Display device location

Learn how to display the current device location on a map or scene.

You can display the device location on a map or scene. This is important for workflows that require the user's current location, such as finding nearby businesses, navigating from the current location, or identifying and collecting geospatial information.

By default, location display uses the device's location provider. Your app can also process input from other location providers, such as an external GPS receiver or a provider that returns a simulated location. For more information, see the Show device location topic.

Prerequisites

Steps

Open an Android Studio project

1. To start this tutorial, complete the Display a map tutorial. Or download and unzip the Display a map solution in a new folder.

2. Modify the old project for use in this new tutorial. Expand More info for instructions.

   More info

   1. On your file system, delete the .idea folder, if present, at the top level of your project.

   2. In the Android tool window, open app > res > values > strings.xml.

      In the <string name="app_name"> element, change the content to Display device location.

      strings.xml

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      <resources>
      
          <string name="app_name">Display device location</string>
      
          <string name="location_permissions_denied">LocationDisplay cannot run because location permissions were denied.</string>
      
      </resources>

      Create a new element: <string name ="location_permissions_denied">. As its content, add an error message saying that location permissions were denied.

      strings.xml

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      <resources>
      
          <string name="app_name">Display device location</string>
      
          <string name="location_permissions_denied">LocationDisplay cannot run because location permissions were denied.</string>
      
      </resources>

   3. In the Android tool window, open Gradle Scripts > settings.gradle.

      Change the value of rootProject.name to "Display device location".

      settings.gradle

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      rootProject.name = "Display device location"
      
      include ':app'

   4. Click File > Sync Project with Gradle files. Android Studio will recognize your changes and create a new .idea folder.

3. If you downloaded the Display a map solution project, get your API key and set it in your app.

   More info

   An API Key enables access to services, web maps, and web scenes hosted in ArcGIS Online.

   1. Go to your developer dashboard to get your API key. For these tutorials, use your default API key. It is scoped to include all of the services demonstrated in the tutorials.

   2. In Android Studio: in the Android tool window, open app > java > com.example.app > MainActivity.

   3. In the setApiKey() function, find the ApiKey.create() call and paste your API key inside the quotes, replacing YOUR_API_KEY.

      MainActivity.kt

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          private fun setApiKey() {
              // It is not best practice to store API keys in source code. We have you insert one here
              // to streamline this tutorial.
      
              ArcGISEnvironment.apiKey = ApiKey.create("YOUR_API_KEY")
      
          }
      

Add import statements

1. Replace app-specific import statements with the imports (highlighted in yellow) needed for this tutorial.

   MainActivity.kt

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   package com.example.app
   
   
   import android.os.Bundle
   import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
   import android.Manifest
   import android.content.pm.PackageManager
   import android.util.Log
   import android.widget.Toast
   import androidx.core.app.ActivityCompat
   import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat
   import androidx.databinding.DataBindingUtil
   import androidx.lifecycle.lifecycleScope
   import com.arcgismaps.ApiKey
   import com.arcgismaps.ArcGISEnvironment
   import com.arcgismaps.location.LocationDisplayAutoPanMode
   import com.arcgismaps.mapping.ArcGISMap
   import com.arcgismaps.mapping.BasemapStyle
   import com.arcgismaps.mapping.view.LocationDisplay
   import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
   import com.example.app.databinding.ActivityMainBinding
   
   class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
   

Ask user for permission to display location

Set the user permissions to allow display location.

1. In Android.Manifest.xml, add permissions for coarse and fine location.

   AndroidManifest.xml

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   <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
   
       <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
   
       <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" />
       <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
   

   Expand

2. In MainActivity.kt, create the requestPermissions() method.

   Check whether your app already has permissions for accessing fine location and coarse location by calling checkSelfPermission(). If one or both permissions have not been granted, then request permission from the user by calling ActivityCompat.requestPermissions().

   MainActivity.kt

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       private fun requestPermissions() {
           // coarse location permission
           val permissionCheckCoarseLocation =
               ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(
                   this@MainActivity,
                   Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
               ) ==
                       PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED
           // fine location permission
           val permissionCheckFineLocation =
               ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(
                   this@MainActivity,
                   Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
               ) ==
                       PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED
   
           // if permissions are not already granted, request permission from the user
           if (!(permissionCheckCoarseLocation && permissionCheckFineLocation)) {
               ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(
                   this@MainActivity,
                   arrayOf(
                       Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION,
                       Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
                   ),
                   2
               )
           } else {
               // permission already granted, so start the location display
               lifecycleScope.launch {
                   locationDisplay.dataSource.start()
               }
           }
       }
   

   Expand

3. Override the onRequestPermissionsResult() callback inherited from the AppCompatActivity class.

   If the grant results array indicates that location permissions were granted, then start the location display.

