VineView Google Earth FAQ -What can Google Earth do for me? -How much does Google Earth cost? -Can I use Google Earth if I don't have a fast internet connection? -Can I use Google Earth if I'm not connected to the internet? -How current is the imagery in Google Earth? -How do I bookmark a place in Google Earth? -How do I add my own data into Google Earth? -How do I access VineView imagery in Google Earth? -Can I access my VineView imagery in Google Earth if I'm not connected to the internet? -Can other people access my VineView Google Earth imagery? -How are VineView Google Earth images different than VineView prints or downloaded images? -Why doesn't my color scale match the type of image I'm looking at? -Can I get my VineView images organized differently in Google Earth? Google Earth is a computer program that provides medium to high resolution satellite and aerial imagery of virtually the entire planet over the internet. You can "fly" around using your mouse. Many other features are built in, including 3D terrain and buildings in major cities, turn by turn directions, and Google local searching. http://earth.google.com/ -What can Google Earth do for me? Google Earth is a GIS (geographic information system). Most GIS programs are very expensive and complex. Google Earth provides a fast and friendly way to look at data in geographic context, which is invaluable for managment and data comparison. Additionally, Google Earth makes it easy to share digital data between people and computers anytime, anywhere. -How much does Google Earth cost? The basic version of Google Earth is FREE. This version has the same underlying imagery as the Pro version (which has a yearly subscription fee) and offers the same capabilities as far as using VineView imagery is concerned. The Pro version also offers more options to import GPS and GIS data, as well as additional measuring tools. http://earth.google.com/product_comparison.html When you first open Google Earth, there are three primary areas of the progam that you'll be using. The main window shows a globe, and you can navigate around with your mouse. Double right click to zoom in, and double left click to zoom out (or use your mousewheel). Right click, hold, and drag to pan. The second area is at the upper right of the main window. When you move your mouse over the navigation compass, it will expand and give you more movement options such as rotate and tilt (which you can also do with your mouse). The third area is to the left of the main window. This frame includes a search and directions input box, places that you've bookmarked, and at the bottom, various options that you can turn on to make visible in the main windows such as roads, 3D terrain, and more. http://earth.google.com/tour/ -Can I use Google Earth if I don't have a fast internet connection? Yes. Google Earth is designed to be as bandwidth-friendly as possible. However, it is dependent on continuously downloading a large amount of imagery. Consequently, the faster your connection, the better the program will perform. If you have a slow connection, Google Earth will download imagery correspondingly slowly, but it will (eventually) download everything at the maximum available resolution. -Can I use Google Earth if I'm not connected to the internet? Sort of. Depending on your settings, Google Earth downloads a certain amount of data (including imagery and 3D terrain) to your computer while it is connected to the internet. If you then disconnect from the internet, that imagery will remain available in Google Earth, but you will NOT be able to download anything new. You also will not be able to use the search or directions features. -How current is the imagery in Google Earth? Google Earth does NOT display data in realtime. The images you see are a combination of satellite imagery and aerial photographs taken (generally) sometime within the last three years. Google is constantly updating its database to use more recent and higher resolution images. It is difficult to determine when exactly a specfic area was imaged, but you may be able to use landmarks to generalize a date range if you are familiar with the area. -How do I bookmark a place in Google Earth? Zoom to the location that you'd like to bookmark (placemark, more accurately), and click the pushpin icon above and to the left of the main window. A pushpin will appear at the center of the map, which you can move with your mouse, as well as a description box for the placemark. After you save the placemark, it will stay in the frame to the left of the main window, and double clicking on it will zoom you to that position. -How do I add my own data into Google Earth? The easiest way is to buy the Plus or Pro version of Google Earth, depending on what you want to do. It is possible to convert GPS/GIS data into formats readable by Google Earth without these upgrades, but it requires a little bit of work. Keep in mind that there are some strange things that may happen even if you use the Plus or Pro software. VineView can offer a limited amount of assistance, or put you in contact with a consultant experienced with GIS data and Google Earth. -How do I access VineView imagery in Google Earth? When your imagery is ready, we will send you an email with a small *.kml or *.kmz file attached for each property that you have ordered from us. We may instead (or additionally) upload a these files to your online data directory. Open these files by downloading and double clicking on them, and Google Earth should open automatically. You will be prompted for a username and password; use your VineView online account username and password. Your imagery should then appear. You should only have to do this once even if you're loading multiple properties, but you will be prompted for your username and password every time you restart Google Earth. -Can I access my VineView imagery in Google Earth if I'm not connected to the internet? Not directly. If you would like to be able to do this, it will involve a separate set of files that you must keep on your computer, and a separate set of Google Earth files. Contact us for more information. -Can other people access my VineView Google Earth imagery? To access your VineView imagery in Google Earth, any person will need a computer with Google Earth and an internet connection, your property files (*.kml or *.kmz), and your VineView username and password. This ensures that only people you authorize will have access to your imagery. VineView can also provide unprotected versions of your imagery, which would be available to any Google Earth user who has access to your property files (i.e. through your website). Contact us for more information. -How are VineView Google Earth images different than VineView prints or downloaded images? In order to optimize VineView images for Google Earth, we use some forms of data compression. In general, this compression is lossless, and resolution and color should not be effected, especially in classified images. IR and color images are more likely to demonstrate color blends or resolution artifacts, but this is more a principle than a noticable decrease in quality. In all cases, the uncompressed *.tiff images are the standard of comparison, but the differences in Google Earth are slight or nonexistent. -Why doesn't my VineView image line up well with the Google Earth background, or why does the background around my VineView image look different? Google Earth does an excellent job of virtually seamless integration of different types of imagery over the surface of the entire world. In order to do this, however, some high resolution spatial accuracy is sacrificed. In some areas there may be an inaccuracy of 20 meters or more, especially in areas of variable topography. To rectify this problem, VineView distributes alternate background images with our Google Earth files. These background images are either survey accurate USGS orthophotos, or our own images that have been georeferenced to those orthophotos, with an absolute accuracy of 1 meter or better. These background images are more accurate than Google Earth, and we have blended them into the Google Earth background to preserve the seamless appearance of the interface. Contact us for more information. -Why doesn't my color scale match the type of image I'm looking at? VineView distributes each property as an individual *.kml or *.kmz file. This lets you choose which properties you want to look at separately, keeping the interface simple and reducing download times. If you have multiple properties loaded, the color scale will always refer to the topmost selected property. So, make sure to turn off any properties that you are not looking at via the checkbox to the left of the property name. Alternatively, you can keep those properties on IR, which has no color scale. -Can I get my VineView images organized differently in Google Earth? Sure. We can group properties together, combine multiple years, and include more information within each file. Contact us for more information. We're happy to help you with any questions or comments you may have about our new Google Earth data distribution system. Feel free to contact us, or if you're having a technical problem, please call 707.967.8707.
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