Using Google Earth

Using Google Earth moves to Lat/Long!

2009-04-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

For over two years, we've used this blog as a way to share our favorite Google Earth tips and tricks. Now, we're excited to announce that we'll be bringing you the same helpful updates via the Google Lat/Long blog -- the official blog of the Google Earth and Maps team. You'll not only find news and announcements about new product features, you'll also get tips and be able to see the creative things that other users are doing with Maps and Earth.

So while we're laying the Using Google Earth blog to rest, we hope you'll find that Lat/Long satisfies all your Earthly cravings. And as always, the Google Earth Community and Help Forum are where tons of users go to share knowledge and get answers.

See you at Lat/Long!

The Google Earth team

2009-03-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Like many of you, I got a kick out of flying to my house the very first time I used Google Earth. But after I'd had enough of zooming, tilting and panning around my neighborhood, I wound up asking myself, "What next?". I knew that Google Earth could take me virtually anywhere I wanted to go. But West London, England, is where I grew up — before I sought out new places, I wanted to see what Google Earth could show me about my own home turf that I didn't already know. As it turns out, it showed me quite a bit, and it was turning on the Google Earth Community layer that really made my neighborhood come alive.

The Community layer showcases placemarks posted to the Google Earth Community by users: Google Earth fans who seek out the coolest places and want to share them. These range from natural phenomena visible from above, to the biggest man-made structures that represent the greatest engineering feats. Near my home, however, I found that the Community layer revealed places of historical interest that I never even knew existed: a centuries-old pub that's played host to both King Henry VIII and the Rolling Stones, the apartment where Bob Marley lived in 1972, and the site of Chelsea Manor — a 16th-century palace that was demolished in the early 1700s.

For me, these fascinating finds represented the coolest thing about Google Earth: its ability to combine local knowledge with the best satellite imagery and make it available to everyone. I was eager to participate and share some information of my own, but I wasn't sure where to start. I remembered that renowned mystery writer Agatha Christie used to live in a cottage a few blocks from my house. Not finding it in Google Earth, I thought this placemark could be of interest to mystery buffs and budding local historians alike. Here's how I added it to the Google Earth Community:

1. After making my placemark in Google Earth, I right-clicked on it and clicked Save As to save it to my computer as a .kmz file (the standard file-type for placemarks).
2. I then visited the Google Earth Community to look for a place to post my placemark. I chose the forum 'People and Cultures.'
3. I clicked New Topic and filled in the blanks, making my subject 'Agatha Christie's house.' I added a description of my placemark, a short biography of Christie, and included an image of the author herself.
4. Time to attach my placemark! I clicked file manager and used the Browse button to find where I'd saved my placemark on my computer. I then clicked Add File, then Done adding files. I then previewed my post to make sure it looked the way I wanted it to.
5. I clicked Submit.

It's that simple! The Community layer is updated about once a month, so hopefully you'll be able to view my very first shared placemark soon, at 58 Sheffield Terrace, London, England. If there's a place you want to share with the world — from the huge and unusual half way around the world to something cool and unique in your own home town — the Google Earth Community is a great way to do it.

To top Time's "top ten", try the Community

2009-02-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

Time.com just posted a great list of top ten Google Earth finds. If it's got you hungry for more, the best place to find out about the weirdest, coolest things to see is always the Google Earth Community. I've been checking out the "Huge and Unique" forum, where users have posted hundreds of placemarks that you can download and view in Google Earth.

And it's easy too. If you're new to the community, look for attachments in the threads that interest you. Clicking on them will open a placemark, set of placemarks, or overlay right in Google Earth, and you'll see it in the Places panel. With finds like World's Biggest Sculpture and Faces in Google Earth, thanks to other users I'm well on my way to creating my own personal top ten.

Think something's missing? Check your layers!

2009-02-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

On the Google Earth Help Forum, we frequently get questions from users who aren't seeing something in Google Earth that they think they should be. Often, this problem has a simple cause: a particular layer is turned off.

Layers hold the key to most of the content you see in Google Earth and, since there are so many, its not always easy to remember which layers to toggle on or off to get the information that you want. Looking for the name of a street? Make sure you've turned on the Roads layer. Can't dive under the ocean? Chances are, it's because your Terrain layer is turned off. Sometimes, the layer you need isn't quite intuitive: If you're having trouble viewing the Titanic, it's probably because you need to turn on your 3D Buildings layer.

So, when it seems like there's something missing, the Layers menu can hold the solution. And while you're at it, why not check out a layer that you haven't seen yet? The wealth of information that's available might surprise you.

Navigating Underwater in Google Earth

2009-02-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

With the new Ocean layer, there's now so much more of the Earth to explore. But navigating underwater, and dipping above and below the ocean's surface, can take a bit of getting used to.

Diving underwater from the regular "top-down" view might seem a little disorienting. It's best to tilt your view first, so your view is almost parallel to the ocean's surface. This will give you the clearest view of the ocean floor terrain once you're underwater, and give you a better sense of how deep you're going .

There are three ways to tilt your view in Google Earth:

If your mouse has a middle button, hold it down and move the mouse forward or backward.
If your mouse has a scroll wheel, press the shift key and scroll.
Hold down the shift key and your left mouse button while moving your mouse.

Note that crosshairs will appear wherever you click your mouse, and your view will tilt from this point.

Once your view is almost parallel to the ocean, keep zooming in until you are below the surface (note that you don't want to be completely parallel to the ocean's surface, otherwise you'll just fly over it without ever going underneath). When you're under the surface, you can "swim" around the same way that you'd navigate if you weren't underwater. Be sure to tilt your view upward to check out the ocean's surface from below.

To come above water again, click anywhere on the ocean's surface, like in the image below. Tilting your view upward from that point will allow you to come up for air.

For more information about navigating in Google Earth, check out this section of the Google Earth User Guide.

Saving images with Google Earth for iPhone

2009-01-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

Stefan Geens, whose blog Ogle Earth is full of cool and inspiring Google Earth tricks, has a great tip for using Google Earth for iPhone. To maneuver between views quickly, you can save Google Earth imagery by taking iPhone screenshots.

To do this, make sure the Google Earth view you wish to save is visible on your iPhone screen. Press your phone's on/off button while holding down the home button -- the screen will briefly flash, and an image of your screen will be saved and placed in your camera roll.

This trick allows you to flick between different Google Earth views in your camera roll without having to start-up Google Earth on your phone, or wait for different imagery to load.

Can I Take My House Out of Google Earth?

2009-01-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

While it’s pretty cool to see your home in Google Earth (GE), some folks ask Google if they can take images of their home out of GE. The answer?

It depends.

Almost every GE newbie opens GE, finds the ‘fly to’ box and searches for their house (or maybe grandma’s house). If Google has their location available, they’ll most likely see the top of their house nestled amongst familiar community landmarks.

