"New - Improved" Google Maps?

I've gotten pretty good with and like the routing capabilities of Google Maps. Great for preliminary routing then moving to BC for refined
GPX generation, but now they are pushing a new improved version. I don't find it as serviceable as the classic version.

Any other comments?

My question about Google Maps is if I come up with a route and it shows all the turn by turn information correctly and lists the distance at every turn, but then resets back to zero to the next turn and so on until you reach your destination. Is there way to make it add up the distance like it was a route sheet so your not dealing with a reset every .6 miles or whatever. I'm not talking about the total distance, that feature works great. Say Right turn 1.9 and then left turn 4.5 and right turn 8.9 ect and so on. Is that available on Google Maps??

Hit the print button at the top of the Google Maps screen and the preview that opens up lists the total distance at every turn in addition to the leg distance.

So far, my opinion is, it sucks. Fewer features, and more Google+ integration. For whatever reason, it is much slower on my older laptop.

I have a LOT of routes and waypoints on Google Maps, that I have been tweaking and saving off to KML files the last two days to store my data elsewhere where I control it, not them.

I don't trust any of them.

Thank you MR that worked great, but how can I make the total mileage become the darker more bold text instead of it being kind of greyed out but still legible???

I agree. I tried the 'new' Gmaps, switched back the next day.

same here.

How did you switch it back to the previous version?

I agree with you guys. The new version is more draining on the system, and more geared to steering you towards patronizing their advertisers.

The map-caching for off-line usage is now more time consuming for the user, and the cache seemed to be erased from my device in a matter of only a couple of weeks. I was relying on cached data yesterday while driving in a remote area with no signal, and the map wouldn't work. Thanks for the warning...

-joe

On the bottom right of the screen, select the "?" and it will bring up text including "Return to Classic Google Maps":

Thank you, Wansfel!

does it go back to the new version every time you open it back up?
i have a gmail acct and thus logged in at google, so i get the option to keep the classic map every time i need access. is that the case if you are not logged in to google ie no gmail acct?

the "improved" GM reminds me of the "improved" Mapsource ie Basecamp.
it's harder to work with???

A little popup comes up to ask if you want it to remember your choice of the classic version. But not always.

Is it so, that with the new GM, you must first log in with a gmail account and then you can get a link to give to someone else.


In the old version if you click on the chainlink symbol you could copy the link url and place it everywhere,in forum and so. This was only IE and FF chrome had a not copy protection.

So everthing must go over a gmail account, and this i do not like.

For years i have a youtube channnel with my own nickname, G bought it, and now I can not use my nickname password anymore, they want (force) to put it all under one gmail account.

And everytime they push it up, irritating, forcing..........and onces I said i like the GM old version, so they now still........................................

The new GM is a large bag of suck. When reverting back to the old version of GM, there is a questionnaire asking why you are switch back. They are missing the radio button for "Sucks big time". I don't understand how they can take a version that is so easy to use for a newbie as well as a seasoned user, and turn it into some that doesn't work for either end of the spectrum. I've got a fairly decent laptp with an i7 processor, Nvidia video with 2GB of memory, and 8GB of system memory, and the new version still runs like crap. Stop trying to integrate every product into Google+. No one wants Google+. Stick to what you do well and admit defeat, Google.

Rant off...

I gave up on it. Downloaded Tyre from tyre.tk which is free. Designed for motorcyclists. Haven't looked back.

Right on there! In addition I think many products such as Google maps, garmin X series... whatever, tend to follow a certain demographic and by and large as time goes on the same demographic:

- gets less adventurous
- mellows over time - i.e. is more gentle with their stuff/less accident prone
- has more disposable income
- develops brand loyalty and takes awhile to notice newly introduced cut corners.

Consequently features for the more "adventurous" says as topo lines are either taken away or harder to access where finding Starbucks is easier.
And products such as Garmins will use cheaper parts and manufacturing, will get less and less durable - somel will notice and some wont.

You can switch back to the old GMaps! (for now)

Just click the question mark on the bottom right, click return to classic google maps, check whatever reasons you find applicable (they don't have a general "the new one is useless") and then there should be a pop-up box at the top to let you set that as the default.

+1

It was great to create a route in GM, then convert to KML and then to GPX.

But I just tried to do that (routing from Meeker Co to Steamboat Springs) and couldn't figure out how to save the route as a KML. Did some buttons disappear?

The KML button is still there for routes I previously created and saved to My Maps, but not for ones I did today. The route appears in the My Places - Maps list, but when I click on it, it comes up in Google Classic Maps with a message "This feature is not supported in the new Google Maps, so we've temporarily switched you to classic Google Maps."

I suppose I can't be too PO'd when it's free. But I am.

A couple of thoughts. Use GPSVISUALIZER.COM to convert to GPX output. You can copy the URL link and paste it to Visualizer for a GPX output.

Another new service is FURKOT.COM It will save directly to a detailed GPX file (track). Getting Furkot to keep the order of the waypoints can be problem some times, but works really well otherwise - uses Google Maps background API.

Thanks - that's great. I appreciate the info.