Training WorkbookVersion: 0.0.1 - 27 April 2012
Training Workbook:
Google Maps
Version: 0.0.1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
2 WORKFLOW OVERVIEW
2.1Overview of Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Fusion Tables
2.2Introduction to Google Maps
2.3Resources & Links
3 INTRODUCTION TO GOOGLE MAPS
3.1What is Google Maps?
3.2Get familiar with using Google Maps
3.3Creating custom maps using Google Maps
3.4Collaborating on your map
3.5Embedding your custom map on a website
4 RESOURCES & LINKS
Throughout this workbook, you may notice several symbols that will help to guide through the work:
Anything that is important to know before you move on in the exercise will be called out with this symbol.
Any tips that may help you with the tool will be called out with this symbol.
Any additional notes will be called out with this symbol.
1 INTRODUCTION
The workbook is a companion to Google Earth Outreach Workshops, to guide you through the demonstrations and exercises during the workshop, and as a resource for further self-paced training in the future for yourself and your entire or organization.
All data for this workbook can be downloaded from the corresponding tutorial -- all tutorials are located at Visit the entire Google Earth Outreach website at
2 WORKFLOW OVERVIEW
Here is an overview of the steps you will take to in learning the basics of Google Maps. This guide will help you develop intriguing map content for your organization. It includes useful information about creating content, as well as step-by-step exercises to help get you started!
2.1Overview of Google mapping tools
If you have not already received an overview of Google mapping tools, we suggest you do so before diving into Google Fusion Tables. You will learn about the three primary Google mapping tools -- Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Fusion Tables -- and the primary differences between them. You can learn about Google mapping tools on our Explore Tools page at
2.2Introduction to Google Maps
You will learn how to navigate and search in Google Maps, as well as how to create your own customized maps.
2.3Resources & Links
There are many additional resources available to you for continued learning and training...
3 INTRODUCTION TO GOOGLE MAPS
3.1What is Google Maps?
This guide will help you use Google Maps to create customized map content for your organization. It includes useful information about creating content, as well as step-by-step exercises to help get you started!
3.2Get familiar with using Google Maps
In this tutorial, you’ll navigate and search in Google Maps. You won’t need any extra materials.
Navigate in Google Maps
1Go to maps.google.com in your internet browser.
2Move the center of the map around by clicking the map and dragging it with the left mouse button. Then try the same action with the navigation controls in the upper lefthand corner of the map. Click on the four directional arrows within the circle to move the center of the map.
3Zoom in on the map by double-clicking with the left mouse button. Then try the same action with the navigation controls by clicking on the plus button in the zoom slider.
4Zoom out on the map by double-clicking with the right mouse button. Then try the same action with the navigation controls by clicking on the minus button in the zoom slider.
Change the map layer
1Hover your cursor over the widget at the upper-right-hand corner of the map until it expands. Click on the Satellite button to see the Satellite layer on Google Maps.
2Hover over the widget again and click on the Map button to return to the Map layer.
3Hover over the widget and and explore the menu below the main layer options. Click on the Photos layer. To turn off the Photos layer, hover over the widget again and click on the Photos layer.
Any searches you’ve done during your Google Maps session will also be saved in the Layer menu, so that you can turn them off and on, or delete them.
Search in Google Maps
1Type “Strathcona Provincial Park” in the search box at the top of the webpage.
2Your search results should appear in the lefthand panel (as text) and in the map view (as a placemark).
You can search for cities, states, countries, geographic features, businesses and much more on Google Maps.
Help us improve our maps! If you get an incorrect result, use the Report a Problem link at the bottom right-hand corner of the map to let Google Maps know what the problem is.
Get the latitude and longitude of a location
1Find a location for which you’d like to know the latitude and longitude. With your mouse, right-click on the location. A menu will appear.
2In the menu, click on the option What’s here?. A placemark will be created at that location and its info window will have the latitude and longitude.
Save places to My Places
1Search for “Strathcona Provincial Park” again.
2Click on the search result in the left-hand panel or on its placemark in the map window to pop the info window.
3Click on the star in the info window. This action will save (or “bookmark”) the location to My places.
4To see a list of your saved locations, click the My places button.
My places is associated with your Google account. You must be signed into a Google account to save to My places.
3.3Creating custom maps using Google Maps
This tutorial will guide you through an example of creating a custom map to organize volunteers for a park cleanup event like the one shown below. We'll end up with a map like the one at
Create a new map
1Go to maps.google.com in your internet browser.
