In seconds, AutoCAD placed a of the exact area. A little red pin showed north, and the drawing units automatically adjusted to real-world coordinates (usually UTM or Lat/Long).
He replied, “How did you do that without a new survey?”
I opened Google Earth Pro (the free desktop version) and navigated to the client’s property. I made sure the layer was on and tilted the view to see the topography around the trees. Then I went to View → Reset → Tilt and Compass to get a pure top-down view. how to use google earth in autocad
I didn’t have time for a new survey. But I had Google Earth and AutoCAD.
Two hours later, I sent the client a DWG with the shed, the road, and a note: “Coordinates match Google Earth’s current imagery. Verified with two known landmarks.” In seconds, AutoCAD placed a of the exact area
Back in AutoCAD (I was using 2023), I typed (or GEO for short). A dialog box appeared. I chose “Import a KML or KMZ file.” I selected the KML I’d saved from Google Earth.
I added a simple polygon over the gravel road and saved it as a KML file. Then I used to export a high-resolution screenshot of the area. But that alone wouldn’t work—it had no scale in AutoCAD. I made sure the layer was on and
Now I needed to scale it. I measured a known feature in Google Earth—for example, the distance between two fence posts was 150 feet. In AutoCAD, I used the command. I picked two points on the JPG, then two corresponding points on the geolocated KML outline. The image stretched, rotated, and snapped perfectly into place.