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Information for Style Authors

Designing for iOS

When designing your style, consider the context in which your application shows the style. There are a number of considerations specific to iOS that may not be obvious when designing your style with Maputnik. A map view is essentially a graphical user interface element, so many of same issues in user interface design also apply when designing a map style.

Color

Ensure sufficient contrast in your application’s user interface when your map style is present. Standard user interface elements such as toolbars, sidebars, and sheets often overlap the map view with a translucent, blurred background, so make sure the contents of these elements remain legible with the map view underneath. The user location annotation view, the attribution button, any buttons in callout views, and any items in the navigation bar are influenced by your application’s tint color, so choose a tint color that contrasts well with your map style. If you intend your style to be used in the dark, consider the impact that Night Shift may have on your style’s colors.

Typography and graphics

Choose font and icon sizes appropriate to iOS devices. iPhones and iPads have smaller screens than the typical browser window in which you would use Mapbox Studio, especially when multitasking is enabled. Your user’s viewing distance may be shorter than on a desktop computer. Some of your users may use the Larger Dynamic Type and Accessibility Text features to increase the size of all text on the device. You can use the runtime styling API to adjust your style’s font and icon sizes accordingly.

Design sprite images and choose font weights that look crisp on both standard-resolution displays and Retina displays. This SDK supports the same resolutions as iOS. Standard-resolution displays are limited to older devices that your application may or may not support, depending on its minimum deployment target.

Icon and text labels should be legible regardless of the map’s orientation. By default, this SDK makes it easy for your users to rotate or tilt the map using multitouch gestures. If you do not intend your design to accommodate rotation and tilting, disable these gestures using the MLNMapView.rotateEnabled and MLNMapView.pitchEnabled properties, respectively, or the corresponding inspectables in Interface Builder.

Interactivity

Pay attention to whether elements of your style appear to be interactive. A text label may look like a tappable button merely due to matching your application’s tint color or the default blue tint color. You can make an icon or text label interactive by installing a gesture recognizer and performing feature querying (e.g., MLNMapView/visibleFeaturesAtPoint:) to get details about the selected feature.

Make sure your users can easily distinguish any interactive elements from the surrounding map, such as pins, the user location annotation view, or a route line. Avoid relying on hover effects to indicate interactive elements. Leave enough room between interactive elements to accommodate imprecise tapping gestures.

For more information about user interface design, consult Apple’s iOS Human Interface Guidelines. To learn more about designing maps for mobile devices, see Nathaniel Slaughter's blog post on the subject.

Applying your style

You set an MLNMapView object’s style either in code, by setting the MLNMapView.styleURL property, or in Interface Builder, by setting the “Style URL” inspectable. The URL must point to a local or remote style JSON file. The style JSON file format is defined by the MapLibre Style Spec.

Manipulating the style at runtime

The runtime styling API enables you to modify every aspect of a style dynamically as a user interacts with your application. The style itself is represented at runtime by an MLNStyle object, which provides access to various MLNSource and MLNStyleLayer objects that represent content sources and style layers, respectively.

To avoid conflicts with Objective-C keywords or Cocoa terminology, this SDK uses the following terms for concepts defined in the style specification:

In the style specification In the SDK
bounds coordinate bounds
filter predicate
function type interpolation mode
id identifier
image style image
layer style layer
property attribute
SDF icon template image
source content source

Specifying the map’s content

Each source defined by a style JSON file is represented at runtime by a content source object that you can use to initialize new style layers. The content source object is a member of one of the following subclasses of MLNSource:

In style JSON In the SDK
vector MLNVectorTileSource
raster MLNRasterTileSource
raster-dem MLNRasterDEMSource
geojson MLNShapeSource
image MLNImageSource

canvas and video sources are not supported.

Tile sources

Raster and vector tile sources may be defined in TileJSON configuration files. This SDK supports the properties defined in the style specification, which are a subset of the keys defined in version 2.1.0 of the TileJSON specification. As an alternative to authoring a custom TileJSON file, you may supply various tile source options when creating a raster or vector tile source. These options are detailed in the MLNTileSourceOption documentation:

In style JSON In TileJSON In the SDK
url — configurationURL parameter in -[MLNTileSource initWithIdentifier:configurationURL:]
tiles tiles tileURLTemplates parameter in -[MLNTileSource initWithIdentifier:tileURLTemplates:options:]
minzoom minzoom MLNTileSourceOptionMinimumZoomLevel
maxzoom maxzoom MLNTileSourceOptionMaximumZoomLevel
bounds bounds MLNTileSourceOptionCoordinateBounds
tileSize — MLNTileSourceOptionTileSize
attribution attribution MLNTileSourceOptionAttributionHTMLString (but consider specifying MLNTileSourceOptionAttributionInfos instead for improved security)
scheme scheme MLNTileSourceOptionTileCoordinateSystem
encoding – MLNTileSourceOptionDEMEncoding

