Import Google Earth Surface

This command creates a Carlson Triangulation file (TIN) by downloading surface data from Google Earth. While the elevation accuracy of the Google Earth surface should be considered coarse, it might be suitable for large-scale watershed modeling studies, preliminary land-planning studies or "proof-of-concept" preliminary designs.

Note:

• In an effort to protect their servers from abuse, Google limits the number of data points.
  
• The Import Google Earth Surface routine fetches terrain data in real-time from the Google servers and requires an Internet connection to proceed.
• It bears repeating that the terrain data returned by Google Earth should only be used for illustrative or proof-of-concept purposes only!

See Also:

• To import a Google Earth image into your drawing, use the Place Google Earth Image command.
• To import KML content into your drawing, use the Import Google Earth File command.
• To export content from your drawing to a KML file, use the Export Google Earth File command.

Prompts

Select Output File: Choose a TIN file to create.
Pick first corner of bounding box: Identify one corner of a drawing window that should be used to set the Google Earth display
Pick second corner of bounding box:Identify the opposite corner of a drawing window that should be used to set the Google Earth display
Import Google Surface dialog

Pulldown Menu Location: Civil > Surface > Import/Export Surface, Survey > Surface > Import/Export Surface, Takeoff > Tools > Import/Export, Construction > Import/Export
Keyboard Command: gesurface
Prerequisite: Coordinate projection system defined in Drawing Setup and Internet connection