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Launch Navigator Cordova/Phonegap Plugin Latest Stable Version Total Downloads

Cordova/Phonegap plugin for launching today's most popular navigation/ride apps to navigate to a destination.

Platforms: Android, iOS and Windows.

Key features:

  • Single, clean API to abstract away the gory details of each 3rd party app's custom URI scheme
  • Detects which supported apps are installed/available on the user's device
  • API to detect which features are supported by which apps on which platforms
  • Out-of-the-box UI for app selection which remembers user choice
  • Growing list of supported apps

Launch Navigator is also available as a React Native module.

 

donate

I dedicate a considerable amount of my free time to developing and maintaining this Cordova plugin, along with my other Open Source software. To help ensure this plugin is kept updated, new features are added and bugfixes are implemented quickly, please donate a couple of dollars (or a little more if you can stretch) as this will help me to afford to dedicate time to its maintenance. Please consider donating if you're using this plugin in an app that makes you money, if you're being paid to make the app, if you're asking for new features or priority bug fixes.

Table of Contents

General concepts

App detection, selection and launching

  • The plugin will detect which supported navigation apps are available on the device.
  • By default, where this is more than one choice, it will display a list of these to the user to select for navigation.
    • This is done using native UI elements
  • However, the plugin API allows you to programmatically:
    • check which apps are available on the current device
    • check which apps support which navigation options
    • launch a specific app for navigation

Geocoding and input format of start/destination locations

  • Some navigation apps require that destination/start locations be specified as coordinates, and others require an address.
  • By default, this plugin will appropriately geocode or reverse-geocode the locations you provide to ensure the app receives the location in the required format.
  • However, geocoding requires use of a remote service, so an internet connection is required.
  • If navigate() is passed a location type which the selected app doesn't support, the error callback will be invoked if:
    • geocoding is disabled by passing enableGeocoding: false in the options object
    • there is no internet connection to perform the remote geocode operation
    • geocoding fails (e.g. an address cannot be found for the given lat/long coords)
  • Note that for geocoding to work on Android, a Google API key must be specified in order to use the Google Geocoder API service (see installation instructions below).

Remember user's choice of navigation app

  • If the built-in app selection mechanism is used, the plugin enables the user's choice of app to be locally persisted, meaning they don't have to choose every time.
  • By default, this as the user to confirm they wish their choice to be remembered.
  • See the appSelection section of options for the navigate() function for more details.
  • See the "Advanced Example" project] in the example repo for an illustrated example.

Supported navigation apps

The plugin currently supports launching the following navigation apps:

Android

iOS

Windows

Adding support for more apps

This plugin is a work in progress. I'd like it to support launching of as many popular navigation apps as possible.

If there's another navigation app which you think should be explicitly supported and it provides a mechanism to externally launch it, open an issue containing a link or details of how the app should be invoked.

Don't just open an issue saying "Add support for Blah" without first finding out if/how it can be externally launched. I don't have time to research launch mechanisms for every suggested app, so I will close such issues immediately.

Installing

The plugin is registered on npm as uk.co.workingedge.phonegap.plugin.launchnavigator

IMPORTANT: Note that the plugin will NOT work in a browser-emulated Cordova environment, for example by running cordova serve or using the Ripple emulator. This plugin is intended to launch native navigation apps and therefore will only work on native mobile platforms (i.e. Android/iOS/Windows).

Using the CLI

$ cordova plugin add uk.co.workingedge.phonegap.plugin.launchnavigator --variable GOOGLE_API_KEY_FOR_ANDROID="{your_api_key}"
$ phonegap plugin add uk.co.workingedge.phonegap.plugin.launchnavigator --variable GOOGLE_API_KEY_FOR_ANDROID="{your_api_key}"
$ ionic cordova plugin add uk.co.workingedge.phonegap.plugin.launchnavigator --variable GOOGLE_API_KEY_FOR_ANDROID="{your_api_key}"

Note: GOOGLE_API_KEY_FOR_ANDROID="" is safe to use if navigation is only being performed with latitude/longitude coordinates.

