# Placing the tiny Google maps locator person where you want him **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821 "2023-07-30T13:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/41 "2023-07-30T23:04:59Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > [@dtilque](#): > > > > What I do is just click on Pegman and it puts blue lines on all the roads the Streetview car has travelled on. Then I click on the line where I want to view. No dragging of the icon. > > You win my personal prize for most useful post of the day. Perhaps the most useful post of the year thus far. I’ve never heard of this technique before. > [@mixdenny](#): > > Just **lick** directly on the part of the road you are interested in. I tried this, and all it does is make smudges on my screen. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/42 "2023-07-30T23:35:45Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > > > [@dtilque](#): > > > > > > What I do is just click on Pegman and it puts blue lines on all the roads the Streetview car has travelled on. Then I click on the line where I want to view. No dragging of the icon. > > > > You win my personal prize for most useful post of the day. > > Perhaps the most useful post of the year thus far. I’ve never heard of this technique before. I’m glad my hint was so useful to everyone. To be honest, I’d never considered dragging the icon. Didn’t know that was a feature. And probably will never use it, since just clicking on a line is more convenient. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/43 "2023-07-30T23:42:06Z")
Phineas J. Whoopee, you’re the greatest! Thanks, **LSLGuy**. BTW, you don’t have to be in Satellite mode, as I misstated earlier, it actually works better in “Map Mode(?).” ETA: Satellite Mode gives you the white line. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/44 "2023-07-31T10:34:10Z")
When you first get into street view the arrow keys won’t work - until you click on the view (anywhere). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/45 "2023-07-31T21:45:26Z")
Thank you for clearing that up. Again, that’s something I would not have thought would make a difference, but I can see why it would. You can also use the up and down arrow keys to zoom up and down the street. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/46 "2023-07-31T21:59:46Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > You can also use the up and down arrow keys to zoom up and down the street. Do you mean _zoom_ as in “enlarge and get closer” or _zoom_ as in “race up and down the streets”? Being literal-minded is a ~~blessing~~ curse. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/47 "2023-08-01T00:42:24Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Do you mean _zoom_ as in “enlarge and get closer” or _zoom_ as in “race up and down the streets”? The up-down arrows move you from one image point to the next. That is, move down the street. As I said above, but didn’t use the word “zoom”, the plus-minus keys zoom in or out. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/48 "2023-08-01T03:32:09Z")
Yes, I meant move up and down the street, and it can feel like “zooming” along if the distance traveled is several houses at a time. In my enthusiasm for this new (to me) discovery, I temporarily forgot about the other meaning of “zoom.” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/49 "2023-08-01T11:21:55Z")
Wheee! Joyriding on Google maps! Knocking down garbage cans and bashing mailboxes! Oh…wait… 😊 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/50 "2023-08-01T15:17:55Z")
I have to imagine a Google camera car has done exactly that at least once. Whether or not on purpose. I bet they don’t use the recording though. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/51 "2023-08-01T15:25:16Z")
In my experience, Pegman is 90% guaranteed to be facing the opposite direction from where I want to look. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/52 "2023-08-01T15:26:12Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > How do you set him down facing the direction you want him to face? Dragging him to the side of the street you want to look at should result in him facing that side. Sometimes he’ll face the street itself, though. ISTR this being more intuitive, with a viewing arc being displayed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/53 "2023-08-01T15:37:09Z")
[Now I see that I should have read the thread first.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/34) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/54 "2023-08-01T16:29:53Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > In my experience, Pegman is 90% guaranteed to be facing the opposite direction from where I want to look. Yeah, when I was a kid we had a ginormous, two-volume dictionary set that rested on its side. Whatever book you needed was always the one on the bottom. [![](https://laurelleaffarm.com/item-photos/two-volume-New-Century-Dictionary-1940s-vintage-tooled-paper-covers-4000-illustrations-Laurel-Leaf-Farm-item-no-z1141-3.jpg) ](https://laurelleaffarm.com/item-photos/two-volume-New-Century-Dictionary-1940s-vintage-tooled-paper-covers-4000-illustrations-Laurel-Leaf-Farm-item-no-z1141-3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821/55 "2023-08-02T19:06:31Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > In my experience, Pegman is 90% guaranteed to be facing the opposite direction from where I want to look. You’ve got to stop pointing him at strip clubs, Barney Pegman is bashful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placing-the-tiny-google-maps-locator-person-where-you-want-him/987821.md?page=2)