Work with markers

European Economic Area (EEA) developers

Create markers for route waypoints by calling createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(). By default, createWaypointAdvancedMarkers() creates markers for the route labeled 'A', 'B', 'C', etc. for each waypoint. You can further customize the markers by passing in options to alter the marker style based on the marker index or properties of the corresponding RouteLeg.

See the complete example source code

The following code sample shows how to create custom markers for route waypoints.

TypeScript

let mapPolylines: google.maps.Polyline[] = [];
const mapElement = document.querySelector('gmp-map')!;
let innerMap: google.maps.Map;

// Initialize and add the map.
async function init() {
    //  Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ event }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('core'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('maps'),
    ]);

    innerMap = mapElement.innerMap;
    innerMap.setOptions({
        mapTypeControl: false,
        mapId: 'DEMO_MAP_ID',
    });

    // Call the function after the map is loaded.
    event.addListenerOnce(innerMap, 'idle', () => {
        void getDirections();
    });
}

async function getDirections() {
    // Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ Route }, { PinElement }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('routes'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('marker'),
    ]);

    // Define routes request with an intermediate stop.
    const request: google.maps.routes.ComputeRoutesRequest = {
        origin: 'Parking lot, Christmas Tree Point Rd, San Francisco, CA 94131',
        destination: '100 Spinnaker Dr, Sausalito, CA 94965', // We're having a yummy lunch!
        intermediates: [{ location: '300 Finley Rd San Francisco, CA 94129' }], // But first, we golf!
        travelMode: 'DRIVING',
        fields: ['path', 'legs', 'viewport'],
    };

    // Call computeRoutes to get the directions.
    const result = await Route.computeRoutes(request);
    if (!result.routes || result.routes.length === 0) {
        console.warn('No routes found');
        return;
    }

    // Alter style based on marker index.
    function markerOptionsMaker(
        defaultOptions: google.maps.marker.AdvancedMarkerElementOptions,
        waypointMarkerDetails: google.maps.routes.WaypointMarkerDetails
    ) {
        const { index, totalMarkers } = waypointMarkerDetails;

        // Style the origin waypoint.
        if (index === 0) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Origin',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'green',
                    borderColor: 'green',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style all intermediate waypoints.
        if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'blue',
                    borderColor: 'blue',
                    scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style the destination waypoint.
        if (index === totalMarkers - 1) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Destination',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'red',
                    borderColor: 'red',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        return { ...defaultOptions, map: innerMap };
    }

    await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(markerOptionsMaker);

    // Fit the map to the route.
    innerMap.fitBounds(result.routes[0].viewport!);
    innerMap.setHeading(270);

    // Create polylines and add them to the map.
    mapPolylines = result.routes[0].createPolylines();
    mapPolylines.forEach((polyline) => {
        polyline.setMap(innerMap);
    });
}

void init();

JavaScript

let mapPolylines = [];
const mapElement = document.querySelector('gmp-map');
let innerMap;

// Initialize and add the map.
async function init() {
    //  Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ event }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('core'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('maps'),
    ]);

    innerMap = mapElement.innerMap;
    innerMap.setOptions({
        mapTypeControl: false,
        mapId: 'DEMO_MAP_ID',
    });

    // Call the function after the map is loaded.
    event.addListenerOnce(innerMap, 'idle', () => {
        void getDirections();
    });
}

async function getDirections() {
    // Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ Route }, { PinElement }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('routes'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('marker'),
    ]);

    // Define routes request with an intermediate stop.
    const request = {
        origin: 'Parking lot, Christmas Tree Point Rd, San Francisco, CA 94131',
        destination: '100 Spinnaker Dr, Sausalito, CA 94965', // We're having a yummy lunch!
        intermediates: [{ location: '300 Finley Rd San Francisco, CA 94129' }], // But first, we golf!
        travelMode: 'DRIVING',
        fields: ['path', 'legs', 'viewport'],
    };

    // Call computeRoutes to get the directions.
    const result = await Route.computeRoutes(request);
    if (!result.routes || result.routes.length === 0) {
        console.warn('No routes found');
        return;
    }

    // Alter style based on marker index.
    function markerOptionsMaker(defaultOptions, waypointMarkerDetails) {
        const { index, totalMarkers } = waypointMarkerDetails;

        // Style the origin waypoint.
        if (index === 0) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Origin',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'green',
                    borderColor: 'green',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style all intermediate waypoints.
        if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'blue',
                    borderColor: 'blue',
                    scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style the destination waypoint.
        if (index === totalMarkers - 1) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Destination',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'red',
                    borderColor: 'red',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        return { ...defaultOptions, map: innerMap };
    }

    await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(markerOptionsMaker);

    // Fit the map to the route.
    innerMap.fitBounds(result.routes[0].viewport);
    innerMap.setHeading(270);

    // Create polylines and add them to the map.
    mapPolylines = result.routes[0].createPolylines();
    mapPolylines.forEach((polyline) => {
        polyline.setMap(innerMap);
    });
}

void init();

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;
}

HTML

<html>
    <head>
        <title>Get directions</title>

        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./style.css" />
        <script type="module" src="./index.js"></script>
        <script>
            // prettier-ignore
            (g=>{var h,a,k,p="The Google Maps JavaScript API",c="google",l="importLibrary",q="__ib__",m=document,b=window;b=b[c]||(b[c]={});var d=b.maps||(b.maps={}),r=new Set,e=new URLSearchParams,u=()=>h||(h=new Promise(async(f,n)=>{await (a=m.createElement("script"));e.set("libraries",[...r]+"");for(k in g)e.set(k.replace(/[A-Z]/g,t=>"_"+t[0].toLowerCase()),g[k]);e.set("callback",c+".maps."+q);a.src=`https://maps.${c}apis.com/maps/api/js?`+e;d[q]=f;a.onerror=()=>h=n(Error(p+" could not load."));a.nonce=m.querySelector("script[nonce]")?.nonce||"";m.head.append(a)}));d[l]?console.warn(p+" only loads once. Ignoring:",g):d[l]=(f,...n)=>r.add(f)&&u().then(()=>d[l](f,...n))})({
                key: "GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY"
            });
        </script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <gmp-map center="37.447646, -122.113878" zoom="12"></gmp-map>
    </body>
</html>

Add default markers

To add markers using the default style, call createWaypointAdvancedMarkers() passing a marker option to specify the current map, as shown in the following code snippet.

// Create markers using default style.
const markers = await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers({ map: innerMap });
  

Add markers with a custom style

To add markers using a custom style, call createWaypointAdvancedMarkers() passing marker options that include custom style properties. When you apply styles like this, all markers are styled the same way. The following code snippet shows how to create markers with a custom style.

// Create markers with a custom style.
const markerOptions = {
  map: innerMap,
  content: new PinElement({
    scale: 1.5,
    background: '#8C0DD1',
    borderColor: '#6D0AA5',
    glyphColor: '#6D0AA5',
  }).element
}

const markers = await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(markerOptions);
  

Apply a custom style to individual markers

To apply a custom style to individual markers, pass a function to createWaypointAdvancedMarkers() to set marker style options based on either marker index or RouteLeg properties. The following code snippet shows a function to create markers and style them based on marker index:

TypeScript

// Alter style based on marker index.
function markerOptionsMaker(
    defaultOptions: google.maps.marker.AdvancedMarkerElementOptions,
    waypointMarkerDetails: google.maps.routes.WaypointMarkerDetails
) {
    const { index, totalMarkers } = waypointMarkerDetails;

    // Style the origin waypoint.
    if (index === 0) {
        return {
            ...defaultOptions,
            title: 'Origin',
            map: innerMap,
            gmpClickable: true,
            content: new PinElement({
                glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                glyphColor: 'white',
                background: 'green',
                borderColor: 'green',
                scale: 1.5,
            }),
        };
    }

    // Style all intermediate waypoints.
    if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
        return {
            ...defaultOptions,
            title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
            map: innerMap,
            gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
            content: new PinElement({
                glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                glyphColor: 'white',
                background: 'blue',
                borderColor: 'blue',
                scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
            }),
        };
    }

    // Style the destination waypoint.
    if (index === totalMarkers - 1) {
        return {
            ...defaultOptions,
            title: 'Destination',
            map: innerMap,
            gmpClickable: true,
            content: new PinElement({
                glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                glyphColor: 'white',
                background: 'red',
                borderColor: 'red',
                scale: 1.5,
            }),
        };
    }

    return { ...defaultOptions, map: innerMap };
}

await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(markerOptionsMaker);

JavaScript

// Alter style based on marker index.
function markerOptionsMaker(defaultOptions, waypointMarkerDetails) {
    const { index, totalMarkers } = waypointMarkerDetails;

    // Style the origin waypoint.
    if (index === 0) {
        return {
            ...defaultOptions,
            title: 'Origin',
            map: innerMap,
            gmpClickable: true,
            content: new PinElement({
                glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                glyphColor: 'white',
                background: 'green',
                borderColor: 'green',
                scale: 1.5,
            }),
        };
    }

