How to Utilise Google Maps/Places API Data

Phil_Jackson · November 12, 2020, 11:47am

Hi all,

I want to be able to use Google Maps API Place data within an app.
I have got a Google Maps API key and am able to ‘call’ data using a URL - see example below that grabs the rating of a place.

I want to be able to display things like the Google rating of a place within an app but don’t know how to do this with the information I can grab via a URL.
I have seen examples on-line that create a Google Script to extract this data but I’m trying to avoid using scripts (mainly as I don’t want to add things into my app that I can’t fix if they go wrong!). And also I’m not sure if you can legally store Google Maps Data.

Any help appreciated

ThinhDinh · November 12, 2020, 11:55am

Does it return a JSON?

Phil_Jackson · November 12, 2020, 11:58am

I think it does. Does that make the output more useable?

ThinhDinh · November 12, 2020, 1:26pm

Yeah, I imagine it can work with a custom function called importJSON.

Phil_Jackson · November 12, 2020, 1:41pm

Thanks. I’ll have a play to see what that custom function provides and what I can extract from it.

Phil_Jackson · November 20, 2020, 7:49pm

Hi.
I have managed to get the IMPORTJSON function to work but only when I insert the URL dorectly into the IMPORTJSON formula.
I want to reference the URL from another column and when I reference a column within the array formula the IMPORTJSON function comes back with a ‘Error getting data’ message.
Copy of formula below.
Any help appreciated.

=ArrayFormula(IF(ROW($A:$A)=1,“Rating”, IF(AE:AE="","",IMPORTJSON(HYPERLINK(CHAR(34)&AF:AF&CHAR(34)),“result/rating”))))

Jeff_Hager · November 20, 2020, 7:53pm

I probably wouldn’t use the HYPERLINK function. All it needs is the url text.

Phil_Jackson · November 20, 2020, 7:56pm

Thanks. I did also try it without the hyperlink part and it came up with the same.
=ArrayFormula(IF(ROW($A:$A)=1,“Rating”, IF(AE:AE="","",IMPORTJSON(CHAR(34)&AF:AF&CHAR(34),“result/rating”))))