MKMapView to UIImage iOS 7

Question

The code to render a MKMapView to an UIImage no longer works in iOS 7. It returns an empty image with nothing but the word "Legal" at the bottom and a black compass on the top right. The map itself is missing. Below is my code:

UIGraphicsBeginImageContext(map.bounds.size);
[map.layer renderInContext:UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext()];
UIImage *viewImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext();
UIGraphicsEndImageContext();

Map is an IBOutlet that points to a MKMapView. Is there any way to render a MKMapView correctly in iOS 7?

Did you try to use `drawViewHierarchyInRect:afterScreenUpdates:` instead of `renderInContext:`? — Fabian Kreiser, Sep 26 '13 at 08:20

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:03

From this SO post:

You can use MKMapSnapshotter and grab the image from the resulting MKMapSnapshot. See the discussion of it WWDC 2013 session video, Putting Map Kit in Perspective.

For example:

MKMapSnapshotOptions *options = [[MKMapSnapshotOptions alloc] init];
options.region = self.mapView.region;
options.scale = [UIScreen mainScreen].scale;
options.size = self.mapView.frame.size;

MKMapSnapshotter *snapshotter = [[MKMapSnapshotter alloc] initWithOptions:options];
[snapshotter startWithCompletionHandler:^(MKMapSnapshot *snapshot, NSError *error) {
    UIImage *image = snapshot.image;
    NSData *data = UIImagePNGRepresentation(image);
    [data writeToFile:[self snapshotFilename] atomically:YES];
}];

Having said that, the renderInContext solution still works for me. There are notes about only doing that in the main queue in iOS7, but it still seems to work. But MKMapSnapshotter seems like the more appropriate solution for iOS7.

This should be a comment with a link to the other answer instead of just an exact copy of it. — , Sep 26 '13 at 10:15
This does not take into account the MKMapView overlays. How would I include the MKPolyLines and the overlays in the UIImage? — smartfuse, Oct 23 '13 at 08:29

MKMapView to UIImage iOS 7

1 Answers1