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software update

New Google Earth Desktop Version 7.3

[UPDATE 19-JULY-2017] Google updated the 7.3 release with a new version 7.3.0.3830 that fixed a problem with the Linux version, and also fixed an HTTP request issue. The “advanced”
manual update release will roll out in a few hours they said. Right now that is still the 7.1 version. Google has said that they temporarily removed the new 7.3 update due to a critical bug found shortly after being launched. I will update this post when the update is once again available and/or more details are released. If you try to go download now, you will get the latest 7.1 release instead. – Frank]

Google has updated the desktop version of Google Earth to 7.3.0.3827. Although there are no added features, it is a fairly significant update, including enhancements to the interface, graphics, internal browser and much more. See the release announcement for the full list of changes.

Google Earth Pro for all
Google is finally dropping the ‘basic’ version of Google Earth and upgrading everyone to Google Earth Pro. The update should be automatic if you have Google Earth or Google Earth Pro already installed and a recent operating system (the minimum requirements have been increased). Google has updated the Google Earth download site to promote the new web version and you must click on ‘older versions’ to find the desktop version.

Graphics
Frank reports that he gets significantly better graphics in the new version due to better graphics settings being enabled by default. The release notes state that antialiasing and anisotropic filtering are now enabled by default and Google Earth also defaults to OpenGL mode (vs DirectX mode which was the previous default on Windows). It appears that the antialiasing option in the settings is only available in OpenGL mode although that might depend on the graphics card. Google also made changes to make it look better on higher res displays like Retina from Mac.

To learn more about antialiasing to how to get similar quality improvements in older versions of Google Earth, see this YouTube video Frank made in 2015.

Internal browser

We ran our browser tests KML file and found that the new version scores 338 on the HTML 5 test site. The previous version scored just 169 and in 2015 Google Earth was scoring 119. The latest version of Chrome scores 518.

One downside of the new browser is tightened security settings. For example, our KMLs for animating Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery no longer work correctly when run locally. The solution is to run them via a network link – a trick that works even if the KML file is still stored locally.

The biggest news for KML developers is that Google has enabled the DevTools window, which allows you to inspect and debug placemark HTML and JavaScript. Prior to this, it was extremely difficult to develop JavaScript to run in placemarks. To view DevTools, simply right click on an open placemark and select ‘Inspect’.

A Repair Tool
A repair tool has been added that helps resolve common problems. It should show up automatically if you are having trouble opening Google Earth, or can be run manually from within Google Earth: Help->Launch Repair Tool

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Use the last option with care as it will delete all your saved places.

New Google Earth Version 7.1.8.3036

Thank you to GEB reader André for letting us know that Google has just updated Google Earth to version 7.1.8.3036. It is a minor bugfix update but does indicate Google’s continued dedication to Google Earth.

The main thing you will notice is a slightly more modern look to the menus and other interface features. The placemark list, for example now has ‘twisties’ instead of plus/minus symbols.

One of the notable bug fixes is the Feedback option in Windows (found under Help->Send Feedback). Hopefully this means they are going to be more active in listening to suggestions and bug reports.

An interesting addition is a couple of buttons to make it easier to add images to placemarks:

Official release notes

What’s New In Google Earth 7.1.8.3036 (from the release announcement).

Bugs Fixed

  • Various security issues
  • Some files missing from saved KMZs
  • Crash in View in Maps if user logged in
  • License-related problems with Earth Pro
  • Incorrectly-localized user interface elements
  • Settings/Preferences dialog unexpected behavior
  • Windows: View in Maps frozen
  • Windows: Feedback tool broken
  • Windows: program hangs when saving search results
  • Windows: installer doesn’t clean up files
  • Mac: crash running on OS X 10.6
  • Mac: installer conflicts between different Earth variants
  • Linux (Debian): search crash
  • Linux: installer not installing needed libraries
  • Linux: spurious network warning messages
  • Linux: crash viewing Moon landmarks

