code: GoogleMapsPullerCode.rar
bin x86: GoogleMapsPullerBinary.x86.rar
I recently found myself in need of a large, zoomed-in map for a project I’m working on. Of course, Google maps is my default map provider, but I was finding it tricky to get all of the image data I needed for certain zoom levels. I scoured the web and found a few good links on the subject, but I also found they didn’t do quite what I wanted. So, this project was created (and shared) for this purpose.
Basically you lookup your tile coordinates with a tool like this one: http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/javascript/examples/maptype-base.html and you plug them into this program. Once the heavy lifting is done you’re free to save the image anywhere on your machine.
No limitations, no handholding. The default settings give a full zoom-level 12 image of Singapore, which is what I was originally after when I wrote this.
Just be careful with it because I’m not sure you’re legally allowed to do this.
As for the code itself, it’s nothing very special. I utilize a picture box for a preview/save and build the bitmap in-memory using a ThreadPool and as many requests as your system fancies. There’s a timer that refreshes the picture box to give a preview as more images come in. Code is written in VS2010 against the .NET4 framework.