Chapter 15
Finding Your Way with Maps
Get ready to . . .
View Information about a Location
View a Location from Street Level
If you own an iPhone, the Google Maps app on iPad should look familiar to you. The big difference with iPad is its large screen, on which you can view all the beautiful map visuals and terrain and street views as long as you have an Internet connection. In the iPad version you can also display the map and written directions simultaneously.
If you’re new to the Maps app, it has lots of useful functions. You can find directions with suggested alternative routes from one location to another. You can bookmark locations to return to them again. And, the Maps app makes it possible to get information about locations, such as the phone numbers and web links to businesses. You can even look at a building or location as though you were standing in front of it on the street, add a location to your Contacts list, or e-mail a location link to your buddy.
Be prepared: This application is seriously cool, and you’re about to have lots of fun exploring it in this chapter.
Go to Your Current Location
1. iPad can figure out where you are at any time and display your current location. From the Home screen, tap the Maps icon. Tap the Current Location icon (the small, blue arrow to the left of the Search field; see Figure 15-1).
Figure 15-1
2. Your current location is displayed with a blue pin in it and a blue circle around it (refer to Figure 15-1). The circle indicates how accurate the location is — it can be anywhere within the area of the circle, and it’s likely to be less accurate on a Wi-Fi–only iPad.
3. Double-tap the screen to zoom in on your location. (Additional methods of zooming in and out are covered in the “Zoom In and Out” task, later in this chapter.)
If you don’t have a 3G version of iPad, your current location is a rough estimate based on a triangulation method. Only 3G-enabled iPads with the global positioning system (GPS) can pinpoint where you are. Still, if you type a starting location and an ending location to get directions, you can get pretty accurate results even with a Wi-Fi–only iPad.
Change Views
1. The Maps application offers four views: Standard, Satellite, Hybrid, and Terrain. iPad displays the Standard view (see the top-left image in Figure 15-2) by default the first time you open Maps. To change views, with Maps open, swipe the bottom-right corner of the screen to turn the “page” and reveal the Maps menu, shown in Figure 15-3.
2. Tap the Satellite option. The Satellite view (refer to the top-right image in Figure 15-2) appears.
3. Swipe to reveal the menu again and then tap Hybrid. Satellite view is displayed with street names superimposed (refer to the bottom-left image in Figure 15-2).
4. Finally, swipe to reveal the menu one more time and then tap Terrain. A topographical version of the map is displayed (refer to the bottom-right image in Figure 15-2), showing hills, mountains, and valleys. This view is helpful if you want to walk around San Francisco (for example) and avoid those steep streets!
Figure 15-2
On the Maps menu, there’s also a Traffic overlay feature. If you live in a larger metropolitan area (this feature doesn’t really work in small towns), turn on this feature by tapping the On/Off button. The traffic overlay shows different colors on roads indicating accidents or road closures to help you navigate your rush hour commute or trip to the mall. Green tells you you’re good to go, yellow indicates slowdowns, and red means avoid at all costs.
You can drop a pin to mark a location on a map that you can return to. See the task “Drop a Pin,” later in this chapter, for more about this topic.
Figure 15-3
To print any displayed map to an AirPrint-compatible wireless printer, just tap the Print button on the Maps menu.
Zoom In and Out
1. You’ll appreciate the Zoom application because it gives you the capability to zoom in and out to see more or less detailed maps and to move around a displayed map. With a map displayed, double-tap with a single finger to zoom in (see Figure 15-4).
2. Double-tap to zoom out, revealing less detail.
3. Place two fingers positioned together on the screen and move them apart to zoom in.
Figure 15-4
4. Place two fingers apart on the screen and then pinch them together to zoom out.
5. Press your finger to the screen and drag the map in any direction to move to an adjacent area.
It can take a few moments for the map to redraw itself when you enlarge, reduce, or move around it, so try a little patience. Areas that are being redrawn look like blank grids but are filled in eventually. Also, if you’re in Satellite view or Hybrid view, zooming in may take some time; wait it out because the blurred image resolves itself.
Go to another Location
1. With Maps open, tap in the Search field (see Figure 15-5); the keyboard opens.
Figure 15-5
2. Type a location, using a street address with city and state, or a destination such as Empire State Building or Detroit airport. Maps may make suggestions as you type if it finds any logical matches. Tap the Search key on the keyboard and the location appears with a red pin inserted in it and a label with the location, an Information icon, and in some cases, the Street view icon (see Figure 15-6). Note that if several locations match your search term, several pins may be displayed.
