Class DirectionFinder

Allows for the retrieval of directions between locations.
The example below shows how you can use this class to get the directions from Times Square to Central Park, stopping first at Lincoln Center, plot the locations and path on a map, and send the map in an email.

// Get the directions.
var directions = Maps.newDirectionFinder()
    .setOrigin('Times Square, New York, NY')
    .addWaypoint('Lincoln Center, New York, NY')
    .setDestination('Central Park, New York, NY')
    .setMode(Maps.DirectionFinder.Mode.DRIVING)
    .getDirections();
var route = directions.routes[0];

// Set up marker styles.
var markerSize = Maps.StaticMap.MarkerSize.MID;
var markerColor = Maps.StaticMap.Color.GREEN
var markerLetterCode = 'A'.charCodeAt();

// Add markers to the map.
var map = Maps.newStaticMap();
for (var i = 0; i < route.legs.length; i++) {
  var leg = route.legs[i];
  if (i == 0) {
    // Add a marker for the start location of the first leg only.
    map.setMarkerStyle(markerSize, markerColor, String.fromCharCode(markerLetterCode));
    map.addMarker(leg.start_location.lat, leg.start_location.lng);
    markerLetterCode++;
  }
  map.setMarkerStyle(markerSize, markerColor, String.fromCharCode(markerLetterCode));
  map.addMarker(leg.end_location.lat, leg.end_location.lng);
  markerLetterCode++;
}

// Add a path for the entire route.
map.addPath(route.overview_polyline.points);

// Send the map in an email.
var toAddress = Session.getActiveUser().getEmail();
MailApp.sendEmail(
  toAddress,
  'Directions',
  'Please open: ' + map.getMapUrl() + '&key=YOUR_API_KEY', {
    htmlBody: 'See below.<br/><img src="cid:mapImage">',
    inlineImages: {
      mapImage: Utilities.newBlob(map.getMapImage(), 'image/png')
    }
  }
);

Methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`addWaypoint(latitude, longitude)`	`DirectionFinder`	Adds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using a point (lat/lng).
`addWaypoint(address)`	`DirectionFinder`	Adds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using an address.
`clearWaypoints()`	`DirectionFinder`	Clears the current set of waypoints.
`getDirections()`	`Object`	Gets the directions using the origin, destination, and other options that were set.
`setAlternatives(useAlternatives)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets whether or not alternative routes should be returned, instead of just the highest ranked route (defaults to false).
`setArrive(time)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the desired time of arrival (when applicable).
`setAvoid(avoid)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets whether to avoid certain types of restrictions.
`setDepart(time)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the desired time of departure (when applicable).
`setDestination(latitude, longitude)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using a point (lat/lng).
`setDestination(address)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using an address.
`setLanguage(language)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the language to be used for the directions.
`setMode(mode)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the mode of travel (defaults to driving).
`setOptimizeWaypoints(optimizeOrder)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets whether or not to optimize the provided route by rearranging the waypoints in a more efficient order (defaults to false).
`setOrigin(latitude, longitude)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using a point (lat/lng).
`setOrigin(address)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using an address.
`setRegion(region)`	`DirectionFinder`	Sets a region to use when interpreting location names.

Detailed documentation

`addWaypoint(latitude, longitude)`

Adds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using a point (lat/lng).

// Creates a DirectionFinder with a wapoint at Lincoln Center.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().addWaypoint(40.772628, -73.984243);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`latitude`	`Number`	Latitude of the waypoint.
`longitude`	`Number`	Longitude of the waypoint.

Return

DirectionFinder — The DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls.

`addWaypoint(address)`

Adds a waypoint that the route must pass through, using an address.

// Creates a DirectionFinder with a wapoint at Lincoln Center.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().addWaypoint('Lincoln Center, New York, NY');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`address`	`String`	An address.

Return

DirectionFinder — The DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls.

`clearWaypoints()`

Clears the current set of waypoints.

var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder()
// ...
// Do something interesting here ...
// ...
// Remove all waypoints added with addWaypoint().
directionFinder.clearWaypoints();

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`getDirections()`

Gets the directions using the origin, destination, and other options that were set.

// Logs how long it would take to walk from Times Square to Central Park.
var directions = Maps.newDirectionFinder()
    .setOrigin('Times Square, New York, NY')
    .setDestination('Central Park, New York, NY')
    .setMode(Maps.DirectionFinder.Mode.WALKING)
    .getDirections();
Logger.log(directions.routes[0].legs[0].duration.text);

Return

Object — a JSON object containing the set of routes for the directions, as described here

`setAlternatives(useAlternatives)`

Sets whether or not alternative routes should be returned, instead of just the highest ranked route (defaults to false). If true, the resulting object's routes array may contain multiple entries.

