Class DirectionFinder

DirectionFinder

Allows for the retrieval of directions between locations.
The example below shows how you can use this class to get the directions from Times Square to Central Park, stopping first at Lincoln Center, plot the locations and path on a map, and send the map in an email. 

// Get the directions.
const directions = Maps.newDirectionFinder()
                       .setOrigin('Times Square, New York, NY')
                       .addWaypoint('Lincoln Center, New York, NY')
                       .setDestination('Central Park, New York, NY')
                       .setMode(Maps.DirectionFinder.Mode.DRIVING)
                       .getDirections();
const route = directions.routes[0];

// Set up marker styles.

let markerLetterCode = 'A'.charCodeAt();

// Add markers to the map.
const map = Maps.newStaticMap();
for (let i = 0; i < route.legs.length; i++) {
  const leg = route.legs[i];
  if (i === 0) {
    // Add a marker for the start location of the first leg only.
    map.setMarkerStyle(
        Maps.StaticMap.MarkerSize.MID,
        Maps.StaticMap.Color.GREEN,
        String.fromCharCode(markerLetterCode),
    );
    map.addMarker(leg.start_location.lat, leg.start_location.lng);
    markerLetterCode++;
  }
  map.setMarkerStyle(
      Maps.StaticMap.MarkerSize.MID,
      Maps.StaticMap.Color.GREEN,
      String.fromCharCode(markerLetterCode),
  );
  map.addMarker(leg.end_location.lat, leg.end_location.lng);
  markerLetterCode++;
}

// Add a path for the entire route.
map.addPath(route.overview_polyline.points);

// Send the map in an email.
const toAddress = Session.getActiveUser().getEmail();
MailApp.sendEmail(
    toAddress,
    'Directions',
    `Please open: ${map.getMapUrl()}&key=YOUR_API_KEY`,
    {
      htmlBody: 'See below.<br/><img src="cid:mapImage">',
      inlineImages: {
        mapImage: Utilities.newBlob(map.getMapImage(), 'image/png'),
      },
    },
);

See also

Methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
addWaypoint(latitude, longitude)DirectionFinderAdds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using a point (lat/lng).
addWaypoint(address)DirectionFinderAdds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using an address.
clearWaypoints()DirectionFinderClears the current set of waypoints.
getDirections()ObjectGets the directions using the origin, destination, and other options that were set.
setAlternatives(useAlternatives)DirectionFinderSets whether or not alternative routes should be returned, instead of just the highest ranked route (defaults to false).
setArrive(time)DirectionFinderSets the desired time of arrival (when applicable).
setAvoid(avoid)DirectionFinderSets whether to avoid certain types of restrictions.
setDepart(time)DirectionFinderSets the desired time of departure (when applicable).
setDestination(latitude, longitude)DirectionFinderSets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using a point (lat/lng).
setDestination(address)DirectionFinderSets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using an address.
setLanguage(language)DirectionFinderSets the language to be used for the directions.
setMode(mode)DirectionFinderSets the mode of travel (defaults to driving).
setOptimizeWaypoints(optimizeOrder)DirectionFinderSets whether or not to optimize the provided route by rearranging the waypoints in a more efficient order (defaults to false).
setOrigin(latitude, longitude)DirectionFinderSets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using a point (lat/lng).
setOrigin(address)DirectionFinderSets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using an address.
setRegion(region)DirectionFinderSets a region to use when interpreting location names.

Detailed documentation

addWaypoint(latitude, longitude)

Adds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using a point (lat/lng). 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with a wapoint at Lincoln Center.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().addWaypoint(
    40.772628,
    -73.984243,
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
latitudeNumberLatitude of the waypoint.
longitudeNumberLongitude of the waypoint.

Return

DirectionFinder — The DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls.

addWaypoint(address)

Adds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using an address. 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with a wapoint at Lincoln Center.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().addWaypoint(
    'Lincoln Center, New York, NY',
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
addressStringAn address.

Return

DirectionFinder — The DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls.

clearWaypoints()

Clears the current set of waypoints. 

const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder();
// ...
// Do something interesting here ...
// ...
// Remove all waypoints added with addWaypoint().
directionFinder.clearWaypoints();

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

getDirections()

Gets the directions using the origin, destination, and other options that were set. 

// Logs how long it would take to walk from Times Square to Central Park.
const directions = Maps.newDirectionFinder()
                       .setOrigin('Times Square, New York, NY')
                       .setDestination('Central Park, New York, NY')
                       .setMode(Maps.DirectionFinder.Mode.WALKING)
                       .getDirections();
Logger.log(directions.routes[0].legs[0].duration.text);

Return

Object — a JSON object containing the set of routes for the directions, as described here

See also

setAlternatives(useAlternatives)

Sets whether or not alternative routes should be returned, instead of just the highest ranked route (defaults to false). If true, the resulting object's routes array may contain multiple entries. 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with alternative routes enabled.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setAlternatives(true);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
useAlternativesBooleantrue to return alternative routes, false otherwise

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

setArrive(time)

Sets the desired time of arrival (when applicable). 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with an arrival time of 2 hours from now.
const now = new Date();
const arrive = new Date(now.getTime() + 2 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setArrive(arrive);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
timeDatethe time of arrival

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

See also

setAvoid(avoid)

Sets whether to avoid certain types of restrictions. 

// Creates a DirectionFinder that avoid highways.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setAvoid(
    Maps.DirectionFinder.Avoid.HIGHWAYS,
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
avoidStringa constant value from Avoid

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

See also

setDepart(time)

Sets the desired time of departure (when applicable). 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with a departure time of 1 hour from now.
const now = new Date();
const depart = new Date(now.getTime() + 1 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setDepart(depart);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
timeDatethe time of departure

Return

DirectionFinder — The DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls.

See also

setDestination(latitude, longitude)

Sets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using a point (lat/lng). 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the destination set to Central Park.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setDestination(
    40.777052,
    -73.975464,
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
latitudeNumberthe latitude of the ending location
longitudeNumberthe longitude of the ending location

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

setDestination(address)

Sets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using an address. 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the destination set to Central Park.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setDestination(
    'Central Park, New York, NY',
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
addressStringthe ending address

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

setLanguage(language)

Sets the language to be used for the directions. 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the language set to French.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setLanguage('fr');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
languageStringa BCP-47 language identifier

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

See also

setMode(mode)

Sets the mode of travel (defaults to driving). 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the mode set to walking.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setMode(
    Maps.DirectionFinder.Mode.WALKING,
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
modeStringa constant value from Mode

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

See also

setOptimizeWaypoints(optimizeOrder)

Sets whether or not to optimize the provided route by rearranging the waypoints in a more efficient order (defaults to false). 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with wapoint optimization enabled.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setOptimizeWaypoints(true);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
optimizeOrderBooleantrue to optimize the order, or false otherwise

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

See also

setOrigin(latitude, longitude)

Sets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using a point (lat/lng). 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the origin set to Times Square.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setOrigin(
    40.759011,
    -73.984472,
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
latitudeNumberthe latitude of the starting location
longitudeNumberthe longitude of the starting location

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

setOrigin(address)

Sets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using an address. 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the origin set to Times Square.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setOrigin(
    'Times Square, New York, NY',
);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
addressStringthe starting address

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder instance to facilitate chaining of calls

setRegion(region)

Sets a region to use when interpreting location names. The supported region codes correspond to the ccTLDs supported by Google Maps. For example, the region code "uk" corresponds to "maps.google.co.uk". 

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the region set to France.
const directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setRegion('fr');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
regionStringthe region code to use

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

See also