Tutorial: Create a Circular Flyover from a Single Point

Estimated time: 3 minutes.

In this lesson, you will copy a single point (placemark) in Google Earth, and create a quick flyover from that point. (Very easy!)

1. With Google Earth still open from the previous lesson, close the flyover control bar for now - just click on the "X" button in the upper-right corner.

2. Use the Google Earth controls to zoom out of the flyover view a bit, for a larger panorama.
3. Click on the Add Placemark icon in the Google Earth toolbar, above the map view.
   
   You'll see a blinking pin displayed in the map display, and a prompt window where you can type in a name for this placemark.
   
   
4. While it is blinking, you can use your mouse to drag this placemark to a location which will be the centerpoint of the circular flyover.
   
   
5. Into the prompt window, type in: Flyover Placemark and click OK. You'll see the pin in the view.

6. Now, right-click on the placemark, and choose Copy from the pop-up menu. This places the point in your computer's clipboard memory.
   
   
7. Return to the RockWorks Utilities program window (you can leave Google Earth open).
   
   
8. Click on the EarthApps menu, click the Flyover item, and choose the Clipboard -> Circular Flyover option.
    
9. In the settings pane, establish these options.
   • Tour Title: Click to the right and type in: Circular Flyover.
     
   • Time (Seconds) for 360-Degree Rotation: This defines how fast the circular path will be followed. Click to the right and type in: 20.0
     
   • Altitude (Meters - Relative to Ground): This defines how high above the ground surface, in meters, that you want to "fly". Click to the right and enter: 20,000 (yes - that is 20 thousand meters, or 20 kilometers above the ground surface).
     
   • Tilt: This defines the "camera" angle. Enter: -80   for a nearly vertical-downward view.
   • Radius: Click to the right and enter: 5000
     This will create a flyover circle with a radius of 5 kilometers.
      
10. Click the Process button at the bottom of the flyover window.
    
    The program will create a KML file with the flyover around the point that you had copied to the clipboard. It will create a KMZ (zip) file containing the KML file. The Google Earth KML and KMZ file names will be assigned automatically.
    
    
11. If RockWorks displays the KMZ name in a popup window for your reference, you can confirm:
    • Automatically load file into Google Earth: Be sure this is checked if you want to display the output at this time.
    • Show this message every time a KMZ File is Created: If checked, this window will be displayed each time a Google Earth output is created. Uncheck this if you prefer not to see this window in the future.
      (Both of these settings are also available via the Preferences menu.)
      
    • Click OK to continue or Cancel to cancel the operation.
    
    The resulting flyover will be displayed in Google Earth, if requested. The "Flyover" group will be listed under Temporary Places on the left side of the Google Earth display. You'll see the flyover controls in the lower-left corner of the screen.
    
    
12. Click the Play button to start the flyover route. Click the Pause button to pause the flight.
    
    
13. If you would like to save this flyover, right-click on it and choose Save to My Places.
    
    

  Flyover Summary

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