2Sign in to your Google Account if you have not already done so using the link on top right corner.
3Click on the My places button.
4Click on the Create Map button in the lefthand panel.
5Add a title and description for your map. You can make your map public or unlisted, which we’ll chat about more in a future lesson. We'll make ours public for now.
6Click the Save button.
Add placemarks
1Click the placemark icon at the top left of your map. Your cursor should change into a placemark icon with an "X" crosshairs. The crosshairs indicate where the placemark will fall.
2Let's place a placemark on the map. For this workbook example, we’re marking the parking lot to be used by volunteers at the cleanup event (search for coordinates “49.720373,-125.299158” on Google Maps). Move the cursor to the appropriate location. If you want to dismiss this placemark, press the Escape key.
3Click your mouse button to place your placemark. It should bounce into place.
4Add a title and description.
5You can also change the icon for your placemark by clicking the icon in the top right corner of the info window.
If you want to add a custom icon, such as your organization's logo, to the map, click Add an icon. Enter in the complete url to your logo on the web (eg. The ideal size for your logo is 64 x 64 pixels.
6Click OK to save your placemark.
To edit a placemark's title or description, click on the placemark to open the info window. Edit the title and description and click OK.
Add lines
1Click the line icon and from the drop-down menu, select the Draw a line option. Your cursor should change into a cross shape “+”. The cross indicates where each point of the line will fall. For this workbook example, you want to draw a line that represents the trail one of your volunteer groups will walk.
2Move the cursor to the appropriate location and click to start drawing the line. If you want to dismiss this line, press the Escape key.
3Click your mouse button at each point of your line.
4To finish drawing your line, double-click the last end point.
5Add a title and description.
6You can also change the color, transparency, and width of your line by clicking the color swatch in the top right corner of the info window.
7Click OK to save your line.
To move a line on your map, mouse over the line to make the points appear. Click and drag the points to move them.
To delete a point from your line, right-click on the point and select Delete this point from the menu.
To add a point to your line, right-click on the line or click on one of the semi-transparent points, and select Add a point from the menu.
To edit a line's title or description, click on it to open the info window. Edit the title and description and click OK.
Add polygons
1Click the line icon and from the drop-down menu, select the Draw a shape option. Your cursor should change into a cross shape “+”. The cross indicates where each point of the shape will fall. For this workbook example, you will draw a shape that represents the range of an invasive species in the park.
2Move the cursor to the appropriate location and click to start the shape. If you want to dismiss this shape, press the Escape key.
3To finish drawing your shape, double-click the last end point or click on the starting point to complete the shape.
4Add a title and description.
5You can also change the color and transparency of your shape by clicking the color swatch in the top right corner of the info window.
6Click OK to save your shape.
To move a shape on your map, mouse over the shape to make the end points appear. Click and drag the points to move them.
To delete a point from your shape, right-click on the point and select Delete from the context menu.
To add a point to your shape, you can click on one of the semi-transparent points and choose Add a point from the menu.
To edit a shape's title or description, click on it to open the info window. Edit the title and description and click OK.
Add images to your info windows
1While in Edit mode, create a new placemark or click on the placemark you wish to add the image to. For this workbook example, we are adding an image of the invasive plant species garlic mustard to the invasive species range shape.
You can also open the placemark by clicking it in the list in the left-hand panel.
2With the placemark open, click the Rich text link.
3Then click on the Image icon. Enter the URL to the image's location on the web (e.g. and click OK. For this example, enter the following URL:
Images less than 400 pixels will fit best inside the pop-up balloon.
4You'll see the image appear in the info window description.
5Click OK.
To best view your custom map edits within a placemark (such as adding an image) it’s easier to see the changes when you’re not in Edit mode. To get out of Edit mode, click the Saved, then Done buttons in the lefthand panel. Then click on the recently edited placemark to see your changes.
If you are looking for a place to host your images online, consider using Google Picasa Web Album at picasaweb.google.com.
Add videos to your info windows
1Upload your video to YouTube or choose a video that's already uploaded.
2On the YouTube video's webpage, find the Share button below your video of choice and click it to see more options. Find the Embed button and click it.
3Copy the HTML code. The code looks similar to this:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src=" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen</iframe>
4 Return to Google Maps. Make sure your custom map is open and in Edit mode.
5Create a new placemark or open the placemark to which you want to add a YouTube video.
