Google Earth - Need to make a KML File

The following kml file may give you a start. I use this template for showing survey charts placed on Google Maps. The links are bogus to protect the innocent. This works in Google Earth and Google Maps. Google has some on-line tutorials to help you out with push-pin syntax in KML files.

Example: ========

Mystery Mapping Project Example 1 My father's planter pot

Thanks.

I've figured out how to do everything I want to do, except changing the color of the text in the standard balloon for a placemark. If I can't do, I can live without it. But it seems like that would be an obvious thing...

Along the way, I've discovered a couple things:

2) If you want to ship off a KML file, (and who doesn't), you need GE Pro, for $400 US, to strictly comply with their licensing. Perhaps a much better tutorial comes with GE Pro?

I'm a little suprised there's not some freeware widget to allow you to tie multiple attributes to placemarks, and give you more control the look and feel, and the formatting of the text. I guess there's too many viariations. ?

People that use excel to do database type things worry me. Sounds=20 a bit too much like a one trick pony.

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I don't know how to link to images (though someone answered that), but I can tell you that the pro version isn't needed to make a KML. In fact, if you can generate a GPX file, you can read it into google earth, then save the data as a KMZ. A KMZ is a zipped KML.

Also check out

If you decide to do map overlays, you need to worry about the "aperture" used by Google Earth. This is poorly defined, but basically an image can only be so big before GE starts to barf. So for large overlays, you need to do a cookie cutter on the image and assembly a number of small tiles. There is a program to do this (not free) and at the time I tried to use it, it had bugs. I don't recall the name, but googling google earth tiles should get you some information.

Agreed, but then, Excel is very powerful. Since the resulting KML (an XML-flavor text file) is easily created from a flat file, it's not that bad. Just write a Macro to grab the fields, and stuff them in some structured XML output to a text file. Took about 20 minutes.

The "problem" is, I've yet to find a really good KML tutorial that explains syntax. So all the advanced stuff that I would like to do (i.e, text color in the standard Google Earth balloon call outs) remain a mystery.... And then as you say, every time you want to change something, you're back in the Excel macro on a trial and error quest.

I'm just suprised there isn't a GUI KML editor out there. Seems an obvious thing to me.

-mpm

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Thanks. Not doing images. Actually, that part didn't look too intimidating...

I did discover that if your KML file can be 10MB max, or up to 1,000 features If it has more than that, you must zip it first, resulting in a KMZ file. Otherwise, it may never load.

And, you have to zip it using the older zip programs. Newer ones might not work.

What a stupid remark.

In every case where some dipshit like you thinks a database is required, the data is usually something that can be handled with a flat file style database, and excel is perfectly suited for that.

If there is not a lot of constantly changing dynamic data in the database, a database application may not be the ideal solution.

I have a 48 MB DVD database with 171k records that searches far faster in excel than access or any other database I have seen of it.

ALL of the data remains unchanged, so there is no need for a relational database to keep the data.

What worries me is when someone with an obviously incomplete education and lack of experience makes such a stupid remark, and makes it in such a way as to appear informed about it.

Not only that, but excel can be used as a front end for a database, or vice versa as well.

You remarks reflect "experience" that is about 15 years out of date. Excel has been quite capable, and quite powerful since the 97 release, and is all one needs for a flat file database, which many are.