Google earth as a GIS

[Brian_Renew]

Hi guys,

i am pretty new to Google earth / maps and was interested in whether it could be used as a GIS system. Could anyone advise on how to do the following:

- I would like to design a set of icons/markers to identify specific locations
- ideally the size of these markers would be fixed so the size don't change when the user is zooming in and out of the map
- the system would map locations from a google docs spreadsheet, which I could manage and update separately but see the results on the map.

Any help on this would be appreciated.

If what i am looking for requires programming and their is someone out there who has build something similar, perhaps they would be interested in a one off job to develop this.

[Mickey]

- I would like to design a set of icons/markers to identify specific locations
- ideally the size of these markers would be fixed so the size don't change when the user is zooming in and out of the map
If they were built as image overlays or polygons, that would probably work. For example, look at how GEwar (http://gewar.net/) displays city info.

- the system would map locations from a google docs spreadsheet, which I could manage and update separately but see the results on the map.
I've heard of things like that being done, but I can't remember where I saw it. If I can find it again, I'll certainly let you know.

[Forkboy2]

I suggest you check out this forum at Google Earth BBS.

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/postlist.php/Cat/0/Board/EarthExternalData

Look for posts by Valery35. He's done some stuff linking GE placemarks to online spreadsheet.

[gisaddict]

Hey Brian,

This is what I'm developing for our city here in Georgia. It uses shapefiles from ArcGiS, Google Earth API, some PHP and MySQL and some Opensource softwarre for the server side.

http://maps.peachtree-city.org/

[Mickey]

Hey Brian,

This is what I'm developing for our city here in Georgia. It uses shapefiles from ArcGiS, Google Earth API, some PHP and MySQL and some Opensource softwarre for the server side.

http://maps.peachtree-city.org/
Wow, that's pretty cool. It obviously needs some refinement, but it's very slick.

(BTW - I'm live just a smidge north of you in Marietta)

[gisaddict]

Hey thanks for the compliment; and yes, some refinement still needed - still in development phase.

How are things in Marietta? nice town haven't been out that way in awhile - too much traffic for my taste down i285! :spin:

But thanks again and im always standing by for any ideas or inputs!

[tpstigers]

Here's a tutorial on using Google Spreadsheets in conjunction with GE:

http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorial_mapper.html


I have to ask, though - why use GE for GIS anyway? It's not really designed for the task, and there are plenty of open-source apps out there that ARE designed for it.

[gisaddict]

A good question:

1) It's new and it looks great; I suppose I'd have to expand on that in saying you would have to know the community here at Peachtree City to understand that the "wow" factor is important

2) We went first with Opensource and the 'help' factor (although I like the opensource community) is much greater in availability with 'free' versus 'Opensource'

3) See #1

Best Regards,

Anthony

[rpaternoster]

If you have so time, try my new Excel AddIn for charting data over GE. It works as a simple GIS where you can color and give the polygons a value that represent the height of them in the map.

The address of the project is http://www.cctindustrial.com/kmlxl

Let me know what you think

Remy Paternoster
rmpaternoster@gmail.com

[tpstigers]

Fair enough. Why not get the best of all worlds, and use ArcGIS Explorer?

[gisaddict]

Fair enough. Why not get the best of all worlds, and use ArcGIS Explorer?

Oh believe me I tried to push that too; they weren't happy with the reponse time.

BTW, I forgot to thank you for that previous link; let me ask you - what are your thoughts on using that in regards to php mysql? Have you used both and found some pros/cons versus either or?

Thanks in advance

[tpstigers]

I don't play with any server-side toys, so I can't give you any help with that one. I can, however, recommend a few others:

For editing kml, I use jEdit (http://www.jedit.org/). It's an all-around programming text editor (designed primarily for html and/or xml, I think), and it's an intensely useful tool. There's a tutorial for using jEdit specifically for kml, here (http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorial_jedit.html).

For GIS, the field is large and varied. The best advice I can offer is to look for apps that are geared specifically toward the tasks you need to perform. ESRI is the industry behemoth, and because of it ArcGIS is as badly bloated as MS Office. I find I get the best results if I stick to apps that have few functions, but perform them well. The best place I've found to locate these kinds of apps is Free Geography Tools (http://freegeographytools.com/). It's an all-around great resource for all things GIS and/or mapping.

The one app I will recommend, though, is MICRODEM (http://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/microdem.htm). MICRODEM is a powerhouse. While it can perform a boat-load of GIS and mapping operations, it's not bloated (read: the learning curve is rather steep). I mention MICRODEM not just because it's a powerhouse, however, but because it has the singularly wonderful ability to export maps directly as Google Earth overlays. It's a thing of beauty.

Like I said, though - MICRODEM can be a pain to learn your way through. Luckily, the aforementioned Free Geography Tools has a slew of good information about using MICRODEM, and it's pretty easy to find your way around.

Well, I hope this helps, and I'm sorry I couldn't help with the SQL crap.

Cheers.

[gisaddict]

Thanks for links, you got my curiosity peaked on Microdem. Although, it will have to hold a bit while I play with Microsoft's..er..ESRI's ArcGIS 9.3 update. But hey thanks again and I've come across Jedit once before in a read so I definately be giving that a more thorough look.

Best regards

[williams1]

For GIS, the field is large and varied. The best advice I can offer is to look for apps that are geared specifically toward the tasks you need to perform. ESRI is the industry behemoth, and because of it ArcGIS is as badly bloated as MS Office. I find I get the best results if I stick to apps that have few functions, but perform them well. The best place I've found to locate these kinds of apps is Free Geography Tools. It's an all-around great resource for all things GIS and/or mapping.

The one app I will recommend, though, is MICRODEM. MICRODEM is a powerhouse. While it can perform a boat-load of GIS and mapping operations, it's not bloated (read: the learning curve is rather steep). I mention MICRODEM not just because it's a powerhouse, however, but because it has the singularly wonderful ability to export maps directly as Google Earth overlays. It's a thing of beauty.