PhoneGap Build

Add the following xml to your config.xml to use the latest version of this plugin from npm:

<plugin name="uk.co.workingedge.phonegap.plugin.launchnavigator" source="npm" >
    <variable name="GOOGLE_API_KEY_FOR_ANDROID" value="{your_api_key}" />
</plugin>

Google API key for Android

  • On Android, this plugin uses Google's Geocoding API to geocode input addresses to lat/lon coordinates in order to support navigation apps which only allow input locations to be specified as lat/lon coordinates.
  • Google now requires that an API key be specified in order to use the Geocoding API
    • For more information on how to obtain an API key, see the Google documentation.
    • Don't place any application restrictions on the key, otherwise geocoding will fail.
  • You can provide your Google API key to the plugin by either:
    • setting the GOOGLE_API_KEY_FOR_ANDROID plugin variable during plugin installation
      • Note: this method places your API in the AndroidManifest.xml in cleartext so carries the possible security risk of a malicious party decompiling your app to obtain your API key (see #249)
    • setting it at runtime by calling the setApiKey() function
      • this method is secure from a security perspective.
      • you must call this method in each app session (e.g. at app startup) before attempting to use the plugin's geocoding features on Android.
  • If you are only navigating via latitude/longitude coordinates and therefore not using Google's Geocoding API, you can safely set the API Key to an empty string.

OKHTTP Library

  • This plugin uses the OKHTTP library on Android to access Google's remote Geocoding API service
  • The library is included at Android build time via Gradle
  • If another plugin in your Cordova project specifies a different version of the OKHTTP library than this plugin, this can cause a Gradle version collision leading to build failure. See #193.
  • You can override the default version of the library specified by this plugin by specifying the OKHTTP_VERSION plugin variable during plugin installation:
    • cordova plugin add uk.co.workingedge.phonegap.plugin.launchnavigator --variable GOOGLE_API_KEY_FOR_ANDROID="{your_api_key}" --variable OKHTTP_VERSION=1.2.3
  • You can find the version of the library currently specified by this plugin in the plugin.xml

Usage examples

Simple usage

Navigate to a destination address from current location.

User is prompted to choose from available installed navigation apps.

launchnavigator.navigate("London, UK");

Navigate to a destination with specified start location

launchnavigator.navigate("London, UK", {
    start: "Manchester, UK"
});

Navigate using latitude/longitude coordinates

Coordinates can be specified as a string or array

launchnavigator.navigate([50.279306, -5.163158], {
    start: "50.342847, -4.749904"
});

Advanced usage

Navigate using a specific app

launchnavigator.isAppAvailable(launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS, function(isAvailable){
    var app;
    if(isAvailable){
        app = launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS;
    }else{
        console.warn("Google Maps not available - falling back to user selection");
        app = launchnavigator.APP.USER_SELECT;
    }
    launchnavigator.navigate("London, UK", {
        app: app
    });
});

List all of the apps supported by the current platform

var platform = device.platform.toLowerCase();
if(platform == "android"){
    platform = launchnavigator.PLATFORM.ANDROID;
}else if(platform == "ios"){
    platform = launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS;
}else if(platform.match(/win/)){
    platform = launchnavigator.PLATFORM.WINDOWS;
}

launchnavigator.getAppsForPlatform(platform).forEach(function(app){
    console.log(launchnavigator.getAppDisplayName(app) + " is supported");
});

List apps available on the current device

launchnavigator.availableApps(function(results){
    for(var app in results){
        console.log(launchnavigator.getAppDisplayName(app) + (results[app] ? " is" : " isn't") +" available");
    }
});

Reporting issues

IMPORTANT: Please read the following carefully. Failure to follow the issue template guidelines below will result in the issue being immediately closed.