6Click Edit HTML. Paste in the Embed Code that you copied from YouTube.
7Click OK.
8Click the Save button to save your map, and then click the Done button to finish editing your map. Now you should be able to view the YouTube video when you click on the placemark to which you added the video.
You may want to decrease the size of the YouTube video so that when a user pops the infowindow, the video takes up less real estate on the map. You can customize the size of the embedded YouTube player when getting the embed code from YouTube.
Import a KML to your map
1Click Import in the top of your left-hand panel.
2Browse your desktop for a KML file or enter the URL of a KML file hosted on the web. For this workbook example, you can use the following URL (downloaded from Protected Planet) of Strathcona Provincial Park’s boundary:
3Click Upload.
4View your KML on the map.
3.4Collaborating on your map
Collaborate on your map
1Click Collaborate in the lefthand panel. A dialog box will appear.
2Manage your collaborators and invite others to edit your map:
●Add collaborators by entering their email addresses (separated by commas) in the upper left box.
●Customize an optional invitation email that will be sent to new collaborators.
●If you'd like collaborators to be able to invite other collaborators, you can check the box in the upper right corner.
●Select Allow anyone to edit this map if you'd like any Google Maps user to be able to contribute to your map.
●As the map owner, you can remove collaborators by clicking on the Remove link next to a collaborator's name on the lower right side. Click on remove all to stop collaborating on your map
3Click OK to save your changes.
Set permissions for your map
1In Edit mode, select the Public or Unlisted option under your map’s description box. These options control who can view your map.
Share a link to your map
1Click on the Link icon on the upper lefthand panel.
2Click into the text box under Paste link in email or IM. Highlight and copy the link, and paste it in an email to your volunteers.
To get a shorter URL for your map (useful for sharing maps on social media platforms), check the Short URL box.
Share your map on Google+
1If Google+ is enabled on your Google account, you should see a Share... button at the upper righthand corner of your screen. Click the Share... button.
2Add any comments about the map you’d like to share to the text box.
3Add circles of people with whom you want to share your map.
4Click the Share button.
5Go to Google+ to see your post in your stream.
3.5Embedding your custom map on a website
Get the embed code for your map
1Click Link icon and copy the code from the Paste HTML to embed in website field. To resize and preview the map, click Customize and preview embedded map.
Keep in mind that you won't be able to embed Traffic maps, Street View imagery, or Mapplets.
Embed your map in a webpage or blog
1Go to your webpage editing application and locate the best place for the map within your website. For this workbook example we’ll use Blogger. Navigate to blogger.com in your browser.
If you don't have a blog, creating one is easy! Login to yourGoogle Account and follow the simple steps to create your blog.
2Once you're in the dashboard, click the New post button.
3Enter the post's title and any text to go with your map. Click on the HTML tab.
4Going back to Google Maps, copy the text from Paste HTML to embed in website field.
5Paste the embed code in the Blogger HTML box.
6Preview the map in the post and make sure it suits your liking, then hit the Publish button.
Google Sites has a gadget that lets you easily embed your map without needing the embed code.
4 RESOURCES & LINKS
GOOGLE EARTH OUTREACH
●Google Earth Outreach homepage:
●Overview of Google mapping tools:
●Case studies and examples of numerous non-profits using Google Earth & Maps:
●Tutorials for further training:
●Google Earth & Maps software grants for nonprofits
GEO PRODUCTS
●Google Earth:
●Google Maps:
●Google SketchUp:
●Google Map Maker:
●Google Map Maker Data Download:
●Google Fusion Tables:
●Open Data Kit:
TUTORIALS & TRAINING VIDEOS
Introductory
●Earth Outreach Tutorials:
●Google Earth Training Guide:
●Google Earth Tutorials:
●Google Earth Product Tour:
●GEarthBlog.com’s Google Earth Basics:
●John Gardiner’s video help:
Advanced
●KML Developer’s Guide:
●KML Code:
●Maps API Code:
●Earth API Code:
●Google SketchUp video tutorials:
PRODUCTS TO PARTNER WITH EARTH & MAPS
●YouTube: – Get a YouTube channel to post your organization’s videos online.
●Picasa: – Organize and geo-tag your photographs online.
●Google Sites: – Manage and organize your project materials online.
All these products and links can be found at Google for Nonprofits:
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