GELink Utility for Google Earth - MapInfo_Pro - 2023

GELink gives you a way to export and display MapInfo Pro raster and vector map data on top of detailed Google Earth™-hosted aerial photos from all over the world. You can export these maps as raster images (in .jpg format) or in Google data format (known as .kml).

For information about how to add a tool to the Tool Manager, see Working with MapInfo Pro Tools.

For information about how to add a tool to the Tool Manager, see Working with MapInfo Pro Tools in the MapInfo Pro Productivity Guide.

What are Raster and Vector Maps?

Raster maps are made up of columns and rows of pixels that can give you a high resolution picture of a particular geography. This is an example of a raster map.

Raster Map of a Section of the Hawaiian Islands

Raster maps can make visualizing your data more concrete because you can see it in relation to recognizable landmarks.

Vector maps are made of lines, text, and shapes that represent objects or groups of objects such as regions, landmarks, and streets. These types of maps can give you a sense of spatial relationship by allowing you to control which data displays and how it displays. With vector maps you can move the objects, shade them and place other data within the objects to provide more insight into the information you are depicting. The next figure is a vector map that shows an outline of the same area.

Simple Vector Map

When we add the ocean, cities, and labels, the same map starts to provide perspective.

More Complex Vector Map

You can export both types of maps from MapInfo Pro using the Link Utility to the Google Earth application.

Accessing the Link Utility for Google Earth

To access the Link Utility for Google Earth, add the GELink tool to the Tools Manager.

For information about how to add a tool to the Tool Manager, see Working with MapInfo Pro Tools.

For information about how to add a tool to the Tool Manager, see Working with MapInfo Pro Tools in the MapInfo Pro Productivity Guide.

Exporting a Map to Google Earth

Thematic maps and style overrides must be sent to the Google Earth application as a raster image.

To display a view of your point, line, or region thematic map on a Google Earth map:

1. Create the thematic map you want to display using the Link Utility. Refer to the MapInfo Pro User Guide for assistance.
2. Display the view you want to export in the Map window. The limits of your map view will represent the limits of your exported map.
   
   

   

   
   

   Thematic Map before Export

3. On the HOME tab, in the Tools list, right-click on GELink and click Export Map Image or Current Selection to Google Earth. The Export to Google Earth dialog box displays.
   Note: Since you did not select a particular object in this image to export, the utility assumes you want to export the whole image as a raster map.

   Output Path	Use the button to select a folder or leave the current entry as is to accept the default location.
   File Name	Type a new name for the file you are creating or accept the default entry.
   Place Name	Indicates the name that displays in the Places list representing the map you are exporting. You can type over this entry or you can accept the default.
   Specify a file containing the copyright text	Select the check box beside this option and use the button to find the file that contains the copyright text.
   Send to Google Earth Now	Select this option to save the raster file locally rather than displaying it in Google Earth.

4. Complete the entries in this dialog box. Click OK. If you did not select the Send to Google Earth Now option, the Google Earth map displays with the thematic map view you exported on it.
   
   

   

   
   

   Thematic Map Exported to Google Earth with Legend

You can also export WMS and WFS images using this utility.

Enhancing the Display of your Exported Map

In the Places list, the MapInfo Saved View entry represents the exported thematic map.

When you export a MapInfo Pro map to the Google Earth environment, it displays under the Temporary Places section of the Places list. As you add new views, Google Earth stacks them in this list, placing the most recent map at the top of the list.

You can use the check box beside the MapInfo Saved View and Thematic Legend entries to display or hide the exported map or legend beside it. For example, if you add a new map, you may want to hide the previous map to see if it displays better.

The horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the list allows you to set the transparency of the thematic image. To change the transparency of the map and not the legend, highlight the MapInfo Saved View entry and use the scroll bar to get the desired effect.

Thematic Map Exported to Google Earth with Transparency Change

Exporting your Map Selection to Google Earth

When you want to export a map selection, you can export it as a vector map into .KML format. If you try to export a selected map object as a raster, the utility ignores the selection and exports the whole view instead.

Population Map: The labels and borders in this map are supplied by Google Earth. The legend was created in MapInfo Pro.

You can export your map selection as a vector map using the Google Maps .kml format. When you use this format, you preserve all of the data associated with those objects and can access that metadata in Google Maps. KML is an object description language similar to GML or XML.

To export the currently selected objects as .KML to Google Earth:

1. Display the map in MapInfo Pro.
2. Select the map object you want to export and on the HOME tab, in the Tools list, right-click on GELink and click Export Map Image or Current Selection to Google Earth to display the Export to Google Earth dialog box.
   Note: This dialog displays when a Map window is the active window and you have selected an object in it. If you do not select any objects in the Map window, MapInfo Pro assumes that you want to send the map as registered raster image.
3. To export the selected objects, click Export selected objects (.KML). Click OK. The Export Map Objects to Google Earth dialog box displays.

