The mapping tools at the top of the viewer offer custom feature creation such as points (placemark), lines (path) & polygons. You can create custom features and store them in the folder that was previously created. The image transparency can be modified on-the-fly by selecting the image from the list then dragging the slider below the Places listing.ĭigitizing features from a georeferenced map The image can be seen in the Google Earth viewer and is listed in the new folder under My Places. When the adjustments are complete to your satisfaction, click OK. This may take a bit (or a lot) of tweaking to match up the detail, and it may never match up perfectly. Use the green diamond to rotate, the green cross to reposition, and the green handles to stretch the overlay until it matches the imagery beneath.

(If you did close it, you can open it again by right-clicking the new image in your folder and selecting Properties.) Do not close the window or you will be unable to edit the map. Move the New Image Overlay window aside to see the Google Earth Viewer.

the image that you selected in step 1).Ĭhange the transparency of the image by sliding the tab to make the Google imagery visible beneath the overlay.Īdd a description in the Description field. In the Link field, enter the URL address of an image to overlay or use the Browse button to locate the image locally (i.e. In the dialogue box that appears, enter a descriptive name in the Name field. With the new folder selected, click the Add Image Overlay tool found in the menu bar. In Places in the table of contents (left pane) in Google Earth interface, right-click My Places and select Add > Folder. Open Google Earth and zoom into the rough location of the antique map. For example, is it a neighbourhood in a city, or an entire country, or somewhere in between? You can use an Ontario road map as an example for this exercise Save a select and save a scanned and digitized map to your local computer drive and familiarize yourself with its geographical location. Google Earth will be used as a backdrop to overlay and digitize historical maps.

Requirements: Google Earth Desktop installed and an image file (e.g.: JPEG, TIFF) of an historical map or an aerial image. PDF version: Georeferencing and digitizing scanned maps in Google Earth Georeferencing and digitizing scanned maps in Google Earth This help guide outlines the process to georeference (geographically place on the surface of the earth) a scanned map or aerial image and digitize features from it in Google Earth.

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