Try the demo

By integrating the Navigation SDK for Android, your app can go beyond linking to an external map view. With Google Maps navigation, your app can offer dynamic retrieval and single-look reporting of data about a user's journey. This guide explains how to run the Navigation SDK demo apps, which are available on GitHub.

Get ready

To get started with the Navigation SDK, be sure to have the following items.

  • An API key provisioned for use with Navigation SDK. See Using API Keys for more information about creating and restricting keys.
  • The SDK artifact. Ensure that your project is configured to use Maven for the Navigation SDK.
  • One or more of the demo apps.
  • Android Studio, the recommended development environment for building an app with the Navigation SDK.

This documentation is designed for people familiar with Android development and object-oriented programming concepts. You should also be familiar with Google Maps from a user's point of view.

Get the demo apps

Google provides two apps to help you understand what the Navigation SDK offers on top of the Google Maps APIs, depending on your level of experience. Developers familiar with the Google Maps APIs can focus their attention on the GoogleNavigation demo. Developers new to both projects will find both apps helpful.

As of Navigation SDK for Android v4.1, the following demo apps are both available on GitHub to download.

  • GoogleNavigation demo: Showcases the integration of API behaviors and views as they pertain to the user's experience while in a guided-navigation session.

  • GoogleMap demo: showcases individual behaviors of the GoogleMap interface to customize the feel and presentation of maps.

The GoogleNavigation demo

The latest GoogleNavigation demo is available on GitHub.

Building

  1. In Android Studio, import the demo app and allow Gradle to run.

  2. Open local.defaults.properties and update the value of the MAPS_API_KEY property:

      MAPS_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY

  3. Click build and examine the SDK implementation details.

    • In the Java class, note the implementation code.

    • In the layout XML, note the layout design and text.

    • In the build.gradle file, note the SDK in the dependencies.

See the Secrets Gradle plugin documentation for more information on how the API key is added to the manifest.

Running

  1. Connect an Android device to your computer or use an emulator.

    • Android device—Refer to the instructions to enable developer options on your Android device and configure your system to detect the device.
    • Emulator—Use the Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager to configure a virtual device. When choosing an emulator, make sure you pick an image that includes the Google APIs.

  2. In Android Studio, click the Run menu option (or the play button icon); and then choose a deployment target.

When built and launched, the app presents the user with a landing page of a list of options.

New adopters of the NavSDK will likely find these two options to be the most useful.

Option 1: NavViewActivity showcases behaviors using the NavigationView in conjunction with the Navigator.

Option 2: The second option, titled NavFragmentActivity, showcases behaviors using the SupportNavigationFragment alongside the Navigator.

When you click one of these options, you'll be presented with the following:

  • the navigation UI
  • a "Set Destination" button in the app's menu
  • an overlay that you can interact with to dynamically invoke methods on the API
  • an overflow menu with more options

To get started, click Set Destination and pick an address. The app then simulates a trip from your current location to that address. Use the control panels overlay to see what happens when you call an API. For instance, you can click View Methods to try forcing the SDK into night-mode to see what it looks like.

SwappingMapAndNavActivity option

The SwappingMapAndNavActivity showcases the following common patterns:

The GoogleMap demo

The latest GoogleNavigation demo is available on GitHub.

Building

  1. In Android Studio, import the demo app and allow Gradle to run.

  2. Open local.defaults.properties and update the value of the MAPS_API_KEY property:

      MAPS_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY

  3. Click build and examine the SDK implementation details.

    • In the Java class, note the implementation code.

    • In the layout XML, note the layout design and text.

    • In the build.gradle file, note the SDK in the dependencies.

See secrets gradle plugin for more information on how the API key is added to the Manifest.

Running

  1. Connect an Android device to your computer or use an emulator.

    • Android device Refer to the instructions to enable developer options on your Android device and configure your system to detect the device.
    • Emulator Use the Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager to configure a virtual device. When choosing an emulator, make sure you pick an image that includes the Google APIs.

  2. In Android Studio, click the Run menu option (or the play button icon); and then choose a deployment target.

When built and launched, the app presents the user with a landing page of a list of demos.

This presentation pattern and the corresponding structure of the source code should be familiar to users of the Google Maps SDK demos. This is because the GoogleMap demo is designed to be similar to the Maps API demo app. The primary difference is that the Navigation SDK demo lets the user choose which view class they'd like to test-run a demo on: NavigationView or MapView, where applicable.

Google generally encourages adopters to use the NavigationView. This demo provides the flexibility to try these behaviors on both versions in our demo app and choose whichever works for you. For example, it may still be necessary to use a MapView in situations where you are using a third-party library that expects to interact with that class.