Atoll

RF Planning & Optimisation Software

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

v e r s i o n 2.0

ADD_GE2_E0

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

Contact Information
Forsk (Head Office) 7 rue des Briquetiers 31700 Blagnac France

www.forsk.com sales@forsk.com support@forsk.com +33 (0) 562 74 72 10 +33 (0) 562 74 72 25 +33 (0) 562 74 72 11 sales_us@forsk.com support_us@forsk.com +1 312 674 4846 +1 888 GoAtoll (+1 888 462 8655) +1 312 674 4847 www.forsk.com.cn enquiries@forsk.com.cn +86 20 8553 8938 +86 20 8553 8285 +86 10 6513 4559

Web Sales and pricing information Technical support General Technical support Fax Sales and pricing information Technical support General Technical support Fax Web Information and enquiries Telephone Fax (Guangzhou) Fax (Beijing)

Forsk (USA Office) 200 South Wacker Drive Suite 3100 Chicago, IL 60606 USA

Forsk (China Office) Suite 302, 3/F, West Tower, Jiadu Commercial Building, No.66 Jianzhong Road, Tianhe Hi-Tech Industrial Zone, Guangzhou, 510665, Peoples Republic of China

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual Release ADD_GE2_E0

Copyright 1997 - 2010 by Forsk

The software described in this document is provided under a license agreement. The software may only be used/copied under the terms and conditions of the license agreement. No part of this document may be copied, reproduced or distributed in any form without prior authorisation from Forsk. The product or brand names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective registering parties.

About the Export to Google Earth Add-in

This document describes the Export to Google Earth add-in developed by Forsk using the standard Atoll API. The add-in can export sites, transmitters, microwave links, their parameters, and coverage prediction plots to Google Earth. This document covers the installation process and working of the add-in.

Forsk 2010

ADD_GE2_E0

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

ADD_GE2_E0

Forsk 2010

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1
1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.2 1.3

Export to Google Earth Add-in ............................................................................................ 9

Installing the Export to Google Earth Add-in ............................................................................................ 9 Installing the Add-in............................................................................................................................ 9 Repairing the Already-Installed Add-in ............................................................................................... 9 Uninstalling the Add-in ..................................................................................................................... 10 Managing the Add-in in Atoll ............................................................................................................ 10 Using the Export to Google Earth Add-in ............................................................................................... 11 Advanced Configuration......................................................................................................................... 14

Forsk 2010

ADD_GE2_E0

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

ADD_GE2_E0

Forsk 2010

Chapter 1
Export to Google Earth Add-in
This document covers the installation process and working of the add-in.

RF Planning & Optimisation Software

Atoll

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

ADD_GE2_E0

Forsk 2010

Chapter 1: Export to Google Earth Add-in

Export to Google Earth Add-in

The Export to Google Earth add-in can export items such as sites, transmitters, microwave links, their properties, and coverage prediction plots from Atoll to Google Earth. The Export to Google Earth add-in is developed by Forsk using the standard Atoll API. It is available on demand and can be used with Atoll version 2.5.2 and later.

1.1
1.1.1

Installing the Export to Google Earth Add-in

Installing the Add-in
To install the add-in: 1. Double-click the setup icon to run the setup program. 2. Specify an installation folder for the add-in. It is not necessary to install the add-in in the Atoll installation directory. 3. Specify whether the installation should only be performed in the current user profile or for all users.

Figure 1.1: Add-in Setup Wizard 4. Click Next to start the installation.

Figure 1.2: Destination Folder Selection Dialogue

Figure 1.3: Installation Confirmation Dialogue 5. Click Close to exit the setup once the installation is complete.

Figure 1.4: Installation Progress

1.1.2

Repairing the Already-Installed Add-in

The setup program allows you to repair the already-installed add-in by re-installing it using the installation parameters that you defined when installing it the first time. To repair an installation: 1. Double-click the setup file icon to start the setup program. 2. Choose Repair Export to Google Earth add-in for Atoll. 3. Click Finish to repair the installation.

Forsk 2010

ADD_GE2_E0

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

Figure 1.5: Repair Installation Dialogue

1.1.3

Uninstalling the Add-in

To uninstall the Export to Google Earth add-in: 1. Double-click the setup file icon to start the setup program. 2. Choose Remove Export to Google Earth add-in for Atoll. 3. Click Finish to uninstall the add-in.

Figure 1.6: Uninstallation Dialogue

Figure 1.7: Uninstallation Progress

You can also uninstall the add-in through Windows Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.

1.1.4

Managing the Add-in in Atoll

Once installed, the add-in is available in the list of add-ins installed with Atoll. To manage the add-in in Atoll: 1. Select Tools > Add-ins and Macros from the menu bar. Te Add-ins and Macros dialogue appears. 2. The GoogleEarthAddin Class check box should be selected by default in the Add-ins and Macros dialogue. 3. Click Close to exit the dialogue. The Export to Google Earth add-in icon is available in the Add-in Toolbar.

You can deactivate add-ins in the Add-ins and Macros dialogue. For example, if you clear the GoogleEarthAddin Class check box in this dialogue, the Export to Google Earth add-in icon will no longer be available in the Add-in Toolbar.

Figure 1.8: Add-ins and Macros Dialogue in Atoll You can also verify the installation details of the add-in by clicking the Infos button in the Add-ins and Macros dialogue.

