Google Earth





Application Level Control

The following keystrokes control the Google Earth application:

 

 Command Windows/Linux
Keystroke(s)
Mac
Keystroke(s)
Result
  File Menu Alt + F (English/Japanese)
Alt + F (French)
Alt + F (Italian)
Alt + D (German)
Alt + A (Spanish)
(none) Opens the File menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
  Edit Menu Alt + E (English/Japanese)
Alt + M (French)
Alt + M (Italian)
Alt + B (German)
Alt + E (Spanish)
(none) Opens the Edit menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
  View Menu Alt + V (English/Japanese)
Alt + C (French)
Alt + V (Italian)
Alt + A (German)
Alt + V (Spanish)
(none) Opens the View menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
  Add Menu Alt + A (English/Japanese)
Alt + J (French)
Alt + A (Italian)
Alt + Z (German)
Alt + D (Spanish)
(none) Opens the Add menu. Use the down and up arrows to select items once this menu is open.
  Tool Menu Alt + T (English/Japanese)
Alt + O (French)
Alt + F (Italian)
Alt + T (German)
Alt + H (Spanish)
(none) Opens the Tool menu. Use the down and up arrows to select items once this menu is open.
  Help Menu Alt + H (English/Japanese)
Alt + A (French)
Alt + G (Italian)
Alt + H (German)
Alt + Y (Spanish)
(none) Opens the Help menu. You can use the down and up arrows to select items once the menu is open.
  Open File Ctrl + O + O Produces the file open dialog box, allowing you to open all supported Google Earth file types.
  Save Image Ctrl + Alt + S + Option + S Saves the current view as an image to your computer.
  View in Google Maps Ctrl + Alt + M + Option + M Displays the current view in Google Maps.
  Print Ctrl + P + P Produces the print dialog box, allowing you to print the current view, placemark, folder contents or search results.
  Email View Ctrl + Alt + E + Option + E E-mails the current view either as a placemark or image file.
  Copy Ctrl + C + C Copies the current selection in the Places listing.
  Cut Ctrl + X + X Cuts a placemark or other item from the listing in the Places panel. Cuts an icon from the 3D viewer. Both icon or listing item must first be selected. You can use this feature to organize your places data.
  Paste Ctrl + V + V Pastes a placemark or other item into the selected folder in the Places panel. You can use this feature to organize your places data.
  Find Ctrl + F + F Opens a Find field in the Places panel. Use this to find places that exist in the Places panel. Note that this is different than search for places on the earth.
  Delete Del Delete Deletes an item selected in the Places panel.
  Rename Ctrl + Alt + R + Option + R Enters edit mode for a selected item in the Places panel, so you can change the name without bringing up the Edit Placemark dialog box.
  Zoom to selected placemark/item Enter Enter Zooms into a selected folder, placemark, or other item in the Places panel.
  Full screen mode F11 (not supported) Toggles between full screen and window view for the Google Earth application.
  Show/Hide sidebar Ctrl + Alt + B + Option + B Displays or closes sidebar
  Lat/Lon grid Ctrl + L + L Produces a latitude and longitude grid over the surface of the earth in the 3D viewer.
  Play Tour Ctrl + Alt + P + Option + P Plays the tour mode for all selected items in the Places panel.
  New placemark Ctrl + Shift + P + Shift + P Adds a new placemark to the current view.
  New folder Ctrl + Shift + N + Shift + N Produces the New Folder dialog box.
  New image overlay Ctrl + Shift + O + Shift + O Produces the New Image Overlay dialog box.
  New model Ctrl + Shift + M + Shift + M Produces the New Model dialog box
  New path Ctrl + Shift + T + Shift + T Produces the New Path dialog box.
  New polygon Ctrl + Shift + G + Shift + G Produces the New Polygon dialog box.
  Change navigation mode to Trackball Ctrl + T + T Switches navigation in the 3D viewer to Trackball mode. This can also be done by selecting the Trackball option from Tools > Options > Navigation (Google Earth > Preferences > Navigation on the Mac).

