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All electronic maps use heuristics to show street names because otherwise the map would be too visually cluttered. They tend to show the major streets and a few

All electronic maps use heuristics to show street names because otherwise the map would be too visually cluttered. They tend to show the major streets and a few non major ones and change based on zoom level. I mean for you use case they should perhaps have a subtitle which is “currently on street X” but I definitely don’t want my maps cluttered with overfitting this concern and jam packing it.

smelendez 9y ago
Not OP but I wish you could at least easily tap a street to see its name, or quickly toggle to show all street names even if it makes the map ugly.
- ucaetano 9y ago
  Which would mean adding yet another toggle for showing all street names, or adding touch points on every street for showing the name. All of that would easily overload the user interface. I'd guess that the team probably took all of that in consideration, and the "I need to know every street name" use case was too rare to justify cluttering the small screen with names.
  - edgarvaldes 9y ago
    I think the solution is simply to show the street name when the zoom is at certain level. In that case, there is no clutter.
euyyn 9y ago
The problem is, sometimes not even zooming in enough that only one street fills the screen, its name will be displayed. Of course no one's asking for all street names to be displayed while zoomed out.
- ryandrake 9y ago
  I've worked on more than my share of mapping systems in my life (disclaimer: I have not worked on Google Maps). The behavior you describe could very well be explained as follows: Many map data sets store, along with the geometry for the roads and points of interest, pre-baked positions at which the street names may be rendered. The map will never render a street name (or highway number) in a place other than where these candidate points are. In order to de-clutter, the mapping system simply selectively turns on or off these labels--it is not smart enough to move them around. So what you are likely seeing is: You zoomed into a stretch of road where no pre-baked candidate positions for the street name exist.
kuschku 9y ago
The whole point of a map is to show as much information as possible, with as much density as possible, so you can get all that info.
- ariwilson 9y ago
  Nope, the point of a map is to display the information you want to know, which is a subset of all information.
praxulus 9y ago
A map should show you the information you need, and hopefully look nice while doing so. I strongly disagree with your position, which seems to be that a map should look nice, and hopefully show you the information you need while doing so.
- CamperBob2 9y ago
  The best compromise would be to add a slider somewhere to let the user determine what's "too cluttered." But the trend is toward taking as many decisions as possible out of the user's hands, and I'd be amazed if future Maps updates move the product in any other direction.
  - quantum_magpie 9y ago
    My ideal interface decision would be actual switch (like between regular and topographical maps) that would turn off all the commercial shit and turn the map to a map, with building numbers and street names.
com2kid 9y ago
> All electronic maps use heuristics to show street names because otherwise the map would be too visually cluttered. They tend to show the major streets and a few non major ones and change based on zoom level. There are situations (not that uncommon in my experience) where you can zoom in all the way and Google maps will not show some street names. It gets really infuriating, I am using a map, I want to know where I am at! That is one of the primary value props of having a map. I get that a lot of people can't even read maps now days, and that turn by turn directions are the norm, but in cities where people actually walk, being able to look at a map is very useful. I've had times where I'd ask friends where they are at, and they could NOT get Google maps to tell them! Instead they had to resort to giving me a nearby store, and I'd use Google maps to navigate to that store. A serious design fail in grid based cities, where if I just knew they were on 73rd st and 142nd ave, I could just walk a few blocks over and find them instantly. Once I see the route on Google maps I can close it down and just walk there, but I shouldn't have to cajole my maps app into being a map.
- FridgeSeal 9y ago
  Or the other annoying case: street name will be shown (underneath route information if you're going somewhere) at one level, but then disappears when you zoom in further to make it actually readable.

smelendez 9y ago

Not OP but I wish you could at least easily tap a street to see its name, or quickly toggle to show all street names even if it makes the map ugly.

ucaetano 9y ago
Which would mean adding yet another toggle for showing all street names, or adding touch points on every street for showing the name. All of that would easily overload the user interface. I'd guess that the team probably took all of that in consideration, and the "I need to know every street name" use case was too rare to justify cluttering the small screen with names.
- edgarvaldes 9y ago
  I think the solution is simply to show the street name when the zoom is at certain level. In that case, there is no clutter.

euyyn 9y ago

The problem is, sometimes not even zooming in enough that only one street fills the screen, its name will be displayed. Of course no one's asking for all street names to be displayed while zoomed out.

ryandrake 9y ago
I've worked on more than my share of mapping systems in my life (disclaimer: I have not worked on Google Maps). The behavior you describe could very well be explained as follows: Many map data sets store, along with the geometry for the roads and points of interest, pre-baked positions at which the street names may be rendered. The map will never render a street name (or highway number) in a place other than where these candidate points are. In order to de-clutter, the mapping system simply selectively turns on or off these labels--it is not smart enough to move them around. So what you are likely seeing is: You zoomed into a stretch of road where no pre-baked candidate positions for the street name exist.

kuschku 9y ago

The whole point of a map is to show as much information as possible, with as much density as possible, so you can get all that info.

ariwilson 9y ago
Nope, the point of a map is to display the information you want to know, which is a subset of all information.

praxulus 9y ago

A map should show you the information you need, and hopefully look nice while doing so. I strongly disagree with your position, which seems to be that a map should look nice, and hopefully show you the information you need while doing so.

CamperBob2 9y ago
The best compromise would be to add a slider somewhere to let the user determine what's "too cluttered." But the trend is toward taking as many decisions as possible out of the user's hands, and I'd be amazed if future Maps updates move the product in any other direction.
- quantum_magpie 9y ago
  My ideal interface decision would be actual switch (like between regular and topographical maps) that would turn off all the commercial shit and turn the map to a map, with building numbers and street names.

com2kid 9y ago

> All electronic maps use heuristics to show street names because otherwise the map would be too visually cluttered. They tend to show the major streets and a few non major ones and change based on zoom level. There are situations (not that uncommon in my experience) where you can zoom in all the way and Google maps will not show some street names. It gets really infuriating, I am using a map, I want to know where I am at! That is one of the primary value props of having a map. I get that a lot of people can't even read maps now days, and that turn by turn directions are the norm, but in cities where people actually walk, being able to look at a map is very useful. I've had times where I'd ask friends where they are at, and they could NOT get Google maps to tell them! Instead they had to resort to giving me a nearby store, and I'd use Google maps to navigate to that store. A serious design fail in grid based cities, where if I just knew they were on 73rd st and 142nd ave, I could just walk a few blocks over and find them instantly. Once I see the route on Google maps I can close it down and just walk there, but I shouldn't have to cajole my maps app into being a map.

FridgeSeal 9y ago
Or the other annoying case: street name will be shown (underneath route information if you're going somewhere) at one level, but then disappears when you zoom in further to make it actually readable.