    // Style all intermediate waypoints.
    if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
        return {
            ...defaultOptions,
            title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
            map: innerMap,
            gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
            content: new PinElement({
                glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                glyphColor: 'white',
                background: 'blue',
                borderColor: 'blue',
                scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
            }),
        };
    }

    // Style the destination waypoint.
    if (index === totalMarkers - 1) {
        return {
            ...defaultOptions,
            title: 'Destination',
            map: innerMap,
            gmpClickable: true,
            content: new PinElement({
                glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                glyphColor: 'white',
                background: 'red',
                borderColor: 'red',
                scale: 1.5,
            }),
        };
    }

    return { ...defaultOptions, map: innerMap };
}

await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(markerOptionsMaker);

Make markers accessible

You can improve marker accessibility in the following ways:

  • Provide a title: Set the title property in the marker options to provide a label for the marker. This label is used by screen readers and assistive technologies.
  • Distinguish intermediate waypoints: When passing a style function to createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(), use the index and totalMarkers parameters from WaypointMarkerDetails to assign unique, descriptive titles and labels to intermediate waypoints (for example, Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}) so screen reader users can tell them apart from the origin and destination.
  • Enable keyboard navigation and click events: Set gmpClickable: true in the marker options to make interactive markers focusable with the keyboard (using the Tab and arrow keys) and able to respond to keyboard and mouse input.
  • Increase marker size: Set the scale property on PinElement (for example, scale: 1.5) to reduce the precision needed to interact with markers, especially on touchscreen devices. Default markers meet the WCAG AA minimum size standard, and increasing the scale helps meet the WCAG AAA target size standard.
  • Maintain color contrast: When customizing PinElement colors, choose glyphColor and background values with sufficient contrast so waypoint labels remain legible.

The following code snippet shows how to style a marker for accessibility. It has a title to provide a label for screen readers; the title uses the index to distinguish intermediate waypoints. The gmpClickable property is set to true to enable keyboard navigation and click events, and scale has been increased to make markers easier to interact with.

TypeScript

// Style all intermediate waypoints.
if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
    return {
        ...defaultOptions,
        title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
        map: innerMap,
        gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
        content: new PinElement({
            glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
            glyphColor: 'white',
            background: 'blue',
            borderColor: 'blue',
            scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
        }),
    };
}

JavaScript

// Style all intermediate waypoints.
if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
    return {
        ...defaultOptions,
        title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
        map: innerMap,
        gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
        content: new PinElement({
            glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
            glyphColor: 'white',
            background: 'blue',
            borderColor: 'blue',
            scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
        }),
    };
}

For more details, see Make markers clickable and accessible.

See the complete example

TypeScript

let mapPolylines: google.maps.Polyline[] = [];
const mapElement = document.querySelector('gmp-map')!;
let innerMap: google.maps.Map;

// Initialize and add the map.
async function init() {
    //  Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ event }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('core'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('maps'),
    ]);

    innerMap = mapElement.innerMap;
    innerMap.setOptions({
        mapTypeControl: false,
        mapId: 'DEMO_MAP_ID',
    });

    // Call the function after the map is loaded.
    event.addListenerOnce(innerMap, 'idle', () => {
        void getDirections();
    });
}

async function getDirections() {
    // Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ Route }, { PinElement }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('routes'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('marker'),
    ]);

    // Define routes request with an intermediate stop.
    const request: google.maps.routes.ComputeRoutesRequest = {
        origin: 'Parking lot, Christmas Tree Point Rd, San Francisco, CA 94131',
        destination: '100 Spinnaker Dr, Sausalito, CA 94965', // We're having a yummy lunch!
        intermediates: [{ location: '300 Finley Rd San Francisco, CA 94129' }], // But first, we golf!
        travelMode: 'DRIVING',
        fields: ['path', 'legs', 'viewport'],
    };

    // Call computeRoutes to get the directions.
    const result = await Route.computeRoutes(request);
    if (!result.routes || result.routes.length === 0) {
        console.warn('No routes found');
        return;
    }

    // Alter style based on marker index.
    function markerOptionsMaker(
        defaultOptions: google.maps.marker.AdvancedMarkerElementOptions,
        waypointMarkerDetails: google.maps.routes.WaypointMarkerDetails
    ) {
        const { index, totalMarkers } = waypointMarkerDetails;

        // Style the origin waypoint.
        if (index === 0) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Origin',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'green',
                    borderColor: 'green',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style all intermediate waypoints.
        if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'blue',
                    borderColor: 'blue',
                    scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style the destination waypoint.
        if (index === totalMarkers - 1) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Destination',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'red',
                    borderColor: 'red',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        return { ...defaultOptions, map: innerMap };
    }

    await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(markerOptionsMaker);