// Creates a DirectionFinder with alernative routes enabled.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setAlternatives(true);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`useAlternatives`	`Boolean`	true to return alternative routes, false otherwise

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setArrive(time)`

Sets the desired time of arrival (when applicable).

// Creates a DirectionFinder with an arrival time of 2 hours from now.
var now = new Date();
var arrive = new Date(now.getTime() + (2 * 60 * 60 * 1000));
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setArrive(arrive);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`time`	`Date`	the time of arrival

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setAvoid(avoid)`

Sets whether to avoid certain types of restrictions.

// Creates a DirectionFinder that avoid highways.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setAvoid(Maps.DirectionFinder.Avoid.HIGHWAYS);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`avoid`	`String`	a constant value from `Avoid`

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setDepart(time)`

Sets the desired time of departure (when applicable).

// Creates a DirectionFinder with a departure time of 1 hour from now.
var now = new Date();
var depart = new Date(now.getTime() + (1 * 60 * 60 * 1000));
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setDepart(depart);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`time`	`Date`	the time of departure

Return

DirectionFinder — The DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls.

`setDestination(latitude, longitude)`

Sets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using a point (lat/lng).

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the destination set to Central Park.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setDestination(40.777052, -73.975464);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`latitude`	`Number`	the latitude of the ending location
`longitude`	`Number`	the longitude of the ending location

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setDestination(address)`

Sets the ending location for which to calculate directions to, using an address.

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the destination set to Central Park.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setDestination('Central Park, New York, NY');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`address`	`String`	the ending address

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setLanguage(language)`

Sets the language to be used for the directions.

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the language set to French.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setLanguage('fr');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`language`	`String`	a BCP-47 language identifier

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setMode(mode)`

Sets the mode of travel (defaults to driving).

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the mode set to walking.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setMode(Maps.DirectionFinder.Mode.WALKING);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`mode`	`String`	a constant value from `Mode`

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setOptimizeWaypoints(optimizeOrder)`

Sets whether or not to optimize the provided route by rearranging the waypoints in a more efficient order (defaults to false).

// Creates a DirectionFinder with wapoint optimization enabled.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setOptimizeWaypoints(true);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`optimizeOrder`	`Boolean`	true to optimize the order, or false otherwise

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setOrigin(latitude, longitude)`

Sets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using a point (lat/lng).

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the origin set to Times Square.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setOrigin(40.759011, -73.984472);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`latitude`	`Number`	the latitude of the starting location
`longitude`	`Number`	the longitude of the starting location

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

`setOrigin(address)`

Sets the starting location from which to calculate directions, using an address.

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the origin set to Times Square.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setOrigin('Times Square, New York, NY');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`address`	`String`	the starting address

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder instance to facilitate chaining of calls

`setRegion(region)`

Sets a region to use when interpreting location names. The supported region codes correspond to the ccTLDs supported by Google Maps. For example, the region code "uk" corresponds to "maps.google.co.uk".

// Creates a DirectionFinder with the region set to France.
var directionFinder = Maps.newDirectionFinder().setRegion('fr');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`region`	`String`	the region code to use

Return

DirectionFinder — the DirectionFinder object to facilitate chaining of calls

Class DirectionFinder

See also

Methods

Detailed documentation

addWaypoint(latitude, longitude)

Parameters

Return

addWaypoint(address)

Parameters

Return

clearWaypoints()

Return

getDirections()

Return

See also

setAlternatives(useAlternatives)

Parameters

Return

setArrive(time)

Parameters

Return

See also

setAvoid(avoid)

Parameters

Return

See also

setDepart(time)

Parameters

Return

See also

setDestination(latitude, longitude)

Parameters

Return

setDestination(address)

Parameters

Return

setLanguage(language)

Parameters

Return

See also

setMode(mode)

Parameters

Return

See also

setOptimizeWaypoints(optimizeOrder)

Parameters

Return

See also

setOrigin(latitude, longitude)

Parameters

Return

setOrigin(address)

Parameters

Return

setRegion(region)

Parameters

Return

See also

`addWaypoint(latitude, longitude)`

`addWaypoint(address)`

`clearWaypoints()`

`getDirections()`

`setAlternatives(useAlternatives)`

`setArrive(time)`

`setAvoid(avoid)`

`setDepart(time)`

`setDestination(latitude, longitude)`

`setDestination(address)`

`setLanguage(language)`

`setMode(mode)`

`setOptimizeWaypoints(optimizeOrder)`

`setOrigin(latitude, longitude)`

`setOrigin(address)`

`setRegion(region)`