Google My Maps - what is the status

[2012]

Hi, I've been using Locus for years, but it was a long time since I used the My Maps integration.

I've noted that My Maps / Maps Engine / ... handling has had some changes/problems over the years, but I also see on the Locus Pro page on Play store that it stil has "Integration of Google My Maps (reading and editing)".

However, I can't seem to find the my maps functionality in Locus 3.7.0. I see in the docs knowledge base that I am supposed to access it through Menu -> More -> My Maps, and this is also what I remember, but I can't find the My Maps section there. I also checked to see that the icon is not hidden.

What can I do to see my My Maps data (points with information) in Locus 3.7.0?

[Menion]

Hello 2012,

sorry, we have to update status around MyMaps. But I believe on our Homepage is no info about this feature or is it?

Because MyMaps was removed last year and Google MapsEngine which was one possible alternative seems also to be already deprecated by Google itself - read here: http://help.locusmap.eu/topic/custom_maps_from_new_google_maps_engine#comment-14181

So sorry, but no positive news around MyMaps.

[2012]

Thanks for your answer menion, you are always very quick to answer questions on the forums, it is much appreciated!

Information on Locus pages
The Locus [pro] app pages on Play store are very clear on "Integration of Google My Maps (reading and editing)" as a feature, I think it needs to be removed to not confuse users. I think there is no info on the actual homepage, except that info in the docs knowledge base which I linked to.

(new) My Maps support suggestion
Latest news from Google on the situation, AFAIK, is at http://google-latlong.blogspot.se/2014/09/make-your-own-way-with-new-my-maps.html and I must say that with the "new My Maps" (formerly Google Maps Engine Lite) things have been working very smoothly with (non-Locus) My Maps use for me. I have no idea of their API plans though (but read on), but I hope to see Locus integrate with (new) My Maps now that Google (seems to) have decided on which path to follow. My Maps makes it very easy to collaborate on and share map data, and also makes it accessible from a multitude of devices, I just wish I could combine it with Locus' powerful features in a better way than "import KMZ". You know that (new) My Maps provides a "network link" KMZ (see https://support.google.com/mymaps/answer/3109452)? While this would not help editing it would be nice just to have a "live link" to a My Maps map, and be able to refresh data from My Maps with the click of a button, rather than doing the cumbersome KMZ exoprt+import. (It only works with public maps though.) Perhaps this could be something that would not require so much work (just "live" KMZ import from a URL, no Google account handling, no need for Google Play Services framework, no work with supporting editing features) but still provide great value for users? For me at least, editing features is not that important.

confused information concerning the deprecation of GME
From what I understand there is a lot of misunderstanding about the Google announcement. In the request thread you link to, you make a post linking to the quite unclear ZDnet article that started all this (http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-maps-engine-quietly-coming-to-a-halt-as-sign-up-window-shutters/), but if you read the comments there you will see that this announcement should not be interpreted as (new) My Maps being deprecated in any way. See MNorelli's post at http://zd.net/1D0awsF for a bit of clearing up (eg "Nope. That's Google My Maps. That's not going away.  What is going away is Maps Engine, the Google platform that map professionals use to host and visualize lots of sets of data in a Google maps framework.", but read the rest of it too!). So this would not be wasted work on a soon-to-be-deprecated technology. For further corroboration you could see http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2015/01/google-maps-engine-deprecated.html, "The move should be seen as Google transitioning customers to already existing alternative products, especially Google My Maps (formerly Maps Engine Lite) which has come of age and now has most of the important features of Google Maps Engine.". The mail form Google they refer to even suggests "[creating] a map using Google My Maps" as one of possible alternatives to work formerly being done with Google Maps Engine! The GIS users' communities also seems clear on this being an act of Google steering users over to the My Maps (for basic tasks) and Maps API (for the complex stuff).


Sorry for all the text.

[Menion]

Hello,

I wrote it incorrectly. new My Maps (Maps Engine lite) won't be deprecated. But API required for developers to use this service will be  - read here at top: https://developers.google.com/maps-engine/

So unfortunately without API, I cannot do anything about this feature.

[2012]

I don't want to bug you about this, just add some information that could be useful for you or someone else reading this.

The way to interact with "new" My Maps, rather than a "proper" API, is through KML files, see https://developers.google.com/maps/support/kmlmaps (updated March 19, 2015). So, as described in my previous post, to have data from a My Maps map I can have a KML/KMZ link URL like http://www.google.com/maps/d/kml?mid=zhadQ0TyMq3M.kYTI1R_BqKeg which is continually updated with current data from the My Maps map (after I have created the link). In the same (but opposite) way, My Maps data can be updated through a KML/KMZ file. There is information on what KML data is supported at https://support.google.com/mymaps/answer/3370982 and what is not supported at https://support.google.com/mymaps/answer/3024937.

For just viewing/keeping-updated My Maps data, no special permissions is needed for a third-party app, just the ability to parse the network link KML. For data going in the other direction however I think that Google account/permissions handling would be necessary, though I have not tried doing this programmatically.

(On the future of My Maps support, in the week-old version of Google's Maps app for Android they added viewing of My Maps maps. I really think this is yet an indication that they are putting their support behind the current My Maps platform.)