Now, with Google’s Street View layer, you can often even swoop down onto the street and have a look around your neighborhood. For some people this enhancement can raise concerns, and so there is a ‘report a concern’ or ‘report an inappropriate image’ link at the bottom of most street view images so you can let Google know if something’s not quite right.

Why isn’t this available for all of the Google Earth imagery? The explanation comes from looking at the sources of each type of imagery. Google partners with third-party data providers all over the world to be able to bring you the satellite and aerial images you see in most of Google Earth. Google doesn’t control satellites nor take these pictures themselves.

On the other hand, when it comes to Street View images, Google has literally sent out a fleet of cars to take images of more and more communities. Thus, Google has more flexibility in what it can put in or take out of the street view images. So if there’s an image that violates the Google Earth or Google Maps privacy policy, there’s a good chance it can be removed.

If you’d simply like to have your house, car, etc. not show up anywhere in Google Earth that may be a little more of a challenge. The images included in Google Earth are images that you’d be able to see by flying over someone’s house, and are in general, publically available. Moreover, Google doesn’t alter the content of images that we receive from third-party sources—Google won’t manually extract an image from what you see.

If you’d like to still pursue getting an image taken out of the satellite imagery, your best bet is to directly contact the data provider that has taken the image and let them know that there’s a problem. The data provider is listed on the copyright line in the Google Earth images (at the bottom center of the Google Earth image).

Next time you’re checking out your favorite places, take in all the possibilities, turn on the Street View layer.

What About Real Time Imagery?

2008-12-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

The most common question that the Google Earth team receives is "is the imagery in real time?" The simple answer is "no." The better answer is why it can't be.

A common misconception is that Google collects and owns this imagery. In actuality, we acquire this imagery from many different data providers, including TeleAtlas. These companies are the ones that own the satellites, collect the imagery, and offer it to the world. For Google Earth, we take the best imagery we can find from these providers and we piece it together on the 3D globe. As you can imagine, this entire process of getting a satellite into space, having it take pictures, getting those pictures back to Earth, reviewed, and placed into Google Earth can take some time. We want to make sure that we're providing you with quality imagery, so we do a lot of checking on the data.

Additionally, you'll find that we may have new imagery in some areas, and older imagery in areas right next to it. We do this because this older image is of a higher resolution or better quality than the newer image we have available. We're working on making the process better, and we've teamed up with GeoEye to get imagery from their new Geo-Eye 1 satellite, which will be taking high-resolution photographs of large portions of the Earth's surface.

Will this lead to real-time imagery? Probably not any time in the near future. To do that, we'd need hundreds, if not thousands of satellites all running 24 hours a day to capture imagery. What if you need more recent imagery than what's available in Google Earth? If that's the case, we recommend that you zoom in on the area you're interested in, and look at the copyright information displayed in the bottom of the Google Earth window. You can then contact the data provider listed by visiting their website and see if they have more recent imagery available.

Check Out the User Groups

2008-12-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

The Earth Help Group is a valuable resource for you to search for Earth related answers provided by other users, to post a question you need assistance with, or to discuss your support questions.

In addition to other users, there are two kinds of experts in the these groups that can help you. Earth Rangers are Google employees and can be identified by the badge. Earth Experts are volunteers who share their considerable product knowledge with other Groups users. Both are terrific resources and really know their stuff.

Not sure how to begin? Please look at other resources displayed in the Welcome Message before you post!

Geotagging iPhone Photos

2008-11-19T16:55:00.000-08:00

With the debut of of iPhone 2.0 software, you can enable the Camera app to geotag your photos on the iPhone 3G. To enable this on your iPhone, click the Settings icon > General > Location Services.

Once you've done this, all photos you take on the iPhone are assigned a location. You can then upload these photos to Picasa and then port them over to Google Earth using the geotagging feature of Picasa.

This saves you the step of manually geotagging your pictures. Plus, your family will be hugely impressed when you show them photo albums in Google Earth :-)

Looking at the Source

2008-11-19T08:31:00.000-08:00

At anytime, you can view the KML source of items in the Places panel. To do this, select the item and click Edit > Copy. In a text editor, click Edit > Paste. The KML source appears in the new document.

Personally, I use this method to examine the source of Places data I've come across that show content in an interesting way. You can also examine the source of Layers content by right clicking (CTRL + click on the Mac) a point of interest in the 3D viewer, saving it to My Places and then use the method described above.

Timeline Tutorial

2008-10-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Richard Treves is the author of kokae.com and blogs about the usability of Google Earth projects at Google Earth Design.

Recently, he created a very interesting timeline tutorial video that describes how to use the time slider in Google Earth. This particular post also provides a reasonable critique of this feature.

The time slider displays content in Google Earth along a sequence of time. Check out Frank Taylor's examples of time animations on gearthblog.com.

Learn more about using the time slider.

Creating Dynamic Views in Movie Maker

2008-10-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

If you're making a movie in Google Earth, you might want to change the camera angle or altitude to change as you fly over different places. The best way to do this is to use placemarks, rather than a single path.

If you choose to have your movie follow a path, your camera angle and altitude will remain the constant along that path. When you create a placemark, you can create specific 'View' settings that affect the way it will appear in your movie. Mouse over each field in the 'View' tab for explanations of each term, or click Snapshot current view to apply your current view settings to that placemark.

In this way, you can make a more compelling movie that shows dynamic views.

Learn more about making movies.

KML Interactive Sampler

2008-10-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am very excited by the recently-published KML Interactive Sampler (read the announcement). Using the Google Earth plugin, it allows you to test sample KML and see this content immediately in Google Earth. You can also play with your own KML. For example, you can copy and paste KML into the main field, click Update Earth and instantly see how your code will appear to end users.

For now, you'll need Windows to use this tool, as the Google Earth plugin is currently only supported on this platform. Rest assured that a soon-to-be-released Mac version is in the works.

Learn more about using KML.

Navigating and Embedding Photos

2008-10-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

As Google has recently published new imagery in Street View, knowing how to navigate photos becomes even more useful. You can navigate high resolution imagery in the following layers:

Street View
Gallery > GigaPxl Photos
Gallery > GigaPan

To view this imagery, enable any of these layers and navigate to the appropriate location. Click an icon to enter the photo. Remember that you can move around within each photo by clicking or dragging the image. Learn more about navigating photos.

View Larger Map

You can embed your own custom Street View on your website using Google Maps. This is both easy and very cool (see example at left).

To do this, go to Google Maps and navigate to your favorite Street View. Click Link to this page, copy the web address from the Paste HTML to embed in website field in your browser and paste it into the HTML code of your website. To resize and preview the map, click Customize and preview embedded map.

Searching for Planets

2008-10-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

This functionality was not available when Sky launched, but now you can search for planets in our own solar system. For example, if you search for Mars, Sky shows you the planet at its approximate location at the time shown.

