Static Map Image Downloader

One of the tools that I have developed for a client is an application that requests an image from Google Maps. The goal was to have an image of the site where work was to be conducted, attached to the site file. When the client created a new set of files for a worksite, the map image would be automatically created by executing this tool with the address information of the worksite.

The client wanted to be able to set the image size and zoom level of the map and then save the resulting image as a static file so that they had a view of the site at the commencement of work (or at least, as at the date of the last update to the Google map data prior to commencement of work).

Using VB.NET I was able to create a small command line tool that the client could execute on demand with the address, image scale and zoom level passed as command line parameters that would request the map image from Google Maps and then save the resulting image data to the clients computer, all in one simple operation.