Add features to your projects

You can add features such as placemarks, lines, shapes, and fullscreen slides to your projects.

Tip: After you add features, you can share your project or export it as a KML file. If your project has other contributors, to find recent changes, refresh your project.

Add placemarks to your map
  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Click the project you want to open. If you don’t have a project, you can either:
    • Create a new project.
    • Skip this step. To skip this step, at the top right, click Explore Earth.
  3. At the top left, click Add and then Placemark .
  4. On the map, click where you want to add a placemark.
  5. In the Knowledge Card, at the top right, rename your placemark.

Your placemark shows on the map and in the project details panel.

Add placemarks with Search
  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Click the project you want to open. If you don’t have a project, you can either:
    • Create a new project.
    • Skip this step. To skip this step, at the top right, click Explore Earth.
  3. To search for places, use the “Search Google Earth” bar.
  4. From the search results, select the result you want to add.
  5. In the Knowledge Card, on the right, click Save to project.
  6. Under “Place title,” add a name for your placemark.
    • To set a manual view or edit the provided description or icon, click Update.

Tips:

  • When you update the information, it’ll remove information provided by Google.
  • Your placemark shows on the map and in the project details panel.
Add placemarks from the map
  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Click the project you want to open. If you don’t have a project, you can either:
    • Create a new project.
    • Skip this step. To skip this step, at the top right, click Explore Earth.
  3. On the map, find and click the placemark you want to add.
  4. In the Knowledge Card, on the right, click Save to project.

Your placemark shows in the project details panel.

Add lines & shapes
  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Click the project you want to add a line or shape to. If you don’t have a project, you can either:
    • Create a new project.
    • Skip this step. To skip this step, at the top right, click Explore Earth.
  3. At the top left, click Add path or polygon .
  4. To add your first point, click any location on the map. Each click adds a new segment.
    • To finish a line, double-click or click Done.
    • To close your shape, click your starting location.
  5. Click Save to project.

Tip: Your new line or shape is untitled by default. You can rename the line or shape.

Edit lines & shapes
  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Click the project where you want to edit a line or shape in.
  3. To edit a line or shape, click it and then Edit.
    • To change the size or position: Drag any point, then release.
    • To change the width: To select a width, under “Width," click Down arrow .
    • To change the color: Click Format color fill and then the color you want.
      • To create your own palette, click Custom colors.
  4. As you edit the line or shape, changes are automatically saved.
Add a fullscreen slide to your project
  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Click the project you want to open. If you don’t have a project, you can either:
    • Create a new project.
    • Skip this step. To skip this step, at the top right, click Explore Earth.
  3. On the left, click Add Add.
  4. Using the editor panel, add your slide content.
  5. To preview your slide, click View and then Start slideshow.
Add tiled overlays to your project
Tiled overlays show location-based data layers that cover a specific area on top of your map.
  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Click Launch Earth.
  3. On the left, click Projects Projects.
  4. Click the project you want to open.
    • If you don’t have a project, create one.
  5. Click New feature and then Tiled overlay .
    • Enter the Overlay URL.
Copy features from a project or file to another

You can copy features from an Earth project or local KML file to another project.

  1. On your computer, open Google Earth.
  2. Open the project you want to copy the features from.
  3. On the left, select the feature(s) you want to copy.
  4. Hover over the feature.
  5. Click More More and then Copy Feature.
    • Alternatively, you can right-click the selection and then Copy Feature.
  6. Select the project or file you want to copy the feature to.
  7. To copy the feature to the project or file, on top of the left panel, click More More and then Paste feature from clipboard.

The features appear in the new location.

Understand network connections to third-party servers

Google Earth can load data from third-party servers. A server is considered "third-party" if it isn’t owned and operated by Google. Features like Tile Overlays and KML Network Links within Earth projects may link to resources on a third-party server. Learn more about Tile Overlays.

If an Earth project triggers a network connection to a third-party server, a notification appears on your screen. The notification only appears the first time content is loaded from a new domain.

Tips:

  • Always use content from trusted sources.
  • Third-party servers can monitor network traffic and may be able to infer info about your use of Google Earth.
    • When a Tiled Overlay is active, a third-party server could monitor individual tile loads from your IP address and learn what geographic regions you viewed.

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