Reporting a bug or problem

Before opening a bug issue, please do the following:

  • DO NOT open issues asking for support in using/integrating the plugin into your project
    • Only open issues for suspected bugs/issues with the plugin that are generic and will affect other users
    • I don't have time to offer free technical support: this is free open-source software
    • Ask for help on StackOverflow, Ionic Forums, etc.
    • Use the example project as a known working reference
    • Any issues requesting support will be closed immediately.
  • DO NOT open issues related to the Ionic Typescript wrapper for this plugin
    • This is owned/maintained by Ionic and is not part of this plugin
    • Please raise such issues/PRs against Ionic Native instead.
    • To verify an if an issue is caused by this plugin or its Typescript wrapper, please re-test using the vanilla Javascript plugin interface (without the Ionic Native wrapper).
    • Any issue opened here which is obviously an Ionic Typescript wrapper issue will be closed immediately.
  • Read the above documentation thoroughly
  • Check your target country is supported for turn-by-turn by the native navigation app
  • Check the CHANGELOG for any breaking changes that may be causing your issue.
  • Check a similar issue (open or closed) does not already exist against this plugin.
    • Duplicates or near-duplicates will be closed immediately.
  • When creating a new issue
    • Choose the "Bug report" template
    • Fill out the relevant sections of the template and delete irrelevant sections
    • WARNING: Failure to complete the issue template will result in the issue being closed immediately.
  • Reproduce the issue using the example project
    • This will eliminate bugs in your code or conflicts with other code as possible causes of the issue
    • This will also validate your development environment using a known working codebase
    • If reproducing the issue using the example project is not possible, create an isolated test project that you are able to share
  • Include full verbose console output when reporting build issues
    • If the full console output is too large to insert directly into the Github issue, then post it on an external site such as Pastebin and link to it from the issue
    • Often the details of an error causing a build failure is hidden away when building with the CLI
      • To get the full detailed console output, append the --verbose flag to CLI build commands
      • e.g. cordova build ios --verbose
    • Failure to include the full console output will result in the issue being closed immediately
  • If the issue relates to the plugin documentation (and not the code), please of a documentation issue

Requesting a new feature

Before opening a feature request issue, please do the following:

  • Check the above documentation to ensure the feature you are requesting doesn't already exist
  • Check the list if open/closed issues to check if there's a reason that feature hasn't been included already
  • Ensure the feature you are requesting is actually possible to implement and generically useful to other users than yourself
  • Where possible, post a link to the documentation related to the feature you are requesting
  • Include other relevant links, e.g.
    • Stack Overflow post illustrating a solution
    • Code within another Github repo that illustrates a solution

Supported parameters

Different apps support different input parameters on different platforms. Any input parameters not supported by a specified app will be ignored.

The following table enumerates which apps support which parameters.

Platform App Dest Dest name Start Start name Transport mode Free
Android Google Maps (Map mode) X X X
Android Google Maps (Turn-by-turn mode) X X X
Android Waze X X
Android CityMapper X X X X X
Android Uber X X X X X
Android Yandex X X X
Android Sygic X X X
Android HERE Maps X X X X X
Android Moovit X X X X X
Android Lyft X X X
Android MAPS.ME X X X X
Android Geo: URI scheme X X N/A
Android Cabify X X X X X
Android Baidu Maps X X[1] X X[1] X X
Android 99 Taxi X X X X X
Android Gaode Maps X X X X X X
iOS Apple Maps - URI scheme X X X X
iOS Apple Maps - MapKit class X X X X X X
iOS Google Maps X X X X
iOS Waze X X
iOS Citymapper X X X X X
iOS Navigon X X
iOS Transit App X X X
iOS Yandex X X X
iOS Uber X X X X
iOS Tomtom X X
iOS Sygic X X X
iOS HERE Maps X X X X X
iOS Moovit X X X X X
iOS Lyft X X X
iOS MAPS.ME X X X X
iOS Cabify X X X X X
iOS Baidu Maps X X[1] X X[1] X X
iOS 99 Taxi X X X X X
iOS Gaode Maps X X X X X X
Windows Bing Maps X X X X X X

[1]: Only supported when Start or Dest is specified as lat/lon (e.g. "50,-4")

Table columns:

  • Dest - destination location specified as lat/lon (e.g. "50,-4") or address (e.g. "London")
  • Dest name - nickname for destination location (e.g. "Bob's house")
  • Start - start location specified as lat/lon (e.g. "50,-4") or address (e.g. "London")
  • Start name - nickname for start location (e.g. "Bob's house")
  • Transport mode - mode of transport to use for route planning (e.g. "walking")
  • Free - is the app free or does it cost money?

