This guide is a quick start to adding a map to an Android app. AndroidStudio is the recommended development environment for buildingan app with the Maps SDK for Android.
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Follow the guides to download and installAndroid Studio.
Add Google Play services to Android Studio.
Follow these steps to create a new app project including a map activity:
Create a new project as follows:
In the Choose your project dialog, select the tab that corresponds to the platform you intended to develop for. Most users will want to keep the default Phone and Tablet.
Select Google Maps Activity, then click Next.
Enter your app name, package name, and project location, programming language (Java or Kotlin), and the minimum Android API level supported by your app, then click Finish.
Android Studio starts Gradle and builds your project. This may take a fewseconds. For more information about creating a project in Android Studio,see the Android Studio documentation.
When the build is finished, Android Studio opens the google_maps_api.xml
andthe MapsActivity.java
files in the editor. (Note that your activity may havea different name, but it will be the one you configured during setup.) Noticethat the google_maps_api.xml
file contains instructions on getting aGoogle Maps API key before you try to run the application. The next sectiondescribes getting the API key in more detail.
Your application needs an API key to access the Google Maps servers. The type ofkey you need is an API key with restriction for Android apps. The key isfree. You can use it with any of your applications that call theMaps SDK for Android, and it supports an unlimited number of users.
Choose one of the following ways to get your API key from Android Studio:
google_maps_api.xml
file that Android Studio created for you: google_maps_api.xml
file and paste it into your browser. The link takes you to the Google Cloud Platform Console and supplies the required information to the Google Cloud Platform Console via URL parameters, thus reducing the manual input required from you.google_maps_api.xml
file.google_maps_api.xml
file that Android Studio created for you: google_maps_api.xml
file.Examine the code supplied by the template. In particular, look at the followingfiles in your Android Studio project.
By default, the XML file that defines the app's layout is atres/layout/activity_maps.xml
. It contains the following code:
By default, the Java file that defines the maps activity is namedMapsActivity.java
. It should contain the following code after yourpackage name:
If your maps activity file doesn't contain the above code, replace the contentsof the file with the above code, after your package name.
The simplest way to see your app in action is to connect an Android device toyour computer. Follow the instructions to enable developeroptions on your Android device and configure your application and systemto detect the device.
Alternatively, you can use the Android Emulator to run your app. Use theAndroid Virtual Device (AVD) Manager to configure one or morevirtual devices which you'll be able to use with the Android Emulator whenyou build and run your app. When choosing your emulator, ensure that you useAndroid 4.2.2 or higher, and be careful to pick an image that includes theGoogle APIs, or the application will not have the requisite runtime APIs inorder to execute. Also, take note of the instructions forconfiguring virtual machine acceleration, which youshould use with an x86 target AVD as described in the instructions. Thiswill improve your experience with the emulator.
In Android Studio, click the Run menu option (or the play button icon) torun your app.
When prompted to choose a device, choose one of the following options:
Click OK. Android Studio will invoke Gradle to build your app, and thendisplay the results on the device or on the emulator. It could take a couple ofminutes before the app opens.
You should see a map with a marker positioned over Sydney, Australia. If youdon't see a map, confirm that you've completed all the steps described on thispage. In particular, check that you've added an API key as describedabove.
You may wish to look at some sample code.
You can read more about map objects in the developer's guide.