Google Earty + CAD

[therock005]

How can i combine google earth functionallity with Autocad so i can be more flexible?

I would like to have the highway informations inside Autocad so i can measuere and calculate distances between destinations and other stuff.

What do you propose i do.

I know google eart offers a measuring tool,but i would like to import certain areas inseide Autocad and wok my way from there.

[Ritch7]

what an intresting question, you have now got me curious about it...

yes i think you can simply google it

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=google+earth+autocad&meta=

[therock005]

I asked on specifics on how to do it.I wasnt simply wondering if there are plugins cause i already knew it without googling it.

[Ritch7]

oh how very silly of me rocky

with abit of luck you might get a guru come in and show you how

[therock005]

Y are you being sarcastic,did i insult you in any way?

I just want specifics on a matter that bothers me,and since there are people that have the knowledge here,maybe i could get a more trustworthy response than trying random queries on the web.

[Alan Cullen]

Please settle down, Rocky. Ritch is just saying he thinks it's an interesting question, and want's to see what the answer is, as do I.

I'm not sure, But I vaguely remember that acad Map has an ability to bring that stuff from google earth into acad. That is as far as my knowledge goes. When I want a piccie from google earth, I just bring it in......more as a "not to scale" locality plan.

There are a lot of gurus here who can help you out, But getting cranky on a member doesn't exactly give them any incentive to help.

Cheers :)

[Ritch7]

thanks Alan, you post summed up completely what I was trying to say. :)

[therock005]

I'm not cranky i thought the google comment was a way of ritch saying "just f*ing google it" like lots of guys say in the forums these days even if a matter is complicated and needs special attention.

and then i considered the "how silly of me part" as sarcasm.

If that's not the case i apologize but i thought i was being mocked.

Sorry friend.I will have a play with the google earth tool,but if someone has experience over this plz input your feedback.

I want to do some route planning,and consider alternates highway routes when needing to reach a specified direction.

[Tiger]

Also take a look at the similar threads at the bottom of this page - they might provide some direction.

[Ritch7]

hey rocky,

no i didnt mean to mock you in anyway, I just thought playing around with the google search engine may help you find an answer to your question or get you a little closer to the soultion.

:) best of luck in your google earth query.

cheers

[rustysilo]

With Civil 3D you can directly import Google Earth images and surfaces into your .dwg and it's very simple. Go to your area of interest in Google Earth > Open your .dwg in C3D > Set your proper coordinate zone in your .dwg > Go to File > Import > Import Google Earth Image, Surface, or both and it will bring the info into your .dwg just like that.

[CADken]

alright this is going to sound completely rude but:

why are you using AutoCad to plan routes and for finding alternative routes to destinations while using google earth as a backdrop?

Google earth, when brought into AutoCAD isn't entirely to scale and isn't going to provide you a definative answer on distance and time.

With today's technology why not invest your time in an actual GPS unit like garmin, or tomtom which you can actually plan your routes and find alts.

or why not visit:

www.ranmcnally.com

or

www.mapquest.com

or even yahoo maps to find you distances and other info?

it just seems bassackwards to use AutoCAD for planning such a thing.

If you can get it to work, more power to you, but I'd rather spend 1/100th of the time and just use an online resource or my gps unit.

I'm not trying to be rude, but honestly I'm confused why you'd use AutoCAD for a simple function that can be provided by other resources specific for this need?

[Cad64]

Have a look HERE (http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/google_earth_extension_beta/) for the Google Earth Extension. Read the User Guide to learn how to Import images from GE into ACAD.

[rustysilo]

CADKen, using GE data to plan trips and such would be just fine even if not to scale.:wink: Of course if you wanted to check for mileage then you could get it scaled as good as possible or use one of the online mapping services.

[therock005]

I just had a problem with the google earth version i was running so i'm downloading the latest and try again to import.I do have civil 3d so i dont need installationm of the plugin.

As for the web recommendation,are they just for U.S. citizens or Europe as well?Cause i'm residing in Greece.

I will also have a look on Microsoft Autoroute.

But i want Autocad so i can plan my own routes cause i dont know how the traffic algorithms in these applications work.

For example the one time i let google earth draw me the destination plan,it set a very unsual rooute to follow and i marked as invalid for this reason.

[rustysilo]

I believe they're worldwide, but not sure. I use either Mapquest or Google Maps to plan trips. Yahoo! I think also has one and I'm sure there are several others. These sometimes will get you lost, but for general trip planning they work fine. I'll use this method and we have a navigation system in our car as well. It doesn't always work either though because it uses maps on a dvd that you have to purchase updates for. Therefore we end up with some differences as we haven't updated the dvd since we bought our van.