Update a map style to the latest version

While earlier styles may continue to work for a while, it is a best practice to update them as soon as possible.

When you update your map style to new styling, you should review it in the style editor before publishing to make sure the style updates have not resulted in any unwanted effects in your custom style.

To identify styles that need to be updated, look for "Update available" on the map style.

For information on what has changed in the new styling, see Map feature changes.

Preview the new basemap style

Cloud-based maps styling now includes a preview of style updates, including the latest basemap style. This latest basemap features a new color palette that matches Google's current basemap and improvements to map experiences and usability.

To preview the refreshed basemap with an existing map style, update a map style as described in Update a map style.

Differences from the legacy release

The latest release doesn't support the following features:

• Create new styles from uploaded JSON styles. For a workaround, see Import JSON styles.

• Google style templates. All new styles now start from the basemap style.

Update a map style

When you update a map style, the new map style overwrites the old style and saves it as an unpublished draft. The only exception is if you update a legacy style, where the new map style is a duplicate of the legacy style with the new basemap styling applied.

1. Open a map style that has an update available.

2. At the top, under Style update available, select Preview to open the basemap preview.

3. For non-legacy map styles, select Update to update your map style. Updating does the following:

   • Creates a new draft version of your map style.
   • Updates your earlier map styles with the new map styles.

   

   For legacy map styles, select Duplicate. Duplicating a legacy map style does the following:

   • Duplicates your legacy map style into a new map style.

   • Leaves the map ID associated with the old legacy style.

     You will need to manually associate the new duplicated style with the previous map ID and datasets.

   

4. When the update is complete, open the updated draft version of map style, and review that it works as expected. For more information, see Review an updated map style.

5. When you are satisfied that the updated style is correct, publish it in the style editor.

Review an updated map style

To review your updated map style, do the following.

1. In the style editor, open the updated draft version of your map style.

   Map features that have custom styles are marked with a solid blue dot. Expand all map features to find all of the changes.

   

2. Check all map features with custom styles in the following areas:

   • Map features: Check that the earlier map features have been moved to the appropriate new map features.

   • Map styling: Check that colors, visibility, and other styling features are rendering as expected on the preview map.

   • Take advantage of the new map features: Look to see if there is a new map feature that is more accurate or detailed that works for your needs.

3. Make any needed adjustments to the updated map style, and test the adjustments.

4. When you are satisfied with the updated map style, you can publish it in the style editor.

Import a JSON map style

Importing a JSON map style is not supported in the latest cloud styling. For some users who are opted out of the new cloud styling and still have legacy styles, a workaround is to import the JSON style into the legacy style editor, and then update it.

1. In the style editor, select Create style, and then select Opt Out to open the legacy style editor.

2. Follow the instructions in Import JSON styling to create a legacy map style.

3. Update the imported JSON map style. For details, see Update a map style.