Mercinova's Google Earth Tutorial

Tutorial how to use Google Earth
 

 

This page is the tutorial to using Google Earth software for exploring the Earth surface, other tutorial for exploring the sky can be found if you click on the menu here:

Exploring the sky (click here to open other page)

	Exploring the Earth

This tutorial is divided in three pages, each page explaining one of three menu panels that available in the Google Earth screen, this page is explaining how to use Tool Bar Menu Panel, other Menu Panel tutorial can be accessed by clicking in the links below:

Tool Bar Menu Panel Tutorial

The Tool Bar Menu Panel located on the upper side screen, contain several buttons with different functionality. Follow the explanation below:

Hide Side Bar
To make the Side Bar Menu on the left screen disappear, this function will expand the screen view but different from full screen function (F11) the Windows Title Bar and Taskbar still appears, click this icon again to make the Side Bar Menu appears.

Add Placemark
This Menu is to making a place-mark for your favorite place, indicated by customizable icon symbol with the title of your location.

First step is dragging  the map until your favorite place point is in the middle of the screen, then click the "Add Placemark" menu button

Typing the name of your place in the "Name" text-box, in this example I typing it with "Harajuku - Japan," then fill in the description of your place in the "Description" text-box, I typing it with "the center of Japan's most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles."

You can change the image of icon by clicking on the yellow push-pin button that located in the up-right corner of this Menu window.

In this example I choose the shopping bag, because Harajuku is the place for youngster to showing their expressions in clothing (the famous cos-play hang-out) and also the favorite place for shopping and eating.

You can change the color, scale and opacity of the icon, or using other custom icon files.

Click the "OK" button and the icon will changed, then click on the "OK" button again and you will see the "Shopping Bag" icon with "Harajuku - Japan" displaying on the map screen.

Click on image to see larger version

Your saved placemark will be listed in the Places window panel, you can save it as .kmz file to be shared with your friends, right-click on the placemark icon and choose "Save Place As" and save it on your hard drive. You can get my saved harajuku-japan.kmz file here:

Add Polygon

To Add a Polygon at your favorite place, you can put a multi sides object anywhere in the map, such as triangle, square, hexagon or irregular shape.

Click the "Add Polygon" button at the menu bar and the "New Polygon Window" will be appear, on the map your mouse pointer will be changed into targeting square shape like this:

Click on the map to make a starting point, in this example I want to making polygon at the plaza park in Harajuku forest. In each point you will see a red dot and after third point the polygon shape will be formed, in this case I made a four side trapezium polygon.

Look at the sequence below.
 

Click the first point		Click the second point
Click the third point		Click the fourth point

Now let's we change the color of  this polygon, click on the "Style, Color" tab on the menu, then click on the color boxes at "Lines" and "Area" to change the border and the surface color of that polygon, you can click on the "Random" check box to make the surface color change randomly in different angle.

 

Color changed to green		Tilting the polygon

Now you must tilting the view of this polygon, tutorial how to tilting the map is explained in the "Navigation Control Panel" page (click here)

Then click on the "Altitude" tab menu and changing the altitude value by typing it on the entry box or moving the slider to the right, lets try it with 30 meters high.

 

The polygon will be floating 30 meters from the ground like this example:
	polygon floating 30 meters

 

You can make it changed into solid object by checking the box at "Extend sides to ground" option, and the polygon will be like the example here.
	Solid Polygon

If you see this warning box, this is indicated your graphic adapter is not supported to displaying polygon, the supported graphic adapter list can be seen in the "What is Google Earth" page.

 

Add Path

This facility is to making a lined path in the map, you can make it thin or bold in any color, the sequence to make a path is similar to the sequence to make a polygon, but the path doesn't have closed point as a polygon.

Add Image Overlay
To add an image on the specific location, the image can be from your hard disk or URL link, useful to make a logo or some accessories on the map.

After clicking the "Add Image Overlay" button you will see the "New Polygon" window, and on the map screen you will see green square targeting box like the example here:

Then click the "Browse" button to get your image file from your hard drive or you can typing the URL address in the "Link" text box.

Your image will be displaying on the map, you can set the transparency level of your image by dragging the "Transparency" lever from Opaque to Clear.

Resizing You can make your image larger or smaller by dragging the corner of the image using your mouse pointer.

Moving You can move your image anywhere in the map by dragging the green crossing line at the center of the image using your mouse pointer.

Rotating You can rotate your image clockwise or counter-clockwise by click-hold and turning your mouse pointer at the green diamond shape object in the image.

Show Ruler
This facility utilized to measuring the length of an object on the map or knowing the distance from a location to other location.

After clicking the "Show Ruler" button you will see the "Ruler" window and the targeting pointer will be appear in the map screen.

In this example I tried to measuring the length of Yoyogi Stadium at Harajuku area, click the pointer at the left corner of the building and click again on the right corner, the yellow line will be created and the length number will be shown in the "Ruler" window, you can set the measurement in centimeters, meters, kilometers, inches, feet, yards, miles, nautical miles and smoots scale.

Beside that you can measuring the length of the road by clicking the "Path" tab menu, in this example I want to know the length of the street beside Yoyogi Park, click the pointer on the left intersection and do another clicks along the street until the right intersection, the length number will be shown in the "Ruler" window.

Show Sunlight
To show sunlight across the landscape, this function allow you to view time-based scenery lighting, you can see the sun moving from east to west and the shadow of buildings were moving longer to shorter and longer again following the morning to night scenery changing.

Use this slider to change time-table of the viewing, to get the best experience from this feature you must activated the "3D Buildings: Photorealistic and Gray" options and the "Terrain" option on the "Primary Database" tree on the "Layers" menu panel.

 

There are the functions of each icon:

To open preference menu window.

To changing the time to the morning.

To changing the time faster to the left or right.

To changing the time to the night.

To starting and stopping the automatic time changing.

Sky
To changing the Google Earth view from the map of planet Earth to the map of astronomic view, you can see all the outer space object that can be seen using telescopes from Earth, such as radio and optic telescopes in the Earth surface and from Hubble Space Telescope that flying in the orbit of Earth.

The Explanation about this feature can be found in the Sky pages in this website, click on menu above or click here.

Email
To send the map image to the email address

Choose one of three option and chose between using Microsoft Outlook or using Gmail to send the email

Print
To print the image screenshot to your printer.

View in Google Map
To view the map in the Google Map website, this map version is like the map drawing that usually founds on the travel map guidance books.