Satellite Imagery

SketchUp Pro
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Hi, I’m new to SketchUp & am looking for some help with creating a 2D floor plan for landscape design. I am finding that the add location feature on SketchUp is low resolution & hard to trace with accuracy. I have tried importing a Google Earth image but it’s hard to trace because of how distorted the perspective is. For example, the roof overhangs on one side of the house so far that I can’t see the walkway, yet on the opposite side of the house I can see the wall of the home.

Are there any extensions that can help with this? Does anyone have a work around?

Thanks!

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You can use cadmapper https://cadmapper.com/

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Thank you for the suggestion! I checked it out but I’m using it for residential yards so I need it on a much smaller scale.

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You migght be better off working from imagery supplied by your local GIS agency. The GIS agency for the county I’m in has much higher resolution aerial imagery available than you’d ever get off the Geo-Location source or from Google Earth.

FWIW, be careful using Google Earth’s imagery. Read their Terms of Use.

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Thank you! I will check out the GIS & I will forego using Google Earth. It’s not worth the risk especially when it doesn’t even do the job.

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If you’re serious about it, the best aerial photos I’ve used came from the Placemaker extension, but one way or another it’s not free. You have to pay for data usage. Either you get the extension for free and pay more per data unit (better if you hardly use it), or pay for the extension and pay lower data rates (better if you use it a lot).

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I agree with @DaveR . I live in Spain and I usually use GIS information provided by local agencies. Aerial photos have much more precision than Add Location option. Also you can download cloud point files to use in SketchUp

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Thank you for the suggestion & the nudge to pay up. I tried placemaker & it didn’t seem suitable for my needs. Looks like i found a winner in Measure Map Online after hours of searching. It does what i need it to do & even let me upload as a .dxf. It costs $13/month which i can definitely justify.

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Oh cool, thank you! Good to know that’s an option if I ever need it. Looks like Measure Map Online is gonna be my go-to though. I found it a couple hours ago & it does exactly what i need it to.

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Well, that depends where you are. He’s in Spain, I’m in Connecticut, USA. All the local GIS systems around here only give you a raster PDF on letter sized paper. Frustrating when you know there’s better stuff in there, but we can’t readily get it.