Introduction
Plex-Earth offers a range of tools intended to enable users to have a better understanding of their project site by making it easier to locate and view specific parts of their area of interest in Google Earth, and also to create different kinds of elements in AutoCAD or BricsCAD which can be viewed in Google Earth with the click of a button. Our tools are designed to save you time and energy, and this tutorial will guide you through everything you need to know in order to make use of this particular feature of Plex-Earth.
First and foremost, unless we are working with an already georeferenced drawing, we need to set up our drawing's georeference. In case we are dealing with a georeferenced drawing, we are good to go, as Plex-Earth automatically recognizes the coordinate system applied.
Plex-Earth offers some tools that can be found on the Google Earth Tools Panel, as shown in the screenshot below:
1. Zoom Google Earth
The Zoom Google Earth category offers four different viewing options, as demonstrated in the screenshot below:
A) Zoom to Area
This command zooms Google Earth into a specified area of the drawing.
Once we click Zoom to Area, we are prompted to either specify a rectangle or pick a point, sightline, or named view from our drawing. We are also given the option to utilize our current viewport. In this tutorial, we are going to specify a rectangle by picking its first and second corner points.
Once we pick the second corner point, Plex-Earth activates Google Earth, which in turn gives us a view of the specified area.
B) Zoom to Point
This command zooms Google Earth into a particular position specified by the user in the drawing.
Once we click Zoom to Point, we are prompted to specify a point in our drawing with the cursor.
Once we pick our desired point, Plex-Earth activates Google Earth, which in turn gives us a view of our specified position and its surroundings.
C) View by Camera
This command aligns the view of Google Earth to a camera specified in AutoCAD (or BricsCAD).
In order to make use of this command, we need to have created a camera view in CAD first. This is easily done by typing CAMERA in the command line of AutoCAD (or BricsCAD), hitting the Enter button on our keyboard, and specifying the placement and all necessary parameters of our camera view.
Once we click View by Camera, we are prompted to specify our desired camera view's name in the command line.
Once we type the desired camera view's name, we hit the Enter button on our keyboard. Plex-Earth then activates Google Earth, which gives us a view aligned to the camera specified in the previous step.
D) View by Sightline
This command enables users to have a look at their project area in Google Earth from an observer's point of view.
Once we click View by Sightline, we are prompted to specify our observer's position with our cursor.
Once we pick our desired position, we are prompted to specify eye height by typing the respective value in the command line of AutoCAD.
Once we enter the desired eye height value, we are prompted to define our desired orientation by either using our cursor to specify a target point in the drawing or going for one of the four available options in the command line. In this tutorial, we have decided to use the direction of North.
Once we click on our desired target point or direction, Plex-Earth activates Google Earth, which then gives us a view of the specified area according to our observer's position, eye altitude, and orientation. The end result for our example is demonstrated below.
2. Create Placemark
The Create Placemark category offers three different drawing options.
A) Create Placemark
This command enables users to create Placemarks in Google Earth for positions specified in AutoCAD (or BricsCAD).
Once we click Create Placemark, we are prompted to specify a point in our drawing with our cursor.
Once we have specified our desired point, we are prompted to enter a Placemark Name in the command line.
We then hit the Enter button on our keyboard and are prompted to create another Placemark by specifying a new point in our drawing. In case we don't need another Placemark, we hit the Enter button once again, and then Plex-Earth activates Google Earth and takes us to the specified area of our drawing, where we can see the newly created Placemark.
B) Create Path
This command enables users to create Paths in Google Earth for positions specified in AutoCAD (or BricsCAD).
Once we click Create Path, we are prompted to specify with our cursor all points necessary for the creation of our path.
In order to finish drawing our path, we need to hit the Enter button on our keyboard as long as we have defined all the points it consists of. Once we have created our Path, we are prompted to enter a Path Name in the command line.
Once we have specified the desired Path Name, we hit the Enter button on our keyboard and are prompted to create another Path by following the steps described above. In case we don't need another Path, we hit the Enter button once again, and then Plex-Earth activates Google Earth and takes us to the specified area of our drawing, where we can see the newly created Path.
C) Create Polygon
This command enables users to create Polygons in Google Earth for positions specified in AutoCAD (or BricsCAD).
Once we click Create Polygon, we are prompted to specify with our cursor all points necessary for the creation of our Polygon.
In order to finish drawing our Polygon, we need to hit the Enter button on our keyboard as long as we have defined all the points it consists of. Once we have created our Polygon, we are prompted to enter a Polygon Name in the command line of AutoCAD.
Once we have specified the desired Polygon Name, we hit the Enter button on our keyboard and are prompted to create another Polygon by following the steps described above. In case we don't need another Polygon, we hit the Enter button once again, and then Plex-Earth activates Google Earth and takes us to the specified area of our drawing, where we can see the newly created Polygon.
FAQs
What is the difference between the four "Zoom Google Earth" options?
Zoom to Area zooms Google Earth to a rectangular area you define in your drawing — useful for getting a general overview of your project site. Zoom to Point zooms centered to a single specific location you click in the drawing. View by Camera aligns Google Earth to a named camera view you have set up in AutoCAD or BricsCAD — useful for a specific predefined viewing angle. View by Sightline simulates a ground-level observer's viewpoint from a position and eye height you specify, showing the area as it would appear from that point.
"View by Camera" is not working — what do I need to set up first?
You must create a camera view in AutoCAD or BricsCAD before using this command. Type CAMERA in the CAD command line and define the placement, target, and parameters of your camera view. Once created, you can call it by name when prompted by the View by Camera command. If no camera exists in the drawing, the command will have nothing to reference.
Does this create objects in Google Earth from my CAD drawing, or import from Google Earth into CAD?
This article covers tools that go from CAD to Google Earth. The Zoom tools open Google Earth at a location based on your drawing, and the Create Placemark, Path, and Polygon tools create new Google Earth elements based on points you pick in CAD. To go the other direction and bring Google Earth elements into AutoCAD, see Copy and Paste Google Earth Elements and KML Layers in AutoCAD and BricsCAD.
Related Questions
This article explains how to use Plex-Earth's Google Earth tools to zoom to your project area in Google Earth and create placemarks, paths, and polygons in Google Earth from your CAD drawing. You may have searched for:
- How to view my AutoCAD drawing location in Google Earth
- How to zoom Google Earth to my project area from AutoCAD
- How to create a placemark or polygon in Google Earth from a CAD point
- How to see my CAD design in Google Earth using Plex-Earth
- How to simulate a ground-level view of my project site in Google Earth