Transport modes

Apps that support specifying transport mode.

Platform App Driving Walking Bicycling Transit
Android Google Maps (Turn-by-turn mode) X X X X
Android Sygic X X
Android MAPS.ME X X X X
Android Baidu Maps X X X X
Android Gaode Maps X X X X
iOS Apple Maps X X
iOS Google Maps X X X X
iOS Sygic X X
iOS MAPS.ME X X X X
iOS Baidu Maps X X X X
iOS Gaode Maps X X X X
Windows Bing Maps X X X

Plugin API

All of the following constants and functions should be referenced from the global launchnavigator namespace. For example:

launchnavigator.PLATFORM.ANDROID

Constants

PLATFORM

Supported platforms:

  • launchnavigator.PLATFORM.ANDROID
  • launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS
  • launchnavigator.PLATFORM.WINDOWS

APP

Supported apps:

  • launchnavigator.APP.USER_SELECT (Android & iOS) - invokes native UI for user to select available navigation app
  • launchnavigator.APP.GEO (Android) - invokes a native chooser, allowing users to select an app which supports the geo: URI scheme for navigation
  • launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.WAZE (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.CITYMAPPER (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.UBER (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.APPLE_MAPS (iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.NAVIGON (iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.TRANSIT_APP (iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.YANDEX (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.TOMTOM (iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.BING_MAPS (Windows)
  • launchnavigator.APP.SYGIC (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.HERE_MAPS (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.MOOVIT (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.LYFT (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.MAPS_ME (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.CABIFY (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.BAIDU (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.TAXIS_99 (Android & iOS)
  • launchnavigator.APP.GAODE (Android & iOS)

APP_NAMES

Display names for supported apps, referenced by launchnavigator.APP.

e.g. launchnavigator.APP_NAMES[launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS] == "Google Maps" x

TRANSPORT_MODE

Transport modes for navigation:

  • launchnavigator.TRANSPORT_MODE.DRIVING
  • launchnavigator.TRANSPORT_MODE.WALKING
  • launchnavigator.TRANSPORT_MODE.BICYCLING
  • launchnavigator.TRANSPORT_MODE.TRANSIT

LAUNCH_MODE

Android only: launch modes supported by Google Maps on Android

  • launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS - Maps view
  • launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.TURN_BY_TURN - Navigation view
  • launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.GEO - Navigation view via geo: URI scheme

API methods

navigate()

The plugin's primary API method. Launches a navigation app with a specified destination. Also takes optional parameters.

launchnavigator.navigate(destination, options);

OR

launchnavigator.navigate(destination, successCallback, errorCallback, options);

