Chapter 2: The Google Local Interface
The main content of the window is the map panel that shows the current map view. In the top-
left corner of the map are the navigation and zoom controls; in the top-right corner are the
view controls (which allow you to switch between map, satellite, and hybrid views). The
bottom-left corner shows scale information, and the bottom-right corner shows the copyright
data (which Google requires to be shown).
You can obtain a link to a specific page using the “Link to this page” link at the top right
(above the map), and you can e-mail a copy of the map or print out the map using the corre-
sponding links in the same area.
Interacting with the Map
The current view location can be adjusted through a series of controls and methods. The first is
simply the ability to move around the map, changing the current view in terms of location. The
zoom level — effectively the amount of information shown on the map — can also be changed.
The closer you zoom, the less ground you see, but more detail is discernible.
Moving the Map
You can easily move the map in four ways:
Use the search field to find (and, if necessary, select) a location.
Use the arrow buttons in the top-left corner of the map to move the map in the corre-
sponding direction. The button in the center will move the map to the last known refer-
ence point (for example, to an item you selected or a location you searched for).
Click the map and drag your mouse north, south, east, or west. The map will “drag”
beneath the pointer, as though you were holding your head still and moving the map.
Double-click a spot on the map to center the map on that location.
Zooming In and Out
The zoom slider (on the left side of the map) allows you to adjust your view of the map. The
plus sign button at the top of the slider zooms in (for more detail), and the minus sign button
at the bottom zooms out (for a more generalized view). You can also select or drag the slider to
a specific zoom level within the current map.
The level of the zoom is best described by the scale, or the number of miles to a given marker
distance. (This is generally, but not always, constant between zoom levels.) The actual area of
map shown at each level depends entirely on the size of the window you are using.
The current scale is shown in the bottom-left corner of the map. It shows measurements and a
marker length in both metric and imperial (U.S.) measurements. Because the two lengths are
not equal, the map marker may show differently sized markers for the 200-meter and 1,000-
foot distances.