    // Fit the map to the route.
    innerMap.fitBounds(result.routes[0].viewport!);
    innerMap.setHeading(270);

    // Create polylines and add them to the map.
    mapPolylines = result.routes[0].createPolylines();
    mapPolylines.forEach((polyline) => {
        polyline.setMap(innerMap);
    });
}

void init();

JavaScript

let mapPolylines = [];
const mapElement = document.querySelector('gmp-map');
let innerMap;

// Initialize and add the map.
async function init() {
    //  Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ event }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('core'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('maps'),
    ]);

    innerMap = mapElement.innerMap;
    innerMap.setOptions({
        mapTypeControl: false,
        mapId: 'DEMO_MAP_ID',
    });

    // Call the function after the map is loaded.
    event.addListenerOnce(innerMap, 'idle', () => {
        void getDirections();
    });
}

async function getDirections() {
    // Request the needed libraries.
    const [{ Route }, { PinElement }] = await Promise.all([
        google.maps.importLibrary('routes'),
        google.maps.importLibrary('marker'),
    ]);

    // Define routes request with an intermediate stop.
    const request = {
        origin: 'Parking lot, Christmas Tree Point Rd, San Francisco, CA 94131',
        destination: '100 Spinnaker Dr, Sausalito, CA 94965', // We're having a yummy lunch!
        intermediates: [{ location: '300 Finley Rd San Francisco, CA 94129' }], // But first, we golf!
        travelMode: 'DRIVING',
        fields: ['path', 'legs', 'viewport'],
    };

    // Call computeRoutes to get the directions.
    const result = await Route.computeRoutes(request);
    if (!result.routes || result.routes.length === 0) {
        console.warn('No routes found');
        return;
    }

    // Alter style based on marker index.
    function markerOptionsMaker(defaultOptions, waypointMarkerDetails) {
        const { index, totalMarkers } = waypointMarkerDetails;

        // Style the origin waypoint.
        if (index === 0) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Origin',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'green',
                    borderColor: 'green',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style all intermediate waypoints.
        if (!(index === 0 || index === totalMarkers - 1)) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: `Waypoint ${(index + 1).toString()}`, // Provide label for screenreaders
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true, // Make marker focusable and allow keyboard navigation
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'blue',
                    borderColor: 'blue',
                    scale: 1.5, // Increase size for better visibilty
                }),
            };
        }

        // Style the destination waypoint.
        if (index === totalMarkers - 1) {
            return {
                ...defaultOptions,
                title: 'Destination',
                map: innerMap,
                gmpClickable: true,
                content: new PinElement({
                    glyphText: (index + 1).toString(),
                    glyphColor: 'white',
                    background: 'red',
                    borderColor: 'red',
                    scale: 1.5,
                }),
            };
        }

        return { ...defaultOptions, map: innerMap };
    }

    await result.routes[0].createWaypointAdvancedMarkers(markerOptionsMaker);

    // Fit the map to the route.
    innerMap.fitBounds(result.routes[0].viewport);
    innerMap.setHeading(270);

    // Create polylines and add them to the map.
    mapPolylines = result.routes[0].createPolylines();
    mapPolylines.forEach((polyline) => {
        polyline.setMap(innerMap);
    });
}

void init();

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;
}

HTML

<html>
    <head>
        <title>Get directions</title>

        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./style.css" />
        <script type="module" src="./index.js"></script>
        <script>
            // prettier-ignore
            (g=>{var h,a,k,p="The Google Maps JavaScript API",c="google",l="importLibrary",q="__ib__",m=document,b=window;b=b[c]||(b[c]={});var d=b.maps||(b.maps={}),r=new Set,e=new URLSearchParams,u=()=>h||(h=new Promise(async(f,n)=>{await (a=m.createElement("script"));e.set("libraries",[...r]+"");for(k in g)e.set(k.replace(/[A-Z]/g,t=>"_"+t[0].toLowerCase()),g[k]);e.set("callback",c+".maps."+q);a.src=`https://maps.${c}apis.com/maps/api/js?`+e;d[q]=f;a.onerror=()=>h=n(Error(p+" could not load."));a.nonce=m.querySelector("script[nonce]")?.nonce||"";m.head.append(a)}));d[l]?console.warn(p+" only loads once. Ignoring:",g):d[l]=(f,...n)=>r.add(f)&&u().then(()=>d[l](f,...n))})({
                key: "GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY"
            });
        </script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <gmp-map center="37.447646, -122.113878" zoom="12"></gmp-map>
    </body>
</html>