3D Viewer Navigation

The following keystrokes control navigation in the 3D viewer. For more information about navigating in the 3D viewer, see Using the Navigation Controls.

Note - The focus must be in the 3D viewer in order for these controls to take effect. Simply click anywhere in the 3D viewer to change focus.

 

 
Command Windows/Linux
Keystroke(s)
Mac
Keystroke(s)
Result
Move left Left arrow Left arrow Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Move right Right arrow Right arrow Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Move up Up arrow Up arrow Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Move down Down arrow Down arrow Moves the viewer in the direction of the arrow.
Rotate clockwise Shift + left arrow Shift + left arrow Rotates the view clockwise. The earth spins counter-clockwise.
Rotate counter-clockwise Shift + right arrow Shift + right arrow Rotates the view counter-clockwise.
Show/hide Overview window Ctrl + M + M Displays or closes overview window.
Tilt up Shift + left mouse button + drag down, Shift + down arrow Shift + down arrow Tilts the viewer toward "horizon" view.
Tilt down Shift + left mouse button + drag up, Shift + up arrow Shift + up arrow Tilts the viewer toward "top-down" view.
Look Ctrl + left mouse button + drag + mouse button + drag Perspective points in another direction, as if you are turning your head up, down, left or right.
Zoom in Scroll wheel, + key, PgUp key Scroll wheel, + key Zooms the viewer in. Tip: to use the Page Up key, make sure Num Lock on your keyboard is off.
Zoom out Scroll wheel, - key (both keyboard and numpad), PgDn key Scroll wheel, - key (both keyboard and numpad) Zooms the viewer out. Tip: to use the Page Down key, make sure Num Lock on your keyboard is off.
Zoom + automatic tilt Right mouse button + drag up or down Ctrl + click + drag up or down Zooms the viewer in and automatically tilts your view as you approach ground level.
Stop current motion Spacebar Spacebar When the viewer is in motion, stops movement
Reset view to "north - up" n n Rotates view so that view is north-up.
Reset tilt to "top-down" view u u Resets angle to view scene in "top-down" or "up" mode.
Reset tilt and compass view to default r r Resets angle to view "top-down" and rotates to "north-up" view. Use this feature to orient the earth in the center of the viewer.

 

Tip - Use the ALT key in combination with most of these keystrokes to move more slowly in the indicated direction.

Tour Mode Controls

When using touring mode with Google Earth, you can use the following keystrokes to control touring behavior.

 

 Command Windows/Linux
Keystroke(s)
Mac
Keystroke(s)
Result
  Start, Play, Pause Ctrl + Alt + P + Option + P Plays the tour or restarts tour after pausing. The 3D viewer must be in focus in order for this key to work. (Click in the 3D viewer to set focus if you are unsure.)

Side Panel Controls

When the window focus is on either the Places panel or the Layers panel, use the following keystrokes to control behavior.

 

 Command Windows/Linux
Keystroke(s)
Mac
Keystroke(s)
Result
  Select Spacebar Spacebar Toggles the check mark of the highlighted item on or off, showing or hiding display of the item in the 3D viewer.
  Next Down arrow Down arrow Selects the next item in the list (either folder or placemark).
  Previous Up arrow Up arrow Selects the previous item in the list (either folder or placemark).
  Open Folder Right arrow Right arrow If the item selected is a folder, opens the folder to display contents.
  Close Folder Left arrow Left arrow If the item selected is a folder, closes it to hide contents from the list view.
  Delete Delete Key Delete Key Works only for items in Places panel. Deletes item after confirmation dialog box is accepted.
  Change overlay opacity Scroll wheel Scroll wheel After you click the slider, this changes the transparency for an overlay selected in the Places panel when the mouse pointer is positioned on the overlay opacity slider. Scroll DOWN to make the overlay image more opaque, scroll UP to make the overlay more transparent.


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