Text as Icons in Google Maps?

[supermoto]

Hello,

I'm trying to overlay data points on google maps (i.e. precipitation
values). I am successful accomplishing this using Google Earth but not
in Google Maps. Is there a method to display text/numeric values
overlaid on google maps w/o using graphical Icons? The kml below
works okay in GE but a ballon shows up in Google Maps with the data
(0.05") in the ballon box. This has been tricky to solve. Thanks for
your any help you can provide.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://earth.google.com/kml/2.2">
<Document>
<name>24_Precipitation</name>
<Folder>
<name>24_Precipitation</name>
<Placemark>
<name>0.05"</name>
<description>
</description>
<Style>
<IconStyle>
<Icon>
</Icon></IconStyle></Style><Point>
<coordinates>-120.82,39.20</coordinates>
</Point>
</Placemark>
</Folder>
</Document>
</kml>

[Josh L]

Hi,

This may be a good question for the Google Maps forums, but you will
probably want to look at one of the 3rd party KML parsing libraries
for Maps that will give you more robust access to styling the KML.

Cheers,

-Josh

[barryhunter (KML Guru)]

Google Maps itself is not capable of displaying Text - so it doesnt render 'labels' from KML.

About the only way it to render the text as image (or use the Google Charts API) and include it in the KML as a Ground overlay - hardly ideal. 

--

The Google Maps API can be made to display text - eg ELabel extension, but will need some work to interface that with KML - ie will need to use a custome KML parser and plot the data rather than use teh Google provided KML display methods.