Chapter 10: There’s a Map for That
4. Continue using the selected app to complete the process of sending your location to someone else
When the recipients receive the message, they can tap the link to open your location in the Maps app — providing that they have an Android device.
When the location appears, they can follow my advice in the later section
“Android the Navigator” for getting to your location. And don’t loan them this book, either; have them purchase their own copy. Thanks.
Find Things
The Maps app can help you find places in the real world, just like the Google Search app helps you find places on the Internet. Both operations work basically the same.
Open the Maps app and type something to find in the Search box, as illus- trated in Figure 10-1. The variety of terms you can type in the Search box is explained in this section.
Looking for a specific address
To locate an address, type it in the Search box. For example:
1313 N. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92803
You may not need to type the entire address: As you tap the keys, sugges- tions appear onscreen. Tap a matching suggestion to view that location.
Otherwise, tap the onscreen keyboard’s Search key and that location is shown on the map.
After finding a specific address, the next step is getting directions. See the later section “Android the Navigator.”
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✓You don’t need to type the entire address. Oftentimes, all you need is the street number and street name and then either the city name or zip code.
✓If you omit the city name or zip code, the Maps app looks for the closest matching address near your current location.
✓Tap the X button in the Search box to clear the previous search.
Finding a business, restaurant, or point of interest
You may not know an address, but you know when you crave sushi or per- haps the exotic flavors of Manitoba. Maybe you need a hotel or a gas station, or you must find a place that buys old dentures. To find a business entity or a point of interest, type its name in the Search box. For example:
Movie theater
This search text locates movie theaters on the current Maps screen. Or, to find locations near you, first tap the Location icon (shown in the margin) and then type the search text.
To look for points of interest at a specific location, add the city name, dis- trict, or zip code to the search text. For example:
Japanese Market San Diego
After typing this command and tapping the onscreen keyboard’s Search key, you see the assortment of Japanese (or Asian) markets located in the San Diego metropolitan area, similar to the results shown in Figure 10-4.
To see more information about a result, tap its card, such as the one for Mitsuwa Marketplace in Figure 10-4. View details on the next screen to glean more information.
To get to the location, tap the Route icon on the location’s card. See the later section “Android the Navigator.”
✓Every letter or dot on the search results screen represents a matching location. For each dot, a card appears, as shown on the bottom left in Figure 10-4.
✓Spread your fingers on the touchscreen to zoom in on the map.
✓If you really like the location, tap the Save (Star) icon. The location is added to your list of favorite places. A star also appears on the map, indicating that one of your favorite places is nearby. See the next section.
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Chapter 10: There’s a Map for That
Making a favorite place
Just as you can bookmark favorite websites on the Internet, you can mark favorite places in the real world by using the Maps app. The feature is called Your Places.
To visit your favorite places or browse your recent map searches, tap the Side Menu icon and choose Your Places from the navigation drawer. Swipe through the list to see recent searches, saved places, and any offline maps you’ve saved. To revisit a place, tap its entry in the list.
Mark a location as a favorite by tapping the Save (star) icon on the location’s Details card.
Setting your Home and Work locations
Two places you visit most frequently in the real world are where you live and where you work. The Maps app lets you create shortcuts for these locations.
They’re called, logically enough, Home and Work.
Figure 10-4: Finding a Japanese market near San Diego.
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To set the Home and Work locations, follow these steps in the Maps app: