Tutorial

Throughout the Getting Started guide, you will modify and extend the same code to create your map. Let's start by creating the initial app.

Step 1. Set Up Your Environment​

  1. If you do not have prior development experience, you can install an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), e.g. Visual Studio Code.

  2. Start by creating a new project folder. The location is not important, just remember the location, and ensure your newly created project folder is empty.

  3. Inside that, create two empty files: index.html and main.js.

    The file index.html is the entry point for our application and contains the HTML code. The file main.js will be read by index.html and consists of the JavaScript code for the actual application to run. To try the app you will be creating, run index.html in your web browser.

  4. Open index.html. Create a basic HTML structure and include the main.js file as follows:

<!-- index.html -->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>MapsIndoors</title>
</head>
<body>
  <script src="main.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Both here, and in the following examples, you will always be able to see which of the two files the code should go in, by looking at the first line, where the name of the file is written.

Your environment is now fully configured, and you have the necessary API keys. Next, you will learn how to display a map with MapsIndoors.

Step 2. Display a Map with MapsIndoors​

The MapsIndoors SDK is hosted on a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and should be loaded using a script tag.

Insert the MapsIndoors SDK script tag into <head>, followed by the Google Maps script tag:

<!-- index.html -->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>MapsIndoors</title>
<script src="https://app.mapsindoors.com/mapsindoors/js/sdk/4.24.8/mapsindoors-4.24.8.js.gz?apikey=YOUR_MAPSINDOORS_API_KEY"></script>
<script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?libraries=geometry&key=YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY"></script>
</head>
<body>
  <script src="main.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Remember to add your API keys to the links in your code. If you do not have your own API key, you can use the demo MapsIndoors API key: d876ff0e60bb430b8fabb145.

Add an empty <div> element to <body> with the id attribute set to "map":

<!-- index.html -->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>MapsIndoors</title>
  <script src="https://app.mapsindoors.com/mapsindoors/js/sdk/4.24.8/mapsindoors-4.24.8.js.gz?apikey=YOUR_MAPSINDOORS_API_KEY"></script>
  <script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?libraries=geometry&key=YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY"></script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="map" style="width: 600px; height: 600px;"></div>
<script src="main.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

To load data and display it on the map, we need to create a new instance of the MapsIndoors class with a mapView instance with a few properties set. This is all done by placing the following code in the main.js file you created earlier:

// main.js

const mapViewOptions = {
  element: document.getElementById('map'),
  center: { lat: 38.8974905, lng: -77.0362723 }, // The White House
  zoom: 17,
  maxZoom: 22,
};
const mapViewInstance = new mapsindoors.mapView.GoogleMapsView(mapViewOptions);
const mapsIndoorsInstance = new mapsindoors.MapsIndoors({
    mapView: mapViewInstance
});

What happens in this snippet is we create a mapViewInstance that pulls up a GoogleMapsView with some mapViewOptions. The options define which element in the html-file to display the map in (in this case <div id="map">), where the map should center, what zoom level to display, and what the max zoom level is.

You should now see a map from your chosen map engine with MapsIndoors data loaded on top.

Display a Floor Selector

Next, we'll add a Floor Selector for changing between floors.

First, we add an empty <div> element programmatically. Then we create a new FloorSelector instance and push the floorSelectorElement to the googleMapsInstance to position it as a map controller:

// main.js

const mapViewOptions = {
  element: document.getElementById('map'),
  center: { lat: 38.8974905, lng: -77.0362723 }, // The White House
  zoom: 17,
  maxZoom: 22,
};
const mapViewInstance = new mapsindoors.mapView.GoogleMapsView(mapViewOptions);
const mapsIndoorsInstance = new mapsindoors.MapsIndoors({ mapView: mapViewInstance });
const googleMapsInstance = mapViewInstance.getMap();

// Floor Selector
const floorSelectorElement = document.createElement('div');
new mapsindoors.FloorSelector(floorSelectorElement, mapsIndoorsInstance);
googleMapsInstance.controls[google.maps.ControlPosition.RIGHT_TOP].push(floorSelectorElement);

You should now be able to switch between floors.

Here's a JSFiddle demonstrating the result you should have by now:

Step 3. Create a Search Experience

In this step, you'll create a simple search and display the search results in a list. You'll also learn how to filter the data displayed on the map.

Create a Simple Query Search

MapsIndoors Locations can be retrieved in the MapsIndoors namespace using the LocationsService.getLocations() method but first you need to add a <input> and <button> element to the DOM.

  • Create an <input> and <button> element in <body>.

  • Attach an onclick event to the <button> element and call a onSearch method, which you will create next.

<!-- index.html -->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>MapsIndoors</title>
  <script src="https://app.mapsindoors.com/mapsindoors/js/sdk/4.24.8/mapsindoors-4.24.8.js.gz?apikey=YOUR_MAPSINDOORS_API_KEY"></script>
  <script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?libraries=geometry&key=YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY"></script>
</head>
<body>
  <div id="map" style="width: 600px; height: 600px;"></div>
  <script src="main.js"></script>
  <input type="text" placeholder="Search">
  <button onclick="onSearch()">Search</button>
</body>
</html>

  • Create the onSearch method.

  • Get a reference to the search <input> element.

  • Define a new object with the search parameter q and the value of searchInputElement.

  • Call the getLocations method and log out the results to the console.

