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Getting started with Search

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The Maps SDK for Flutter provides flexible search functionality for finding locations using text queries and coordinates:

  • Text Search — perform searches using a text query and geographic coordinates to prioritize results within a specific area
  • Search Preferences — customize search behavior using options such as fuzzy results, distance limits, or result count
  • Category-Based Search — filter search results by predefined categories, such as gas stations or parking areas
  • Proximity Search — retrieve all nearby landmarks without specifying a text query

Text search​

Search by providing text and coordinates. The coordinates serve as a hint, prioritizing points of interest (POIs) within the indicated area.

const text = "Paris";
final coords = Coordinates(latitude: 45, longitude: 10);
final preferences = SearchPreferences(
  maxMatches: 40,
  allowFuzzyResults: true,
);

TaskHandler? taskHandler = SearchService.search(
  text,
  coords,
  preferences: preferences,
  (err, results) async {
    // If there is an error or there aren't any results, the method will return an empty list.
    if (err == GemError.success) {
      if (results.isEmpty) {
        showSnackbar("No results");
      } else {
        showSnackbar("Number of results: ${results.length}");
      }
    } else {
      showSnackbar("Error: $err");
    }
  },
);
info

The SearchService.search method returns null only when the geographic search fails to initialize. In such cases, calling SearchService.cancelSearch(taskHandler) is not possible. Error details are delivered through the onComplete function of the SearchService.search method.

The err provided by the callback function can have the following values:

ValueSignificance
GemError.successSuccessfully completed
GemError.cancelCancelled by the user
GemError.noMemorySearch engine couldn't allocate the necessary memory for the operation
GemError.operationTimeoutSearch was executed on the online service and the operation took too much time to complete (usually more than 1 min, depending on the server overload state)
GemError.networkTimeoutCan't establish the connection or the server didn't respond on time
GemError.networkFailedSearch was executed on the online service and the operation failed due to bad network connection

Specify preferences​

Before searching, specify SearchPreferences to customize search behavior:

FieldTypeDefault ValueExplanation
allowFuzzyResultsbooltrueAllows fuzzy search results, enabling approximate matches for queries.
estimateMissingHouseNumbersbooltrueEnables estimation of missing house numbers in address searches.
exactMatchboolfalseRestricts results to only those that exactly match the query.
maxMatchesint40Specifies the maximum number of search results to return.
searchAddressesbooltrueIncludes addresses in the search results. This option also includes roads.
searchMapPOIsbooltrueIncludes points of interest (POIs) on the map in the search results.
searchOnlyOnboardboolfalseLimits the search to onboard (offline) data only.
thresholdDistanceint2147483647Defines the maximum distance (in meters) for search results from the query location.
easyAccessOnlyResultsboolfalseRestricts results to locations that are easily accessible.

Search by category​

Filter search results based on categories.

Use the GenericCategories.getCategory static method to get a specific category by its identifier. The predefined category IDs are available in the GenericCategoriesId enum.

The following example performs a search, limiting the results to the "Food & Drink" and "Entertainment" categories.

final coords = Coordinates(latitude: 45, longitude: 10);
final preferences = SearchPreferences(
  maxMatches: 40,
  allowFuzzyResults: true,
  // Without the following line, other unrelated results that represent addresses may also be returned
  searchAddresses: false,
  // Without the following line, other unrelated results that represent POIs may also be returned
  searchMapPOIs: false,
);

final LandmarkCategory foodAndDrinkCategory = GenericCategories.getCategory(GenericCategoriesId.foodAndDrink.id)!;
final LandmarkCategory entertainmentCategory = GenericCategories.getCategory(GenericCategoriesId.entertainment.id)!;

final GemError error1 =
    preferences.landmarks.addStoreCategoryId(
  foodAndDrinkCategory.landmarkStoreId,
  foodAndDrinkCategory.id,
);
final GemError error2 =
    preferences.landmarks.addStoreCategoryId(
  entertainmentCategory.landmarkStoreId,
  entertainmentCategory.id,
);

TaskHandler? taskHandler = SearchService.searchAroundPosition(
  coords,
  preferences: preferences,
  (err, results) async {
    if (err == GemError.success) {
      if (results.isEmpty) {
        showSnackbar("No results");
      } else {
        showSnackbar("Number of results: ${results.length}");
      }
    } else {
      showSnackbar("Error: $err");
    }
  },
);
Tip

Set searchAddresses and searchMapPOIs to false to filter non-relevant results.

The complete list of predefined categories is available via the static GenericCategories.categories getter, which returns a List<LandmarkCategory> collection.

The addStoreCategoryId method returns a GemError value:

  • GemError.success — the category was added successfully
  • GemError.notFound — the specified category or landmark store does not exist

Use the modified SearchPreferences with custom categories in all search methods.

Search on custom landmarks​

By default, all search methods operate on the landmarks provided on the map. Enable search functionality for custom landmarks by creating a landmark store containing the desired landmarks and adding it to the search preferences.

