Search Google Earth
User Guide

• Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Finding Places and Directions

• Marking Places

• Using Layers

• Using Map Features

• Using Places

• About KML

• Sharing Places Information

• Touring Places

• Editing Places and Folders

• Managing Search Results

• Measuring Distances and Areas

• Viewing Sky

• Drawing Paths and Polygons

• Using Image Overlays and 3D Models

• Using Flight Simulator

• Importing Your Data Into Google Earth

• Using Style Templates

• Using GPS Devices with Google Earth

• Making Movies with Google Earth

• Keyboard Controls

  • Application Level Control
  • 3D Viewer Navigation
  • Tour Mode Controls
  • Side Panel Controls

• 3D Viewer Options

Keyboard and Mouse Controls

This section covers the various keyboard combinations that you can use to control navigation, window focus, and application behavior in Google Earth.

• Application Level Control
• 3D Viewer Navigation
• Tour Mode Controls
• Side Panel Controls

Application Level Control

The following keystrokes control the Google Earth application:

	Command	Windows/Linux Keystroke(s)	Mac Keystroke(s)	Result
	File Menu	Alt + F (English/Japanese) Alt + F (French) Alt + F (Italian) Alt + D (German) Alt + A (Spanish)	(none)	Opens the File menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
	Edit Menu	Alt + E (English/Japanese) Alt + M (French) Alt + M (Italian) Alt + B (German) Alt + E (Spanish)	(none)	Opens the Edit menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
	View Menu	Alt + V (English/Japanese) Alt + C (French) Alt + V (Italian) Alt + A (German) Alt + V (Spanish)	(none)	Opens the View menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
	Add Menu	Alt + A (English/Japanese) Alt + J (French) Alt + A (Italian) Alt + Z (German) Alt + D (Spanish)	(none)	Opens the Add menu. Use the down and up arrows to select items once this menu is open.
	Tool Menu	Alt + T (English/Japanese) Alt + O (French) Alt + F (Italian) Alt + T (German) Alt + H (Spanish)	(none)	Opens the Tool menu. Use the down and up arrows to select items once this menu is open.
	Help Menu	Alt + H (English/Japanese) Alt + A (French) Alt + G (Italian) Alt + H (German) Alt + Y (Spanish)	(none)	Opens the Help menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
	Open File	Ctrl + O	+ O	Produces the file open dialog box, allowing you to open all supported Google Earth file types.
	Save Image	Ctrl + Alt + S	+ Option + S	Saves the current view as an image to your computer.
	View in Google Maps	Ctrl + Alt + M	+ Option + M	Displays the current view in Google Maps.
	Print	Ctrl + P	+ P	Produces the print dialog box, allowing you to print the current view, placemark, folder contents or search results.
	Email View	Ctrl + Alt + E	+ Option + E	E-mails the current view either as a placemark or image file.
	Copy	Ctrl + C	+ C	Copies the current selection in the Places listing.
	Cut	Ctrl + X	+ X	Cuts a placemark or other item from the listing in the Places panel. Cuts an icon from the 3D viewer. Both icon or listing item must first be selected. You can use this feature to organize your places data.
	Paste	Ctrl + V	+ V	Pastes a placemark or other item into the selected folder in the Places panel. You can use this feature to organize your places data.
	Find	Ctrl + F	+ F	Opens a Find field in the Places panel. Use this to find places that exist in the Places panel. Note that this is different than search for places on the earth.
	Delete	Del	Delete	Deletes an item selected in the Places panel.
	Rename	Ctrl + Alt + R	+ Option + R	Enters edit mode for a selected item in the Places panel, so you can change the name without bringing up the Edit Placemark dialog box.
	Zoom to selected placemark/item	Enter	Enter	Zooms into a selected folder, placemark, or other item in the Places panel.
	Full screen mode	F11	(not supported)	Toggles between full screen and window view for the Google Earth application.
	Show/Hide sidebar	Ctrl + Alt + B	+ Option + B	Displays or closes sidebar
	Lat/Lon grid	Ctrl + L	+ L	Produces a latitude and longitude grid over the surface of the earth in the 3D viewer.
	Play Tour	Ctrl + Alt + P	+ Option + P	Plays the tour mode for all selected items in the Places panel.
	New placemark	Ctrl + Shift + P	+ Shift + P	Adds a new placemark to the current view.
	New folder	Ctrl + Shift + N	+ Shift + N	Produces the New Folder dialog box.
	New image overlay	Ctrl + Shift + O	+ Shift + O	Produces the New Image Overlay dialog box.
	New model	Ctrl + Shift + M	+ Shift + M	Produces the New Model dialog box
	New path	Ctrl + Shift + T	+ Shift + T	Produces the New Path dialog box.
	New polygon	Ctrl + Shift + G	+ Shift + G	Produces the New Polygon dialog box.
	Change navigation mode to Trackball	Ctrl + T	+ T	Switches navigation in the 3D viewer to Trackball mode. This can also be done by selecting the Trackball option from Tools > Options > Navigation (Google Earth > Preferences > Navigation on the Mac).