   More info

   If the locationDisplay.dataSource.start() call in setupMap() fails to start the location data source, the onFailure's lambda gets executed. (You will edit setupMap() and add that lambda in the next section of this tutorial: Show the current location.)

   The lambda calls this app's requestPermissions() method, which ultimately results in onRequestPermissionsResult() being called. At this point, you verified location permissions, so it's time for another attempt to start location display.

   MainActivity.kt

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       override fun onRequestPermissionsResult(
           requestCode: Int,
           permissions: Array<String>,
           grantResults: IntArray
       ) {
           super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults)
           // if request is cancelled, the results array is empty
           if (grantResults.isNotEmpty() && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
               lifecycleScope.launch {
                   locationDisplay.dataSource.start()
               }
           }
   
       }
   

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4. If location permissions were not granted, show a Toast saying that permissions were denied.

   MainActivity.kt

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       override fun onRequestPermissionsResult(
           requestCode: Int,
           permissions: Array<String>,
           grantResults: IntArray
       ) {
           super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults)
           // if request is cancelled, the results array is empty
           if (grantResults.isNotEmpty() && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
               lifecycleScope.launch {
                   locationDisplay.dataSource.start()
               }
           }
   
           else {
               val errorMessage = getString(R.string.location_permissions_denied)
               showError(errorMessage)
           }
   
       }
   

   Expand

Show the current location

Each map view has its own instance of a LocationDisplay for showing the current location (point) of the device. The location is displayed as an overlay in the map view.

1. In setupMap, delete the code that sets the map's initial viewpoint.

   MainActivity.kt

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       private fun setupMap() {
   
           val map = ArcGISMap(BasemapStyle.ArcGISTopographic)
   
           // set the map to be displayed in the layout's MapView
           mapView.map = map
   
           mapView.setViewpoint(Viewpoint(34.0270, -118.8050, 72000.0))
   
       }
   

2. In setupMap(), set the ArcGISEnvironment.applicationContext property and set a LocationDisplayAutoPanMode that centers the map at the device location. Then try to start displaying the location as follows: call the data source's start() method inside the lifecycleScope.launch coroutine builder and listen for success or failure of the start attempt. In the onFailure lambda, which will be invoked when the location data source fails to start, call the request permissions method so the user can approve location permissions.

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    // set up your map here. You will call this method from onCreate()
    private fun setupMap() {
        // create a map with the BasemapStyle Topographic
        val map = ArcGISMap(BasemapStyle.ArcGISTopographic)

        // set the map to be displayed in the layout's MapView
        mapView.map = map

        // LocationProvider requires an Android Context to properly interact with Android system
        ArcGISEnvironment.applicationContext = applicationContext
        // set the autoPanMode
        locationDisplay.setAutoPanMode(LocationDisplayAutoPanMode.Recenter)

        lifecycleScope.launch {
            // start the map view's location display
            locationDisplay.dataSource.start()
                .onFailure {
                    // check permissions to see if failure may be due to lack of permissions
                    requestPermissions()
                }
        }

    }

Run your app

1. Click Run > Run > app to run the app.

   More info

   In Android Studio, you have two choices for running your app: an actual Android device or the Android Emulator.

   Android device

   Connect your computer to your Android device, using USB or Wi-Fi. For more details, see How to connect your Android device.

   Android Emulator

   Create an AVD (Android Virtual Device) to run in the Android Emulator. For details, see Run apps on the Android Emulator.

   Selecting a device

   When you build and run an app in Android Studio, you must first select a device. From the Android Studio toolbar, you can access the drop-down list of your currently available devices, both virtual and physical.

   .

   If you cannot access the list on the toolbar, click Tools > Device Manager.

   You should see your current location displayed on the map. Different location symbols are used depending on the auto pan mode and whether a location is acquired. See LocationDisplayAutoPanMode for details.

   More info

   By default, a round blue symbol is used to display the device's location. The location data source tries to get the most accurate location available but depending upon signal strength, satellite positions, and other factors, the location reported could be an approximation. A semi-transparent circle around the location symbol indicates the range of accuracy. As the device moves and location updates are received, the location symbol will be repositioned on the map.