Arrow Symbols (Polyline)

  • This example demonstrates how to add an arrow symbol to the end of a polyline on a map.

  • It utilizes the google.maps.SymbolPath.FORWARD_CLOSED_ARROW predefined path for the arrow symbol.

  • The symbol is positioned at the end of the polyline by setting the offset property to 100%.

  • The sample code is provided in both TypeScript and JavaScript, along with HTML and CSS for styling and map display.

  • Users can interact with a live version of the example via provided links to JSFiddle and Google Cloud Shell.

This example adds a predefined symbol (an arrow) to a polyline.

Read the documentation.

TypeScript

// This example adds a predefined symbol (an arrow) to a polyline.
// Setting offset to 100% places the arrow at the end of the line.

function initMap(): void {
  const map = new google.maps.Map(
    document.getElementById("map") as HTMLElement,
    {
      zoom: 6,
      center: { lat: 20.291, lng: 153.027 },
      mapTypeId: "terrain",
    }
  );

  // Define a symbol using a predefined path (an arrow)
  // supplied by the Google Maps JavaScript API.
  const lineSymbol = {
    path: google.maps.SymbolPath.FORWARD_CLOSED_ARROW,
  };

  // Create the polyline and add the symbol via the 'icons' property.
  const line = new google.maps.Polyline({
    path: [
      { lat: 22.291, lng: 153.027 },
      { lat: 18.291, lng: 153.027 },
    ],
    icons: [
      {
        icon: lineSymbol,
        offset: "100%",
      },
    ],
    map: map,
  });
}

declare global {
  interface Window {
    initMap: () => void;
  }
}
window.initMap = initMap;
index.ts

JavaScript

// This example adds a predefined symbol (an arrow) to a polyline.
// Setting offset to 100% places the arrow at the end of the line.
function initMap() {
  const map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
    zoom: 6,
    center: { lat: 20.291, lng: 153.027 },
    mapTypeId: "terrain",
  });
  // Define a symbol using a predefined path (an arrow)
  // supplied by the Google Maps JavaScript API.
  const lineSymbol = {
    path: google.maps.SymbolPath.FORWARD_CLOSED_ARROW,
  };
  // Create the polyline and add the symbol via the 'icons' property.
  const line = new google.maps.Polyline({
    path: [
      { lat: 22.291, lng: 153.027 },
      { lat: 18.291, lng: 153.027 },
    ],
    icons: [
      {
        icon: lineSymbol,
        offset: "100%",
      },
    ],
    map: map,
  });
}

window.initMap = initMap;
index.js

CSS

/* 
 * Always set the map height explicitly to define the size of the div element
 * that contains the map. 
 */
#map {
  height: 100%;
}

/* 
 * Optional: Makes the sample page fill the window. 
 */
html,
body {
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

style.css

HTML

<html>
  <head>
    <title>Arrow Symbols (Polyline)</title>

    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./style.css" />
    <script type="module" src="./index.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <!-- 
      The `defer` attribute causes the script to execute after the full HTML
      document has been parsed. For non-blocking uses, avoiding race conditions,
      and consistent behavior across browsers, consider loading using Promises. See
      https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/load-maps-js-api
      for more information.
      -->
    <script
      src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=AIzaSyB41DRUbKWJHPxaFjMAwdrzWzbVKartNGg&callback=initMap&v=weekly"
      defer
    ></script>
  </body>
</html>
index.html

Try Sample

Clone Sample

Git and Node.js are required to run this sample locally. Follow these instructions to install Node.js and NPM. The following commands clone, install dependencies and start the sample application. 

  git clone -b sample-overlay-symbol-arrow https://github.com/googlemaps/js-samples.git
  cd js-samples
  npm i
  npm start

Other samples can be tried by switching to any branch beginning with sample-SAMPLE_NAME. 

  git checkout sample-SAMPLE_NAME
  npm i
  npm start