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January 23, 2007
Google Earth Save Image Option
Google Earth has features for saving or printing your current view in GE. The free GE can only save out up to 1000x1000 pixels (or up to your screen size), but GE Pro can save up to 4800x4800 pixels which is good enough for high quality large prints. I've been experimenting with this feature in GE 4 Pro, and the results are stunning. For example, I took this panorama-like screenshot of the 3D buildings of Denver (see the blog entry I wrote about these models). Which you can see by clicking on the picture above through a Picasa Web Album. Once there you select "Download Photo" to see the full resolution (4800x1199 pixels) of this image. The quality of these 3D models with photo textures when zoomed in at full resolution is amazing.
The method GE Pro uses for creating these images is kind of cool. You select the menu choice "File->Print..." or "File->Save ->Save Image..." to initiate the process, then select what resolution you want. With the "Save" option you will get a requester letting you save the results to a JPG file. GE Pro basically uses the same method some photographers use to create "gigapixel" digital camera photos by taking a series of photos in a tile-like fashion of a scene and stitching them together using a panorama-style stitching algorithm. Each "shot" is "exposed" long enough to load the detail of the scene. It's fun to watch - the first few times. I found you can't get too close to a scene with 3D models because the tile-shoot method will actually miss parts of the models when it "zooms" in for each shot.
Take note that you should read the license for GE and GE Pro (search "license" on the GE help page) with regards to prints which says they can be used for "personal use only". You also can not get permission to sell the prints - I asked Google about this.
Posted by FrankTaylor at January 23, 2007 12:41 PM
Comments
Posted by: BillyG at January 23, 2007 4:51 PM
KEEP IT UP, WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICES.
Posted by: kitumbika at January 26, 2007 5:28 AM
Thanks for the tip. When you use GE Pro and save the image, is the resolution good enough to print out a poster-size print of say 3' by 4'?
Posted by: EBusta at November 30, 2007 6:10 PM
Very cool thanks for the tip on google earth and ge pro
Posted by: lgjhost at January 17, 2008 11:17 PM
Good tip. A nice refinement to this feature would be to geocode the saved jpg file's EXIF/IPTC metadata with the image center's lat/long coordinates. That way, one can import the image to a Picasa web album, eg, and have it automatically display its Photo Location (and thus link to Google Maps and ultimately back to Google Earth).
Posted by: zeke7 at January 27, 2008 3:35 PM
Cannot save my pictures from Earth! They show a black box only, no image?
What can I do to get images back please?
Regards Pia
Posted by: pia westhausen at February 17, 2008 12:55 PM
Same question as Pia. I've been using Google Earth for years, on different OS and different computers. I have NEVER been able to save a jpg image. I get a file with a big black box in it. What am I doing wrong? My work-around is to email the thing to myself. Works, but is a clunky extra step that seems silly. If anybody has a solution, I'd love to hear from you!
Posted by: Darell at August 29, 2008 7:49 PM
Same problem here, only with printing. Even if I email the jpg to myself, I can view it without problem but printing only yields a large black rectangle, same as when I print directly from GE.
Posted by: John at May 4, 2009 9:46 PM
same problem for me...
"Save image" "save as" "jpg"
and it"s broken...
I"m usining GoogleEarth v.4.37 for linux...
Posted by: dani at September 18, 2009 9:58 AM
If you got black box when exporting images, start Google Earth in OpenGL mode, not DirectX......
Posted by: Boggy at March 22, 2010 4:05 AM
I had luck saving images as long as Picasa was open and I saved to a file...it was there to crop, etc.
Posted by: Linda Jo at April 6, 2010 11:59 PM
Hi!
It's really amazing! But is there anyway to save a jpg image with specified size using codes.So I can save images automatically.Does Google api work? If so which object or method should I choose?
Thanks
May God bless Google
heavy
Posted by: heavy at December 13, 2011 3:06 AM
hi,
pl z try to create a clear view for Tripoli,Libya in 1976 or later 1984 because I could not get good image
Aimen
regards
Posted by: aimen sghair at December 18, 2011 3:57 PM
For those of you using Win xxxxx and trying to save, and print,GE images ....... try this. Make a folder on your desktop like "Google Photos" Get the image you want, go to File>Save>Save Image> (save to your new folder and name the file). Go back to File and Exit. Open your new folder and select the file you made and "Open with" your Microsoft Picture Manager (depending on Win xx). At this point you can treat the image as you would any other jpeg file, and print it any size you choose. Good luck.
Posted by: Jerry at January 13, 2012 6:05 PM
this was a lifesaver
Posted by: juicy at January 26, 2012 1:50 PM
Saving any but low and screen resolution aerial images takes forever on GE Pro, so long in fact that I haven't been able to save any images. I have waited 10+ minutes while "The image is being prepared (this may take a minute)", they never saved or even got out of the "...prepared..." screen.
What is happening (or not happening) here?
Posted by: mark at February 1, 2012 7:42 PM
Works fine when opened in OpenGL mode, so never mind...
Posted by: mark at February 1, 2012 8:44 PM
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Sounds great... right up to the "personal use only" point.
I guess if I want a wallpaper for my desktop it's cool, but my browser is always full screen anyway, so...