This article will explain how to link your addresses in Excel to Google Maps or Bing Maps.

Google Maps or Bing Maps

Both map services offer the ability to build custom URLs but, there are differences. For example,

• Bing Maps does not allow building a URL from a postal address 
• Satellite maps are only possible with latitude and longitude (not with postal addresses)

The HYPERLINK function

To link your Excel data to Google Maps, you must create a custom URL with the HYPERLINK function.

=HYPERLINK("https://www.google.com/maps")

You can customize your URL by filling in the function's second argument.

=HYPERLINK("https://www.google.com/maps"; "Google Map")

How to Build a Custom URL for Google Maps

We will take these addresses as an example.

Now, to build the custom URL for Google Maps, we must start with this link

https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=

Then, we add the addresses in our cells, with the & symbol. We can use either the reference of a cell or the reference of a Table.

=HYPERLINK("https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query="&[@ Address]; "Google Maps")

When you click on the link, you immediately open Google Maps, with the correct location, in your browser😉👍

URL with latitude and longitude

Nowadays, collecting GPS coordinates becomes easier with mobile devices. And, you can convert your addresses to GPS coordinates using a Google API.

To check each GPS coordination, you can also create your custom Google Maps link (file here)

The Google URL is different from the previous URL with a search by postal address. The separator between latitude and longitude is the comma.

https://www.google.com/maps/@?api=1&map_action=map&center=

When applied to the HYPERLINK formula, it gives

=HYPERLINK("https://www.google.com/maps/@?api=1&map_action=map&center=" &A2&","& B2)

CAUTION! the point is the only decimal separator allowed for the latitude and longitude (not the comma)

The Bing Maps writing is shorter. The separator between latitude and longitude is the tilde "~"

https://bing.com/maps/default.aspx?cp=latitude~longitude

And in a formula it gives

=HYPERLINK("https://bing.com/maps/default.aspx?cp="&A2&"~"&B2)

Show Satellite Map

To display the result as a Satellite view, you can only use latitude and longitude. The option isn't available with postal addresses.

With Google, you must add the parameter basemap=satellite

https://www.google.com/maps/@?api=1&map_action=map&center=latitude,longiture&basemap=satellite

=HYPERLINK("https://www.google.com/maps/@?api=1&map_action=map&center="&A2&"," &B2& "&basemap=satellite")

With Bing, you must add the parameter &style=h (display the indications on the map) or &style=a (display only the image)

And the formula is

=HYPERLINK("https://bing.com/maps/default.aspx?cp="&A2&"~" &B2&"&style=h")

Adjust the zoom in your URL

You can also specify the zoom level with Google and Bing, always from a latitude and longitude.

With Google, you just have to add the parameter &zoom with a value between 0 and 21 (default 15). The closer to 21, the closer the zoom.

=HYPERLINK("https://www.google.com/maps/@?api=1&map_action=map&center="&A2&","&B2& "&basemap=satellite&zoom=20")

With Bing, the zoom level is expressed with the &lvl parameter and a value between 1 and 20. The closer to 20, the closer the zoom.

=HYPERLINK("https://bing.com/maps/default.aspx?cp= &A2&"~"&B2&"&style=h&lvl=19")