Our new service, Timeviews, allows users to directly view very up-to-date satellite imagery from providers such as Digital Globe and Airbus, inside AutoCAD. This way, engineers can monitor construction sites worldwide, see real effects of disasters on work sites or even evaluate current conditions for future projects.
These images are for view-only purposes and will remain available for the duration of the Plex.Earth session. In the future, users will be able to purchase this imagery to use for printing, distributing or any kind of derivative work.
Note that this early access to this feature is currently available to Plex.Earth 4 subscribers only, and is offered via the Plex.Earth client. All you need to do to activate it is download the latest release of Plex.Earth 4 and click on "Upgrade to Enable Timeviews":
Here is how you can then use this new feature of Plex.Earth 4:
Step 1: Georeference your drawing
- If your drawing is already georeferenced, the same settings will apply. If not, you will have to georeference your file from scratch.
For more information on how to set up your drawing's georeference, you can go here.
Step 2: Use the "Timeviews" panel
- On the Plex.Earth 4 ribbon tab, look for the "Timeviews" panel, in order to access this service.
Step 3: Specify the area of interest
- Click on the "View Imagery" icon.
- Specify a point in your drawing for which you want to view recent imagery.
- A window will pop up with the available resolutions (zoom level) for the imagery. The higher the resolution, the smaller the area that each image will cover and the lower the zoom level.
The "View Latest" button allows the user to view the latest available image for the chosen area, whilst the "pick a date" selection shows the number of available datasets for each zoom level.
Step 4: Choose Imagery Date
- By clicking "on pick a date", a new window will pop up with the dates of the available imagery for this point. Whilst the satellite imagery on Google Earth varies between 1 and 3 years old, here you can find much more recent data.
- By clicking on the magnifying glass icon, you can see the extents of this particular dataset (not of the image that will be viewed) in your drawing. Make sure that this area covers your previously selected imagery. Moreover, the globe icon shows the geographic boundaries of the specific date’s imagery in Google Earth. Finally, the "View" button will show you the imagery for your selected area.
Step 5: View the Imagery
- Once you click on the "View" button, or after the "View Latest" button, you will be able to view your imagery. If you want to view more images for this or other areas, the same process has to be repeated. However, if you want to compare imagery from various time periods, you can use the "Add time views" function.
More about the "Add time views" function here.
Keep in mind that the images in your drawing will be in view-only mode. If you close AutoCAD or end your Plex.Earth session, the imagery will no longer be available. In the future, users will be able to purchase this imagery to use for printing, distributing or any kind of derivative work.
Feel free to contact us at support@plexscape.com, for any questions you may have, regarding the Timeviews feature and don’t forget to start your free trial today.