10

ADD_GE2_E0

Forsk 2010

Chapter 1: Export to Google Earth Add-in

1.2

Using the Export to Google Earth Add-in

Once the add-in is installed, the Export to Google Earth add-in icon Earth before using the Export to Google Earth add-in in Atoll. Note: The Terrain layer should be active in Google Earth. Otherwise, the height information exported by the Export to Google Earth add-in will not be correctly interpreted by Google Earth. will be available in Atoll. You have to install Google

To run the Export to Google Earth add-in: 1. Click the Export to Google Earth add-in icon appears (see Figure 1.9: on page 11). in the Add-in Toolbar. The Export to Google Earth dialogue

Figure 1.9: Export to Google Earth Add-in Dialogue 2. Select the items to export to Google Earth: Sites: Select this check box to export the site locations and heights to Google Earth. You can export other site properties to Google Earth as well. For more information, see step 3. You can choose to export the site altitudes as Absolute values or Relative to the Ground. Transmitters: Select this check box to export the transmitter heights, azimuths, antenna beamwidths, mechanical tilts, and activity statuses to Google Earth. You can export other transmitter properties to Google Earth as well. For more information, see step 3. Note: When you export site altitudes as relative to the ground, the altitudes of transmitters are also exported as relative to the ground and, therefore, depend on the topology of the map.

Microwave Links: Select this check box to export the microwave link heights and activity statuses to Google Earth. You can export other microwave link properties to Google Earth as well. For more information, see step 3. You can select the Fresnel Ellipsoid check box if you wish the add-in to generate and export Fresnel ellipsoids to Google Earth for the exported microwave links.

Coverage Plots: Select the coverage prediction plots to export to Google Earth. The list contains all the plots available in the Predictions folder for the current Atoll document.

3. Select site, transmitter, and microwave link properties to export to Google Earth: a. Click the Browse button ( ) next to the Properties box corresponding to Sites, Transmitters, or Microwave Links. The Selection of fields dialogue appears (see Figure 1.10: on page 12). b. Select the fields you want to export. To select a field to be exported, select the field in the Available fields list and click to the Selected fields list. To remove a field from the Selected fields list, select the field and click Selected fields list. to move it to remove it from the

To change the order of the fields, select one or more fields in the Selected fields list and click or to move it up or down in the list. The exported properties will be sorted in the order of the fields in the Selected

Forsk 2010

ADD_GE2_E0

11

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual fields list, from top to bottom.

Figure 1.10: Selection of Fields to Export to Google Earth c. Click OK to close the Selection of fields dialogue. 4. Next to Save as, specify a name and location for the Google Earth export data storage file created by the add-in. Note: KMZ files are compressed archives that include the KML file containing site, transmitter, and microwave link data, as well as the coverage prediction plots exported in PNG format. You can open KMZ files and access their contents in most compression/zip utilities.

5. Click OK. The selected items are exported to Google Earth. The Export to Google Earth add-in automatically runs Google Earth if installed and sets the focus on the location of the exported items. The selected properties are also exported to Google Earth and can be displayed in tool-tips inside Google Earth by clicking the desired item in the Places window, or by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and clicking the desired item on the map. The following figures show examples of the export using the add-in.

Figure 1.11: Sites, Transmitters, and a Signal Level Coverage Prediction Plot

12

ADD_GE2_E0

Forsk 2010

Chapter 1: Export to Google Earth Add-in

Figure 1.12: Site Properties

Figure 1.13: Microwave Link and Fresnel Ellipsoid

Forsk 2010

ADD_GE2_E0

13

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

1.3

Advanced Configuration
Some options may be configured through the GoogleEarth.ini file. This file must be located in the Export to Google Earth add-in installation folder. The following options are available in the [Options] section: Automatically launch Google Earth after exporting data OpenDocument = 0 or 1 (default value) Default name and storage location for the file created by the add-in DefaultStorage = "C:\TEMP\Atoll.kmz" (example) If you do not specify any name and location in the .ini file, files created by the add-in will be stored under the default name and location: "%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Google\GoogleEarth\Atoll.kmz". Do not draw tower graphical details representing sites in Google Earth SimplifyTower = 0 (default value) or 1 Radius (in metres) of the polygon that represents transmitters in Google Earth TransmitterSize = 50 (default value) Expansion value for Fresnel ellipsoids in Google Earth EllipsoidFactor = 1 (default value) Width and height of the maximum texture size supported by Google Earth (see About box in Google Earth) MaximumWidth = 2048 (default value) MaximumHeight = 2048 (default value) More accurate export of coverage plots (coverage prediction overlays in Google Earth might have some overlap) UseAccuracy = 0 (default value) or 1 Width and height of the tile used for the accurate coverage plot export TileWidth = 128 (default value) TileHeight = 128 (default value)

14

ADD_GE2_E0

Forsk 2010

Export to Google Earth Add-in User Manual

Forsk 2010

ADD_GE2_E0

15

Export to Google Earth Add-in

User Manual

version 2.0
ADD_GE2_E0 February 2010

Head Office
7, rue des Briquetiers 31700 Blagnac - France Tel: +33 562 747 210 Fax: +33 562 747 211

US Office
200 South Wacker Drive - Suite 3100 Chicago, IL 60606 - USA Tel: +1 312 674 4846 Fax: +1 312 674 4847

China Office
Suite 302, 3/F, West Tower, Jiadu Commercial Building, No. 66 Jianzhong Road, Tianhe Hi-Tech Industrial Zone, Guangzhou, 510665, P. R. of China Tel: +86 20 8553 8938 Fax: +86 20 8553 8285

www.forsk.com