Changes

  • Image picker for placemark editing
  • Remove Earth Pro “upsell” links
  • Browser Plugin (bundled and standalone) discontinued
  • High-detail terrain enabled by default
  • Windows: Qt application library upgraded
  • Linux: Earth Pro now available
  • Linux: installers now signed

Known Issues

  • Tour guide, overlays sometimes overlap Startup Tips, About dialogs
  • Windows (7): Installer drawing issues
  • Linux: Earth Pro: Movie Maker, some GPS features not available
  • Linux: Earth Pro: Import dialogs sometimes slow/laggy

Google Earth Update – Version: 7.1.7.2600

Google has released an update to Google Earth and Google Earth Pro. This is a bugfix / maintenance update with no new features. Having said that, it does fix some of the worst bugs, including crashes and installation problems and its release confirms that Google has not given up on Google Earth.

The release notes say:

Issues fixed in this release of Google Earth Client

  • Removed menu items for Google Maps Engine and the Google Earth Community.
  • New Google and Google Earth logos.
  • Crashes from rearranging items in My Places.
  • Earth Pro: Removed registration dialog as Pro no longer requires a license.
  • Windows: “1603” installer error caused by attempts to re-install Earth 7.
  • Linux: Font dialog and other crashes.
  • Linux: Cache data inconsistency between 32 and 64-bit builds.
  • Linux: RPM installer problems with permissions in directory “/usr/bin”.
  • Mac & Linux: Updated driver support for 3Dconnexion controller devices.

We get quite a lot of email regarding problems installing Google Earth, so we hope those are now a thing of the past. We also used to experience the crash when rearranging placemarks, which was particularly annoying as it typically meant redoing a lot of work, as My Places is only saved when Google Earth is closed properly. It seemed to be placemarks with links that were particularly troublesome.

Another crash that occurs when you try to search for something while Google Earth is still loading is still there.

For most people, there should be no need to do anything and Google Earth should update automatically. If you installed Google Earth using the ‘offline installer’ then you may need to manually update to get the new version, which you can do by going to the standard Google Earth download page. We actually recommend that everyone consider switching to Google Earth Pro as it is free and has more features than Google Earth. There are, however, no differences in the actually imagery. Google Earth and Google Earth Pro share the same ‘myplaces.kml’ (where saved placemarks are stored) so switching does not loose any data. You can have them both installed at the same time and use whichever you like, but you cannot run them both at once. As mentioned in the comments, Google Earth Pro is not available on Linux.

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Google Earth updated to version 7.1.2.2041

google-earth-logoGoogle has just pushed out a nice update for the Google Earth platform, going from version 7.1.1.1888 to 7.1.2.2041.  You can download it from earth.google.com.

Remember that new versions of Google Earth have nothing to do with the imagery.  Imagery updates arrive for all users of Google Earth, regardless of what version they’re using.  We try to keep you updated with that information as well, such as the imagery update that rolled out recently.

According to the changelog, the following issues were addressed in this update:

  • The “Enable Controller” option in user preferences is now turned off by default. This prevents red directional arrows from displaying as a result of uncalibrated joysticks and other controllers being connected to Earth at startup.
  • For enhanced security, “Use HTTPS for Google connections” is now toggled on by default.
  • We fixed a bug whereby the cache size rose above user-specified limits.
  • We fixed a crash resulting from searching on some Windows machines.
  • We updated the LEAP API to version 1.08.
  • We reduced LEAP controller sensitivity to user hand motions. This enables a smoother flight and greater control over your flight path when using a LEAP.

These are some nice updates.  We’ve had a number of users write in confused about the directional arrows appearing when they didn’t expect them, and the tweaks the LEAP motion controls will be nice to have.  While I’m quite pleased with how well the LEAP works with Google Earth (read our full review), it certainly could stand a bit of fine-tuning.

Go out and download this new update from the official source at earth.google.com.