Getting Your Google API Key
Before you can start using the Location property type, you must first obtain your Google API Key and save it in the Adalo interface.
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Before you can start using the Location property type, you must first obtain your Google API Key and save it in the Adalo interface.
Last updated
Skill Level: Intermediate
Ensure you have a Google account (Gmail is fine)
Ensure you are logged into this account in your browser
You will need a paid Adalo plan in order to use this feature.
Note that each time your app uses a location feature, your Google plan will be charged.
1.) Login to your Google account, if you have not already, create a new Google Cloud Console project by clicking here, then give it a name, then click Create. If you have Google Workspace, you can also tie this project to an Organization, otherwise you can leave it on No organization.
2.) Next we need to setup billing for our project. Click on the Billing tab in the left-hand menu.
3.) If you already have a billing account, you may link it here, otherwise click Manage Billing Accounts.
4.) Click Add Billing Account
5.) Provide some basic details about your account, verify a phone number, then input your card details and click Start My Free Trial. Google provides a $200/month credit for location and maps features in additional to a $300 of credit to start with. Learn more
6.) Now go back to https://console.cloud.google.com/. Ensure your project name is selected in the top left. Click on the Billing tab again, then Link your new billing account to your project.
NOTE: Google provides a free $200/month allowance for location/maps API usage in addition to the free trial. You will need upgrade your billing account once your free trial runs out of funds in order to keep using Google's services. You can either do this now or later when you launch your app. Do this in the Billing tab of your project. Learn more in our estimating Google costs article.
7.) Next we need to enable the APIs we're going to use. Click on each link below to open the APIs page, then click Enable. Ensure the correct project is selected in the upper left first.
Maps JavaScript API-https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/maps-backend.googleapis.com
If you are planning on using the Maps component in your application, go ahead and enable these APIs as well:
Maps SDK for Android-https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/maps-android-backend.googleapis.com
8.) Now let's get our Google API Key. Click on the menu icon in the top left, then hover over API's and Services and select Credentials.
9.) Click on +Create Credentials in the top left, then click API Key.
10.) Your new API Key will be visible in the popup. Copy the key and save it in a safe location - treat it like a password\
11.) Once you've saved it, let's now paste it into our Adalo account for use with our Location property. In the Adalo Builder, (1) click on the Gear icon in the left menu, then (2) click API Keys, (3) paste your API Key into the text field, and (4) click Save Key.
Google provides free $200/month credit for the location and maps API usage. Learn more
If your Google Cloud Services trial runs out of funds without upgrading your account and you go over the $200/month allowance, your API key will cease working and so will your app's location features. Learn More
You can use the same API key for both the Maps component and the Location property type.
If you lose your API Key or it becomes compromised, you will have to create a new API Key using the steps above.
You can also delete API keys in your APIs and Services > Credentials tab if you suspect the key has been compromised.
You can track your billing usage in the Billing tab of your Cloud Console Dashboard.
If you need additional help with this article, you can always ask in our community forum! Be sure to paste the link to this article in your post as well!
