Change the appearance of your maps on Mac
You can switch map views and personalize other settings, such as labels and whether traffic is shown.
Note: Not all traffic, transit, and detailed city maps are available in all countries or regions. Flyover Tours aren’t available in all countries or regions. See the macOS Feature Availability website.
Switch to a different map view
Go to the Maps app
on your Mac.
Click
near the top right of the map.
Note: If you previously switched to the Driving, Transit, or Satellite map,
,
, or
appears instead of
Choose one of the following:
Explore: Shows the standard map. You can see additional detail for elevation, roads, trees, buildings, landmarks, and more in select cities.
Driving: Shows traffic conditions and puts the focus on roads.
Transit: Shows bus stops, airports, transit lines, and stations.
Satellite: Shows satellite images. Select Traffic or Labels if you want a hybrid view between the explore and satellite views.
You can also explore maps with immersive views.
Use dark colors
Go to the Maps app
Choose Maps > Settings, then click General.
Deselect “Always use light map appearance.”
This setting affects maps in other apps such as Contacts, Calendar, and Photos. To use dark colors for the entire screen, see Use a light or dark appearance.
Show a distance scale
Go to the Maps app
Choose View > Show Scale.
View labels or traffic on the map
Go to the Maps app
Do any of the following:
Make map labels larger: To enlarge the labels in any view, choose Maps > Settings, click General, then select Use Large Labels.
Show labels in satellite view: Choose View > Satellite or press Command-4, then choose View > Show Labels.
Set your preferred language for map labels: To always use your computer’s preferred language for map labels, regardless of the language of the country or region you’re viewing, choose Maps > Settings, click General, then select “Always Show Labels in [language].” To choose a different language, see Change the language your Mac uses.
See traffic conditions: Choose View > Driving, or choose View > Satellite then View > Show Traffic. Yellow indicates slowdowns, and red indicates stop-and-go traffic. To view a report, click a marker on the map. Markers indicate incidents such as the following:
Road closures
Accidents
Traffic
Roadwork
General alerts or other hazards
Speed checks
You can also see road details like turn lanes, medians, crosswalks, and more—just zoom in.
Zoom, move, or rotate a map
Go to the Maps app
Do any of the following:
Zoom in and out: Click
and
on the right side of the map.
To show the map’s scale as you zoom, choose View > Show Scale. The scale appears along the top.
Move up or down, left or right: Click and hold the mouse or trackpad, then drag the map. On a trackpad, you can also swipe using two fingers.
Rotate a map: Click and hold the compass while you drag left and right, or up and down.
After you rotate a map, you can return to the north-facing orientation by clicking the compass, or pressing Shift-Command-Up Arrow.
You can also use shortcuts or gestures to zoom.