To do this, in the Search panel, click Search the Sky, enter the appropriate planet name and click the Search button.

Learn more about using Sky in the Google Earth user guide.

Purple Buildings

2008-09-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you can view additional information about many of the 3D models available Google Earth (Layers > 3D Buildings)?

Mouse over certain buildings and they appear purple. Click these buildings to view additional information from the 3D Warehouse.

Creating Navigation Buttons in KML

2008-09-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

I just published the following video to the Google Developer Channel:

Italian 3D Models

2008-09-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

Antonino G is a gifted Italian 3D modeler who has a fondness for historical Europeans buildings. If you are new to 3D models in Google Earth, be sure to check out his 3D warehouse collection.

Antonino has also modeled exceptional modern architecture as well, such as the Stadio San Filippo di Messina. Personally, I love the Castello di Milazzo model he created. Antonino has also gathered a collection of buildings in Sicily, which seems to have more than its share of great models.

Antonino's work is also featured in My Favorite Thumbnails collection, which provides modelers great examples of thumbnail images used to preview individual models in the 3D Warehouse.

Map Your Own Theme

2008-08-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with the Thematic Mapping Engine, which is a web-based tool that allows you to generate visually compelling KML based on statics such as those available at UNdata. The less tech savy will be excited to note that this tool requires no coding skills whatsoever. So go ahead and impress your friends. Or check out these examples.

The resulting presentations are pretty darned nifty and you can control many aspects of how this information is displayed in both Google Earth and the Google Earth browser plugin.

Geothermal Presentation

2008-08-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Google.org launched some incredible KML recently that describes potential geothermal energy resources in the United States. This presentation utilizes the Google Chart API. Read about this effort or view this presentation in Google Earth.

This KML is both very slick and very effective. Be sure to play with the settings in the Places panel to see 3D depictions, energy resource depth and animations. Each chart icon opens a placemark balloon that provides additional information about geothermal resources in the given state.

Imagery Dates

2008-08-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why, but it seems that many Google Earth users are not aware that you can determine approximate imagery dates in version 4.3. Perhaps the other 4.3 features such as sunlight overshadowed (har har) this feature.

From the user guide: "Google Earth displays the approximate date of displayed imagery in the status bar at the bottom in the 3D viewer. As you mouse over a location, this information depicts the date of the imagery. Note that this date is only approximate."

Gigapan Panoramas

2008-08-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

As you may know, you can view Gigapan high resolution photos in Google Earth by enabling this layer (Layers > Gallery > Gigapan). But you can also view many other great Gigapan panoramas that are not published in this layer by visiting the Gigapan website.

Not all photos on this website have been geolocated and thus cannot be displayed in Google Earth. On each image page, look on the right side of the page for a link indicating that you can view the image in Google Earth 4.2 or later. Be forewarned that this site is highly addictive.

Learn more about viewing and navigating photos in Google Earth.

Editing Imported GPS Tracks

2008-08-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Some GPS devices (particularly older ones) can record inaccurate data in the field. You may notice this after you import and view GPS data in Google Earth Pro or Plus. This can be disappointing to say the least. Often when I import GPS tracks from my mountain bike rides or hikes, I clean up the data in Google Earth by editing these tracks manually.

To do this, in My Places, expand the GPS data folder > Tracks > (appropriate track folder). Select the path and choose Edit > Properties. Now you can can edit the track as you would any path in Google Earth. You can move around, add and delete path points and change the appearance of the path. Learn about using paths and polygons.

As for waypoints, you can use a similar process to edit these as you would placemarks.

Eye Candy with the Sun

2008-07-31T13:51:00.000-07:00

The release of Google Earth version 4.3 gave you the ability to view dramatic, beautiful scenes that involve shadow and light.

To create these views, I always navigate first to hilly or mountainous terrain. The more colorful, the better. I click the sun icon in the 3D viewer, then move the time slider to create the appropriate shadows. Make sure you turn on atmosphere (View > Atmosphere).

Here are a few images that I was able to create using this process. Click each one to make it larger. Truth be told, I retouched each a bit (Brightness/Contrast) in Adobe Fireworks. From top to bottom, they are Swiss Alps; Mounument Valley, AZ and Big Sur, California.

Collaborating on Maps

2008-07-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you can collaborate with others as you create a custom online map? Google Earth Outreach offers a tutorial that describes exactly how to do this in Google Maps. Once you and your colleagues have created your map, you can export it to KML and view it in Google Earth.

My local mountain bike club is using this feature set to create a list of trailwork projects. Our collaborative map will show the location of needed trailwork and potential new trails we hope to build. I hope to share this soon with everyone, including the Forest Service.

Geotagging on Linux

2008-07-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

Fellow Googler and GPS geek extraordinaire Marc Merlin has created a guide to geotagging photos and GPS tracks using gps visualizer and gpsPhoto. This is a technical, hands-on guide that describes how to create very compelling geo mashups.

Whether or not you follow this guide, it is worth checking out Marc's presentation. He cleverly uses Google Maps, photos and GPS data to describe details of a multiday trip on Northern California's Lost Coast Trail (one of my favorite places).

Posting to the YouTube Layer

2008-07-09T16:39:00.001-07:00

Frank Taylor of Google Earth Blog reminds me to mention how to post to the YouTube layer.

It works like this: when you post a video on YouTube, you can assign a location to your video (see Date and Maps Options). You also need to allow the YouTube video to be embedded in other web pages (see Sharing Options).

Once you have done this, the video becomes part of the YouTube layer in Google Earth.

Embedding Videos

2008-07-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

If you used Google Earth enough, you've probably seen videos embedded in placemark balloons. But did you know how ridiculously easy it is to create these youself? Try this one minute tutorial:

Go to YouTube and find your favorite video.
In the Embed field (right of the video), select and copy the code.
In Google Earth, navigate to the appropriate location and create a placemark. For example, for a video filmed in a New York neighborhood, create your placemark in that location.
In the Edit Placemark dialog box, in the Description tab and field, paste the YouTube code. Click OK.

Done. Click the placemark to view your video. Of course you can now share and publish this placemark.

Geo Photo Tools

2008-07-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some third party tools that enable you to automatically assign locations to your photos in Google Earth:

KML2KML - Windows only. The Photo Track feature of this application allows you to arrange photos on track according to GeoEXIF or GPS data. Check out this example.

gpicsync - This enables you to automatically geocode pictures from your camera and GPS tracks.

HoudahGeo - Mac OS only. Assign photos to locations. You can also export you data to EXIF/XMP.

Additional tools - Robert Lipe has collected this list of photo geo taggers.

Of course you can manually assign locations to photos in Picasa and publish them to Earth. Learn more.

Tour Tips

2008-06-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

When you create a tour, try the following tips to create a great tour experience:

Before you record your tour or present it to others, run the tour on a loop again and again. This will cache the imagery and provide a higher quality tour.

