Display your location using Bing Maps (XAML)
This topic shows you how to display your location using Bing Maps and then test your app with a variety of locations using the Simulator included in Microsoft Visual Studio.
Complete source code for this topic can be downloaded here.
Prerequisites
You should be familiar with XAML, Visual C#, and events.
Access to location must be enabled on the device that you're using.
Step 1: Download and install the Bing Maps SDK for Windows Store apps
Download and install the Bing Maps SDK for Windows Store apps from the download site.
Step 2: Register and create a Bing Maps Key for your app
Register as a user on the Bing Maps Portal and then follow the instructions for Getting a Bing Maps Key for your app. Later, we'll use the key that is generated when we insert the Bing Maps control into our project.
Step 3: Open Visual Studio
Open an instance of Visual Studio.
Step 4: Create a new project
Create a new project, choosing a Blank App (XAML) from the Visual C# > Windows Store project types. Name your app SimpleMapping.
Step 5: Set your target platform
Open the Configuration Manager from the Build menu and set your Active solution platform to x86 or x64..jpg)
Step 6: Add the Bing Maps references
In the Solution Explorer, right-click References and add references to Bing Maps for C#, C++, or Visual Basic and Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Package..jpg)
Step 7: Set the Location capability
Open the Package.appxmanifest file and go to the Capabilities tab. Select the Location capability..jpg)
Step 8: Add classes for the 10-meter and 100-meter location icons
In the Solution Explorer, right-click the SimpleMapping project and add a New Item. Select User Control and name the page LocationIcon10m.xaml.
Open LocationIcon10m.xaml and copy the following XML into it (replacing the original contents of the file). This code provides an icon to display when the location data is accurate down to about 10 meters.
<UserControl x:Class="SimpleMapping.LocationIcon10m" xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:local="using:SimpleMapping" xmlns:d="https://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" mc:Ignorable="d"> <Canvas> <Ellipse Height="25" Width="25" Fill="#FFF0F0F0" Margin="-12.5,-12.5,0,0"></Ellipse> <Ellipse Height="20" Width="20" Fill="Black" Margin="-10,-10,0,0"></Ellipse> <Ellipse Height="10" Width="10" Fill="White" Margin="-5,-5,0,0"></Ellipse> </Canvas> </UserControl>In the Solution Explorer, right-click the SimpleMapping project and add a New Item. Select User Control and name the page LocationIcon100m.xaml.
Open LocationIcon100m.xaml and copy the following XML into it (replacing the original contents of the file). This code provides an icon to display when the location data is accurate down to about 100 meters. Note that if we have even less accurate data, we will not display an icon and will only show a region on the map. For more info about this, see "Guidelines for graphical representation of location" in Guidelines for location-aware apps.
<UserControl x:Class="SimpleMapping.LocationIcon100m" xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:local="using:SimpleMapping" xmlns:d="https://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" mc:Ignorable="d"> <Canvas> <Ellipse Height="55" Width="55" Fill="Black" Opacity=".35" Margin="-27.5,-27.5,0,0"></Ellipse> <Ellipse Height="50" Width="50" Fill="CornflowerBlue" Opacity=".65" Margin="-25,-25,0,0"></Ellipse> <Ellipse Height="25" Width="25" Fill="#FFF0F0F0" Margin="-12.5,-12.5,0,0"></Ellipse> <Ellipse Height="20" Width="20" Fill="Black" Margin="-10,-10,0,0"></Ellipse> <Ellipse Height="10" Width="10" Fill="White" Margin="-5,-5,0,0"></Ellipse> </Canvas> </UserControl>
Step 9: Lay out a page to display the map
Open the file MainPage.xaml and copy the following XML into it (replacing its original contents). This XML will display one button for retrieving the location, one button to cancel the operation, six text boxes for displaying the location data and labels, and one map control for displaying the location.
