Google Maps Redesign Puts ‘Street View’ Front and Center
Google has revamped its popular Maps tool with a new interface that puts the emphasis on its Street View tool.
A new set of controls — looking very much like those you’ll find in Google Earth — highlights a new “Pegman” icon at the top of the zoom controls. Whenever Street View is available the pegman icon will turn orange. Dragging the icon onto the map then triggers the familiar blue lines of Street View and dropping the pegman icon onto the map will cause Street View to fill the map window.
Once Street View takes over, you can navigate using the Street View arrows or via a small thumbnail map that resides in the lower right corner of the map. There’s also a split pane view that shows Street View just above the regular map view.
Another very nice, and easy to overlook feature: zooming down past the lowest level of detail will automatically switch to Street View.
Although the changes are very slick, recognizing all the new options available isn’t immediately obvious. To help you out, Google has put together this goofy little video which shows the new features in action:
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