New Camera control in Gmap library v3.60

[mvl22]

From Google. This may or may not affect us; not sure.

Test the new Camera control on your maps before the default changes in version 3.60

We are changing the Google Maps JavaScript API controls to reduce the space  
they occupy on maps by default and to improve the accessibility of panning  
the map.

We're reaching out to you because we have observed one or more of the  
following criteria:


Your end-users use the Zoom buttons significantly more than the average.
One or more of your maps explicitly disables the Zoom control.
One or more of your maps have customized controls.

We have provided additional information below to guide you through this  
change.

What you need to know

Map controls are visual elements that allow user interaction with the map,  
including zooming the map, enabling Street View, and changing the Map Type.

Version 3.58 adds a new Camera control in the Google Maps JavaScript API to  
make panning the map accessible with a single gesture. This feature will be  
available in the upcoming week. This new Camera control will feature  
buttons for panning the map and for zooming the map in and out, effectively  
being a single control to guide the map's viewport.

The upcoming changes are listed in the table below.


Date Available in Channel Changes Implemented

In the upcoming week In the Beta channel The updated default map controls  
will replace the Zoom control with the Camera control.


In the upcoming week

In the weekly channel

Version 3.58 and version 3.59 will offer the Camera control without  
changing the default map controls.



In November 2024

In the quarterly channel



In February 2025

In the weekly channel

Version 3.60 will contain the updated changes to the default map controls.



In May 2025

In the quarterly channel



What you need to do

Before the default controls are updated

Test the new Camera control on your maps before the default changes in  
version 3.60 reach the weekly channel in February 2025 or the quarterly  
channel in May 2025.

To test the Camera control:


If you use default controls in your map options, specify the Beta channel  
to see how the default controls will change.
If you do not use the default controls, or prefer not to change to the Beta  
channel in your loader, enable the Camera control, and optionally disable  
the Zoom control, in google.maps.MapOptions .

After the default controls are updated

Consider taking one of the following actions after the default controls are  
updated to include the Camera control instead of the Zoom control in  
version 3.60 in February 2025 for the weekly channel and May 2025 for the  
quarterly channel.


If your code explicitly enables the Zoom control ( zoomControl: true ),  
both the Zoom control and the Camera control will be displayed. Consider  
choosing one to save on map space.
If your code explicitly disables the Zoom control ( zoomControl: false ),  
you may also want to disable the Camera control.
If your code explicitly enables the Zoom control ( zoomControl: true )  
while keeping the default controls disabled ( disableDefaultUI: true ),  
only the Zoom control will be displayed. For better accessibility, consider  
enabling the Camera control instead.

If more time is needed

If you need more time before adopting the default controls, you can specify  
version 3.59 which will be available until February 2026.

We're here to help

Refer to our Maps Javascript API documentation for information about how to  
edit google.maps.MapOptions to enable cameraControl .