3D Viewer Navigation

The following keystrokes control navigation in the 3D viewer. For more information about navigating in the 3D viewer, see Using the Navigation Controls.

Command	Windows/Linux Keystroke(s)	Mac Keystroke(s)	Result
Move left	Left arrow	Left arrow	Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Move right	Right arrow	Right arrow	Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Move up	Up arrow	Up arrow	Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Move down	Down arrow	Down arrow	Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Rotate clockwise	Shift + left arrow	Shift + left arrow	Rotates the view clockwise. The earth spins counter-clockwise.
Rotate counter-clockwise	Shift + right arrow	Shift + right arrow	Rotates the view counter-clockwise.
Show/hide Overview window	Ctrl + M	+ M	Displays or closes overview window.
Tilt up	Shift + left mouse button + drag down, Shift + down arrow	Shift + down arrow	Tilts the viewer toward "horizon" view.
Tilt down	Shift + left mouse button + drag up, Shift + up arrow	Shift + up arrow	Tilts the viewer toward "top-down" view.
Look	Ctrl + left mouse button + drag	+ mouse button + drag	Perspective points in another direction, as if you are turning your head up, down, left or right.
Zoom in	Scroll wheel, + key, PgUp key	Scroll wheel, + key	Zooms the viewer in. Tip: to use the Page Up key, make sure Num Lock on your keyboard is off.
Zoom out	Scroll wheel, - key (both keyboard and numpad), PgDn key	Scroll wheel, - key (both keyboard and numpad)	Zooms the viewer out. Tip: to use the Page Down key, make sure Num Lock on your keyboard is off.
Zoom + automatic tilt	Right mouse button + drag up or down	Ctrl + click + drag up or down	Zooms the viewer in and automatically tilts your view as you approach ground level.
Stop current motion	Spacebar	Spacebar	When the viewer is in motion, stops movement
Reset view to "north - up"	n	n	Rotates view so that view is north-up.
Reset tilt to "top-down" view	u	u	Resets angle to view scene in "top-down" or "up" mode.
Reset tilt and compass view to default	r	r	Resets angle to view "top-down" and rotates to "north-up" view. Use this feature to orient the earth in the center of the viewer.

Tour Mode Controls

When using touring mode with Google Earth, you can use the following keystrokes to control touring behavior.

	Command	Windows/Linux Keystroke(s)	Mac Keystroke(s)	Result
	Start, Play, Pause	Ctrl + Alt + P	+ Option + P	Plays the tour or restarts tour after pausing. The 3D viewer must be in focus in order for this key to work. (Click in the 3D viewer to set focus if you are unsure.)

Side Panel Controls

When the window focus is on either the Places panel or the Layers panel, use the following keystrokes to control behavior.

	Command	Windows/Linux Keystroke(s)	Mac Keystroke(s)	Result
	Select	Spacebar	Spacebar	Toggles the check mark of the highlighted item on or off, showing or hiding display of the item in the 3D viewer.
	Next	Down arrow	Down arrow	Selects the next item in the list (either folder or placemark).
	Previous	Up arrow	Up arrow	Selects the previous item in the list (either folder or placemark).
	Open Folder	Right arrow	Right arrow	If the item selected is a folder, opens the folder to display contents.
	Close Folder	Left arrow	Left arrow	If the item selected is a folder, closes it to hide contents from the list view.
	Delete	Delete Key	Delete Key	Works only for items in Places panel. Deletes item after confirmation dialog box is accepted.
	Change overlay opacity	Scroll wheel	Scroll wheel	After you click the slider, this changes the transparency for an overlay selected in the Places panel when the mouse pointer is positioned on the overlay opacity slider. Scroll DOWN to make the overlay image more opaque, scroll UP to make the overlay more transparent.

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