is -14400 seconds which is -4 hours from UTC. The result you get when repeating the same steps for Prague is +2 hours from UTC. The time difference between Prague and New York is +6 hours.

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