Change a Map's Language

Map label language in Maptoolkit Maps JS is controlled by the text-field layout property on symbol layers, which reads from a name field in the vector tile data. To switch language, you iterate over all symbol layers and update text-field to reference the appropriate localized name field, such as name:de or name:fr. Use this to build multilingual map applications where the label language should match the user’s browser locale or a dropdown selection.

const API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

    const map = new maptoolkit.Map({
        container: 'map',
        apiKey: API_KEY,
        style: `https://styles.maptoolkit.net/maptoolkit/maptoolkit.summer.json?api_key=${API_KEY}`,
        center: [10.0, 51.0],
        zoom: 4,
        attributionControl: { compact: false }
    });

    map.addControl(new maptoolkit.NavigationControl(), 'top-right');

    function setLanguage(field) {
        if (!map.isStyleLoaded()) return;
        const layers = map.getStyle().layers;
        for (const layer of layers) {
            if (layer.type !== 'symbol') continue;
            if (!layer.layout || !layer.layout['text-field']) continue;
            const expr = field === 'name'
                ? ['get', 'name']
                : ['coalesce', ['get', field], ['get', 'name']];
            map.setLayoutProperty(layer.id, 'text-field', expr);
        }
    }

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>Change a Map's Language - Maptoolkit Maps JS</title>
    <meta property="og:description" content="Switch map label language by updating the text-field expression on symbol layers." />
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/@maptoolkit/[email protected]/dist/maptoolkit.js"></script>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/@maptoolkit/[email protected]/dist/maptoolkit.css" />
    <style>
        html, body { width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0; padding: 0; }
        #map { width: 100%; height: 100%; }
        #controls {
            position: absolute;
            top: 10px;
            left: 10px;
            display: flex;
            gap: 6px;
            flex-wrap: wrap;
            max-width: 320px;
        }
        #controls button {
            padding: 8px 14px;
            background: #3887be;
            color: white;
            border: none;
            border-radius: 3px;
            cursor: pointer;
            font-size: 13px;
        }
        #controls button:hover { background: #2c6d9e; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="map"></div>
<div id="controls">
    <button onclick="setLanguage('name')">Local</button>
    <button onclick="setLanguage('name_de')">DE</button>
    <button onclick="setLanguage('name_en')">EN</button>
    <button onclick="setLanguage('name_fr')">FR</button>
    <button onclick="setLanguage('name_it')">IT</button>
    <button onclick="setLanguage('name_es')">ES</button>
    <button onclick="setLanguage('name_zh')">中文</button>
</div>
<script>
    const API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

    const map = new maptoolkit.Map({
        container: 'map',
        apiKey: API_KEY,
        style: `https://styles.maptoolkit.net/maptoolkit/maptoolkit.summer.json?api_key=${API_KEY}`,
        center: [10.0, 51.0],
        zoom: 4,
        attributionControl: { compact: false }
    });

    map.addControl(new maptoolkit.NavigationControl(), 'top-right');

    function setLanguage(field) {
        if (!map.isStyleLoaded()) return;
        const layers = map.getStyle().layers;
        for (const layer of layers) {
            if (layer.type !== 'symbol') continue;
            if (!layer.layout || !layer.layout['text-field']) continue;
            const expr = field === 'name'
                ? ['get', 'name']
                : ['coalesce', ['get', field], ['get', 'name']];
            map.setLayoutProperty(layer.id, 'text-field', expr);
        }
    }
</script>
</body>
</html>

Use the prompt below with any LLM to get the same result. Make sure the Maptoolkit MCP server is connected first — check out AI Integration & MCP to get started.

Use the Maptoolkit Connector. Create an interactive map with zoom level 4, centered around [10.0, 51.0]. Add buttons to switch map label language between Local, DE, EN, FR, IT, ES, and Chinese.

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