Map Compass

_{Last updated: February 24, 2026 | 2 minutes read}

UIKit

This example demonstrates how to use GEMKit in a UIKit application to customize the compass.

Check the full implementation on GitHub.

Map with Compass

Map Display and Compass customization

The following code outlines the main view, which displays the map, and implements the methods to customize the compass:

ViewController.swiftView on GitHub

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    var mapViewController: MapViewController?

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        // Do any additional setup after loading the view.

        if let navigationController = self.navigationController {

            let appearance = navigationController.navigationBar.standardAppearance

            navigationController.navigationBar.scrollEdgeAppearance = appearance
        }

        self.createMapView()

        self.mapViewController!.startRender()
        self.mapViewController!.showCompass()

        self.mapViewController!.setCompassFollowUserInterfaceStyle(true)
        
        self.setCompassTapHandler()
        self.changeCompassSize()
        self.changeCompassInsets()
        
        // Different approach to change compass layout
        //
        // self.changeCompassConstraints()
    }

    // MARK: - Map View

    func createMapView() {

        self.mapViewController = MapViewController.init()
        self.mapViewController!.view.backgroundColor = UIColor.systemBackground

        self.addChild(self.mapViewController!)
        self.view.addSubview(self.mapViewController!.view)
        self.mapViewController!.didMove(toParent: self)

        self.mapViewController?.view.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            self.mapViewController!.view.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.topAnchor),
            self.mapViewController!.view.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.bottomAnchor),
            self.mapViewController!.view.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.leadingAnchor),
            self.mapViewController!.view.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.trailingAnchor),
        ])
    }
    
    func setCompassTapHandler() {
        
        self.mapViewController!.setTapCompassCompletionHandler({ mode in 
            
            print("tap compass")
        })
    }
    
    func changeCompassSize() {
        
        self.mapViewController!.setCompassSize(60.0)
    }
    
    func changeCompassInsets() {
        
        self.mapViewController!.setCompassInsets(UIEdgeInsets(top: 40, left: 0, bottom: 0, right: 40))
    }
    
    // Change constraints directly after map loads
    func changeCompassConstraints() {
        
        let compassImageView = self.mapViewController!.getCompassImageView()
        
        NSLayoutConstraint.deactivate(self.mapViewController!.getCompassLayoutConstraints())
        
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            compassImageView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.topAnchor, constant: 50),
            compassImageView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.leadingAnchor, constant: 20)
        ])
    }
}

SwiftUI

This example demonstrates how to use GEMKit in a SwiftUI application to customize the compass.

Check the full implementation on GitHub.

Map with Compass

Map Display and Compass customization

The following code outlines the main view, which displays the map, and implements the methods and modifiers to customize the compass:

ContentView.swiftView on GitHub

struct ContentView: View {

    var body: some View {
        MapReader { proxy in
            MapBase()
                .mapCompass(true)
                .mapCompassSize(60)
                .mapCompassInsets(getInsets())
                .mapCompassFollowInterfaceStyle(true)
                .didTapCompass { mode in
                    print("tap compass")
                }
                .ignoresSafeArea()
        }
    }

    func getInsets() -> UIEdgeInsets {

        return UIEdgeInsets.init(top: 40, left: 0, bottom: 0, right: 40)
    }
}