Try asking for a type of business or location by zip code. For example, if you crave something with pepperoni, enter 99208 pizza.
Figure 15-6
3. You can also tap the screen and drag in any direction to move to a nearby location.
4. Tap the Bookmark icon (the little book symbol to the left of the Search field; refer to Figure 15-6), and then tap the Recents tab to reveal recently visited sites. Tap a bookmark to go there.
As you discover later in this chapter, in the “Add and View a Bookmark” task, you can also quickly go to any location you’ve previously visited and saved using the Bookmarks feature.
If you enter a destination such as Bronx Zoo, you might want to also enter its city and state. Entering Bronx Zoo landed me in the Woodland Park Zoo in Tacoma, because Maps look for the closest match to your geographical location in a given category.
Drop a Pin
1. Pins are markers: A green pin marks a start location, a red pin marks a search result, and a blue pin (referred to as the blue marker) marks your iPad’s current location. If you drop a pin yourself, it appears in a lovely purple. Display a map that contains a spot where you want to drop a pin to help you find directions to or from that site.
2. If you need to, you can zoom in to a more detailed map to see a better view of the location you want to pin.
3. Press and hold your finger on the screen at the location where you want to place the pin. The pin appears, together with an information bar (refer to Figure 15-6).
4. Tap the Information icon (refer to Figure 15-6) on the information bar to display details about the pin location (see Figure 15-7).
Figure 15-7
To delete a pin you’ve dropped, tap the pin to display the information bar and then tap the Information icon. In the Information dialog that opens, tap Remove Pin. This method works only with pinned sites that aren’t bookmarked.
Add and View a Bookmark
1. A bookmark provides a way to save a destination so you can display a map or directions to it quickly. To add a bookmark to a location, first place a pin on it, as described in the preceding task.
2. Tap the Information icon to display the Information dialog.
3. Tap the Add to Bookmarks button (refer to Figure 15-7).
4. The Add Bookmark dialog (see Figure 15-8) and the keyboard appear. If you like, you can modify the name of the bookmark.
Figure 15-8
5. Tap Save.
6. To view your bookmarks, tap the Bookmark icon (it looks like a little open book; refer to Figure 15-6) at the top of the Maps screen. Be sure that the Bookmarks tab is selected; a list of bookmarks is displayed.
7. Tap on a bookmark to go to the location.
You can also view recently viewed locations, even if you haven’t bookmarked them. Tap the Bookmark icon and then, at the bottom of the Bookmarks dialog that appears, tap Recents. Locations you’ve visited recently are listed there. Tap on one to return to it.
Delete a Bookmark
1. Tap the Bookmark icon and then tap the Bookmarks tab at the bottom of the dialog that appears, to be sure you’re viewing Bookmarks.
2. Tap the Edit button. A red minus icon appears to the left of your bookmarks, as shown in Figure 15-9.
Figure 15-9
3. Tap a red minus icon.
4. Tap Delete. The bookmark is removed.
You can also use a touchscreen shortcut after you’ve displayed the Bookmarks in Step 1 above. Simply swipe across a bookmark and then tap the Delete button.
You can also clear out all recent locations stored by Maps to give yourself a clean slate. Tap the Bookmark icon and then tap the Recents tab. Tap Clear and then confirm by tapping Clear All Recents.
Find Directions
1. You can get directions in a couple of different ways. With at least one pin on your map in addition to your current location, tap the Directions tab. A line appears, showing the route between your current location and the closest pin for the currently selected transportation method: by car, on foot, or by using public transit (see Figure 15-10).
Figure 15-10
2. To show directions from your current location to another pin, tap the other pin and the route is redrawn.
3. You can also enter two locations to get directions from one to the other. With the Directions tab selected in Maps, tap in the field labeled Current Location (see Figure 15-11). The keyboard appears.
Figure 15-11
4. Enter a different starting location.
5. Tap in the Destination field, enter a destination location, and then press the Search button on the keyboard. The route between the two locations is displayed.
6. You can also tap the Information icon on the information bar that appears above any selected pin and use the Directions To Here or Directions From Here button to generate directions (refer to Figure 15-7).
7. When a route is displayed, a blue bar appears along the bottom of the Maps screen (refer to Figure 15-10) with information about the distance and time it takes to travel between the two locations. Here’s what you can do with this informational display:
• Tap the car, bus, or pedestrian logo to get driving, public transportation, or walking directions.
• Tap Start to change the tools offered: The icon on the left, showing several lines of text from a small document, takes you to step-by-step directions (see Figure 15-12); the arrow keys take you through the directions one step at a time.
Figure 15-12
8. If there are alternate routes, Maps notes the number of alternate routes in the informational display and shows the routes on the map. Tap a route number to make it the active route (See Figure 15-13).
In Directions view in Maps, notice the button with a zigzag line between the Current Location and Destination fields (refer to Figure 15-10). After you generate directions from one location to another, tap this button to generate reverse directions. Believe me: They aren’t always the same — especially when one-way streets are involved!
Figure 15-13
View Information about a Location
1. You’ve displayed the Information dialog for locations to add a bookmark or get directions in previous tasks. Now you focus on the useful information displayed there. Go to a location and tap the pin.
2. On the information bar that appears above the pinned location, tap the Information icon (refer to Figure 15-6).
3. In the Information dialog (refer to Figure 15-7), tap the web address listed in the Home Page field to be taken to the location’s web page, if it has one associated with it.
4. You can also press and hold either the Phone or Address field and use the Copy button to copy the phone number, for example, so that you can place it in a Notes document for future reference.
5. Tap outside the Information dialog to close it.
Rather than copy and paste information, you can easily save all information about a location in your Contacts address book. See the “Add a Location to a Contact” task, later in this chapter, to find out how it’s done.
View a Location from Street Level
1. You can view only certain locations from street level, so you have to explore to try out this feature. On the Search tab of Maps, tap in the Search field and enter a location, such as your favorite local shopping mall.
2. When the location appears, tap the Street view icon on its information bar. Street view appears.
3. When you’re in Street view (see Figure 15-14), you can tap and drag the screen to look around you in all directions. Remember the view is a moment frozen in time, perhaps from a few years ago.
4. Tap the small circular map in the bottom-right corner (refer to Figure 15-14) to return to the standard map view.
You can also drag the screen down to get a better look at tall skyscrapers or drag up to view the street and its manhole covers. The small, circular map in the bottom-right corner highlights what you’re looking at in the specific moment. In addition, street names are displayed down the center of streets.
Figure 15-14
Use the Compass
1. The Compass feature works from only your current location, so start by tapping the Current Location icon at the top of the Maps screen (refer to Figure 15-1).
2. Tap the icon again to turn on the Compass. A small compass appears in the top-right corner of the screen (see Figure 15-15).
Figure 15-15
3. Move your iPad around in different directions and note that the compass symbol moves as well, indicating which direction you’re facing.
4. To turn off the Compass, tap the Current Location icon one more time.
A message may appear indicating that the Compass needs resetting because of interference. To do so, move away from any electronic equipment that might be causing the problem and move the iPad around in what Apple describes as a figure-eight motion.
Location Services has to be turned on in iPad Settings for the Compass feature to be available.
Add a Location to a Contact
1. Tap on a pin to display the information bar.
2. Tap on the Information icon.
3. In the Information dialog that appears (refer to Figure 15-7), tap Add to Contacts.
4. In the resulting dialog, tap Create New Contact. The New Contact dialog appears (see Figure 15-16).
Figure 15-16
5. Whatever information was available about the location has already been entered. Enter any additional information you need, such as name, phone, or e-mail address.
6. Tap Done. The information is stored in your Contacts address book.
You can choose a distinct ringtone or text tone for a new contact. Just tape the Ringtone or Text Tone field in the New Contact form to see a list of options. When that person calls via FaceTime or texts you via iMessage, you will recognize him or her from the type of tone that plays.
Share Location Information
1. Tap a pin to display the information bar.
2. Tap the Information icon.
3. In the Information dialog that appears, tap Share Location. In the dialog that appears you can choose to share via text message, Tweet, or e-mail. Tap Email to see how this option works.
4. On the e-mail form that appears (see Figure 15-17), use the onscreen keyboard to enter a recipient’s e-mail address and any Cc/Bcc addresses, and add or change the subject or message as you like.
Figure 15-17
5. Tap Send. A link to the location information in Google Maps is sent to your designated recipients.
If you choose Tweet in Step 3, you have to have installed the Twitter app and have a Twitter account set up using iPad Settings. Tapping Message in Step 3 displays a new message form; just enter an e-mail address or phone number in the To: field, enter your text message, and then tap Send.