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Google Maps JavaScript API v3

Visualization Library

Overview

The Google Maps JavaScript API v3 uses libraries to provide supplemental features; the visualization library contains a number of classes that turn raw data into beautiful visualizations.

The visualization library includes the following classes:

  • The MapsEngineLayer class can import Google Maps Engine data into your Maps API application.
  • The DynamicMapsEngineLayer class adds additional mouse events and on-the-fly styling to the MapsEngineLayer functionality.
  • The HeatmapLayer class visualizes data intensity at geographical points. Our earthquake mapping tutorial uses the HeatMapLayer class to plot earthquake locations and intensity and walks you through each step of the code.

Using the library

The Visualization classes are a self-contained library, separate from the main Maps API JavaScript code. To use the functionality contained within this library, you must first load it using the libraries parameter in the Maps API bootstrap URL:

<script type="text/javascript"
  src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?libraries=visualization"></script>