Save Google Maps Driving Directions

General, Technology February 26th, 2008

One of the really neat features of Google Maps that I use quite often is the ability to alter driving directions if you don’t like the given results.  I’ve just written up my recent trip to the UK on my R1200GS and one of the features of the site is having a map displaying the route for the trip.

Doing a simple driving directions gives the basic route that I took but it doesn’t include the wrong turns and deviations that I made.  In Google Earth the only way to change a given route is to manually modify the line, which  take hours.  With Google Maps I can modify the route to take account of these deviations but it doesn’t allow you to save the changes… unless you know Google-Fu!!!

It turn out the url to view a Google Map is also the same url used by the Google Maps API to access kml files.  The process to save a modified route to kml is as follows:

  1. Get the basic driving directions
  2. Modify the route as you wish.
  3. Click the Link to this page link.
  4. Copy the email/IM link.
  5. Paste link back into your browser address bar.
  6. Add &output=kml to the end of the url & hit enter/go.
  7. Save the kml wherever you wish.
Technorati Tags: ,,
Didn't find what you were looing for? Try my answers page.

Leave a comment Comment RSS

Previous: Google Maps For Jersey
Next: Must Have Application -Evernote

5 Comments to “Save Google Maps Driving Directions”

  1. Steve | April 18th, 2008 at 10:48 am

    Thanks for this tip!

    Works brilliantly. You can combine it with TNConv to produce garmin or tom tom files.

  2. Gart | April 22nd, 2008 at 10:38 pm

    Yeah brilliant tip, thanks!

    Steve, can you explain combining the TNConv to create the garmin file a little more please.

    I’m not familiar with the ‘TNConv’ and google doesn’t seem to show any useful search results. Is it placed at the end of the google maps link also?

  3. john | May 12th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    Steve,
    I’m with Gart; any info on using TNConv would be appreciated.

  4. Steve | May 23rd, 2008 at 8:40 am

    Sorry, it should have been ITNconv, google it, it’s easy to find the download.

    I did however find a problem when using this method. The output .kml file from Google Maps put the end point in the wrong place, so when this is then converted to tomtom .itn file, you only get part of your intended route.

    So, plan the route in google maps, output as .kml, open in google earth, deleted the last point (the one with the red marker), re-savee as a .kml, covert with ITNConv, and away you go! (Hopefully, but if you see a bloke on a V-Strom going round in circles next week in France, you’ll know it didn’t work!)

  5. Adrian Ritchie | May 23rd, 2008 at 9:06 am

    Hi Steve,

    Thanks for the clarification. Google throws up loads of results for it now. The application looks to be pretty good from the screenshots and as soon as I’ve got an on-bike GPS I’ll be sure to check it out properly.

    I’ll make sure to look out for a lost V-Strom when I’m in France this weekend. If you happen to see a bloke looking lost on a BMW R1200GS in France this weekend you’ll know that my map reading skills have left me and that it’s time I bought a GPS.

Leave a Comment