Consider how fast you want the tour to proceed. Is the Earth imagery more important or does content that appears in placemark balloons need more emphasis? You can set how fast the tour plays, how fast it flies to each destination and how long the tour pauses at each placemark. Learn more.

Set your tour to follow an invisible path (see this earlier posting).

Emergencies in Google Earth and Maps

2008-06-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Public agencies and NGOs have learned to use Google Earth/Maps and KML to create incredibly useful presentations about disasters, even as these emergencies are unfolding. Here are some examples:

Northern California fires - Created by the California Governor's office of Emergency Management, this map has been invaluable for those of us who live near these areas.

Myanmar Cyclone - This KML shows the impact of the original Nargis storm, including the enormous scale of flooding caused by the disaster.

USGS Earthquake Monitoring - This depicts significant earthquake activity in the past seven days. From the placemark balloons, you can also access historical earthquake information.

Google publishes great related information that you can access in the Layers panel, such as the Weather, Gallery > Volcanoes/Nasa and Gallery > Wikipedia. I find these visual depictions to be so much more meaningful that media reports that merely talk about the impact of these disasters. With dynamic mapping tools, you can see exactly where the emergencies occurred and what regions are affected.

KML Samples in Maps

2008-06-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Curious how KML elements appear in Google Maps? Take a look at this sample file. Check any item to display it or click a link to zoom in. Google Maps supports a subset of KML features, as described in the KML documentation. Of course, you can view a KML sample in Earth as well.

Although I have not tried it, this site claims to preview your KML on Google Maps, which is certainly easier than tweaking you code, uploading your KML to a server and reloading it with each change you make.

All About Context

2008-06-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Michael Jones discusses geographical context and Google's objectives in this fascinating presentation:

Preserving with Google Earth

2008-06-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I presented to the Northern Region Council of Land Trusts in Fortuna, California. The subject was using Google Earth and Maps as tools for land conservation. The work of local land trusts is very important, as they work cooperatively with the entire community to preserve open space, create trails and simply make our communities better places to live. Land trusts often operate on a shoestring budgets and rely on the honorable efforts of volunteers.

I've long thought that Google Earth and Maps represent great tools for these organizations. With little technical know-how or money, they can use these products to mark locations and parcels important to conservation campaigns and share them with the public. It can be difficult for land trusts to convince the public or government that a particular area is worth preserving, particularly if the land in question is in an obscure or remote location. Google Earth removes these limitations; you can fly people to any location and show off its unique qualities. Once again, it is all about geographical context.

Outreach Showcase

2008-06-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

Want to see some very inspiring, imaginative presentations in Google Earth? Look no further than the Google Earth Outreach Showcase. The KML on these pages are created by people who are literally trying to change the world by raising awareness of important global and local issues.

Close to my home, I am particularly fond of the California's Marine Protected Areas KML, which makes clever use of polylines, image overlays and attractive HTML placemark balloons to describe the beauty and importance of these coastal areas within a geographical context.

Navigating in Version 4.3

2008-06-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how I managed to forget to mention this, but in April, I created a video that covers some the new navigation features in Version 4.3.

Google Earth API

2008-06-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

The Google Earth browser Plug-in supports a JavaScript API that allows you to manipulate camera angles, open balloons, add 3D models, draw KML, toggle to Sky mode and much more.

To see first hand what it can do and view some sample code, check out this sample page. For beta documentation, take a look at the developer guide. For additional help, visit the Google Earth Plug-in help group.

Labels and Layers

2008-06-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

As in real life, navigating in Google Earth is easier if you have some physical reference points. Some of these are obvious and popular, such as the road, borders and labels layers. In addition, you can orient yourself by using Places of Interest layers. Within this folder, I find the following very useful:

Geographic Features - I spend a lot of time hiking and biking and this folder shows great information (bodies of water, mountain peaks, etc.) in areas that have fewer roads. Plus, you can check out historic seismic activity around the world, courtesy of the USGS.

Parks and Recreation Areas - Again, my bias towards the great outdoors is in effect here. But this information is fantastic. Camping spots, trail routes, wildlife refuges, ranger stations and more. The USFS boundaries can help you work with traditional topographical maps to find your way.

Of course, you may need to zoom in a bit to see some of these points of interest in the 3D viewer.

Bring Google Earth to Your Website

2008-05-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Google released the Google Earth API (news). You can use this API to embed Google Earth and geographic content in your web pages. What really excites me is that you can also add a Google Earth view to your existing Google Maps API-enabled map by just adding small snippets of code.

To see what I mean, see below. Notice the Earth button:

See an example at Housingmaps.com.

Additionally, you can also display your KML-based content in this 3D view. To see this in action, visit Virgil Zetterlind's tool that allows you to display your KML in an embedded Google Earth view. Below, I display a KML depiction of one of my favorite mountain bike rides:

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Determining Elevation

2008-05-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

Before this weekend, I spent time trying to determine if my Memorial Day weekend mountain bike trip to Tahoe would be a bust or not. Word is that snow remains on trails above 7000'. Yet we had planned rides at or near that elevation.

To determine if we would be skunked on our ride, I launched Google Earth and navigated to the area. Simply by mousing over particular locations, I could view exact elevations at the bottom of the 3D viewer (see image).

In the end, we aborted our Tahoe trip and stuck to lower elevation rides. This was unfortunate, but certainly not as bad as wasting hours of driving only to find a wall of snow across our favorite trails.

Catching Air

2008-05-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

OK, here is a different kind of tip:

Geo Education

2008-05-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Google has launched a Geo Education site for educators who are hoping to include Google Earth, Maps, Sky or SketchUp as part of lesson plans. There are some great classroom ideas on how to use these products to help your students understand geography, geology, history and more.

If you are new to these products, check out the getting started guides. You can also connect with other educators in the Google for Educators discussion group.

Movie Maker Tips

2008-05-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Google Earth Pro users may be happy to learn that the user guide has a section devoted to movie maker tips. By following these suggestions, you can make outstanding movies with much less hassle.

Perhaps the most important thing to do before recording is to maximize the performance of your computer. You can do this by closing all other applications, unchecking all layers in Google Earth except terrain (and 3D buildings if necessary) and downloading the latest video driver for your computer. You can also try adjusting texture quality as this can affect both performance and visual quality of your video.

If you are still have questions, try the Google Earth Pro group.

Navigating on the Ground

2008-04-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

With Google Earth version 4.3 comes the ability to navigate on ground level. To do this, zoom into your favorite location so that your line of sight is parallel to the surface of the earth (you can do this using the Zoom slider). Navigate around by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Press Alt + arrow keys to move slower.

Note that when you encounter a change in ground elevation (such as a hill or mountain), your viewpoint ascends and descends these objects, as if you were climbing over them. Google Earth returns you to your original elevation once you have cleared them.

