Draw a Circle on Google Earth Pro
Introduction
If yous contact a landowner or state manager about getting permission information technology's actually helpful to become a map of the surface area. This can be used past the reviewers when checking cache locations likewise as other cachers who may want to place a cache there. The map may be just a hand fatigued paper copy (or an prototype file) or may be a professionally created map using digital mapping software like ESRI ArcGIS. Yous may just know the surface area yourself and can describe information technology by mitt. Whichever style the map is provided it has to be in KML file format so information technology can be opened in Google World by anyone who needs to run across it. There are several ways this tin can be done and each method is explained below.
Hand fatigued map of a single expanse created with Google Globe
Creating a hand fatigued map tin can exist done using Google World. In this example the landowner of an area of parkland with a state house and garden has provided a mitt fatigued map with the estate boundaries. The landowner has asked that no caches are placed in the park even though information technology has gratis public access. This map has to be transferred by hand to Google Earth and saved as a KML file.
Original map provided past the land owner and email with details of the surface area and that no caching is allowed (click to overstate the map).
| | Dear Chris Regards Fred Smith |
The boundary of this map is now drawn on Google World. This is explained in item below. Click the images to overstate them. Y'all tin can besides watch a video of the whole process - click here (opens YouTube).
Click the images beneath to enlarge them
- Zoom in on Google Globe to the area you are going to create the overlay in. You lot can zoom and pan whilst drawing the overlay.
- Click the Add together Polygon icon on the toolbar (or Add - Polygon from the menu bar)
- When the polygon dialogue box opens requite information technology a name and add the description. This is what will appear in Google earth when yous click the overlay.
- In the Style, Color tab you demand to change the default from white to another colour otherwise you won't be able to see where you lot are cartoon very easily. Scarlet is suggested at a 40% opacity.
- OK the dialogue box and then the information is saved. Then right click the new polygon and click Properties. The dialogue box opens again. At present drag the dialogue box to the left and off the primary Google Earth screen. It needs to be open while yous depict the overlay just not in the way.
- Using the mouse wheel to zoom and the left/right/up/downwardly cursor keys to move the map detect a place to starting time. In this example information technology is the height left corner of the manor. The mouse cursor changes to a cross-hair. Click the mouse cursor/crosshair at a start point. Move the mouse along the boundary to the next point and click over again to draw the line. Keep moving the mouse to suitable points and click each time. You lot don't need a 'point' every few millimetres! As you go 'round a corner' information technology starts to fill in the polygon. The Delete key volition remove the terminal point. If yous press the delete key again it deletes the previous point and so on. The final signal drawn is blue which means it is the active point. Continue drawing from that bespeak.
- If you make a mistake and click a point in the incorrect place or miss out a section you can hands correct information technology but be conscientious. When y'all click a new indicate information technology connects it to the final ACTIVE point which shows in bluish. In this example, (left image) point 1 is the terminal 1 drawn - shows in bluish which ways information technology's active. Point two is in the wrong place. It can easily be corrected past clicking with the mouse and dragging it to the correct location as shown in the second epitome. But annotation that now signal 2 is blue and active not indicate ane.
When you lot continue drawing by adding the next point at 3 (left paradigm) it actually draws the line from betoken ii which is active, not point i which y'all want it to do. Easy to correct, just click delete to remove point 3 and so click
on point 1 to make information technology active and continue drawing.
- When you lot've finished drag the dialogue box back onto the screen and click OK. The area is at present saved.
- To create the KML file simply right click your mouse on the newly created shape and select Save Place As and give it a name and in the save dialogue box select KML as the file type.
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Hand drawn map of multiple areas created with Google Earth
If the area has several separated parts you lot tin create each one separately in Google Earth but save them as a unmarried KML file for the landowner database. The process to create each surface area is the same as described in the previous section. Outset you need to create a folder to store each overlay in. Y'all then save the binder equally a KML file.
- Click Add - Folder on the carte du jour bar. Give the folder a proper noun and clarification. Click OK to salvage the binder.
- Now right click the folder and add a polygon. Enter the name and description. You can requite each overlay you lot create a different name and description if required. This information volition exist used for each overlay when it's uploaded. Modify the color and way as shown in the previous section then drag the dialogue box to one side and draw the overlay. Click OK when finished.
- Repeat pace two calculation another polygon to the folder and draw the overlay. Keep doing this for equally many overlays equally yous have. In this example in that location are but two, Millenium Forest due north and Millenium Woods s. Finally, right click the folder and Save Place Every bit a kml file.
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Editing a map created in Google Globe - Single overlay
Once you've created a map overlay and saved it in Google Earth you tin easily edit information technology if y'all demand to change the shape. Just open up the KML overlay in Google Earth (File - Open) and so right click on it and select Properties. The dialogue box opens and the shape points announced. You tin then click and drag the points or add more as required. If you lot don't desire to risk a mistake messing up the original overlay then make a re-create of the original KML file and open that to work on.
Be careful when adding new points. The map 'remembers' whether y'all drew the points clockwise or anti-clockwise and adding a new point may extend the overlay the incorrect manner. If this happens, just delete the point (delete key) and try the other direction. See the section (7) higher up on what to do if you make a mistake.
Finally, save the file.
Editing a map created in Google Globe - Multiple overlays
Editing a multiple overlay is the same equally for a single 1. Open the KML file and you volition get the FOLDER with the individual overlay polygons in it. Correct click on the polygon you need to edit and make the necessary changes. So right click on the Binder and save that. The edited polygon within the folder will be saved along with all the others.
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Converting digital maps to KML
If yous are working with a land manager you may be able to get professionally created digital maps of an area. Ask for these in KML format so they tin be uploaded straight to the landowner database but if this isn't possible and then ESRI Shapefile format. Some organisations also make their maps available to download. To convert ESRI Shapefiles to KML y'all can utilise an online conversion site.
Online conversion. This site http://www.mapsdata.co.uk/online-file-converter/ allows yous to upload a file and convert it straight to KML. It is limited to fifty,000 rows, and the KML converter approximately 32Mb. If the resulting KML is whatsoever bigger information technology only won't convert. The conversion process should work OK but sometimes you may find things like the area names and/or description are missing. It depends how the original Shapefile was created. You lot tin can edit the kml file to change names and descriptions but you need to know what yous are doing.
This instance is a digital map of the National Parks in the U.k. which can be downloaded from a authorities website called Natural England. The file is downloaded equally a zipfile in ESRI Shapefile format. The zip consists of several files which comprise the map data, coordinate format and so on. Simply 'drag n drib' the zippo file on the conversion site and a few moments (minutes if information technology's a big file) you go the prompt to download and salvage the KML.
Click to enlarge images
There was a problem though with this detail file. The file has names for each of the parks (Elevation District, Yorkshire Dales etc) but in that location is no description. This means when viewed in Google Earth you don't know why what the expanse is for. Editing is relatively easy using Notepad++ (free to download) or any good text/script editor simply you will need to know nigh editing such files and their structure. You could as well open the file in Google Earth and add together a clarification there.
Source: https://wiki.groundspeak.com/display/GEO/Drawing+overlays+in+Google+Earth
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