// main.js

const mapViewOptions = {
  element: document.getElementById('map'),
  center: { lat: 38.8974905, lng: -77.0362723 }, // The White House
  zoom: 17,
  maxZoom: 22,
};
const mapViewInstance = new mapsindoors.mapView.GoogleMapsView(mapViewOptions);
const mapsIndoorsInstance = new mapsindoors.MapsIndoors({ mapView: mapViewInstance });
const googleMapsInstance = mapViewInstance.getMap();

// Floor Selector
const floorSelectorElement = document.createElement('div');
new mapsindoors.FloorSelector(floorSelectorElement, mapsIndoorsInstance);
googleMapsInstance.controls[google.maps.ControlPosition.RIGHT_TOP].push(floorSelectorElement);

  function onSearch() {
    const searchInputElement = document.querySelector('input');

    const searchParameters = { q: searchInputElement.value };
    mapsindoors.services.LocationsService.getLocations(searchParameters).then(locations => {
      console.log(locations);
    });
  });
}

See all available search parameters in the reference documentation.

Display a List of Search Results

To display a list of search results you can append each search result to a list element.

  • Add the <ul> list element below the search field in <body> with the id attribute set to "search-results".

<!-- index.html -->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>MapsIndoors</title>
  <script src="https://app.mapsindoors.com/mapsindoors/js/sdk/4.24.8/mapsindoors-4.24.8.js.gz?apikey=YOUR_MAPSINDOORS_API_KEY"></script>
  <script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?libraries=geometry&key=YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY"></script>
</head>
<body>
  <div id="map" style="width: 600px; height: 600px;"></div>
  <script src="main.js"></script>
  <input type="text" placeholder="Search">
  <button onclick="onSearch()">Search</button>
  <ul id="search-results"></ul>
</body>
</html>

  • Get a reference to the list element.

  • Reset the list on every complete search.

// main.js

const mapViewOptions = {
  element: document.getElementById('map'),
  center: { lat: 38.8974905, lng: -77.0362723 }, // The White House
  zoom: 17,
  maxZoom: 22,
};
const mapViewInstance = new mapsindoors.mapView.GoogleMapsView(mapViewOptions);
const mapsIndoorsInstance = new mapsindoors.MapsIndoors({ mapView: mapViewInstance });
const googleMapsInstance = mapViewInstance.getMap();

// Floor Selector
const floorSelectorElement = document.createElement('div');
new mapsindoors.FloorSelector(floorSelectorElement, mapsIndoorsInstance);
googleMapsInstance.controls[google.maps.ControlPosition.RIGHT_TOP].push(floorSelectorElement);

function onSearch() {
  const searchInputElement = document.querySelector('input');
 // Get list element reference
  const searchResultsElement = document.getElementById('search-results');

  const searchParameters = { q: searchInputElement.value };
  mapsindoors.services.LocationsService.getLocations(searchParameters).then(locations => {
   // Reset search results list
    searchResultsElement.innerHTML = null;
  });
}

  • Add a for loop and append every result to the search results list element.

// main.js

const mapViewOptions = {
  element: document.getElementById('map'),
  center: { lat: 38.8974905, lng: -77.0362723 }, // The White House
  zoom: 17,
  maxZoom: 22,
};
const mapViewInstance = new mapsindoors.mapView.GoogleMapsView(mapViewOptions);
const mapsIndoorsInstance = new mapsindoors.MapsIndoors({ mapView: mapViewInstance });
const googleMapsInstance = mapViewInstance.getMap();

// Floor Selector
const floorSelectorElement = document.createElement('div');
new mapsindoors.FloorSelector(floorSelectorElement, mapsIndoorsInstance);
googleMapsInstance.controls[google.maps.ControlPosition.RIGHT_TOP].push(floorSelectorElement);

function onSearch() {
  const searchInputElement = document.querySelector('input');
  // Get list element reference
  const searchResultsElement = document.getElementById('search-results');

  const searchParameters = { q: searchInputElement.value };
  mapsindoors.services.LocationsService.getLocations(searchParameters).then(locations => {
    // Reset search results list
    searchResultsElement.innerHTML = null;

  // Append new search results
  locations.forEach(location => {
    const listElement = document.createElement('li');
    listElement.innerHTML = location.properties.name;
    searchResultsElement.appendChild(listElement);
  });
  });
}

Filter Locations on Map Based on Search Results​

To filter the map to only display the search results you can use the filter method.

  • Call mapsIndoorsInstance.filter with an array of Location IDs.

// main.js

const mapViewOptions = {
  element: document.getElementById('map'),
  center: { lat: 38.8974905, lng: -77.0362723 }, // The White House
  zoom: 17,
  maxZoom: 22,
};
const mapViewInstance = new mapsindoors.mapView.GoogleMapsView(mapViewOptions);
const mapsIndoorsInstance = new mapsindoors.MapsIndoors({ mapView: mapViewInstance });
const googleMapsInstance = mapViewInstance.getMap();

// Floor Selector
const floorSelectorElement = document.createElement('div');
new mapsindoors.FloorSelector(floorSelectorElement, mapsIndoorsInstance);
googleMapsInstance.controls[google.maps.ControlPosition.RIGHT_TOP].push(floorSelectorElement);

function onSearch() {
  const searchInputElement = document.querySelector('input');
  // Get list element reference
  const searchResultsElement = document.getElementById('search-results');

  const searchParameters = { q: searchInputElement.value };
  mapsindoors.services.LocationsService.getLocations(searchParameters).then(locations => {
    // Reset search results list
    searchResultsElement.innerHTML = null;

    // Append new search results
    locations.forEach(location => {
      const listElement = document.createElement('li');
      listElement.innerHTML = location.properties.name;
      searchResultsElement.appendChild(listElement);
    });

   // Filter map to only display search results
    mapsIndoorsInstance.filter(locations.map(location => location.id), false);
    });
}

To remove the location filter again, call mapsIndoorsInstance.filter(null).

Here's a JSFiddle demonstrating the result you should have by now: