5 useful features of Google My Maps you need to know

 My Maps is a service through Google Maps that allows you to use the Google Maps infrastructure to attach information to locations and create custom maps.

Today's article will explore some basic features of My Maps that you can use in any creative and practical way.

1. Share your map with others

The first feature that this article will mention is sharing. To do this, select the Share icon on the toolbar in the upper left of the pane below the map title.

From here, sharing your custom map is just like sharing any Google Drive file. You can share your custom maps with specific people, anyone with the link, or people in your Google organization.

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Note that, after you close My Maps, your maps will appear in your Google Drive folder along with your other Google Docs documents. In other words, you don't always have to view it through the My Maps page.

You can share your custom map with edit access to create it with input from others, or you can share a view-only version when your map is complete.

Access other people's maps

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You don't need to create your own map to use some of these features. The banner at the top of the My Maps page filters the maps you can view. All shows you every map you have access to. Not Owned and Shared show you maps that other people have created and that you can view.

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Like any collaborative document, how you can interact with My Maps depends on what its owner allows. Requesting editing access isn't as easy as with other document types, but you can select the 9 stacked dots icon in the left column and select Copy map to make a version of an existing map available . Edit your own.

2. Drawing tools

The second feature you should know is the "draw" feature, which basically consists of the Draw a line tool and the Add marker tool .

You can draw a line without adding markers, but they won't make much sense without markers to contextualize them. And after drawing the line, you still have to confirm the points.

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If you know the location of your destination or point of interest on Google Maps, you can navigate there by dragging the map. Then, select the Add marker tool from the toolbar below the search bar and click the location on the map where you want the marker to go.

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Once you have two or more points, select the Draw a line button from the toolbar and connect your two points. You can even select what the line represents, label it, and write a summary like your score.

3. Search feature

If you don't know the location of a destination or point of interest, you can enter its name in the search bar near the top of the pane. When you select a suggested location from the drop-down menu in the search bar, that location will appear on your main toolbar.

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Hover over the location name in the menu and press the + button to add it to your map, or select the Add to map button that appears below the location information.

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Remember that when you add a location from a search, My Maps automatically imports all the information about that location from Google Maps. So even if you know how to find a location yourself, searching this way can save you time depending on the information you want to include in your map.

4. Personalization options

To personalize points on your map, hover over the point name in your menu to bring up the paint bucket icon. Click that icon to open the color palette and different point icons.

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Customizing points on your map can add style, contextual information, and help separate additions made by different users at a glance.

5. Embed your map on your website

Creating custom maps for your own reference or to share with friends, family, and colleagues has been a fun feature of My Maps. However, where My Maps can really shine is its embedding feature.

To access this feature, select the 9 stacked dots icon in the upper right corner of the menu and select Embed on my site . My Maps creates a pop-up window with a link to paste into your website.

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Kareem Winters

Update 19 October 2023