Parameters

  • destination (required): destination location to use for navigation. Either:
    • a {string} containing the address. e.g. "Buckingham Palace, London"
    • a {string} containing a latitude/longitude coordinate. e.g. "50.1. -4.0"
    • an {array}, where the first element is the latitude and the second element is a longitude, as decimal numbers. e.g. [50.1, -4.0]
  • options - optional parameters:
    • successCallback (optional): A callback to invoke when the navigation app is successfully launched.
    • errorCallback (optional): A callback to invoke if an error is encountered while launching the app. A single string argument containing the error message will be passed in.
    • {string} app - name of the navigation app to use for directions. Specify using launchnavigator.APP constants. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS. If not specified, defaults to user selection via native picker UI.
    • {string} destinationName - nickname to display in app for destination. e.g. "Bob's House".
    • start (optional): start location to use for navigation. If not specified, the current device location will be used. Either:
      • a {string} containing the address. e.g. "Buckingham Palace, London"
      • a {string} containing a latitude/longitude coordinate. e.g. "50.1. -4.0"
      • an {array}, where the first element is the latitude and the second element is a longitude, as decimal numbers. e.g. [50.1, -4.0]
    • {string} startName - nickname to display in app for start. e.g. "My Place".
    • {string} transportMode - transportation mode for navigation. Defaults to "driving" if not specified. Specify using launchnavigator.TRANSPORT_MODE constants.
    • {boolean} enableGeocoding - (Android and iOS only) if true, and input location type(s) doesn't match those required by the app, use geocoding to obtain the address/coords as required. Defaults to true.
    • {boolean} enableGeolocation - (Windows only) if false, the plugin will NOT attempt to use the geolocation plugin to determine the current device position when the start location parameter is omitted. Defaults to true.
    • {object} extras - a key/value map of extra app-specific parameters. For example, to tell Google Maps on Android to display Satellite view in "maps" launch mode: {"t": "k"}
    • {string} launchModeGoogleMaps - (Android only) mode in which to open Google Maps app
      • launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS or launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.TURN_BY_TURN
      • Defaults to launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS if not specified.
    • {string} launchModeAppleMaps - (iOS only) method to use to open Apple Maps app - launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.URI_SCHEME or launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPKIT - Defaults to launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.URI_SCHEME if not specified.
    • {object} - appSelection - options related to the default native actionsheet picker which enables user to select which navigation app to launch if app is not specified.
      • {string} dialogHeaderText - text to display in the native picker body, above the app buttons.
        • Defaults to "Select app for navigation" if not specified.
      • {string} cancelButtonText - text to display for the cancel button.
        • Defaults to "Cancel" if not specified.
      • {number} dialogPositionX - [iPad only] x position for the dialog
        • Defaults to 550 if not specified
      • {number} dialogPositionY - [iPad only] y position for the dialog
        • Defaults to 500 if not specified
      • {array} list - list of apps, defined as launchnavigator.APP constants, which should be displayed in the picker if the app is available. This can be used to restrict which apps are displayed, even if they are installed. By default, all available apps will be displayed.
      • {function} callback - a callback to invoke when the user selects an app in the native picker.
        • A single string argument is passed which is the app what was selected defined as a launchnavigator.APP constant.
      • {integer} androidTheme - (Android only) native picker theme. Specify using actionsheet.ANDROID_THEMES constants. Default actionsheet.ANDROID_THEMES.THEME_HOLO_LIGHT
      • {object} - rememberChoice - options related to whether to remember user choice of app for next time, instead of asking again for user choice.
        • {string/boolean} enabled - whether to remember user choice of app for next time, instead of asking again for user choice.
          • "prompt" - Prompt user to decide whether to remember choice.
            • Default value if unspecified.
            • If promptFn is defined, this will be used for user confirmation.
            • Otherwise (by default), a native dialog will be displayed to ask user.
          • false - Do not remember user choice.
          • true - Remember user choice.
        • {function} promptFn - a function which asks the user whether to remember their choice of app.
          • If this is defined, then the default dialog prompt will not be shown, allowing for a custom UI for asking the user.
          • This will be passed a callback function which should be invoked with a single boolean argument which indicates the user's decision to remember their choice.
        • {object} - prompt - options related to the default dialog prompt used to ask the user whether to remember their choice of app.
          • {function} callback - a function to pass the user's decision whether to remember their choice of app.
            • This will be passed a single boolean value indicating the user's decision.
          • {string} headerText - text to display in the native prompt header asking user whether to remember their choice.
            • Defaults to "Remember your choice?" if not specified.
          • {string} bodyText - text to display in the native prompt body asking user whether to remember their choice.
            • Defaults to "Use the same app for navigating next time?" if not specified.
          • {string} yesButtonText - text to display for the Yes button.
            • Defaults to "Yes" if not specified.
          • {string} noButtonText - text to display for the No button.
            • Defaults to "No" if not specified.

enableDebug()

Enables debug log output from the plugin to the JS and native consoles. By default debug is disabled.

launchnavigator.enableDebug(true, success, error);

Parameters

  • {boolean} enabled - Whether to enable debug.
  • {function} success - callback to invoke on successfully setting debug.
  • {function} error - callback to invoke on error while setting debug. Will be passed a single string argument containing the error message.

isAppAvailable()

Determines if the given app is installed and available on the current device.

launchnavigator.isAppAvailable(appName, function(isAvailable){
    console.log(appName + " is available: " + isAvaialble);
}, error);

Parameters

  • {string} appName - name of the app to check availability for. Define as a constant using ln.APP.
  • {function} success - callback to invoke on successful determination of availability. Will be passed a single boolean argument indicating the availability of the app.
  • {function} error - callback to invoke on error while determining availability. Will be passed a single string argument containing the error message.

