Introduction
Plex-Earth Lite offers a range of Google Earth 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. Google Earth can be a great asset throughout all stages of the design process, and Plex-Earth Lite was developed to make drafting a pleasant, comfortable experience for our users. Our Google Earth Tools were 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 Lite.
First and foremost, unless we are working with an already georeferenced drawing, we need to set up our drawing's georeference using one of the two available options provided by Plex-Earth Lite in order to utilize the software's Google Earth Tools. In case we are dealing with a georeferenced drawing, we are good to go, as Plex-Earth Lite automatically recognizes the coordinate system applied.
Google Earth Tools
The two different categories of Google Earth Tools offered by Plex-Earth Lite can be found on the Google Earth Tools Panel:
1. Zoom Google Earth
The Zoom Google Earth category offers four different viewing options:
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 an object from our drawing. In this tutorial, we are going to specify a rectangle by picking its first and second corner points.
When we pick the second corner point, Plex-Earth Lite 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.
When we pick our desired point, Plex-Earth Lite 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 CAD.
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 CAD, 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 of CAD.
We type the desired camera view's name, and then we hit the Enter button on our keyboard. Plex-Earth Lite 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.
After picking our desired position, we are prompted to specify eye height by typing the respective value in the command line of CAD.
We enter the desired eye height value, and 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.
When we click on our desired target point or direction, Plex-Earth Lite activates Google Earth, which then gives us a view of the specified area according to our observer's position, eye altitude, and orientation.
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 CAD.
When 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 of CAD.
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 Lite 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 CAD.
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 of CAD.
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 Lite 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 CAD.
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 CAD.
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 Lite activates Google Earth and takes us to the specified area of our drawing, where we can see the newly created Polygon.
Conclusion
The Google Earth Tools Panel of Plex-Earth Lite offers the ability to utilize powerful visualization tools, which enable users to see the bigger picture while designing, making it easier to reach safe conclusions and make the right decisions. The option to instantly create accurate representations of various types of elements directly into Google Earth takes researching and drafting to another level, offering valuable insights into the real-life surroundings of a given project area, and therefore, allowing users to pay attention to detail. And this is just one of the many reasons why you're missing out if you're not using Plex-Earth Lite.
We hope that you have found this tutorial on how to use Google Earth Tools of Plex-Earth Lite, helpful. Feel free to contact us at support@plexscape.com for any questions you may still have.
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Compatibility includes:
AutoCAD, Civil 3D®, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD MEP, AutoCAD Plant 3D: 2026 , 2025 , 2024 , 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020
BricsCAD (Pro, Mechanical, BIM, Ultimate): V25 , V24 , V23 , V22 , V21