Shape sources

Shape sources also accept various options. These options are detailed in the MLNShapeSourceOption documentation:

In style JSON In the SDK
data url parameter in -[MLNShapeSource initWithIdentifier:URL:options:]
maxzoom MLNShapeSourceOptionMaximumZoomLevel
buffer MLNShapeSourceOptionBuffer
tolerance MLNShapeSourceOptionSimplificationTolerance
cluster MLNShapeSourceOptionClustered
clusterRadius MLNShapeSourceOptionClusterRadius
clusterMaxZoom MLNShapeSourceOptionMaximumZoomLevelForClustering
lineMetrics MLNShapeSourceOptionLineDistanceMetrics

To create a shape source from local GeoJSON data, first convert the GeoJSON data into a shape, then use the -[MLNShapeSource initWithIdentifier:shape:options:] method.

Image sources

Image sources accept a non-axis aligned quadrilateral as their geographic coordinates. These coordinates, in MLNCoordinateQuad, are described in counterclockwise order, in contrast to the clockwise order defined in the style specification.

Configuring the map content’s appearance

Each layer defined by the style JSON file is represented at runtime by a style layer object, which you can use to refine the map’s appearance. The style layer object is a member of one of the following subclasses of MLNStyleLayer:

In style JSON In the SDK
background MLNBackgroundStyleLayer
circle MLNCircleStyleLayer
fill MLNFillStyleLayer
fill-extrusion MLNFillExtrusionStyleLayer
heatmap MLNHeatmapStyleLayer
hillshade MLNHillshadeStyleLayer
line MLNLineStyleLayer
raster MLNRasterStyleLayer
symbol MLNSymbolStyleLayer

You configure layout and paint attributes by setting properties on these style layer objects. The property names generally correspond to the style JSON properties, except for the use of camelCase instead of kebab-case. Properties whose names differ from the style specification are listed below:

Circle style layers

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
circle-pitch-scale MLNCircleStyleLayer.circleScaleAlignment MLNCircleStyleLayer.circleScaleAlignment
circle-translate MLNCircleStyleLayer.circleTranslation MLNCircleStyleLayer.circleTranslation
circle-translate-anchor MLNCircleStyleLayer.circleTranslationAnchor MLNCircleStyleLayer.circleTranslationAnchor

Fill style layers

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
fill-antialias MLNFillStyleLayer.fillAntialiased MLNFillStyleLayer.isFillAntialiased
fill-translate MLNFillStyleLayer.fillTranslation MLNFillStyleLayer.fillTranslation
fill-translate-anchor MLNFillStyleLayer.fillTranslationAnchor MLNFillStyleLayer.fillTranslationAnchor

Fill extrusion style layers

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
fill-extrusion-vertical-gradient MLNFillExtrusionStyleLayer.fillExtrusionHasVerticalGradient MLNFillExtrusionStyleLayer.fillExtrusionHasVerticalGradient
fill-extrusion-translate MLNFillExtrusionStyleLayer.fillExtrusionTranslation MLNFillExtrusionStyleLayer.fillExtrusionTranslation
fill-extrusion-translate-anchor MLNFillExtrusionStyleLayer.fillExtrusionTranslationAnchor MLNFillExtrusionStyleLayer.fillExtrusionTranslationAnchor

Line style layers

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
line-dasharray MLNLineStyleLayer.lineDashPattern MLNLineStyleLayer.lineDashPattern
line-translate MLNLineStyleLayer.lineTranslation MLNLineStyleLayer.lineTranslation
line-translate-anchor MLNLineStyleLayer.lineTranslationAnchor MLNLineStyleLayer.lineTranslationAnchor

Raster style layers

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
raster-brightness-max MLNRasterStyleLayer.maximumRasterBrightness MLNRasterStyleLayer.maximumRasterBrightness
raster-brightness-min MLNRasterStyleLayer.minimumRasterBrightness MLNRasterStyleLayer.minimumRasterBrightness
raster-hue-rotate MLNRasterStyleLayer.rasterHueRotation MLNRasterStyleLayer.rasterHueRotation
raster-resampling MLNRasterStyleLayer.rasterResamplingMode MLNRasterStyleLayer.rasterResamplingMode