availableApps()

Returns a list indicating which apps are installed and available on the current device.

launchnavigator.availableApps(function(apps){
    apps.forEach(function(app){
        console.log(app + " is available");
    });
}, error);

Parameters

  • {function} success - callback to invoke on successful determination of availability. Will be passed a key/value object where the key is the app name and the value is a boolean indicating whether the app is available.
  • {function} error - callback to invoke on error while determining availability. Will be passed a single string argument containing the error message.

getAppDisplayName()

Returns the display name of the specified app.

let displayName = launchnavigator.getAppDisplayName(app);

Parameters

  • {string} app - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.APP. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS. whether the app is available.
  • returns {string} - app display name. e.g. "Google Maps".

getAppsForPlatform()

Returns list of supported apps on a given platform.

let apps = launchnavigator.getAppsForPlatform(platform);

Parameters

  • {string} platform - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.PLATFORM. e.g. launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS.
  • returns {array} of {string} - apps supported on specified platform as a list of launchnavigator.APP constants.

supportsTransportMode()

Indicates if an app on a given platform supports specification of transport mode.

let transportModeIsSupported = launchnavigator.supportsTransportMode(app, platform, launchMode);

Parameters

  • {string} app - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.APP. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS.
  • {string} platform - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.PLATFORM. e.g. launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS.
  • {string} launchMode (optional) - Android only. Only applies to Google Maps on Android. Specified as a constant in launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE. e.g. launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS.
  • returns {boolean} - true if app/platform combination supports specification of transport mode.

getTransportModes()

Returns the list of transport modes supported by an app on a given platform.

let modes = launchnavigator.getTransportModes(app, platform, launchMode);

Parameters

  • {string} app - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.APP. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS.
  • {string} platform - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.PLATFORM. e.g. launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS.
  • {string} launchMode (optional) - Only applies to Google Maps on Android. Specified as a constant in launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE. e.g. launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS.
  • returns {array} of {string} - list of transports modes as constants in launchnavigator.TRANSPORT_MODE. If app/platform combination doesn't support specification of transport mode, the list will be empty;

supportsDestName()

Indicates if an app on a given platform supports specification of a custom nickname for destination location.

let destNameIsSupported = launchnavigator.supportsDestName(app, platform, launchMode);

Parameters

  • {string} app - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.APP. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS.
  • {string} platform - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.PLATFORM. e.g. launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS.
  • {string} launchMode (optional) - Only applies to Google Maps on Android and Apple Maps on iOS. Specified as a constant in launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE. e.g. launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS.
  • returns {boolean} - true if app/platform combination supports specification of a custom nickname for destination location.

supportsStart()

Indicates if an app on a given platform supports specification of start location.

let startIsSupported =  launchnavigator.supportsStart(app, platform, launchMode);

Parameters

  • {string} app - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.APP. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS.
  • {string} platform - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.PLATFORM. e.g. launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS.
  • {string} launchMode (optional) - Only applies to Google Maps on Android. Specified as a constant in launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE. e.g. launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS.
  • returns {boolean} - true if app/platform combination supports specification of start location.

supportsStartName()

Indicates if an app on a given platform supports specification of a custom nickname for start location.

let startNameIsSupported = launchnavigator.supportsStartName(app, platform);

Parameters

  • {string} app - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.APP. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS.
  • {string} platform - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.PLATFORM. e.g. launchnavigator.PLATFORM.IOS.
  • {string} launchMode (optional) - Only applies to Apple Maps on iOS. Specified as a constant in launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE. e.g. launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPKIT.
  • returns {boolean} - {boolean} - true if app/platform combination supports specification of a custom nickname for start location.

supportsLaunchMode()

Indicates if an app on a given platform supports specification of launch mode.

