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GIS Applications Geog 329 > Online Mapping - KML and Google Earth > Flashcards

Online Mapping - KML and Google Earth Flashcards

1
Q

What does KML stand for?

A
  • Keyhole Markup Language
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2
Q

What is the definition of KML?

A
  • XML based format
  • Stores and models geospatial data
  • Can store descriptors like text, polygons, points, lines, images and 3D models
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3
Q

What is XML?

A
  • Flexible way to story data
  • Data is categorized by user defined tags
  • Data can be organized to custom specification and yet remain machine-readable
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4
Q

How does google describe KML?

A
  • Tag-based file format used to display geographic data in an Earth Browser
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5
Q

What act as browsers for KML files? Why is the browsing function important?

A
  • Google Earth and Maps

- Browsing function enables sharing of data and maps freely

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6
Q

What is a Tag?

A
  • Simply and intuitive code that tells the software what to do
  • Describes the manner in which certain features and text are displayed
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7
Q

What can we do with KML?

A
  • Take locations and specify the manner in which the labels display
  • Ground and image overlays with georeferenced data
  • Screen overlays (click and drag image to fit
  • Change/apply styles
  • Use HTML to define the way text looks, embed pictures and/or videos
  • Paths, points, polygons
  • Incorporate time tags and animate
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8
Q

What is the breakdown of a basic Placemark script?

A 
Placemark
name /name
Description /description
Point
Coordinates
/Coordinates
/Point
/Placemark
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9
Q

What is necessary to open and close a KML script?

A

The opening and closing tags

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10
Q

What differentiates a KML script from a text file?

A
  • The opening xml and mL tags
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11
Q

What is the purpose of indentations in a script?

A
  • To help organize a script, but are not necessary

- To keep track of what is happening in a script

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12
Q

What does decimal degrees for the west require, especially in a script?

A

A - in front of the West coordinate

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13
Q

Which comes first for a coordinate in a script, latitude or longitude?

A
  • Longitude, followed by Latitude
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14
Q

What must a KML script end with?

A

/kml

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15
Q

What is the purpose of the 3rd number in a coordinate string?

A
  • The 3rd number is the elevation of the point
    0 sits on the ground
    > 0 floats above
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16
Q

What does a CDATA! tag do? Why is this useful in KML?

A
  • The KML treats the text as characters
  • Useful because simpler HTML text can be used inside the CDATA!
  • Can change text, add website links, videos, photos etc.
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17
Q

What is one of the biggest advantages of using a CDATA! tag?

A
  • Anything that can be defined in HTML can be added to the map
  • Ability to write a web address simply as it is without an a href=”www….”
  • Web links are far more complicated to use in KML without CDATA!
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18
Q

Why should a script be written in a text editor like Notepad ++ or Text Wrangler and not word?

A
  • Word can have hidden code that will affect a script
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19
Q

What are some common HTML elements?

A
  • <h1> h1 makes a heading sized font</h1>
  • <p> p is a paragraph break</p>
  • <i> i is italics</i>
  • <b> b is bold</b>
  • change font colour, use hexadecimal
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20
Q

What format should colors be referenced in?

A

Hexadecimal

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21
Q

How can videos be embedded in KML?

A
  • Youtube videos come with an embed code that allows a video to be played directly in the mapping application without having to leave it
  • Place rich web content directly into the description balloon with CDATA!
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22
Q

What does a Ground Overlay do?

A
  • Drapes a georeferenced image onto Google Earth

- Can add transparency too

23
Q

What coordinate system does a Ground Overlay system need to be in?

A
  • Geographic Coordinate System of Lat/Long
  • 8-bit
  • Need full extent of image
24
Q

What is a Screen Overlay?

A
  • Manually stretch an image over a location in Google Earth

- Can distort an image easily when stretching

25
Q

How can the extent of a georeferenced image to be used in ground overlay be found? What is an issue with the extents usually?

A
  • Right click and check properties in ArcGIS
  • Metadata, especially from Gov’t sources (Topographic maps)
  • Issue: Extents not very precise (1 or 2 decimal points)
26
Q

What image format should be used for overlays?

A
  • Tiff
27
Q

Why is a Ground Overlay Useful?

