Add features to projects

You can add features such as placemarks, lines, polygons, and full screen slides to your projects.

Add placemarks to your map

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Select the project you want to open. If you don't have a project, you can create one by doing either of the following:

Click New > New Map.
Click Explore Earth.

At the top left, click Add > Placemark.
On the map, click where you want to add a placemark.
In the knowledge card, at the top right, rename your placemark.

Your placemark shows on the map and in the map contents panel on the left.

Add placemarks with Search

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Select the project you want to open. If you don't have a project, you can create one by doing either of the following:

Click New > New Map.
Click Explore Earth.

To search for places, use the "Search Google Earth" bar.
From the search results, select the result you want to add. This will take you to the result you selected and open up more info in a knowledge card.
In the knowledge card, on the right, click Save to project.
Your saved placemark will show up by default as a yellow pin on both the map and the project details panel.
The editor panel is on the right. If you are happy with the default information from Google, click Done. If you would like to update the information (for example, adding your own title, description, or photos), click Update. This will also remove the information provided by Google.

Tips:

Updating place information removes information provided by Google.
Your placemark appears on the map and in the project details panel.

Add placemarks from the map

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Select the project you want to open. If you don't have a project, you can create one by doing either of the following:

Click New > New Map.
Click Explore Earth.

On the map, find and click the placemark you want to add.
In the knowledge card, on the right, click Save to project.

Your placemark appears in the project details panel.

Add lines and polygons

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Select the project you want to open. If you don't have a project, you can create one by doing either of the following:

Click New > New Map.
Click Explore Earth.

At the top left, click Add path or polygon.
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 polygon, click your starting location.

Click Save to project.

Edit lines and polygons

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Click the project that contains the line or polygon you want to edit.
To edit a line or polygon, click it > Edit.

To change the size or position, drag any point, then release. You can also add vertices by clicking and dragging the midpoint of a line.
To change the width, click Down under "Width."
To change the color, click Format color fill > select a color.
To create your own palette, click Custom colors.

As you edit the line or polygon, changes are automatically saved.

Add a full screen slide to your project

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Select the project you want to open. If you don't have a project, you can create one by doing either of the following:

Click New > New Map.
Click Explore Earth.

On the left, click Add > Slide.
Using the editor panel, add your slide content.
To preview your slide, click View > 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.

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Select the project you want to open. If you don't have a project, you can create one by doing either of the following:

Click New > New Map.
Click Explore Earth.

Click Add > Tile overlay.
Enter the overlay URL.

Learn more about tile overlays in Google Earth.

Copy features from one project or file to another

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

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Open the project you want to copy the features from.
On the left, select the feature(s) you want to copy.
Hold the pointer over the feature.
Click More > Copy Feature.
- Alternatively, you can right-click the selection > Copy Feature.
Select the project or file you want to copy the feature to.
To copy the feature to the project or file, on top of the left panel, click More > 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 projects may link to resources on a third-party server.

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.