How to Print Only the Map in Google Maps: Step-by-Step Guide

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Easily turn your Google Maps view into a high-quality print

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: October 28, 2024 Fact Checked

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Printing Any Map View

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Printing from My Maps

This wikiHow guide teaches you how to print any map in Google Maps without additional text or advertisements. If you created a custom map in Google Maps' My Maps and only want to print it without a legend and/or labels, you'll need to export it to Google Earth first.

Quick Steps

Open the map you want to print.
Click the Layers to turn off map elements you don't want to print.
Press Ctrl + P (PC) or Cmd + P (Mac).
Click Print .
Select Landscape orientation.
Click Print .

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Printing Any Map View

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1
Navigate to https://maps.google.com on your computer. If you want to print a specific map area in Google Maps, it's pretty easy to do.
- If you want to print a custom map you created in Google Maps' My Maps tool, use this method instead.
2
Bring up the map you wish to print. You can do this by typing a location into the box at the top-left corner of the screen and pressing ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return .
- To zoom in on the map, click the + button near the bottom-right corner of the map. To zoom out, click the – just beneath it.
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3
Hide map details you don't want to print. Click the Layers panel at the bottom-left corner of your map, and then click More to see all your options. You can choose the default map type or a satellite view, turn details like traffic and transit routes on or off, and more.
- If you select the Satellite map type, you can uncheck the "Layers" box to print only the map without labels. This is the best way to print just the map without any excess details.
- Click the X to close the map details box after making your selections.
This removes the sidebar and extraneous icons and gives you a nice, clean map to print.
It's the blue button in the white bar above the top-right corner of the map.
You can skip this step if the correct printer has already been selected.
Because the map displays in landscape mode in your browser, you'll want to make this change so the map prints horizontally and can properly scale to fit the page.
The map will now print to the selected printer.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Printing from My Maps

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1
Open your custom map in My Maps. If you created a custom map in Google Maps, the only options to print it display the legend and sidebar information. But don't worry—if you export the map to Google Earth for desktop, you can print only the map without the legend or other clutter. Any custom icons you added to your map will appear in the printed version.
- To find your saved maps in Google Maps, click Saved on the left panel, click the Maps tab, and select the map you want to print.
- This method only works for maps you created in My Maps . This will not work when printing a map from directions or for a location you found while searching Google Maps.
2
Install Google Earth Pro on your PC or Mac. If you only want to print a map, you'll need to export your map from My Maps to Google Earth Pro (which, despite the name, is free).
- To install Google Earth, go to https://www.google.com/earth/about/versions , click Google Earth Pro on desktop , then click Download Earth Pro on desktop .
- Once the installer is saved to your computer, double-click the file and follow the on-screen installation instructions.
3
Export your Google Map to a KMZ file. This saves the map in a format you can open in Google Earth. ^{[1]
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Research source} Here's how:
- Click the three-dot menu ⋮ next to the name of your map.
- Click Export to KML/KMZ .
- Select Entire Map (unless you only want to print one layer, in which case, select the layer), then click Download .
- Select a location to save the file to, then click Save .
4
Double-click the KMZ file you downloaded. It should be in your default download folder. Because KMZ is a file type created specifically for Google Earth, double-clicking the file should open it in Google Earth.
- If that doesn't open your map in Google Earth Pro, open Google Earth Pro, click the File menu, select Open , select the KMZ file, and click Open .
5
Zoom in on the area you want to print. Click and drag around the map to reposition it. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can use it to zoom in and out . You can also use the zoom panel on the right side.
- Adjust the orientation using the directional wheel at the top-right corner of the map.
6
Choose which map details to print. Click the Layers panel on the left—you'll see all the map layers listed here, along with checkboxes you can use to turn them on or off. Uncheck any layers to hide them. Only visible layers will print on your map.
- If you want to print just the map without labels, expand the Borders and Labels menu, then uncheck "Labels." Any place markers or custom icons you added to the map will remain, even with the labels removed.
This places a border around the area of the map you'll be printing.
8
Position the area you want to print within the border. You can zoom in and out using your scroll wheel, or using these shortcuts:
- Zoom in: Ctrl + + (PC) or ⌘ Cmd + + (Mac)
- Zoom out: Ctrl + - (PC) or ⌘ Cmd + - (Mac)
If you don't want a legend, compass, title, or scale to print, click the Map options menu at the top-left and uncheck those options.
Click the Print button above your map to open your computer's print dialog window, select your printer and orientation (portrait or landscape), and then click Print .