FAQs

Last edit: 2023.01.25

Here are some frequently asked questions from our Maps and Navigation SDK users.

Map Display

Does the built-in UI offer a configurable display of preferred POIs on the map (e.g., restaurants, hotels, airports, gas, coffee, or customizable)?

Markers can be used to indicate POIs on the map. These POIs can be selected by category or brand name. They can be initialized at the Map object.

For further information, see the Android documentation; for iOS see Markers.

Does the SDK include a compass feature?

The compass graphic indicates which way is north. By default, it is placed in the upper right corner of the map and is only visible when the map is not oriented north-up. If the user clicks the compass, the camera rotates to the north-up position.

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Can the events and gestures of the SDK be customized?

The map component provided by the TomTom Map Display module reacts to different gestures with predefined behaviors, but you can also customize these gestures. By default the map supports the following gestures:

  • Panning
  • Zooming (in and out)
  • Rotating
  • Tilting

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS see the iOS documentation.

Traffic

Does the SDK display traffic status?

Yes. There are two ways to show traffic: flow and incidents. Both are available as layers on the map.

  • The traffic incidents layer shows delays and incident icons.
  • The traffic flow layer shows both freeflow and congested stretches of road.

For further information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Search

Does Search in the SDK include a typeahead/autocomplete feature?

Autocomplete is available to help users make more effective searches. It recognizes entities inside an input query and offers them as query terms. This improves the accuracy of the search results. Autocomplete requests are built using the AutocompleteSearchOptions class.

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Routing

What road types can be specified to avoid when planning a route?

Specify the avoids that need to be taken into consideration when calculating a route using the RoutePlanningOptions.costModel.avoidOptions.avoidTypes parameter for Android and the AvoidOptions.avoids parameter for iOS.

For both platforms, the avoid can be specified multiple times. Avoids include:

  • Toll roads
  • Motorways
  • Ferries
  • Unpaved roads
  • Carpool/HOV lanes
  • Roads already used on the route (useful for round trips where drivers don’t want to take the same way back)
  • Border crossings
  • Tunnels
  • Car trains

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

For a complete list, see the Android API Reference; for iOS, see the iOS API Reference.

Does the SDK propose alternative routes before the beginning of the navigation?

Once the Navigation object is initialized, you can start the navigation. Turn-by-turn navigation requires a RoutePlan for navigation to follow. A RoutePlan consists of a Route and a RoutePlanningOptions object. The RoutePlanningOptions object includes the AlternativeRoutesOptions class that allows you to define different parameters for alternative routes.

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Can I import a custom route and use it for navigation in the SDK?

The supportingPoints parameter can be used to reconstruct a route from an imported polyline. The sequence of supporting points provided is used as input for route reconstruction.

For further information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Navigation

Does the SDK include speed limits for different road sections?

Most road sections include speed limits. These speed limits are provided in kilometers per hour. The related section type is SectionType.SPEED_LIMIT.

For further information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Can I drive without a planned route?

Yes. When you use navigation without a planned route, it’s called free driving. Free driving provides detailed information about the current location such as speed, speed limit, country code, street name, road characteristics, and so on.

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Can I plan a route based on a vehicle profile?

Yes, in Android you do this by modifying the Vehicle object. In iOS, you do this by modifying the VehicleProfile object. A use case where a vehicle profile is important is when roads may prohibit vehicles carrying hazardous materials, and tunnels may only be passable by vehicles up to a maximum height and (for trucks) with the proper tunnel code.

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.

Is hilliness and windingness supported in the SDK for any type of vehicle?

Yes. First, you need to select the right vehicle value in the RoutePlanningOptions class. Then you need to choose the Thrilling option from the route type parameter which specifies the type of optimization used when calculating routes. For the Thrilling Route Type, the route calculation is optimized so that routes include interesting or challenging roads and use as few motorways as possible. You can choose the level of turns included and also the degree of hilliness. See the hilliness and windingness parameters to set this.

For more information, see the Android documentation; for iOS, see the iOS documentation.