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Google Maps became the preferred means of millions of Internet users to search and share places from various places on the planet. Restaurants, towns, monuments and a long etcetera.
You may have wanted to share a map location with your contacts on occasion (or many times). Or that it has happened the other way around, that your contacts have shared Google Maps coordinates to obtain the precise location of a site.
So how to search by coordinates on Google Maps?
Using the computer
As we are going to work with Google Maps, the first thing is to enter your website from the browser.
If you received a number of coordinates, write that code in the search box (where the magnifying glass is), as you can see in the image:
It will show you the location along with any additional information that is available. If it is a well-known place, you will have photographs and videos, as well as information of cultural interest.
An interesting fact to keep in mind is that there are 3 coordinate formats that we can use in this search engine, and they are all valid. Take as a reference, for example, the “Puerta del Sol” in Madrid. In different formats it would look like this:
- (DMS) degrees, minutes and seconds: 40 ° 25 ′ 0.98 ″ N, 3 ° 42 ′ 13 ″ W
- (DMM) degrees and decimal minutes: 40 25.0163, -3 42.2167
- (DD) Decimal degrees: 40.41694 °, -3.70361 °
This process is what we apply when we receive a code, but what if we want to share a coordinate of a site that we find on Google Maps?
The easiest way to get the coordinates to share with our acquaintances is to click the right mouse button and select the option "What's here?"
As you can see in the image, Google Maps will show us a small card with the name of the site and the coordinates in decimal degrees format. That value is what we have to copy and send to our contacts.
If you have an Android device
You can also use the coordinate system to find or recommend a site from an Android device.
To see the location of the coordinates that they sent us, we just have to open the Google Maps app and write the numbers of the coordinates in the search engine. This part follows the same dynamic that we already saw in the desktop version of Google Maps.
Now, if what we want is to share a coordinate of the site of our interest, we only have to touch the location on the map.
The app will automatically put the coordinates in the search box, in decimal degrees format. That is the data to send to our contact. And at the bottom of the screen Google Maps will show the coordinates in degrees. That simple
If you have an iPhone or iPad
For iOS users (iPhone or iPad), the process of finding coordinates also consists of two steps: open the Google Maps app and enter the coordinates. The visualization will immediately show the exact point of the site.
And as for getting the coordinates to share, here it's just a matter of tapping the screen at the desired location until a red pushpin appears. You tap on «Pushpin» (or: «Marker Placed»), and the app will show the coordinates of the site.
The advantage of doing this process from the Google Maps app is that it will be easier to share the coordinates in any messaging app, without having to "copy and paste". And the process is much more intuitive.
In addition, you can use the rest of the functions of the app, for example, How to get there or Save location, to consult the data at any time. And of course, it is an easy way to keep an exact record of places we visit, ideal when taking photos, or traveling.
So now you know, you just have to put it into practice at the next opportunity.
