Controlling First View of your project

Good Practice Point: When producing a Google Earth project for the public it is important to decide what data is showing when the user first opens the file. For example, you can prepare a view of the places column where some sort of 'read me' placemark introduces your work with an overview map visible. All other data is hidden which this helps to avoid overwhelming the user with too much information when they open your project.

HowTo: To do this select which files you want visible by ticking/unticking them and choose whether to open or close folders by expanding them (the '+' or '-' icon to the left of the tick box). If you arrange the elements in one parent folder you can right click > 'save as' the current file structure is recorded so it reopens in exactly the same way on a user's machine.



Possible Bug?: There seems to be a bug in GE 4.3.7284 which means that you must remember not to save the parent folder ('El Nino Animation' in the image) but save the actual .kmz file ('Pacific Animation.kmz' in the image) entry in the Places column. If you save the former it defaults all folders to be closed.

I talk more about introductions here