Creating your own maps has never been simpler. With My Maps, you can mark locations, paths, and regions of interest on a personalized map, and share it with multiple people!
You can even add descriptive text, embed photos and videos, and view your map on Google Earth.
Check out this short video to see the kinds of things you can achieve with My Maps:
With My Maps, there are a number of exciting things you can do for your organization. Here are a few ideas:
Plan an event and distribute information to participants.
Generate a map locating your organization's branches across the country or across the globe for anyone to see.
Map out your volunteer base and geographically plan objectives for reaching out.
This tutorial will guide you through an example of organizing a beach cleanup day like the one shown below. We'll end up with a map like this.
We would like our map to show the following things: the meeting point, the path that each team will follow,
the end point, and where we'll have our picnic at the end of the cleanup. Feel free to follow along, modifying locations
and descriptions to suit your own needs. You'll be surprised at how fun and easy it is!
Prerequisites
Absolutely no programming skills needed!
To create a map using My Maps, you need to be signed into your Google Account.
If you don't have an account yet, you can sign up here. (It's free.)
Sign in if you have not yet done so, using the link on top right corner.
Click on the "My Maps" tab. You will see a blank My Maps page that looks like this:
Click Create new map.
Add a title and description for your map. You can make your map public or unlisted. We'll make ours public so that it shows up in search results.
Click Save.
Let's zoom into the Santa Cruz Beach area. Type "Santa Cruz Beach" in the search box and zoom in to get a
closer look. Once you've zoomed in, click the "My Maps" tab to come back to your map.
By switching to the Hybrid view, we'll be able to see the aerial imagery as well as road information.
Click on the "Hybrid" button located at the top right of your map.
Now, let's add placemarks, lines, and shapes! Make sure that you have a check mark next to "Beach Cleanup Day"
on the top left column; that's the map that we'll be editing.
Adding Placemarks: Let's mark locations for group meeting points!
Click 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.
Let's first mark the starting point for our beach cleanup. Move the cursor to the appropriate location. If you want to dismiss this placemark, press the Escape key.
Click your mouse button to place your placemark. It should bounce into place.
Add a title and description.
You can also change the icon for your placemark by clicking the icon in the top right corner of the info window.
Click OK to save your placemark.
Add another placemark for the ending point. Here's what your map will look like after
adding these two placemarks.
Notes:
To move any placemark on your map, drag and drop it in the new location. Note that you can only edit or move placemarks
on your maps, not others' maps.
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.
Adding Lines: Let's show the paths to take!
Click . Your cursor appears like this:
First we'll show the path that the Red cleanup team should take. Move the cursor to the appropriate location and click to start drawing the line. If you want to dismiss this line,
press the Escape key.
Click your mouse button at each point of your line.
To finish drawing your line, double click the last end point.
Add a title and description.
You 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.
Click OK to save your line.
Add another line for the Blue Team. Here's what your map will look like after adding these two
paths.
Notes:
To move a line on your map, mouse over the line to make the end points appear. Click and drag the points to move them.
To delete a point from your line, right-click on the point and choose Delete from the context menu.
To add a point to your line, you can either click on one of the semi-transparent points, or right-click on the line and
choose Add a point from the context 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.
Adding Shapes: Let's show our picnic area and the parking lot!
Click . Your cursor appears like this:
We can now draw a box around our picnic area. Move the cursor to the appropriate location and click to start the shape. If you want to dismiss this shape, press the Escape key.
Click your mouse button at each end point of your shape.
To finish drawing your shape, double click the last end point or click on the starting point to complete the shape.
Add a title and description.
You can also change the color and transparency of your shape by clicking the color swatch in the top right corner of the info window.
Click OK to save your shape.
Go ahead and create another region to show the parking lot area. Here's what your map will look like after adding these regions.
Notes:
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 either click on one of the semi-transparent points, or right-click on the shape
and choose Add a point from the context 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.
And we're done! Be sure that your map has been saved:
You can return to your map at any time. Just go to Google Maps and click My Maps.
Sign into your Google Account and select the map from your list of maps.
Sharing Your Map with Volunteers
To share the map with others, click on the "Link to this page" link.
You have two options: you can either send the link in email or IM, or embed the map in your organization's website.
Let's email this out to our volunteers.
Simply highlight and copy the link, and paste it in your email text.
Your volunteers now have easy access to the map, making for a well planned event!
Read more about using My Maps, such as adding photos and formatting your text.
Check Out Your Map on Google Earth! (Optional)
Google Earth offers a rich browsing experience including 3-d terrain and various content layers. If you'd like to view your map on Google Earth, this section is for you.
Please download the latest version of Google Earth if you do not already have it installed.
Saving Your Map As KML & Viewing It on Google Earth
Click the KML link near the top right corner of the My Maps page.
Select Save to Disk and click on Ok
You now have a KML file of your map saved on your computer, which allows you to view your map on Google Earth. You can also email this KML file to volunteers,
or post it on your organization's website for anyone to download.
To view, either double click on the KML file that has been saved on your computer, or start Google Earth and go to File --> Open to select the desired KML file. You'll see that
the file has been added under the "Temporary Places" folder inside the Places panel.
To zoom into the relevant geographical area, simply double click on the "Beach Cleanup Day" KML file link in the Places panel.
By clicking on the "+" sign under the "Beach Cleanup Day" folder and double-clicking on the desired item, you can zoom in to specific placemarks, lines, or shapes.
If this is a file that you would like to have access to whenever you are using Google Earth, you should move it from the "Temporary Places" folder to "My Places" folder by dragging and dropping the file.
Be sure to check out the 3-d terrain using the tilt slider at the top of the navigation controls, located in the top right corner of Google Earth.
Finally, use the Layers panel to turn on and off various content layers such as the "Geographic Web" layer or the "Global Awareness" folder.
Now that you've seen the very basics, why not try another easy way of creating KML using a template that offers you greater options for the look and feel of your content?
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.
. Your cursor appears like this:
. Your cursor appears like this: