Google Maps Place Picker - MB edition

This README is only slightly changed from its original repo which this repository was forked from. Due to little maintenance by the original author, I want to provide this fork that is not just more maintained, I also add more functionality to it and pick any significant changes and PRs on the original repository, as well.

To install:

flutter pub add google_maps_place_picker_mb

~ martin-braun


A Flutter plugin which provides 'Picking Place' using Google Maps widget.

The project relies on below packages.

Map using Flutter's official google_maps_flutter
Fetching current location using Baseflow's geolocator
Place and Geocoding API using hadrienlejard's google_maps_webservice
Builder using kevmoo's tuple

Preview

Note: This preview shows a new feature added by me: The ability to restrict the picked selection to the circle area. This can be disabled, obviously.

~ martin-braun

Support

If the package was useful or saved your time, please do not hesitate to buy me the original author a cup of coffee! ;)
The more caffeine I get he gets, the more useful projects I he can make in the future.

Buy Me A Coffee

Getting Started

  • Get an API key at cloud.google.com/maps-platform/.

  • Enable Google Map SDK for each platform.

    • Go to Google Developers Console.
    • Choose the project that you want to enable Google Maps on.
    • Select the navigation menu and then select "Google Maps".
    • Select "APIs" under the Google Maps menu.
    • To enable Google Maps for Android, select "Maps SDK for Android" in the "Additional APIs" section, then select "ENABLE".
    • To enable Google Maps for iOS, select "Maps SDK for iOS" in the "Additional APIs" section, then select "ENABLE".
    • Also enable "Geocoding API", "Geolocation API" and "Places API"
    • Make sure the APIs you enabled are under the "Enabled APIs" section.
    • Generate the API key for all APIs
  • You can also find detailed steps to get started with Google Maps Platform here.

Android

Specify your API key in the application manifest android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<manifest ...
  <application ...
    <meta-data android:name="com.google.android.geo.API_KEY"
               android:value="YOUR ANDROID KEY HERE"/>

NOTE: As of version 3.0.0 the geolocator plugin switched to the AndroidX version of the Android Support Libraries. This means you need to make sure your Android project is also upgraded to support AndroidX. Detailed instructions can be found here.

The TL;DR version is:

  1. Add the following to your "gradle.properties" file:
android.useAndroidX=true
android.enableJetifier=true
  1. Make sure you set the compileSdkVersion in your "android/app/build.gradle" file to 28:
android {
 compileSdkVersion 28

 ...
}
  1. Make sure you replace all the android. dependencies to their AndroidX counterparts (a full list can be found here: https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/migrate).

iOS

Specify your API key in the application delegate ios/Runner/AppDelegate.m:

#include "AppDelegate.h"
#include "GeneratedPluginRegistrant.h"
#import "GoogleMaps/GoogleMaps.h"

@implementation AppDelegate

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application
    didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions {
  [GMSServices provideAPIKey:@"YOUR IOS KEY HERE"];
  [GeneratedPluginRegistrant registerWithRegistry:self];
  return [super application:application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:launchOptions];
}
@end

Or in your swift code, specify your API key in the application delegate ios/Runner/AppDelegate.swift:

import UIKit
import Flutter
import GoogleMaps

@UIApplicationMain
@objc class AppDelegate: FlutterAppDelegate {
  override func application(
    _ application: UIApplication,
    didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    GMSServices.provideAPIKey("YOUR IOS KEY HERE")
    GeneratedPluginRegistrant.register(with: self)
    return super.application(application, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: launchOptions)
  }
}

On iOS you'll need to add the following entries to your Info.plist file (located under ios/Runner) in order to access the device's location.

Simply open your Info.plist file and add the following:

<key>NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs access to location when open.</string>
<key>NSLocationAlwaysUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs access to location when in the background.</string>
<key>NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs access to location when open and in the background.</string>

In addition, you can add the Background Modes capability to your XCode project (Project > Targets > Runner > Signing and Capabilties > "+" Button > "Background Modes") and check Location Updates after adding it.

Opt-in to the embedded views preview by adding a boolean property to the app's Info.plist file with the key io.flutter.embedded_views_preview and the value YES.

<key>io.flutter.embedded_views_preview</key>
<true/>

If you want to run your app on the Simulator, please make sure to set a location on the Simulator's menu:

Usage

Basic usage

First of all, it is recommend to enable Hybrid Composition on Android to avoid flickering issues when the map gets redrawn:

void main() {
  if(Platform.isAndroid) {
    AndroidGoogleMapsFlutter.useAndroidViewSurface = true;
  }
  return runApp(MyApp());
}

You can now use PlacePicker by pushing to a new page using Navigator, OR put as a child of any widget.
When the user picks a place on the map, it will return result to 'onPlacePicked' with PickResult type. Alternatively, you can build your own way with 'selectedPlaceWidgetBuilder' and fetch result from it (See the instruction below).

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:google_maps_place_picker_mb/google_maps_place_picker.dart';
import 'package:google_maps_flutter/google_maps_flutter.dart';
import 'dart:io' show Platform;

// ...

Navigator.push(
      context,
      MaterialPageRoute(
        builder: (context) => PlacePicker(
          apiKey: Platform.isAndroid
              ? "YOUR ANDROID API KEY"
              : "YOUR IOS API KEY"
          onPlacePicked: (result) { 
            print(result.address); 
            Navigator.of(context).pop();
          },
          initialPosition: HomePage.kInitialPosition,
          useCurrentLocation: true,
          resizeToAvoidBottomInset: false, // only works in page mode, less flickery, remove if wrong offsets
        ),
      ),
    );

PickResult

Parameter Type Description
placeId String A textual identifier that uniquely identifies a place. To retrieve information about the place, pass this identifier in the placeId field of a Places API request. See PlaceId for more information.
geometry Geometry Contains geometry information about the result, generally including the location (geocode) of the place and (optionally) the viewport identifying its general area of coverage.
formattedAddress String A string containing the human-readable address of this place. Often this address is equivalent to the "postal address".
types List<String> Contains an array of feature types describing the given result. See the list of supported types. XML responses include multiple
addressComponents List<AddressComponent> An array containing the separate components applicable to this address.

** Below results will be fetched only when using auto-complete search or usePlaceDetailSearch is set to true when searching by dragging the map.

PickResult (Optional)

Parameter Type Description
adrAddress String A representation of the place's address in the adr microformat
formattedPhoneNumber String Contains the place's phone number in its local format
id String ? (Not documented at Google - see more info below)
reference String ? (Not documented at Google - see more info below)
icon String The URL of a suggested icon which may be displayed to the user when indicating this result on a map.
name String Human-readable name for the returned result
openingHours OpeningHoursDetail Opening hour information
photos List<Photo> Array of photo objects, each containing a reference to an image
internationalPhoneNumber String The place's phone number in international format
priceLevel PriceLevel The price level of the place, on a scale of 0 to 4. The exact amount indicated by a specific value will vary from region to region.
rating num The place's rating, from 1.0 to 5.0, based on aggregated user reviews.
scope String
url String The URL of the official Google page for this place.
vicinity String Lists a simplified address for the place, including the street name, street number, and locality, but not the province/state, postal code, or country
utcOffset num The number of minutes this place’s current timezone is offset from UTC
website String The authoritative website for this place
reviews List<Review> JSON array of up to five reviews

More info about results at Google document.

PlacePicker

Parameter Type Description
apiKey String (Required) Your google map API Key
onPlacePicked Callback(PickResult) Invoked when user picks the place and selects to use it. This will not be called if you manually build 'selectedPlaceWidgetBuilder' as you will override default 'Select here' button.
initialPosition LatLng (Required) Initial center position of google map when it is created. If useCurrentLocation is set to true, it will try to get device's current location first using GeoLocator.
useCurrentLocation bool Whether to use device's current location for initial center position. This will be used instead of initial position when it is set to true AND user ALLOW to collect their location. If DENIED, initialPosition will be used.
desiredLocationAccuracy LocationAccuracy Accuracy of fetching current location. Defaults to 'high'.
hintText String? Hint text of search bar. Defaults to 'Search here'
searchingText String? A text which appears when searching is performing. Default to 'Searching...'
selectText* String? Text to show in the button that allows to pick the focused address. Defaults to show only an icon.
outsideOfPickAreaText* String? Text to show in the disabled button when the focused address is outside of the pick area. Defaults to show only an icon.
proxyBaseUrl String Used for API calling on google maps. In case of using a proxy the baseUrl can be set. The apiKey is not required in case the proxy sets it.
httpClient Client Used for API calling on google maps. In case of using a proxy url that requires authentication or custom configuration.
autoCompleteDebounceInMilliseconds int Debounce timer for auto complete input. Default to 500
cameraMoveDebounceInMilliseconds int Debounce timer for searching place with camera(map) dragging. Defaults to 750
intialMapType MapType MapTypes of google map. Defaults to normal.
enableMapTypeButton bool Whether to display MapType change button on the map
enableMyLocationButton bool Whether to display my location button on the map
usePinPointingSearch bool Defaults to true. This will allow user to drag map and get a place info where the pin is pointing.
usePlaceDetailSearch bool Defaults to false. Setting this to true will get detailed result from searching by dragging the map, but will use +1 request on Place Detail API.
onAutoCompleteFailed Callback(String) Invoked when auto complete search is failed
onGeocodingSearchFailed Callback(String) Invoked when searching place by dragging the map failed
onMapCreated MapCreatedCallback Returns google map controller when created
selectedPlaceWidgetBuilder WidgetBuilder Specified on below section
pinBuilder WidgetBuilder Specified on below section
introPanelWidgetBuilder WidgetBuilder Specified on below section
autocompleteOffset num The position, in the input term, of the last character that the service uses to match predictions
autocompleteRadius num The distance (in meters) within which to return place results. When set, autocomplete's results will be ordered by best results in the radius and by closest outside of the radius. Set to 1 to order all results by proximity.
autocompleteLanguage String The language code, indicating in which language the results should be returned, if possible.
autocompleteComponents List<Components> A grouping of places to which you would like to restrict your results. Currently, you can use components to filter by up to 5 countries.
autocompleteTypes List<String> The types of place results to return. See Place Types.
strictbounds bool Returns only those places that are strictly within the region defined by location and radius.
region String region — The region code, specified as a ccTLD (country code top-level domain) two-character value. Most ccTLD codes are identical to ISO 3166-1 codes, with some exceptions. This parameter will only influence, not fully restrict, search results. If more relevant results exist outside of the specified region, they may be included. When this parameter is used, the country name is omitted from the resulting formatted_address for results in the specified region.
pickArea* CircleArea Circle that defines the area in which the address can be picked. Can be colored how it's preferred.
selectInitialPosition bool Whether to display selected place on initial map load. Defaults to false.
resizeToAvoidBottomInset bool Resize map when keyboard is shown and can only be disabled when using a full screen map. Defaults to true.
initialSearchString String Sets initial search string for auto complete search
searchForInitialValue bool Wether to automatically search for initial value on start
myLocationButtonCooldown int Cooldown time in seconds for the 'myLocationButton'. Defaults to 10 seconds.
forceSearchOnZoomChanged bool Wether to allow place search even when the zoom has changed. Defaults to false.
automaticallyImplyAppBarLeading bool By default, there is a back button on the top. Setting false will remove the back button.
autocompleteOnTrailingWhitespace bool Whether to allow autocomplete to run even on whitespace at the end of the search. Defaults to false.
hidePlaceDetailsWhenDraggingPin bool Whether to hide place details when dragging pin. Defaults to true.
ignoreLocationPermissionErrors* bool Whether to ignore location permission errors. Defaults to false.
onTapBack* Function(PlaceProvider)? Called when leaving the Google Picker by pressing the back button.
zoomGesturesEnabled* bool Disable pinch zoom gestures, this does not control the appearance of the zoom in/out buttons.
zoomControlsEnabled* bool Show the zoom in/out buttons on the bottom right of the screen, this does not control the pinch zoom gestures.
onCameraMoveStarted* Function(PlaceProvider)? Called when the camera starts moving. (GoogleMap widget)
onCameraMove* CameraPositionCallback? Called repeatedly as the camera continues to move after an onCameraMoveStarted call. (GoogleMap widget)
onCameraIdle* Function(PlaceProvider)? Called when camera movement has ended, there are no pending animations and the user has stopped interacting with the map. (GoogleMap widget)
onMapTypeChanged* Callback(MapType) Invoked when user changes map type.

* MB edition exclusive, as of now

~ martin-braun

More info about autocomplete search at Google document.

Customizing picked place visualization

By default, when a user picks a place by using auto complete search or dragging the map, we display the information at the bottom of the screen (FloatingCard).

However, if you don't like this UI/UX, simply override the builder using 'selectedPlaceWidgetBuilder'. FloatingCard widget can be reused which is floating around the screen or build an entirely new widget as you want. It is stacked with the map, so you might want to use the Positioned widget.

Note that using this customization WILL NOT INVOKE onPlacePicked callback as it will override default 'Select here' button on floating card

...
PlacePicker(apiKey: APIKeys.apiKey,
            ...
            selectedPlaceWidgetBuilder: (_, selectedPlace, state, isSearchBarFocused) {
              return isSearchBarFocused
                  ? Container()
                  // Use FloatingCard or just create your own Widget.
                  : FloatingCard(
                      bottomPosition: 0.0,    // MediaQuery.of(context) will cause rebuild. See MediaQuery document for the information.
                      leftPosition: 0.0,
                      rightPosition: 0.0,
                      width: 500,
                      borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(12.0),
                      child: state == SearchingState.Searching ? 
                                      Center(child: CircularProgressIndicator()) : 
                                      RaisedButton(onPressed: () { print("do something with [selectedPlace] data"); },),
                   );
            },
            ...
          ),
...
Parameters Type Description
context BuildContext Flutter's build context value
selectedPlace PickResult Result data of user selected place
state SearchingState State of searching action. (Idle, Searching)
isSearchBarFocused bool Whether the search bar is currently focused so the keyboard is shown

Customizing Pin

By default, Pin icon is provided with very simple picking animation when moving around.
However, you can also create your own pin widget using 'pinBuilder'

PlacePicker(apiKey: APIKeys.apiKey,
            ...
            pinBuilder: (context, state) {
                  if (state == PinState.Idle) {
                    return Icon(Icons.favorite_border);
                  } else {
                    return AnimatedIcon(.....);
                  }
                },
            ...                        
          ),
...
Parameters Type Description
context BuildContext Flutter's build context value
state PinState State of pin. (Preparing; When map loading, Idle, Dragging)

Add customized introduction modal

By default the map will show up, immediately. You might want to show a nice customized overlay modal with instructions, especially, when the map is turned on after first start of your app. In that case this custom widget builder makes sense, because you will obtain the most freedom in terms of branding to avoid people thinking they opened Google Maps.

PlacePicker(apiKey: APIKeys.apiKey,
            ...
            introModalWidgetBuilder: (context,  close) {
              return Positioned(
                top: MediaQuery.of(context).size.height * 0.35,
                right: MediaQuery.of(context).size.width * 0.15,
                left: MediaQuery.of(context).size.width * 0.15,
                child: Container(
                  width: MediaQuery.of(context).size.width * 0.7,
                  child: Material(
                    type: MaterialType.canvas,
                    color: Theme.of(context).cardColor,
                    shape: RoundedRectangleBorder(
                        borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(12.0), 
                    ),
                    elevation: 4.0,
                    child: ClipRRect(
                      borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(12.0),
                      child: Container(
                        padding: EdgeInsets.all(8.0),
                        child: Column(
                          children: [
                            SizedBox.fromSize(size: new Size(0, 10)),
                            Text("Please select your preferred address.",
                              style: TextStyle(
                                fontWeight: FontWeight.bold,
                              )
                            ),
                            SizedBox.fromSize(size: new Size(0, 10)),
                            SizedBox.fromSize(
                              size: Size(MediaQuery.of(context).size.width * 0.6, 56), // button width and height
                              child: ClipRRect(
                                borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(10.0),
                                child: Material(
                                  child: InkWell(
                                    overlayColor: MaterialStateColor.resolveWith(
                                      (states) => Colors.blueAccent
                                    ),
                                    onTap: close,
                                    child: Row(
                                      mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
                                      children: [
                                        Icon(Icons.check_sharp, color: Colors.blueAccent),
                                        SizedBox.fromSize(size: new Size(10, 0)),
                                        Text("OK",
                                          style: TextStyle(
                                            color: Colors.blueAccent
                                          )
                                        )
                                      ],
                                    ) 
                                  ),
                                ),
                              ),
                            )
                          ]
                        )
                      ),
                    ),
                  ),
                )
              );
            },
            ...                        
          ),
...
Parameters Type Description
context BuildContext Flutter's build context value
close Function Function to be called to close the modal, thus removing the widget and its overlay from the tree.

Changing Colours of default FloatingCard

While you can build your own prediction tile, you still can change the style of default tile using themeData as below:

// Light Theme
final ThemeData lightTheme = ThemeData.light().copyWith(
  // Background color of the FloatingCard
  cardColor: Colors.white,
);

// Dark Theme
final ThemeData darkTheme = ThemeData.dark().copyWith(
  // Background color of the FloatingCard
  cardColor: Colors.grey,
);

Feature Requests and Issues

Please file feature requests at the original issue tracker and bugs at the MB edition issue tracker. I fetch any significant feature requests from the original repository, but bugs could be specific to this MB edition, so I want to take care by myself on them.

~ martin-braun