Add Map Styles and Photos
Add Map Styles and Photos
What's coming up?
There's a wealth of extra information buried in Google Earth, you just need to know where to look.
In this activity, we’ll look at how the Map Style and Photo options add a lot more detail to the maps to help you learn about the world
Start activityChange how much information Google Earth shows
Google Earth is much more than satellite and aerial photos, it also shows a wealth of other information.
You can select what information appears by clicking the Map Style icon from the main control menu.
You can also access the Map Style feature by clicking on the List icon at the top of the main menu, and selecting it from the options that appear.
Choose what you can see
By default, Google Earth uses the Exploration view, with place names, major roads and international and state borders added, but you can fine-tune this.
The Everything option adds features, such as roads and landmarks, while the Clean view option removes all information.
Customise the view
The Customised option in Map Styles shows a huge list of things you can turn on and off. This includes Transit (public transport), traffic route numbers, Landmarks, Places of worship, parks and schools. If you click on the arrow next to any option, a list of more detailed options opens up for you to choose from.
All this information can clutter up your maps. If it gets too confusing, just switch back to the default Exploration view.
See other people's travel photos
You can see photos that people have uploaded to Google Earth, including amazing 360-degree panoramas, by clicking the List icon in the main control menu and then enabling Photos.
Photos appear as circles on the map, with a tiny preview of the images taken at that location – just click to scroll through them. Press the escape key on your computer's keyboard to close the photos.
eSafety tip: Speed things up
Enabling Photos can clog up the map and slow down Google Earth, especially if you're using a slow computer on a slow broadband connection.
For this reason, it's best to switch off Photos when you're not using them.
Congratulations!
You’ve completed the Add Map Styles and Photos activity.
You've learned how to customise the kinds of information added to maps, as well as see photos that Google Earth users from around the world have uploaded.
Next up, time to become an armchair tourist, in the Take a virtual trip! activity