Symbol style layers

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
icon-allow-overlap MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconAllowsOverlap MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconAllowsOverlap
icon-ignore-placement MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconIgnoresPlacement MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconIgnoresPlacement
icon-image MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconImageName MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconImageName
icon-optional MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconOptional MLNSymbolStyleLayer.isIconOptional
icon-rotate MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconRotation MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconRotation
icon-size MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconScale MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconScale
icon-keep-upright MLNSymbolStyleLayer.keepsIconUpright MLNSymbolStyleLayer.keepsIconUpright
text-keep-upright MLNSymbolStyleLayer.keepsTextUpright MLNSymbolStyleLayer.keepsTextUpright
text-max-angle MLNSymbolStyleLayer.maximumTextAngle MLNSymbolStyleLayer.maximumTextAngle
text-max-width MLNSymbolStyleLayer.maximumTextWidth MLNSymbolStyleLayer.maximumTextWidth
symbol-avoid-edges MLNSymbolStyleLayer.symbolAvoidsEdges MLNSymbolStyleLayer.symbolAvoidsEdges
text-field MLNSymbolStyleLayer.text MLNSymbolStyleLayer.text
text-allow-overlap MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textAllowsOverlap MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textAllowsOverlap
text-font MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textFontNames MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textFontNames
text-size MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textFontSize MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textFontSize
text-ignore-placement MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textIgnoresPlacement MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textIgnoresPlacement
text-justify MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textJustification MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textJustification
text-optional MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textOptional MLNSymbolStyleLayer.isTextOptional
text-rotate MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textRotation MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textRotation
text-writing-mode MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textWritingModes MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textWritingModes
icon-translate MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconTranslation MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconTranslation
icon-translate-anchor MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconTranslationAnchor MLNSymbolStyleLayer.iconTranslationAnchor
text-translate MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textTranslation MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textTranslation
text-translate-anchor MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textTranslationAnchor MLNSymbolStyleLayer.textTranslationAnchor

Setting attribute values

Each property representing a layout or paint attribute is set to an NSExpression object. NSExpression objects play the same role as expressions in the MapLibre Style Spec, but you create the former using a very different syntax. NSExpression’s format string syntax is reminiscent of a spreadsheet formula or an expression in a database query. See the “Predicates and Expressions” guide for an overview of the expression support in this SDK. This SDK no longer supports style functions; use expressions instead.

Constant values in expressions

In contrast to the JSON type that the style specification defines for each layout or paint property, the style value object often contains a more specific Foundation or Cocoa type. General rules for attribute types are listed below. Pay close attention to the SDK documentation for the attribute you want to get or set.

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
Color UIColor UIColor
Enum NSString String
String NSString String
Boolean NSNumber.boolValue NSNumber.boolValue
Number NSNumber.floatValue NSNumber.floatValue
Array (-dasharray) NSArray<NSNumber> [Float]
Array (-font) NSArray<NSString> [String]
Array (-offset, -translate) NSValue.CGVectorValue NSValue.cgVectorValue
Array (-padding) NSValue.UIEdgeInsetsValue NSValue.uiEdgeInsetsValue

For padding attributes, note that the arguments to UIEdgeInsetsMake() in Objective-C and UIEdgeInsets(top:left:bottom:right:) in Swift are specified in counterclockwise order, in contrast to the clockwise order defined by the style specification

Filtering sources

You can filter a shape or vector tile source by setting the MLNVectorStyleLayer.predicate property to an NSPredicate object. Below is a table of style JSON operators and the corresponding operators used in the predicate format string:

In style JSON In the format string
["has", key] key != nil
["!has", key] key == nil
["==", key, value] key == value
["!=", key, value] key != value
[">", key, value] key > value
[">=", key, value] key >= value
["<", key, value] key < value
["<=", key, value] key <= value
["in", key, v0, …, vn] key IN {v0, …, vn}
["!in", key, v0, …, vn] NOT key IN {v0, …, vn}
["all", f0, …, fn] p0 AND … AND pn
["any", f0, …, fn] p0 OR … OR pn
["none", f0, …, fn] NOT (p0 OR … OR pn)

Specifying the text format

The following format attributes are defined as NSString constans that you can use to update the formatting of MLNSymbolStyleLayer.text property.

In style JSON In Objective-C In Swift
text-font MLNFontNamesAttribute .fontNamesAttribute
font-scale MLNFontScaleAttribute .fontScaleAttribute
text-color MLNFontColorAttribute .fontColorAttribute

See doc:Predicates_and_Expressions for a full description of the supported operators and operand types.