Quote:

---

As far as a breakdown of the back-end technology, we basically just have plugged into our existing Map server architecture...

---

I guess I was hoping for more technical details I like how you are using AJAX to dynamically update the maps in the Explorer; very smooth.

It looks like you are passing Google Earth a link to your map server, which returns an image. Is this session based? If a user saves the network link in their Places, will it still work later?

Have you considered writing an application that returns point/line/poly data to Google Earth? I'd imagine that with ArcObjects it wouldn't be too hard to extract the coordinates and build this into KML. Symbolization would be somewhat problematic though.

Quote:

---

The NetworkLink and GroundOverlay tools are very powerful ways to quickly get real GIS maps inside of Google Earth. GE presents an excellent interface for navigation and rendering (3D is really just a bonus.) I think by far GE's most powerful feature is it's speedy and intuitive of navigation. There is simply no comparison to any existing mapping tools.

---

I agree with you 100%. This tool has blown away everyone I have shown it to, including all of our internal planning staff... even those familiar with ArcScene. Yes, it's less detailed and doesn't have all of the analysis features. However, it's way easier to use and distribute. I wish that Google would get back to me with pricing on the Enterprise edition

My only criticism of GroundOverlays is that if they get too large or you get more than a couple of them on at a time, the interface slows to a crawl. I wish it handled larger and more images a bit better.

Quote:

---

- Pass range/tilt angle along with the BBOX variable in the NetworkLink call

---

Quote:

---

- Ability to load <description></description> via a URL for points (this could be HUGE for allowing integration into new and existing GIS apps)

---

OHHH. That's a great idea. I've already been taking advantage of this with the placemarks in Google Maps. The HTML support in Google Earth may need to be improved to support some of those apps though.

Jason

Edited by Jason_Birch (08/27/05 12:04 AM)

Post Extras