The distance between the regular address and the nearest existing placemark on google api v3 maps

Question

I am developing a web page with the Google Maps API v3. I currently have a functional map and a search bar. I need to be able to display the distance from the desired address to the nearest mark in one of the KML files on the map. How can i do this?

Here is the page code:

<script type="text/javascript"> var geocoder; var map; var marker; var layers = []; function initialize() { geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder (); var latlng = new google.maps.LatLng (41, -73.4); var myOptions = { zoom: 7, center: latlng, mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP } map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map_canvas"), myOptions); marker = new google.maps.Marker({map:map}); layers[0] = new google.maps.KmlLayer('http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80233620/South-and-North-County-Trailway.kml', {preserveViewport: true}); layers[1] = new google.maps.KmlLayer('http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/misc/cityracks.kml', {preserveViewport: true}); layers[2] = new google.maps.KmlLayer('http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80233620/NWS%20Radar%20Images.kmz', {preserveViewport: true}); for (var i = 0; i < layers.length; i++) { layers[i].setMap(map); } } function codeAddress () { var address = document.getElementById ("address").value; geocoder.geocode ( { 'address': address}, function(results, status) { if (status == google.maps.GeocoderStatus.OK) { map.setCenter(results [0].geometry.location); marker.setPosition(results [0].geometry.location); map.setZoom(14); } else { alert("Geocode was not successful for the following reason: " + status); } }); } function toggleLayer(i) { if(layers[i].getMap() === null) { layers[i].setMap(map); } else { layers[i].setMap(null);} } </script> 

Answer 1

You cannot access data in KML layers, for example

https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/layers#KMLLayers

Since KML can include a large number of functions, you may not have access directly from the KmlLayer object. Instead, as functions are displayed, they look like interactive Map Overlay APIs.

Instead, you can process the XML and add markers manually, and then use the geometry library and computeDistanceBetween() to get the distance. I usually multiply the distance by a certain amount to account for the turns (The distance formula gets the direct distance). I believe 1.2 was the most accurate.