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 Place Information

• Touring Places

• Editing Places and Folders

• Managing Search Results

• Measuring Distances and Areas

  • Measuring Tool Features and Options
  • Available Units of Measure

• 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 Videos with Google Earth

• Keyboard Controls

• 3D Viewer Options

Measuring Distances and Areas

Google Earth offers a number of tools that you can use to measure distances and estimate sizes. Depending on which version of Google Earth you are using, you will have access to the following measuring tools:

• Measuring with a line or path (all Google Earth versions)
• Measuring with a circle radius or polygon (Google Earth PRO)

Use the Ruler window (Tools menu) to measure length, area and circumference as follows:

1. Position the imagery that you want to measure within the 3D viewer and make sure that you are viewing the Earth from top down (type U) and with terrain turned off for best accuracy. Measuring is calculated using the lat/lon coordinates from point to point and does not consider elevation.
2. From the Tools menu, select Ruler. The Ruler dialogue box appears. Consider moving the dialogue box to a region of your screen that doesn't obstruct the 3D viewer.
3. Choose the type of shape that you want to measure with. All versions of Google Earth can measure with Line or Path. Google Earth PRO users can also measure using a polygon or circle.
4. Choose the unit of measure for length, perimeter, area, radius or circumference, as applicable. See the table below for a list of supported units of measure.
5. Click the 3D viewer to set the starting point for your shape and continue clicking until the line, path or shape measures the desired region. (For circle, click in the centre and drag out to define the circle.)
   
   A red dot indicates the starting point of your shape and a yellow line connects to it as you move the mouse. Each additional click adds a new line to the shape, depending on the tool that you chose. The total units for the shape are defined in the Ruler dialogue box and you can choose other units of measure for the existing shape.

For more details on how to modify the shape, reposition the viewer while measuring and use other shape features, see the features table.

Measuring Tool Features and Options

The following table describes the options available to all measuring tools, as well as the features specific to each tool.

	Feature or Function	Description
	Modify or reposition a shape	Once you define a line, path or other shape in the 3D viewer, you can change its dimensions by clicking a desired point and dragging it to the new position. First make sure that you have the type of shape you want to modify selected in the Ruler dialogue box. When you place the cursor over an existing point, the cursor changes from a drawing box to a finger-pointing hand to indicate that you can click the highlighted point if you want to reposition it. For circles, you can click the radius point and drag the circle to a new position on the Earth. For area shapes, you can add additional points by clicking the 3D viewer. Points are added in an area shape in a strict sequence from first to last, regardless of where you click the 3D viewer.
	Remove selected shape	If you want to remove a shape from the viewer, right-click (CTRL-click on the Mac) the shape in the Places panel and click Delete.
	Remove selected point	If you want to remove a point from either a path or an area shape, select a point and press the Backspace key.
	Remove all shapes	You can clear all measuring shapes from the viewer by clicking the Clear All button in the Ruler dialogue box regardless of which tab is active.
	Reposition the viewer	By default, navigation with the mouse is disabled when you use measuring mode, but you can enable it by ticking Mouse Navigation. When enabled, mouse navigation works in conjunction with measuring: click and hold to add a new point; click and drag to move the Earth.
	Line	All Google Earth versions support measuring with a line. A line consists of two points connected by a straight line and measurement is carried out along its length.
	Path	All Google Earth versions support measuring with a path. A path in the measuring mode consists of two or more points connected with a straight line. Measurement is carried out along the entire length of the path. To follow a natural boundary or road more closely, try zooming in closely to the feature and adding more points.
	Polygon	Google Earth PRO version supports measuring with the polygon tool. A polygon consists of three or more points. Measurement for a polygon tool is carried out for both perimeter and area.
	Circle	Google Earth PRO supports measuring with the circle tool. Measurement for a circle is carried out for its radius, area and circumference (in the appropriate measurement unit).

Available Units of Measure

The following table describes the units of measure available for length, perimeter, area and radius.

	Feature or Function	Description
	Length, Perimeter and Radius	Centimetres Metres Kilometres Inches Feet Yards Miles Nautical Miles Smoots
	Area	Square Metres Square Kilometres Hectares Square Feet Square Yards Square Miles Square Nautical Miles Acres

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