  • Currently only Google Maps on Android and Apple Maps on iOS does.

    let launchModeIsSupported = launchnavigator.supportsLaunchMode(app, platform);

Parameters

  • {string} app - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.APP. e.g. launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS.
  • {string} platform - specified as a constant in launchnavigator.PLATFORM. e.g. launchnavigator.PLATFORM.ANDROID.
  • returns {boolean} - true if app/platform combination supports specification of transport mode.

appSelection.userChoice.exists()

Indicates whether a user choice exists for a preferred navigator app.

launchnavigator.appSelection.userChoice.exists(function(exists){
    console.log("User preference of app: " + (exists ? "exists" : "doesn't exist"));
});

Parameters

  • [function} cb - function to pass result to: will receive a boolean argument.

appSelection.userChoice.get()

Returns current user choice of preferred navigator app.

launchnavigator.appSelection.userChoice.get(function(app){
    console.log("User preferred app is: " + launchnavigator.getAppDisplayName(app));
});

Parameters

  • [function} cb - function to pass result to: will receive a string argument indicating the app, which is a constant in launchnavigator.APP.

appSelection.userChoice.set()

Sets the current user choice of preferred navigator app.

launchnavigator.appSelection.userChoice.set(launchnavigator.APP.GOOGLE_MAPS, function(){
    console.log("User preferred app is set");
});

Parameters

  • {string} app - app to set as preferred choice as a constant in launchnavigator.APP.
  • [function} cb - function to call once operation is complete.

appSelection.userChoice.clear()

Clears the current user choice of preferred navigator app.

launchnavigator.appSelection.userChoice.clear(function(){
    console.log("User preferred app is cleared");
});

Parameters

  • [function} cb - function to call once operation is complete.

appSelection.userPrompted.get()

Indicates whether user has already been prompted whether to remember their choice a preferred navigator app.

launchnavigator.appSelection.userPrompted.get(function(alreadyPrompted){
    console.log("User " + (alreadyPrompted ? "has" : "hasn't") + " already been asked whether to remember their choice of navigator app");
});

Parameters

  • [function} cb - function to pass result to: will receive a boolean argument.

appSelection.userPrompted.set()

Sets flag indicating user has already been prompted whether to remember their choice a preferred navigator app.

launchnavigator.appSelection.userPrompted.set(function(){
    console.log("Flag set to indicate user chose to remember their choice of navigator app");
});

Parameters

  • [function} cb - function to call once operation is complete.

appSelection.userPrompted.clear()

Clears flag which indicates if user has already been prompted whether to remember their choice a preferred navigator app.

launchnavigator.appSelection.userPrompted.clear(function(){
    console.log("Clear flag indicating whether user chose to remember their choice of navigator app");
});

Parameters

  • [function} cb - function to call once operation is complete.

setApiKey()

Sets the Google API key for Android. Note: This function is also available on iOS but it does nothing. This is to keep the interface consistent between the platforms.

launchnavigator.setApiKey(api_key, success, error);

Parameters

  • {String} apiKey - Google API Key.
  • {function} success - callback to invoke on successfully setting api key.
  • {function} error - callback to invoke on error while setting api key. Will be passed a single string argument containing the error message.

Example projects

There are several example projects in the example repo which illustrate usage of this plugin:

  • SimpleExample - illustrates basic usage of the plugin
  • AdvancedExample - illustrates advanced usage of the plugin
  • IonicExample - illustrates usage of the plugin with the Ionic v1 framework
  • Ionic2Example - illustrates usage of the plugin with the Ionic v2 framework and Ionic Native plugin wrapper.

Platform-specifics

Android

  • Running on Android, in addition to discovering which explicitly supported apps are installed, the plugin will also detect which installed apps support using the geo: URI scheme for use in navigation. These are returned in the list of available apps.

  • By specifying the app option as launchnavigator.APP.GEO, the plugin will invoke a native Android chooser, to allow the user to select an app which supports the geo: URI scheme for navigation.

  • Google Maps on Android can be launched in 3 launch modes:

    • Maps mode (launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPS) - launches in Map view. Enables start location to be specified, but not transport mode or destination name.
    • Turn-by-turn mode (launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.TURN_BY_TURN) - launches in Navigation view. Enables transport mode to be specified, but not start location or destination name.
    • Geo mode (launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.GEO) - invokes Navigation view via geo: URI scheme. Enables destination name to be specified, but not start location or transport mode.
    • Launch mode can be specified via the launchModeGoogleMaps option, but defaults to Maps mode if not specified.