<Page xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:local="using:SimpleMapping" xmlns:d="https://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:Maps="using:Bing.Maps" x:Class="SimpleMapping.MainPage" mc:Ignorable="d"> <Grid Background="{StaticResource ApplicationPageBackgroundThemeBrush}"> <Button x:Name="MapLocationButton" Content="Map Current Location" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="29,31,1157,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Click="MapLocationButton_Click" Height="38"/> <Maps:Map x:Name="Map" Margin="0,120,0,0" Credentials="Insert Your Bing Maps Key Here"/> <Button x:Name="CancelGetLocationButton" Content="Cancel" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="242,31,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Click="CancelGetLocationButton_Click"/> <TextBox x:Name="MessageTextbox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="354,37,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="605" Background="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" Foreground="{StaticResource ButtonForegroundThemeBrush}" BorderBrush="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}"/> <TextBox HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="1046,10,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="Latitude:" VerticalAlignment="Top" Background="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" BorderBrush="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" Foreground="{StaticResource ButtonForegroundThemeBrush}"/> <TextBox HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="1046,42,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="Longitude:" VerticalAlignment="Top" Background="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" BorderBrush="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" Foreground="{StaticResource ButtonForegroundThemeBrush}"/> <TextBox HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="1046,74,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="Accuracy:" VerticalAlignment="Top" Background="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" BorderBrush="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" Foreground="{StaticResource ButtonForegroundThemeBrush}"/> <TextBox x:Name="LatitudeTextbox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="1165,10,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Background="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" BorderBrush="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" Foreground="{StaticResource ButtonForegroundThemeBrush}"/> <TextBox x:Name="LongitudeTextbox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="1165,42,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Background="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" BorderBrush="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" Foreground="{StaticResource ButtonForegroundThemeBrush}"/> <TextBox x:Name="AccuracyTextbox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="1165,74,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Background="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" BorderBrush="{StaticResource ButtonBackgroundThemeBrush}" Foreground="{StaticResource ButtonForegroundThemeBrush}"/> </Grid> </Page>Insert the Bing Maps Key you acquired earlier into the Map control's Credentials attribute.
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Step 10: Add namespaces to your project
In the MainPage.xaml.cs file, add the following code.
using Windows.Devices.Geolocation;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Bing.Maps;
Step 11: Add the member variables
In MainPage.xaml.cs, add these member variables to the MainPage class.
public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
{
// member variables to add
private Geolocator _geolocator = null;
private CancellationTokenSource _cts = null;
LocationIcon10m _locationIcon10m;
LocationIcon100m _locationIcon100m;
Step 12: Initialize the member variables
In MainPage.xaml.cs, replace the MainPage constructor with this code, which initializes the member variables.
public MainPage()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
_geolocator = new Geolocator();
_locationIcon10m = new LocationIcon10m();
_locationIcon100m = new LocationIcon100m();
}
Step 13: Handle the OnNavigatedTo event
In MainPage.xaml.cs, replace the OnNavigatedTo event handler with this code, which initializes the states of the Get Location and Cancel buttons.
protected override void OnNavigatedTo(NavigationEventArgs e)
{
MapLocationButton.IsEnabled = true;
CancelGetLocationButton.IsEnabled = false;
}
Step 14: Handle the MapLocationButton_Click event
In MainPage.xaml.cs, add the MapLocationButton_Click event handler.
This code performs the following:
- Changes the state of the Get Location and Cancel buttons.
- Removes any previous location icon that may have been used.
- Sets up a cancellation token so that the user can cancel the operation if it is taking too long.
- Asynchronously gets the location.
- Selects a location icon based on the accuracy of the data retrieved.
- Set the map to the location.
- Handles some error conditions.
- Resets the buttons after the location has been retrieved.
async private void MapLocationButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
// Change the state of our buttons.
MapLocationButton.IsEnabled = false;
CancelGetLocationButton.IsEnabled = true;
// Remove any previous location icon.
if (Map.Children.Count > 0)
{
Map.Children.RemoveAt(0);
}
try
{
// Get the cancellation token.
_cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
CancellationToken token = _cts.Token;
MessageTextbox.Text = "Waiting for update...";
// Get the location.
Geoposition pos = await _geolocator.GetGeopositionAsync().AsTask(token);
MessageTextbox.Text = "";
Location location = new Location(pos.Coordinate.Point.Position.Latitude, pos.Coordinate.Point.Position.Longitude);
// Now set the zoom level of the map based on the accuracy of our location data.
// Default to IP level accuracy. We only show the region at this level - No icon is displayed.
double zoomLevel = 13.0f;
// if we have GPS level accuracy
if (pos.Coordinate.Accuracy <= 10)
{
// Add the 10m icon and zoom closer.
Map.Children.Add(_locationIcon10m);
MapLayer.SetPosition(_locationIcon10m, location);
zoomLevel = 15.0f;
}
// Else if we have Wi-Fi level accuracy.
else if (pos.Coordinate.Accuracy <= 100)
{
// Add the 100m icon and zoom a little closer.
Map.Children.Add(_locationIcon100m);
MapLayer.SetPosition(_locationIcon100m, location);
zoomLevel = 14.0f;
}
// Set the map to the given location and zoom level.
Map.SetView(location, zoomLevel);
// Display the location information in the textboxes.
LatitudeTextbox.Text = pos.Coordinate.Point.Position.Latitude.ToString();
LongitudeTextbox.Text = pos.Coordinate.Point.Position.Longitude.ToString();
AccuracyTextbox.Text = pos.Coordinate.Accuracy.ToString();
}
catch (System.UnauthorizedAccessException)
{
MessageTextbox.Text = "Location disabled.";
LatitudeTextbox.Text = "No data";
LongitudeTextbox.Text = "No data";
AccuracyTextbox.Text = "No data";
}
catch (TaskCanceledException)
{
MessageTextbox.Text = "Operation canceled.";
}
finally
{
_cts = null;
}
// Reset the buttons.
MapLocationButton.IsEnabled = true;
CancelGetLocationButton.IsEnabled = false;
}
Step 15: Handle the CancelGetLocationButton_Click event
In MainPage.xaml.cs, add the CancelGetLocationButton_Click event handler. This code cancels the asynchronous call to get the location if the user presses the Cancel button. It also resets the state of the buttons.
private void CancelGetLocationButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
if (_cts != null)
{
_cts.Cancel();
_cts = null;
}
MapLocationButton.IsEnabled = true;
CancelGetLocationButton.IsEnabled = false;
}
Step 16: Handle the OnNavigatingFrom event
In MainPage.xaml.cs, add the OnNavigatingFrom event handler. This code cancels the asynchronous call to get the location if the user leaves the page.
protected override void OnNavigatingFrom(NavigatingCancelEventArgs e)
{
if (_cts != null)
{
_cts.Cancel();
_cts = null;
}
base.OnNavigatingFrom(e);
}
Step 17: Build the app
Choose Build > Build Solution to build the project.
Step 18: Test the app
- On the Debug menu, click Start Debugging to test the solution.
- The first time you run the sample, a prompt asks whether the app can use your location. Choose the Allow option.
- Click the Get Location button to get the current location.
Note If location data isn't displayed, check the following:
- Make sure you've enabled access to location. Open package.appxmanifest in Solution Explorer and check Location in the Capabilities tab.
- If location settings have been turned off, your app won't be able to access the user's location. In the Settings app, check the location privacy settings. Your app can access the user's location only when:
- Location for this device... is turned on (not applicable in Windows 10 Mobile)
- The location services setting, Location, is turned on
- Under Choose apps that can use your location, your app is set to on
Step 19: Test the app in the Simulator
To test your app with different locations, change the Target Device in Visual Studio from Local Machine to Simulator.
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Select Start Debugging again to start the Simulator with the app running in it. Select the globe icon on the Simulator to set different locations and accuracies.
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Related topics
Windows 8.1 geolocation sample
Bing Maps SDK for Windows Store apps