Of course, you can stop anywhere and look around using the Look joystick.

Does Whatever a Spider Can

2008-04-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I was a Marvel comic book fanatic, but no superhero held my fascination like Spiderman. I horded Spidey issues. I drew pictures of him. My family has pictures of me posing as Spiderman as I pretended to walk on walls and swing from building to building.

30+ years later, my fantasy has become realized in Google Earth 4.3. Few have noticed this new feature yet, but you can swoop to the top or sides of 3D buildings, then jump from building to building ala my favorite superhero. To do this, right click (CTRL + click on the Mac) on the building and drag the mouse. You can swoop from building to building by doing the same. Learn more in the user guide.

You can also view a 3D building from different perspectives. To do this, click the middle mouse button (Shift + left mouse if your mouse does not have a middle button).

Version 4.3 Released

2008-04-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

The latest version of Google Earth is available for download. Read all about the new features on Google Earth Blog, OgleEarth and Lat Long.

Personally, I am stoked about this release for aesthetic reasons (hey, eye candy is important). With the sun and 3D building features, the world looks so much more realistic and beautiful in this version. You may have also noticed that the atmospheric rendering is improved, making views around the world quite lifelike.

Previously an easter egg, the flight simulator now is available by default in the Tools menu. You can fly to some gorgeous views by using the flight simulator and sun feature. Try setting the sun to appear on the horizon, at dawn or sunset, and fly over the Swiss Alps. I should also mention that I've created a new section of the user guide devoted to the flight simulator feature.

Setting Views

2008-04-10T13:31:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can automatically assign a particular view to a placemark. But you can also set this manually when you create or edit a placemark.

In the New or Edit Placemark dialog box, click the View tab and change any of the following:

Latitude and Longitude - Coordinates for the placemark
Range - Distance from the placemark to the viewing position.
Heading - The orientation of the viewpoint relative to north.
Tilt - Angle between the viewpoint and the surface of the earth.

Click OK. When you or anyone else double clicks this placemark, the 3D viewer brings you to this specific view. Note that the settings above correspond to KML's LookAt element.

Approximate Addresses in Google Earth Pro

2008-04-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

If you are a Google Earth Pro user, you can quickly obtain the approximate address for many locations. In the geeky GIS world, we call this "reverse geocoding". This means that you visually pick location and Google Earth Pro provides you its best guess for an address for this place.

Give it a try. Just navigate to the appropriate place, press down the Ctrl key and right click (Ctrl + click on the Mac) a location.

Dynamic KML

2008-04-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

In this video, Googler Mano Marks demonstrates techniques for using view based refresh (VBR), and other dynamic querying techniques in KML.

Dynamic Layers Content

2008-03-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Occasional users of Google Earth may not be aware that content available in the Layers panel is frequently changed. Entirely new layers are often added and existing content is expanded and updated. It is a great idea to explore the Layers panel to see what is new.

As someone on the Google Earth team, even I have a tough time keeping up with it all. Lately, I find myself drawn to the following layers:

YouTube - (Gallery) Poke around in this layer and you can find some real gems. My favorites videos depict something that relates to a location. For example, near my hometown, someone posted a video of a driving tour of Christmas light displays around town. My kids loved this.

Weather - For the ultimate in dynamic content, enable this layer. Google recently began publishing weather for many additional locations. View current cloud cover, precipitation and forecasts. And don't forget to play with the clouds.

NASA Satellite Imagery - (Gallery > NASA) There is some fantastic alternate imagery of the planet available in this layer. Many of these images tell important stories about human and natural events around the globe, such as floods, dust storms, deep ocean whirlpools and more. Check out the photograph of Mount Saint Helens.

GigaPan - (Gallery) Again, this layer shows outstanding local imagery of fascinating locations. The imagery from Yellowstone National Park is a great example.

Pre-Hiking Reconnaissance

2008-03-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite uses of Google Earth is to plan and scope out upcoming backcountry trips. Currently, I am plotting a overnight camping trip on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) near Mount Shasta in California. There are a number of ways to do this:

Navigate to the area - Tilt and check out the terrain. This will give you a sense of what you will find on your trip, including natural features, lakes, etc.

Display existing trails - (Layers panel > Gallery > Trimble Outdoors Trips) This layer has some excellent information about trails and the PCT in particular. It includes tracks, trailheads, distances, landmarks, pictures and more.

Import a map as an image overlay - I pulled in a USFS map for trails in the area, which included additional information about distances and landmarks.

Display names for natural features - (Layers Panel > Places of Interest > Geographic Features) These names are extremely helpful because they often correspond to topographical maps. Note that these names do not appear until you zoom in a bit.

Real Estate and Google Earth

2008-03-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, a friend and occasional user of Google Earth asked me about how he could use the software with his real estate business. There are many options, ranging from the simple to the elaborate:

Create placemarks of properties - Once you create and share placemarks, clients can virtually visit listings, read your descriptions, view videos and more.

Create polygons showing parcel boundaries - Again, this gives clients the opportunity to see exactly what it is you have to offer. Learn more.

Import your existing GIS data into Google Earth - Google Earth Pro can ingest your GIS data and allow you to publish much of this information to both Google Earth and Maps. As a large scale example, the City of Portland has published data for parcels, zoning, crime, school districts and more.

Create, import or place SketchUp 3D models - Using Google SketchUp, you can create or import simple or complex models of properties and place them in Google Earth. The 3D Warehouse has models ready for you to start with.

Extend to Ground

2008-03-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

You can create lines that appear between a placemark and the ground. Of course, this line only appears if the placemark is elevated above the Earth.

To do this, first create a placemark. In the New Placemark dialog box, enter an altitude value above zero or use the slider and check Extend to ground.

Polygons, lines and paths can also extend to the ground. With these items, Google Earth draws a geometric shape from the earth's surface to the item.

Flight Plans

2008-02-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

As I plan my summer vacation, I've begun to wonder where my flights might put me as I fly to my destinations. Will I fly over the Grand Canyon? Yosemite? Nebraska? Assuming that my flights proceed in a more a less direct line, I could make a good guess using Google Earth.

Using the measure tool, I drew a line between destination points, which allowed me to see the approximate path of the flight and of course the distance. You can create multiple destinations using the path tool, but you won't see distance.

It is neat to see where your flight might go. For example, a straight line flight between Seattle and Tokyo will take you over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. This seems counterintuitive until you look at the globe as a three dimensional sphere as it is displayed in Google Earth.

KML Video

2008-02-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

The "Quick and Dirty KML Creation" presentation is now available on YouTube. Check it out.

Geo Data on the Web

2008-02-22T11:52:00.001-08:00

If you are a Google Earth user, you can view all kinds of fascinating free geo data available on the web. For example, this morning, I went exploring on the US Forest Service website and poked around the FSGeodata Clearinghouse. This collection offers interesting vector and raster-based mapping data for USFS lands in the United States, such as topographical maps. Some of the data in this site is KML-based.