Windows

  • The plugin is compatible with Windows 10 on any PC or Windows 10 Mobile on a phone/tablet using the Universal .Net project generated by Cordova: cordova platform add windows

  • Bing Maps requires the user to press the enter key to initiate navigation if you don't provide the start location. Therefore, if a start location is not going to be passed to the plugin from your app, you should install the Geolocation plugin into your project. By default, if the geolocation plugin is detected, the plugin will attempt to retrieve the current device location using it, and use this as the start location. This can be disabled via the enableGeolocation option.

iOS

"Removing" Apple Maps

  • Since iOS 10, it is possible to "remove" built-in Apple apps, including Maps, from the Home screen.
  • Not that removing is not the same as uninstalling - the app is still actually present on the device, just the icon is removed from the Home screen.
  • Therefore it's not possible detect if Apple Maps is unavailable - launchnavigator.availableApps() will always report it as present.
  • The best that can be done is to gracefully handle the error when attempting to open Apple Maps using launchnavigator.navigate()
  • For reference, see this SO question and the Apple documentation.

Apple Maps launch method

This plugin supports 2 different launch methods for launching the Apple Maps app on iOS.

  • Specified by passing the launchModeAppleMaps option as a launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE constant to navigate()
    • launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.URI_SCHEME: use the URI scheme launch method. Default if not specified.
    • launchnavigator.LAUNCH_MODE.MAPKIT: use the MapKit class launch method.

URI scheme launch method

  • Launches the app using the Apple Maps URI scheme
  • The default method used by the plugin.
  • Supports input location types of both coordinates and address string without requiring remote geocoding service (works offline)
  • Doesn't support specifying nicknames for start/destination locations.

MapKit class launch method

  • Launches the app using the MapKit class to launch Apple Maps
  • Only supports input location type of coordinates without requiring remote geocoding service (works offline)
  • An input location type of an address (formatted as a single string) requires use of remote geocoding service (requires internet connection)
    • MapKit class input requires an address which is formatted as an address dictionary, in which the address is split into known fields such as street, city and state.
  • Support specifying nicknames for start/destination locations.
  • Provides additional launch options which are not available via the URI scheme launch method.

App-specifics

Lyft

On both Android and iOS, the "ride type" will default to "Lyft" unless otherwise specified in the extras list as id.

See the Lyft documentation for URL scheme details and other supported ride types.

99 Taxi

On both Android and iOS, the extra parameters client_id and deep_link_product_id are required by 99 Taxi

  • client_id should follow the pattern MAP_*** where *** is the client name given by the 99 Team.
    • If not specified defaults to client_id=MAP_123
  • deep_link_product_id identifies the ride category
    • Currently supported values are:
      • 316 - POP ride
      • 326 - TOP ride
      • 327 - Taxis ride
    • If not specified defaults to deep_link_product_id=316

On Android, 99 Taxi is currently the only app where options.start is a required parameter when calling navigate()

  • If navigate() is called without a start location and the selected app is 99 Taxi, the error callback will be invoked and the 99 Taxi app will not be launched
  • In order for this plugin to automatically provide start location to 99 Taxi (if it's not already specified), the native Android implementation needs to be enhanced to:
    • check/request runtime permission to use location
    • add the necessary permission entries to the AndroidManifest.xml
    • check/request high accuracy location is enabled (no point in requesting a low-accuracy city-level position if you want a pickup at your exact current address)
    • request a high accuracy position to determine the user's current location
    • handle errors cases such as:
      • User denies location permission
      • User denies high accuracy mode permission
      • Location cannot be retrieved
  • Currently, I don't have time to do all of the above just for the case of 99 Taxi
    • However I'm willing to accept a PR request which implements the necessary native Android features.
  • Otherwise/until then, you'll need to manually specify the start location for 99 Taxi
    • If the current user location is required, you can use cordova-plugin-geolocation to find this.

Credits

Thanks to:

License

The MIT License

Copyright (c) 2016 Dave Alden (Working Edge Ltd.)

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.