   Output Path	Use the button to select a folder or leave the current entry as is to accept the default location.
   File Name	Type a new name for the file you are creating or accept the default entry.
   Description	Description of the layer.
   Select the Source for the Place Name	Select the first button and type a place name in the first field or accept the MapInfo Saved Objects text as the place name for each object you are exporting. Select the second button and select the column name to provide the place name for each object you are exporting.
   Follow Terrain	Select this button to position the selected objects in relation to the map terrain.
   Height Value	Select this button and type the altitude (in meters) at which you would like to display the data field from the MapInfo Pro table. The utility uses the number in this table to create the altitude for each record. This field can only be populated by numeric fields.
   Height Field	Select this button and choose the column that contains the height for each object you are exporting.
   Extend Objects to Ground	Select this check box to display the map as specified in the settings above. Once you set an altitude value for a object, you can select the Extend Objects to Ground check box. When single-point objects display, a single line appears from the earth's surface to the object. When you display a line or a region, a geometric shape is drawn from the earth's surface to the line or region.
   Choose Columns	Click this button and use the Choose Columns list to select a subset of the attribute columns for display. When you click OK, the utility uses the columns you selected. If you select Cancel, the utility uses the previously selected columns. See Choosing Columns to Display in Google Earth for complete instructions.
   Send to Google Earth now	Click this button to save the raster file locally rather than displaying it in Google Earth.

4. Click the OK button to export the map with all of your selections in the Google Earth application.
5. In the Google Earth application, you can display the data associated with a particular area of the superimposed map. Click the Place Name and then double-click the region on the map. A data box displays.
   
   

   

   
   

   Map with Data Box

Choosing Columns to Display in Google Earth

When you export map objects as a KML object to Google Earth, you can choose the data columns to be exported using the Choose Columns button. This might shorten the amount of time it takes to display the map when not all of the data in a map needs to be exported.

To select objects you want to export:

1. Open the data and select an object you want to export using MapInfo Pro.
2. Click Google Earth to display the Export to Google Earth dialog box.
   Note: This feature only applies to the KML option because it is a vector image that can retain the data associated with it when you export it. This feature is not available if you select the raster image option.
3. Click Export selected objects (KML) and click OK to display the Export Map Objects to Google Earth dialog box. The Choose Columns button displays at the bottom.
4. To choose columns to send to Google Earth from the selected vector data, click Choose Columns. The Choose Columns dialog box displays.

   The tool "remembers" the selections you make for this table in this dialog box from export to export as long as the Link Utility is loaded or MapInfo Pro is open. If you unload the tool, change tables, or close MapInfo Pro, the column selection reverts to All Columns.

   Note: If you make no selections in this dialog box, no data is sent to Google Earth.
5. Highlight the columns you want to send to Google Earth and use the Right Arrow button to move them to the Selected Columns list. Click OK when you have selected all of the columns you want to export.

   To remove a column from the Selected Columns list, highlight it and use the Left Arrow button.

   Note: Use the Shift key to select multiple contiguous columns and the Ctrl key to select multiple non-contiguous columns.
6. Click OK in the Export Map Objects to Google Earth dialog box to begin the export process. MapInfo Pro only exports the columns you selected

Adding a Custom Copyright Message to Exported Raster Maps

When you export data from MapInfo Pro to Google Earth, you should credit the data company that provided the information. We have added functionality that allows you to do this from within the Link Utility for raster maps.

Adding a Custom Copyright Message

To add a custom copyright message to a raster map in the Google Earth window:

1. Open the data you want to export using MapInfo Pro.
2. Click Google Earth to display the Export to Google Earth dialog box.
3. Click Export Map window as raster image (.JPG) and click OK to display the Export Map Image to Google Earth dialog box. The Specify a file containing the copyright text field displays at the bottom.

   The Send to Google Earth Now check box allows you to save the raster file locally rather than displaying it in Google Earth.

4. Select the check box beside the Specify a file containing the copyright text field and use the button to find the file that contains the copyright text.
   Note: You may need to create this text file yourself.
5. Select the Send to Google Earth now check box and click OK to display the copyright data you selected on the Google Earth map you prepared.
   
   

   

   
   

   Google Earth Map Containing Your Copyright Information

Important Google Earth Licensing Information

Google, Inc. provides three product levels to Google Earth, which you should investigate before using the Link Utility. For the most timely and complete Google Earth licensing options, please consult Google's web site and license agreement.

Please choose the Google Earth product that meets your organization's needs. Precisely does not authorize or license any of these products for your use.

Third-Party Data Licensing

When you use licensed data within MapInfo Pro to create files for export to Google Earth, make sure you have the appropriate rights from Precisely or the data provider to share those exported files with third parties.