In Google Map Maker, a feature is a place or geographic characteristic. These can include man-made structures (examples: buildings, monuments, or businesses) and natural elements of a landscape (examples: lakes, rivers). Certain features can include other features, such as a park may include a monument. Each feature has information that you can add or edit. Depending on the kind of feature, this information can include:

• Overview - Basic information about the feature. (name, address, etc.)
• Attributes - Specific details about the feature. (road speed, driving direction, photo URL, etc.)
• Description - Longer description and comments for reviewers. For example: Comment to moderator - This building has been torn down recently.
• Events - Occurrences that pertain to the feature (such a concert that occurs in a park)
• History - Record of past edits to the feature (changes made by other users)

Adding Features

You can add line features (roads, railways, rivers, flyovers, underpasses), region features and points of interest. To mark a location and add information, do the following:

1. Navigate to the appropriate area.
2. Click the Find   or Browse  tools.
3. Click an appropriate location. If you are using the Browse tool, choose a type of feature in the left panel. Features appear on the map.
4. Check to see if there is a feature that matches what you wish to add. If it does, consider editing it. This prevents duplicate feature submissions and make Google Maps more useful for everyone.
5. If there is no such existing feature, click the appropriate Google Map Maker tool to add the feature.
6. Draw or mark the location with your feature.
7. In the info balloon, add the appropriate information and click Save.

Searching for Features

• Click the Find Tool  . Click an appropriate location.
• Click the Find Tool . Click an appropriate location. Choose a type of feature in the left panel.
• At the top of the page, enter a search term and click Search Map Maker. Notice that only items already added to Map Maker appear. If you know the latitude/longitude coordinates to a place, you can search on that as well.
  
• Right click an appropriate area and choose Find near this point.

Search results appear in the left panel and in the map.

Browsing for Features

Adding Features with No Name

Adding a Second Name to a Feature

1. Create a feature, like a road.
2. Click Add/Edit Details in the info window.
3. Fill out the name information in the "Overview" tab of the detailed info window.
4. Click +[Add Name] to add additional names.
5. Please also indicate the "Language", (example: English), and "Type of Name" such as:
• Preferred - The most commonly recognized name for this feature. A feature can have multiple preferred names (one for each language), for instance: "Ha Noi" in English and "Hà Nội" in Vietnamese.
• Official - The name officially recognized by the government. For instance: "Lýðveldið Ísland" and "Republic of Iceland" for Iceland.
• Obscure - Not commonly known name but useful for search purposes. For instance: "Saigon" for Ho Chi Minh City.
• Abbreviated - An abbreviated version of the name which is useful for search or postal codes. For instance: "PK" instead of "Pakistan".
  

You can select both the display language and the primary editing language using the Settings link in the top right hand side in Map Maker. Even if you have chosen an editing language, at the time of edit, you can change the language for an individual edit in the 'names' section, which you can find by clicking Add / Edit detail.

Editing Features

1. In the search results, click the appropriate result (feature). The info window appears.
2. Review the existing information in the info window. If it incorrect or incomplete, click Edit > Add/edit events (Edit > Edit).
3. Add or edit information for this feature. To edit additional information, click Add/Edit Details.
4. To move or adjust the borders of an area, click and drag the points of the area.
5. When you are finished, click Save.
6. To undo an edit, click My MapMaker > My Changes. Under the appropriate change, click Undo.