Google has added a new feature to Google Maps, which allows you to perform multiple searches, while keeping them around for future reference. It’s hard to explain without an example.
On the Google Lat Long Blog, to illustrate the feature, they give the example of a search for the Road to Hana on Maui. They search for this, but also search separately for supermarkets, gas stations, and driving directions to Hana, HI.
Before, each search would have brought up a new page, but now Google saves the searches in a little box, which you can show or hide, in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. The searches show up as a checklist, and you can actually have multiple results show up on the map at the same time as long as the boxes are checked.
Each search in the box has a colored dot beside it, which corresponds with the markers on the map for that particular search. This is a pretty useful tool that quite frankly should’ve been around a long time ago.
Either way, it’s here now, and will no doubt get plenty of use from Google Maps users abroad. Another nice thing about the feature is that once you search in a particular location, the following searches will pertain to that location. For example, if you searched Hana first, you would then simply be able to just search for “supermarkets” to get listings for supermarkets in the area.
Having traveled the road to Hana myself, I can tell you that a supermarket is about the only thing there once you make it. Ok, there’s also a gas station and a horse. It’s the getting there that is the fun part though.