The WMS feature of Google Earth also allows you to access publicly available geo data and import it seamlessly into Google Earth as an image overlay. Google Earth Pro users can import GIS data directly into the application.

KML Workshop

2008-02-20T18:09:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I attended a public workshop here at the Googleplex entitled "Quick & Dirty KML Creation". Pamela Fox and Mano Marks showed us "how to use tools within Google Maps and Google Earth to create, import, and edit KML." This was part of the Google Geo Developer Conference series.

The presenters described using Google Earth and MyMaps feature of Google Maps to create, edit, import and export KML. They also discussed the new KML spreadsheet tool that allows you to create placemarks using entries in a Google spreadsheet, the Google Maps API and other topics.

One participant asked an great question: when should you author content in Google Earth as opposed to editing the KML directly? Generally speaking, it depends :-) For example, editing in the Google Earth graphical user interface (GUI) is optimal when you are creating a specific view, or want to visually choose colors and icons. But editing the KML itself is best when you are creating single shared styles for multiple items, or add in elements such as time animation that the GUI interface doesn't allow you to edit.

This workshop should be available on YouTube soon. I'll post a link for it as soon as possible.

GPS Tracking on the Go

2008-02-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

Google Earth Plus, Pro and EC allow you to track your movements in real time via GPS. For example, you can view a live GPS track of your drive in a car on a laptop as you travel. To do this, you'll need a GPS device connected to your computer.

After you complete your trek, you can view an animation of the journey using the time slider.

Copying from Layers

2008-02-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

See a point of interest in a layer that appeals to you? You can copy any placemark that appears in a layer and paste it into My Places (right click > Save to My Places). This is useful if you want to display this placemark, but not the entire layer.

It also allows you to view the KML behind an attractively presented placemark or balloon (learn more). I do this as a way to reverse engineer how a placemark was built in KML or HTML, which can inspire KML I author in the future.

Land Conservation Stories

2008-02-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, several of us presented at the California Council of Land Trust conference in Sacramento. Member groups of this organization work on land conservation issues, which is a cause near and dear to my heart.

Land trust organizations often use GIS to plan projects and educate donors and the public about their work. Non profits like these have learned that Google Earth and KML are terrific tools for telling stories within a geographic context.

One amazing example shown at the conference depicts a landfill project planned for Petaluma, CA. Opponents of the project used KML to show wetlands that surround at the controversial landfill site. You can see additional examples at GreenInfo Network.

Creating KML

2008-01-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

How do you create your KML? There are different KML authoring tools available.

Generally, I edit my KML in Adobe Dreamweaver, though a text editor like Notepad works fine. I create a network link in Google Earth to the KML file so I can view how my edits appear almost as soon I create them. I also set Google Earth to show all KML errors as it reads my file as a coarse means of debugging my KML.

However, this tutorial demonstrates how you can debug your KML using a nifty tool called jEdit.

New Layer Content

2008-01-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

Last week, Google published a lot of new layer content for Google Earth. Read about this update on Google Earth Blog and Lat Long.

I am especially fond of the new National Geographic content for Asia, Europe and South America. For me, the National Geographic layer dovetails so perfectly with Google Earth, as NG stories are all about visual and geographical context.

If you read a story about the Inca civilization ruins in Peru, Google Earth provides you with a sense of where these structures are situated, which of course makes the Incan story all the more amazing.

Importing Imagery

2008-01-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

There are three main ways you can import imagery into Google Earth:

Image overlay - (Add > Image Overlay) This is an image that is draped over the surface of the earth (though it can appear elevated as well). Among other things, this feature is useful for importing image files of maps. The picture to the left is an example of an image overlay.

Photo - (Add > Photo) This is an image placed in a geographic location that you and other users can fly into and navigate. You can see examples in the Layers panel > Gallery > Gigapxl.

GIS imagery - (Google Earth Pro only: File > Open) These are GIS-related files, such as .tif, .geotif, .ntf, .img, etc. Google Earth can display these images in the correct geographic location as specified in the original file.

The larger your image files, the more performance becomes an issue. If you are using large sets of images, consider using KML Regions.

Sky Tutorial

2008-01-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, there is a self-guided Sky tutorial available with the new release of Sky. It is for those of you who are new to Sky.

To access this, first enter Sky. In the Layers panel, expand the Welcome to Sky folder. Double click Getting to Know Sky, then click the Getting to Know Sky icon in the 3D viewer.

If you have any feedback, please let me know.

Learning in Sky

2008-01-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

Today, Google released the latest version of Sky. For a full run down of all the new features and content, visit some of the sites listed below.

My personal favorites in Sky are the Hevelius Constellations (Layers > Historical Sky Maps > Hevelius Constellations). These artistic engravings depict the constellations as an overlay in Sky. They are stunning. As a father of school-aged kids, I can't wait to share these with them. In fact, I plan to give a presentation to my daughter's class using these engravings as a starting point.

Because visually enticing an audience is so important to capturing their imagination, Sky becomes an incredible educational tool in and out of the classroom. I would love to hear stories about how Sky users have created astronomy lesson plans or presentations using this tool. Or if you are interested in using a lesson plan, what sort of subjects would you like to see addressed?

Read about the new Sky:

Animations and the Time Slider

2008-01-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

A talented fellow tech writer here at Google has created documentation that describes how you can create time-animated buildings in KML. As an example, she uses is the now famous London Eye ferris wheel animation (see image).

Outside of this documentation, other animation examples include the rising sea level and arctic ice melting models. Frank Taylor highlights many other animations on his blog.

Once you have downloaded such animations, you can display them in Google Earth by using the time slider. This KML content is defined along a time span. Changes animate as you move the time slider. Learn about using the time slider.

Geotagging Photos in Picasa

2007-12-18T10:12:00.001-08:00

The videos just keep coming! Once again, please pass along any comments you have. Are there any specific video tutorials you would like to see?

New Video Tutorial: Obtaining Coordinates

2007-12-14T10:41:00.001-08:00

Yet another video tutorial created by yours truly. In case you are wondering, yes, that is my voice :-) Please pass along any comments that you have:

Make Your Own Google Earth Video

2007-12-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

Want to have your own video content featured on our new You Tube channel? Here are the details, as posted on the Google Earth Help groups:

"We've seen some of your videos on YouTube that are educational or just plain cool uses of Google Earth and think they're great!

In honor of that, we're going to feature some of our favorites on the Google Earth Help YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/GoogleEarthVideoHelp

The Short Version (aka: Summary)!!

Create a video about how to use Google Earth or something great to do with it and upload it on YouTube (read below for rules and more details).
Email us the link and tag your video with "GoogleEarthRocks" without the quotes (read below for full details and the email address).
The best of the best will be featured in the Google Earth Support YouTube Channel. Impress your friends. That's it!