// Create the landmarks to be added
Landmark landmark1 = Landmark()
  ..coordinates = Coordinates(latitude: 25, longitude: 30)
  ..name = "My Custom Landmark1";

Landmark landmark2 = Landmark()
  ..coordinates = Coordinates(latitude: 25.005, longitude: 30.005)
  ..name = "My Custom Landmark2";

// Create a store and add the landmarks
LandmarkStore store = LandmarkStoreService.createLandmarkStore('LandmarksToBeSearched');
store.addLandmark(landmark1);
store.addLandmark(landmark2);

// Add the store to the search preferences
SearchPreferences preferences = SearchPreferences();
preferences.landmarks.add(store);

// If no results from the map POIs should be returned then searchMapPOIs should be set to false
preferences.searchMapPOIs = false;

// If no results from the addresses should be returned then searchAddresses should be set to false
preferences.searchAddresses = false;

// Search for landmarks
SearchService.search(
  "My Custom Landmark",
  Coordinates(latitude: 25.003, longitude: 30.003),
  preferences: preferences,
  (err, results) {
    if (err == GemError.success) {
      if (results.isEmpty) {
        showSnackbar("No results");
      } else {
        showSnackbar("Number of results: ${results.length}");
      }
    } else {
      showSnackbar("Error: $err");
    }
  },
);
danger

The landmark store retains the landmarks added to it across sessions until the app is uninstalled. A previously created landmark store with the same name might already exist in persistent storage and may contain pre-existing landmarks. For more details, refer to the documentation on LandmarkStore.

Tip

Set searchAddresses and searchMapPOIs to false to filter non-relevant results.

Search on overlays​

Perform searches on overlays by specifying the overlay ID. Consult the Overlay documentation for more details about proper usage.

The example below demonstrates how to search within items from the safety overlay. Custom overlays can also be used if they are activated in the applied map style:

// Get the overlay id of safety
int overlayId = CommonOverlayId.safety.id;

// Add the overlay to the search preferences
SearchPreferences preferences = SearchPreferences();
preferences.overlays.add(overlayId);

// We can set searchMapPOIs and searchAddresses to false if no results from the map POIs and addresses should be returned
preferences.searchMapPOIs = false;
preferences.searchAddresses = false;

TaskHandler? taskHandler = SearchService.search(
  "Speed",
  Coordinates(latitude: 48.76930, longitude:  2.34483),
  preferences: preferences,
  (err, results) {
    if (err == GemError.success) {
      if (results.isEmpty) {
        showSnackbar("No results");
      } else {
        mapController.centerOnCoordinates(results.first.coordinates);
        showSnackbar("Number of results: ${results.length}");
      }
    } else {
      showSnackbar("Error: $err");
    }
  },
);

To convert the returned Landmark to an OverlayItem, use the overlayItem getter of the Landmark class. This method returns the associated OverlayItem if available; otherwise, it returns null.

Tip

Set searchAddresses and searchMapPOIs to false to filter non-relevant results.

danger

Overlay search requires a GemMap with a style that includes the overlay being searched. If the map is not initialized or the overlay is not part of the current map style, the preferences.overlays.add operation will fail with a GemError.notFound error, and the search will return GemError.invalidInput with no results. The default map style includes all common overlays.

Search for location​

Without specifying text, all landmarks in the closest proximity are returned, limited to maxMatches.

final coords = Coordinates(latitude: 45, longitude: 10);
final preferences = SearchPreferences(
  maxMatches: 40,
  allowFuzzyResults: true,
);

TaskHandler? taskHandler = SearchService.searchAroundPosition(
  coords,
  preferences: preferences,
  (err, results) async {
    // If there is an error or there aren't any results, the method will return an empty list.
    if (err == GemError.success) {
      if (results.isEmpty) {
        showSnackbar("No results");
      } else {
        showSnackbar("Number of results: ${results.length}");
      }
    } else {
      showSnackbar("Error: $err");
    }
  },
);

To limit the search to a specific area, provide a GeographicArea such as a RectangleGeographicArea instance to the optional locationHint parameter.

final coords = Coordinates(latitude: 41.68905, longitude: -72.64296);

final searchArea = RectangleGeographicArea(
    topLeft: Coordinates(latitude: 41.98846, longitude: -73.12412),
    bottomRight: Coordinates(latitude: 41.37716, longitude: -72.02342));

SearchService.search('N',
  coords,
  (err, result) {
    successfulSearchCompleter.complete((err, result));
  },
  preferences: SearchPreferences(maxMatches: 400),
  locationHint: searchArea,
);
danger

The reference coordinates used for search must be located within the GeographicArea provided to the locationHint parameter. Otherwise, the search will return an empty list.

Show results on the map​

In most use cases, the landmarks found by search are already present on the map. If the search was made on custom landmark stores, see the add map landmarks section for adding landmarks to the map.

To zoom to a landmark found via search, use GemMapController.centerOnCoordinates on the coordinates of the landmark found (Landmark.coordinates). See the documentation for map centering for more information.

Change the language of results​

The language of search results and category names is determined by the SdkSettings.language setting. See the internationalization guide for more details.

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