How to show/hide a MarkerCluster in google maps v3?

Question

I need to have different markers for different mapTypes, and I'm pushing them to a MarkerClusterer.

I "hide" the markers with:

cluster.set("map", null);
cluster.resetViewport();
cluster.redraw();

And "show" them with:

cluster.set("map", MAP);
cluster.resetViewport();
cluster.redraw();

The problem is that MarkerClusterer seems to not like set("map", null); it throws the error TypeError: Object #<a MarkerClusterer> has no method 'remove'. How can I show/hide them the proper way?

Answer 1

In the Javascript API v3 it is sufficient to say:

clusterer.setMap(null);

If you set your map back to the existing map object, the clusters will reappear.

clusterer.setMap( this.map );

Also, I would suggest not to name your Clusterer 'cluster', like in your example. The MarkerClusterer contains Cluster objects, which are the actual clustered markers and not the ClusterER itself.

Answer 2

Elegant way to clear the cluster

cluster.clearMarkers();

Answer 3

Here is a more complete solution:

in .html add:

<div id="map-canvas-hidden" style="display:none"></div>
<div id="map-canvas-shown" style="width:500px; height:500px"></div>

in .js add:

MarkerClusterer.prototype.remove = function() { };
var HIDDEN_MAP = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map-canvas-hidden"), {});
var gmap = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map-canvas-shown"), {});

to show the clusters:

    cluster.setMap(gmap);
    cluster.resetViewport();
    cluster.redraw();

to hide the clusters:

    cluster.setMap(HIDDEN_MAP);
    cluster.resetViewport();
    cluster.redraw();

finally, I needed the folowing patches to markerclusterer.js:

--- markerclusterer.js.orig 2013-12-06 18:02:32.887516000 +0100
+++ markerclusterer.js  2013-12-06 18:03:25.487516924 +0100
@@ -620,6 +620,7 @@
  */
 MarkerClusterer.prototype.getExtendedBounds = function(bounds) {
   var projection = this.getProjection();
+  if (!projection) return null;

   // Turn the bounds into latlng.
   var tr = new google.maps.LatLng(bounds.getNorthEast().lat(),
@@ -657,7 +658,7 @@
  * @private
  */
 MarkerClusterer.prototype.isMarkerInBounds_ = function(marker, bounds) {
-  return bounds.contains(marker.getPosition());
+  return bounds ? bounds.contains(marker.getPosition()) : false;
 };

hope this helps