So what are you waiting for? Go here to learn more:
http://groups.google.com/group/earth-help/web/earth-video-submission "

New Tutorial: Marking Locations

2007-11-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

Yet another new video tutorial. Please post any feedback you have:

Hiding Text Descriptions

2007-11-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

From a fellow Googler: you can hide the text description of a placemark in the Places pane in Google Earth by using the <Snippet> element of KML. Read more in the KML documentation.

This <Snippet> element allows you to control how many lines of the text in a placemark description box is displayed in the Places pane. The default value is two lines. You can increase this by using this syntax:

<Snippet maxLines="X">

or you can hide all the text by using this syntax:

<Snippet></Snippet>

Note this tag must be inserted inside the element of your KML file:

<Placemark>
<name>Moby Arena</name>
<Snippet></Snippet>
<description>Moby Arena

http://csurams.cstv.com/facilities/csu-facilities.html</description>

New Tutorial: Searching in Google Earth

2007-11-24T16:38:00.000-08:00

Here is our latest video tutorial. Please post any feedback you have:

One to Remember: Pressing the Scroll Wheel

2007-11-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

Somehow I managed to let the first anniversary of this blog pass by without some kind of acknowledgment. But to make up for this, here is a re-run post from October of last year.

This tip is one that always fascinates users who have not heard of this functionality:

Perhaps the most overlooked method of navigating in Google Earth is the technique of rotating the view by holding down the middle mouse button or depressible mouse wheel.

Give it a try. First, navigate to a favorite location in Google Earth. Press down the middle mouse button or wheel and move the mouse. Moving up and down tilts the view, whereas moving left or right rotates the view. Cool, eh?

This represents a very useful way to adjust your perspective of a location. In fact, this is how I always view an area once I have located it.

Fun with Weather

2007-11-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

In case you have not noticed, Google Earth offers a new Weather layer that allows you to see cloud formations, radar depiction of precipitation, current conditions and even forecasts. To view all this, in the Layers panel, check Weather.

If you turn on the Clouds sub folder, navigate to ground level and tilt up, you can get a very cool realistic depiction of the sky (see image). Of course, this works best in a location where there is current cloud cover.

Learn more about using layers and navigating.

Search Tips

2007-11-09T09:31:00.001-08:00

You can remove the history/autofill of your search terms at anytime by clicking Edit > Clear Search History.

Once you have searched for a place or business, you can edit your search results. This is handy if you want to save or edit search results for another purpose. For example, if you wanted to create a list of cafes in your town, you could navigate to your town and search for "cafe". In the search results, right click (CTRL click on the Mac) on any entry and choose Properties to add your own details. You can then save these search results to My Places by dragging it to the Places panel or right clicking the search results and choosing Save to My Places.

Learn more about searching in Google Earth.

New Tutorial: Navigating in Google Earth

2007-11-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

With help with my fellow Googlers, I've created the following video tutorial. Please check it out and let me know if you have any questions:

A Virtual Vacation

2007-11-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

One of the most fulfilling things about working on a widely-used product is seeing what users do with it. A colleague of mine created this amazing account of his multi-night hiking adventure in the Sierra Nevada. He used a number of tools to document this trip, including Google Earth, topographic software, a digital camera, several GPS devices and a solar panel device. Us geeks really know how to get away from it all ;-)

The result of these toys and his diligent tracking is the incredible presentation on this web page. I like how he used Google Earth to visually depict the difficulty of certain legs of his trip. And of course, the photography of the adventure is very inspiring. I am already planning a similar trip in the High Sierra next summer.

Attention Leopard Users

2007-10-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

If you have upgraded to Leopard OS on your Mac, you need Google Earth version 4.2. Earlier versions of Google Earth do not work on Leopard.

Download the latest version of Google Earth.

Using Sky - Video Tutorial

2007-10-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, here is a great tutorial that shows you how to use Sky in Google Earth:

Learn more about Sky in the user guide.

New Outreach Tutorials

2007-10-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Google Earth Outreach has released a new set of tutorials for Google Earth and Maps.

These visual, step-by-step instructions show you how to publish the same content to both Google Earth and Maps. These include:

Creating Maps using the My Maps Tab
Embedding Maps in Your Web Site
Embedding YouTube Videos in Your Map

Geotagging Photos in Picasa

2007-10-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the geotagging feature of Picasa. It allows you to tag photos you have imported into Picasa with a specific location using Google Earth. When you upload your photos to Picasa Web Albums, visitors who view your photos online can see where the images were taken in a Google Maps thumbnail. You can also share geotagged photos with others as a KML file or simply save the information in your own private album.

This feature is pretty trick and super easy to use. Here is an example from photos I geotagged over the weekend. Note the Google Maps thumbnail in the bottom left corner of the page.

Learn more about geotagging photos in Picasa.

Adding Content

2007-10-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

I try not to break news on this blog. I leave that to Frank Taylor, Stefan Geens, and other bloggers. But you may not have noticed that in Version 4.2, there is a new button entitled Add Content at the top of the Places panel.

Click this to add exciting KML-based content from the Google Earth Gallery. This content is created by users like yourself and varies from fun to breathtaking to downright silly. Be sure to check it out.

Learn more about adding content to Google Earth.

Featured Google Earth Modelers

2007-10-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

Have you visited the Google 3D Warehouse lately? It now showcases Featured Google Earth Modelers. This area includes "photo-textured models of georeferenced (located in the right spot in Google Earth) buildings that are developed with efficiency in mind, creating the most beautiful result with the least amount of polygons as possible."

Which is a fancy way of saying that these folks have created extremely cool 3D models for your viewing pleasure. One of my favorites is this collection of buildings in Pakistan. I am also fond of this series of bridges.

Want to build you own 3D models? Download Google SketchUp 6. The product features some great video tutorials.

Where Did My GPS Tracks Go?

2007-10-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

When you import GPS data into Google Earth, your tracks or waypoints may not initially appear. This is because the data includes time information and the time slider determines if such time-stamped data appears in the 3D viewer. Fortunately, there is an easy solution.

If you cannot see your GPS data after importing it, try dragging the time slider right range marker toward the right (learn more).

Visit the Google Earth Help GPS group.

Placing High Definition Photos

2007-09-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite aspects of the new photo feature in Google Earth version 4.2 is that it allows you to view high resolution photos from the exact point where the photo was taken.

A great example of this is the Gigapan photo of Half Dome in Yosemite. To view this example, in the Layers panel, check Featured Content > Gigapan Photos. Navigate to Yosemite National Park and enter the photo of Half Dome (learn more).

Note that the placement of this exceptional photo matches and aligns with the terrain and base imagery of Yosemite. You can place your own high resolution images in Google Earth and set the viewer's perspective using either Google Earth or KML's PhotoOverlay tag.