A
  • Good visualization tool

- See change over time by stacking layers (change analysis)

28
Q

What is good about using Toporama’s for Overlays?

A
  • Purely geography

- Excess titles, legend, etc. have been removed

29
Q

What does the Icon tag do in a Ground Overlay?

A
  • Tells the code exactly where to find the file to use

- Can be located anywhere on a hard rive (local location) or web server (Cloud)

30
Q

What does LatLonBox do in a Ground Overlay?

A

Defines the corners for the bounding box (extents)

  • Where image is located on the ground
  • can use a if needed
31
Q

What image formats are supported by Google?

A
  • Usually jpg is used

- Can also support bmp, gif, tiff, tga, png

32
Q

What is a Path?

A
  • Similar to line feature in ArcGIS

- Highly customizable

33
Q

What is the KML tag for a Path? What other elements (tags) are associated with it?

A
  • All contained within a
34
Q

What does Extrusion do in a path?

A
  • Extrudes the path above the ground by an elevation in meters
  • Elevation set as 3rd value in coordinates
35
Q

What does the Tesselate tag do in a LineString?

A
  • Enables path to follow the terrain
  • Set as a boolean value (0 or 1)
  • Need to set altitude element as well in order for tesselate to work
  • Best for Global scale, not local
36
Q

What are the settings that can be used in altitudeMode?

A
  • clampToGround
  • relativeToGround
  • absolute
37
Q

What is the default altitudeMode?

A

clampToGround

  • Path or point will be on the ground
  • Ignores the 3rd value in the setting
38
Q

What is the altitudeMode relativeToGround?

A
  • A set elevation above ground height
  • Each coordinate will be a certain specified value above the ground
  • Example: Powerlines or street lamps that would all be the same height above the ground
39
Q

What is the altitudeMode absolute?

A
  • Set relative to sea-level

- If elevation is set to 7m above sea-level and terrain is 5m, point will be drawn at 2m above terrain

40
Q

What are the requirements when creating a polygon?

A
  • Placemark
  • Polygon
  • outerBoundaryIs
  • LinearRing
  • Coordinates
  • must be set in counterclockwise manner and 1st and last must be identical (or somewhere side-by-side in the coordinate list)
41
Q

What are other options for polygon styles?

A
  • Extrusion
  • Custom colours and shades
  • Transparency
42
Q

What is a Style in KML?

A
  • Defines the look (colour etc.) of features once
  • Called later in the script to use without having to define with each use
  • Very customizable
43
Q

What is a shared style in KML?

A
  • A Style that is called more than once
44
Q

What can types of features can Styles be used for?

A
  • Geometry
  • Placemarks
  • Overlays
45
Q

How can Styles be defined?

A
  • Internally in the script and reference them later

- Externally on website or another mL that only stores styles

46
Q

How are Styles called in a script?

A
  • Internally with #uniqueID (identifying Style id defined with the Style tag earlier)
  • Externally with an to a web server or link to a style
47
Q

How are colors defined in KML?

A
  • Hexadecimal
  • Range is 0-255 (00 to ff)
  • aabbggrr
  • aa=alpha (00-ff)
  • bb=blue (00-ff)
  • gg=green (00-ff)
  • rr=red (00-ff)
  • Can also use common color names that Google recognizes
48
Q

How does 00 to ff define colors?

A
  • ff is fully transparent
  • 00 is fully opaque
    ex. 00 is fully blue, ff is no blue
49
Q

What color is ff000000?

A

Black

50
Q

What color is ffffffff?

A

White

51
Q

What is a Balloon?

A
  • A pop-up box containing info for a feature in KML
  • Contains descriptions, rich text, videos, photos, etc.
  • Can change look with Styles (colors, templates, etc.)
52
Q

What are 2 tags that can be used to define a BalloonStyle?

A
  • bgColor for background color

- textColor for font color

53
Q

What does the LookAt tag do?

A
  • Defines how a placemark will be viewed from a distance

- Within the Placemark tag

54
Q

What tags are used in a LookAt?

A
  • Longitude
  • Latitude
  • Altitude (above ground)
  • Heading (azimuth relative to N, 0 to 180, or 0 to -180)
  • Tilt, angle (0 for birds eye, 90 for ground level)
  • Range, how far away from the long/lat

GIS Applications Geog 329 (7 decks)

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