Google Maps Places: How do I check if selected place is in specific town?

Question

I successfully set up Google Places for indicating places in a specific town. My only problem: I have not yet achieved to alert the user if he has selected a place which is not in a specific defined town.

I have set up a jsfiddle here: http://jsfiddle.net/pbq2b/

My JS code:

 $(function(){     
var lat = 51.5073509,
    lng = -0.12775829999998223,
    latlng = new google.maps.LatLng(lat, lng),
    image = 'http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mapfiles/ms/micons/blue-dot.png'; 

var mapOptions = {           
        center: new google.maps.LatLng(lat, lng),           
        zoom: 13,           
        mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP         
    },
    map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map_canvas'), mapOptions),
    marker = new google.maps.Marker({
        position: latlng,
        map: map,
        icon: image
     });

var input = document.getElementById('searchTextField');         
var autocomplete = new google.maps.places.Autocomplete(input);          

autocomplete.bindTo('bounds', map); 
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow(); 

// when user has clicked on an autocomplete suggestion
google.maps.event.addListener(autocomplete, 'place_changed', function() {

    infowindow.close();
    var place = autocomplete.getPlace();

    // get town of selected place
    function getTown(address_components) {

                    var geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();  result = address_components;
                        var info = [];
                        for (var i = 0; i < result.length; ++i) {

                            if (result[i].types[0] == "locality") {
                                return result[i].long_name;
                            }


                        }
    };
    var town = getTown(place.address_components);

        // if place is in London, move marker to the place
        if (town == 'London') {

        infowindow.close();
        var place = autocomplete.getPlace();
        console.log(place);

        if (place.geometry.viewport) {
            map.fitBounds(place.geometry.viewport);
        } else {
            map.setCenter(place.geometry.location);
            map.setZoom(17);  
        }

        moveMarker(place.name, place.geometry.location); 


    } else {

        // if not, do nothing and alert user
        alert('you must click on a place in London');
    }

});  



 function moveMarker(placeName, latlng){
    marker.setIcon(image);
    marker.setPosition(latlng);
    infowindow.setContent(placeName);
    infowindow.open(map, marker);
 }

});

When you enter a street name such as "Norris Street" the script succesfully recognizes that the place is in London. When you click on a place which is located outside London, also the script successfully recognizes this and alerts the user.

However, if you click on certain sights or train stations such as "Big Ben" or "Heathrow Airport" which obviously are located in London, the script sends out the alert that these places are not in London. How come? How can I achieve that also the city of these places is recognized?

I have the same problem with other cities with this script - with streets no problem, but when I click on a train station for example, the city is not recognized.

Anyone knows a good solution how to identify the city for ALL places?

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:11

0

I think there might be a problem with your getTown function. Did you try to use "political" rather than "locality" ?

You may want to check this question: get city from geocoder results?

edited May 23 '17 at 12:11

Community

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answered Jul 26 '14 at 19:52

Görkem Öğüt

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@KentMiller what is locality returning for the POI locations that you mentioned? – Görkem Öğüt Jul 26 '14 at 20:01
for "Big Ben" or for example "Heathrow Airport" (forget my Liverpool example) I get 'undefined'....... – Kent Miller Jul 26 '14 at 20:14
@KentMiller there are several options for that types like route, street_number etc but there is also postal_code_prefix So you may go through the postal codes. I think there may well be a permanent prefix for London. You can try to catch London from that prefix? – Görkem Öğüt Jul 26 '14 at 20:20
this isn't a viable solution. On my website I want to offer multiple cities and there are places such as "Manchester" or "Liverpool" that don't have postal codes assigned to... – Kent Miller Jul 26 '14 at 20:29

Google Maps Places: How do I check if selected place is in specific town?

1 Answers1