Live Traffic

2007-09-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

As with Google Maps, in certain areas, you can view live traffic conditions in Google Earth. To enable this, first navigate to the appropriate location. In the Layers panel, check Traffic. Traffic conditions are denoted by colored dotted lines (green = all clear, yellow = slowish, red = call in to tell them you'll be late, gray = no info available).

You can click each colored icon and see how fast traffic is moving at that location.

As you zoom in, areas with available traffic information appear with a traffic icon:

Preview Layer

2007-09-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed the new Preview layer in Google Earth (Geographic Web > Preview). This layer shows you a sample of premium content from other layers, but reduces the number of points of interest so that your view remains uncluttered and easy to explore.

It is a great way to become familiar with available Layer content. And if you like what you see, just click Show this layer in the appropriate balloon. For example, if you learn that you enjoy samples from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), you can view all available content by the AIA. Similarly, you can click Hide this layer to hide AIA icons.

Learn more about using layers.

Flash in Google Earth

2007-09-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Google Earth Version 4.2 supports Flash animations in placemark balloons. This means you can embed Flash movies, interactive games, demos or any other Flash content in a balloon. Frank Taylor of gearthblog.com mentions one cool implementation of this new feature. I look forward to seeing what other creative uses the Google Earth community makes of this functionality.

Please note that at this time, this feature is only supported on Windows.

KML and Photos

2007-09-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned, Google Earth version 4.2 allows you to add and navigate high definition photos. As with other content in Google Earth, these photos are specified in KML. In this case, the important KML tag is PhotoOverlay. According to the KML documentation:

The PhotoOverlay element allows you to geographically locate a photograph on the Earth and to specify the placement and orientation of the Camera that views this PhotoOverlay. The PhotoOverlay can be a simple 2D rectangle, a partial or full cylinder, or a sphere (for spherical panoramas). The ImagePyramid child element of PhotoOverlay provides for efficient handling of arbitrarily large photographs in Google Earth.

Adding Photos

2007-08-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Lost in all the excitement about Sky is the new Add Photos feature in Google Earth version 4.2. This allows you to add photos in Google Earth that you can fly into and browse. This feature works great with high definition photos, as you can zoom deep into these images and view tremendous detail. Learn more about adding photos.

If you are just interested in viewing high definition photos, in the Layers panel, check the Featured Content > Gigalpxl and double click any Gigapxl icon (see below) in the 3D viewer. This layer includes some truly breathtaking images. Learn more about navigating photos.

Gigapxl icon

Sky and KML

2007-08-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Google Earth 4.2 includes Sky, which allows you to view and browse stars, planets and more. A fellow Googler has posted an excellent guide to publishing KML-based content in Sky. Complete with examples, this document describes how you can display objects in Sky and how KML elements work in Sky. View this document.

If you just want to view Sky in Google Earth, be sure to download the latest version and take a look at these resources:

Detail Area

2007-08-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that when you browse the globe in Google Earth, the center section of the 3D viewer is sharp, while the areas close to the edge are not.

This sharper area is called the detail area. You can change the size of this area or make the entire view detailed. Click Tools > Options > 3D View (on the Mac, click Google Earth > Preferences > 3D View) and choose an appropriate Detail Area size.

However, choosing a larger detail area can slow down your computer if you have an older, less powerful video card on your machine. Setting an appropriate detail area is a trade off between an overall better image on your screen and performance. Try different settings and see what works best for you.

Unknown Layers

2007-08-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

This blog posting is dedicated to lesser known layers. One of the challenges of our work here is to make Google Earth users aware of the compelling content we have available in these layers. So here is my contribution to that effort:

Appalachian Mountain Top Removal - Under Global Awareness. This layer brings public attention to the devastating environmental effects of mountain top removal in the eastern United States.

Volcanoes - Under Geographic Features. View information from the Smithsonian Institute about volcanic formations around the world.

Alternative Place Names - Open this folder and check the appropriate language to view names (and spellings) of places around the globe. You can use this layer in conjunction with the Populated Places layer to see interesting contrasts of how place names are spelled (example "Al Qahirah" versus "Cairo".

European Space Agency - Under Featured Content. Check this to view stunning alternate satellite imagery of places around the world, such as active volcanoes, flooding, mountain ranges and more.

Learn more about using layers.

Emailing Views

2007-08-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

You can quickly email a view to others Google Earth users.

To do this, navigate and tilt to obtain the exact view you want to share. Click File > Email > View or click Ctrl + Alt + E ( + Alt + E on the Mac). This creates an email with a placemark attachment. Note that you can also email an image.

Learn more about sharing places.

Searching the Places Panel

2007-08-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

You can search items in the Places panel by pressing CTRL + F. This opens a search field at the bottom of the Places panel where you can enter your search terms (see left).

This feature is particularly useful if you have a large number of items your My Places folder.

Snapshot View

2007-08-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

The Snapshot View command allows you to assign a specific camera angle and altitude to a placemark or folder. For example, if I want to create a placemark of a mountain to share with others, but want to ensure that users see the mountain at specific angle to emphasize its topography, I would tilt and navigate until I get an ideal view and then use the snapshot view command. Anyone who views my placemark will see the precise view I set.

This can be a powerful feature if you area creating tours or movies in Google Earth, as a tour of a set of placemarks can use the precise camera angles that you want.

To snapshot a view, do one of the following:

For a folder or placemark, right click (CTRL click on the Mac) the placemark and choose Snapshot View
In the Edit Folder/Placemark dialog box, choose View > Snapshot current view

Using Custom Placemark Icons

2007-07-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

You can use your own graphic icon with any of your placemarks in Google Earth. To do this, create or edit a placemark. In the New/Edit dialog box, click the placemark button in the top right corner. The Icon dialog box appears. Click an icon or to add a new icon, click Add Custom Icon.

Note that you can also set the opacity and scale of the image. Of course, you'll want to optimize the file size of this image so as to keep Google Earth performing well.

You can set the icon in the KML source as well. Learn more.

Installation Help

2007-07-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

The Google Earth Help Center has many tips to help you successfully install Google Earth on your computer. Additionally, the Help Center has many troubleshooting tips that you can use to improve performance of the application.

If you cannot find the answer to your particular question, be sure to check out the Google Earth Help Group. This is a set of discussion forums where users read, post and share information about using Google Earth.

Finally, if you believe you have encountered an issue which pertains to a bug in the software, you can report the issue in the main Help Group. Before you do this, it is best to check out the aforementioned resources, as they may contain a solution to your issue.

Published Versus Unpublished Content

2007-07-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

When you create content in Google Earth (such as a placemark), this content resides on your computer unpublished until you decide to share this content with others. So if you mark the location of your home, no one can see this placemark until you explicitly share it with others.

Google does not collect or view unpublished content on your computer.

There are a variety of ways to share such content, such as: