Introduction
An important feature of Plex-Earth is the ability to assign lineweights to the polylines exported to Google Earth as KML/KMZ files. This can be of great help when publishing elements, because by default they attach to Google Earth in only one size (1 Google Earth unit) and they do not change when zooming in or out.
The different lineweight exporting options of Plex-Earth are described below, using the following sample drawing as an example.
Changing Lineweight Options
In order to export our drawing's elements to Google Earth, we visit the KML Tools Panel of Plex-Earth and select the Export KML/KMZ command.
We are then prompted to select our drawing's elements we would like to export to Google Earth and can do so by either selecting them all one by one or creating a window lasso with our cursor.
Once done, we hit the Enter button on our keyboard and are then presented with the Altitude Mode Manager, offering three different options as to how the altitude of objects should be treated. We then hit the OPTIONS button.
Once done, we are presented with the KML/KMZ Options Manager and select the Appearance tab.
We then check the Apply lineweight option and choose our desired lineweight selection, and once done, we click SAVE CHANGES. All options described are highlighted in the screenshot below:
There are four lineweight options we can choose from, presented in the table below:
| Lineweight Options | |
| Default setting (Lineweight Ignored) | All lines will appear in Google Earth with a constant width of 1 (Google Earth Units). |
| Constant width | All lines will appear in Google Earth with the specified width, in Google Earth Units. |
| Multiplier | The width of each line of Google Earth will be a multiple of its assigned lineweight in AutoCAD. |
| Physical scale | The width will represent actual world dimensions and will be presented as such on Google Earth. |
(Default settings) Lineweight ignored
This is how our drawing's elements will be exported to Google Earth with the default lineweight settings. All our linear elements appear with a width of 1 Google Earth Unit.
Constant width
This is how our drawing's elements will be exported to Google Earth with a constant width of 3 units. All our linear elements appear thicker and with the same width.
Multiplier
This is how our drawing's elements will be exported to Google Earth with a multiplier of 5 units. The highlighted line has a width of 1.2mm in AutoCAD while the rest of them have a width of 0.3mm.
Physical scale
A physical scale of 5 meters was applied to the previously highlighted horizontal line only. When zooming out, the highlighted line now appears thinner, while the rest keep their Google Earth unit constant, as shown in the screenshot below:
Conclusion
The KML Tools Panel of Plex-Earth offers a wide range of Google Earth tools, making it easier than ever to create sharp visual representations of your drawing's progress in a few easy steps.
We hope that you have found this introduction on how to adjust lineweight options when exporting to Google Earth, helpful. Feel free to contact us at support@plexscape.com for any questions you may still have.
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Compatibility includes:
AutoCAD Version: 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
Civil 3D® Version: 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
AutoCAD Architecture Version: 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
BricsCAD Pro: V22 , V21