Adjust the camera

The camera allows you to change the user's viewpoint of the map. You can use camera modes to control the behavior of the map during navigation. To set the camera mode, set the cameraMode property of the map view, specifying one of the following camera mode constants:

  • Following — The default camera mode for navigation. Changes the view angle to 45 degrees and puts the camera behind the current position facing in the direction of travel. During navigation the camera automatically adjusts to face in the direction of travel. Pressing the map's Re-center button will also switch to this mode. The Re-center button is not visible when this mode is selected.

  • Overview — Displays an overview of the entire route, zooming as needed to fit the route into the map view. When this view is selected the Re-center button is visible.

  • Free — Lets the user change the map view with gestures. The camera remains stationary in this view. The map will automatically enter this view if the user pans or zooms during navigation. When this view is selected the Re-center button is visible.

To change the camera mode, set the cameraMode property of the map view, as shown here:

Swift

// Set the mode to "overview":
mapView.cameraMode = .overview

// Set the mode to "free":
mapView.cameraMode = .free

// Set the mode to "following":
mapView.cameraMode = .following

Objective-C

// Set the mode to "overview":
mapView.cameraMode = GMSNavigationCameraModeOverview;

// Set the mode to "free":
mapView.cameraMode = GMSNavigationCameraModeFree;

// Set the mode to "following":
mapView.cameraMode = GMSNavigationCameraModeFollowing;

Automatically recenter the map

When users move the map in Navigation mode, the camera mode for the map view changes from following mode to free mode. The camera returns to following mode when the user explicitly presses Re-center. You can automate the return to following mode by using a timer to set an interval between leaving following mode, and then automatically returning to it.

Example

The following code example checks to determine whether the map is being moved by the user while in Navigation mode. If it is, then it sets a timer to switch the camera mode to following mode, centering the map after five seconds.

Swift

class YourViewController: UIViewController {

  @IBOutlet weak var mapView: GMSMapView!
  var autoFollowTimer: Timer!

  override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    mapView.delegate = self
    ...
  }

  ...
}

/** Implements the GMSMapViewDelegate protocol. */
extension YourViewController: GMSMapViewDelegate {
  func mapView(_ mapView: GMSMapView, willMove gesture: Bool) {
    if mapView.navigator?.isGuidanceActive == false {return}
    if !gesture {return}

    autoFollowTimer?.invalidate()
    autoFollowTimer = Timer(
      timeInterval: TimeInterval(5.0),
      target: self,
      selector: #selector(recenterMap),
      userInfo: nil,
      repeats: false)
    RunLoop.current.add(autoFollowTimer, forMode: .default)
  }

  /** Centers the map in guidance mode. */
  @objc private func recenterMap() {
    if mapView.navigator?.isGuidanceActive == true {
       mapView.cameraMode = .following
    }

    autoFollowTimer.invalidate()
    autoFollowTimer = nil
  }
}

Objective-C

@interface YourViewController : UIViewController<GMSMapViewDelegate>
...
@end


@implementation YourViewController {
  GMSMapView *_mapView;
  NSTimer *_autoFollowTimer;
  ...
}

...

- (void)viewDidLoad {
  [super viewDidLoad];
  ...
  _mapView.delegate = self;
  ...
}

...

/** Implements the GMSMapViewDelegate protocol. */
- (void)mapView:(GMSMapView *)mapView willMove:(BOOL)gesture {
  if (!_mapView.navigator.guidanceActive) return;
  if (!gesture) return;

  [_autoFollowTimer invalidate];
  _autoFollowTimer = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:5.0
                                                      target:self
                                                    selector:@selector(recenterMap)
                                                    userInfo:nil
                                                     repeats:NO];
}

/** Centers the map in guidance mode. */
- (void)recenterMap {
  if (_mapView.navigator.guidanceActive) {
    _mapView.cameraMode = GMSNavigationCameraModeFollowing;
  }

  [_autoFollowTimer invalidate];
  _autoFollowTimer = nil;
}

@end