Find the Place, Even When the Spelling Is Wrong
A traveller in Warsaw types Zlotaa 59. They mean Złota 59, and as of this release the online search finds it.
GLSearch now corrects common typos in online map search: a missing letter, an extra one, or a wrong one in the name of an address, a business or a place. The user picks the destination instead of retyping it.
Built for the way people search on a phone
People search while walking, planning a trip, or switching between messages and maps. They copy unfamiliar addresses, use keyboards without local accents, and remember only part of a place name.
With the map centred on Warsaw, Zlotaa 59 returns Złote Tarasy at Złota 59: the typo in the street name is corrected and the house number stays in the query. Marszalkowsk finds Marszałkowska without the ł and without the last letter.
Several kinds of matching work together here:
| What the user needs | What GLSearch offers |
|---|---|
| Find an address despite a small typo | Spelling corrections that keep the other address details in the search |
| Search a foreign city with their usual keyboard | Accent-insensitive matching, such as cafe and café, alongside typo tolerance |
| Recognize a destination before finishing the query | Autocomplete with corrections for complete misspelled words |
| Find a nearby business rather than a similar name far away | Location-aware results guided by the search center and, optionally, the visible map area |
Accent-insensitive matching was already part of GLSearch; typo tolerance is new.
When a correction is used
A correction helps only if it leads to the right place, and a rare local name should not be replaced by a better-known one that looks similar. So the ordinary search runs first, and if it finds a strong match for what the user typed, nothing is corrected.
Corrections are looked for near the search centre. GLMap 2.2 also lets the app pass the visible map area as additional context, and a city named in the query guides the search to that city.
Category filters still apply: an app that searches for cafés keeps that filter, and the corrected results are cafés too.
Where it helps
- Travel and city guides: help visitors find streets and attractions whose names they have only heard or briefly seen.
- Navigation apps: make destination entry more forgiving without asking users to leave the search screen to check a spelling.
- Delivery and field-service apps: help users look up an address while retaining the house number and other details they entered. Search results still need to be confirmed by the user; this is not postal-address verification.
- Local discovery: combine business and category search with the area the user is exploring.
Corrected matches arrive as normal GLSearch results, so the existing results list, map markers and route selection stay as they are.
Using it
Fuzzy matching runs in the online search service and works with GLSearchRequest.startOnline. There is no spelling dictionary to maintain and no separate correction service to add to the app.
Use a meaningful search center, such as the map center or the area the user is exploring. With GLMap 2.2, you can also pass visibleArea to give the service viewport context. It is a relevance hint, not a strict boundary on results.
Search can be used with the GLMap renderer or on its own—for example, in a destination picker that shows a list before opening a map. See the search integration guide and setup without a map view.
Online only
Your app can still search downloaded maps when there is no connection. Offline mobile search does not include fuzzy matching; the corrections described here need the online service, and the mobile SDK carries no correction dictionaries.
The corrections handle one small mistake. A query with several mistyped words, or a word with more than one mistake, still needs a retype, and the results depend on the map data and the geographic context.
Trying it
Start with real destinations in your region: a street with an extra letter, a business name typed from memory, an address entered without local accents. Compare the suggestions with the place the user meant.
Create an API key and follow the GLSearch guide to try it in your app. If you are evaluating search for a travel, navigation, or location-based product, talk to us about your regions and search scenarios.