USING WALLS: EXPORT TO GOOGLE EARTH

This is part three of a long-term series that will cover many features of the cave survey application, Walls Project Editor. To start at part one, click here.

1.-Intro.jpg

Introduction

This tutorial will focus on exporting a basic line survey to Google Earth. Any divers using GIS programs such as ArcGIS or QGIS can still follow these steps and simply adjust the shapefile settings to suit their application.

What do I need for the tutorial?

  • Walls Project Editor, available for free, here.

  • Google Earth Pro (the desktop version), available for free, here.

Walls Tutorial:
EXPORTING DIVE SURVEY TO GOOGLE EARTH

  • by Rory O’Keefe, February 7, 2021

Section 1: Preparing to export.

Part 1: Confirm your Geographical Reference settings.

The Geographical Reference settings must be configured correctly to export a shapefile in Walls.

  1. Select the main project book and then select Properties.

  2. Next, select the Geographical Reference tab.

    • The UTM/UPS Grid-Relative setting must be enabled.

    • The UTM Zone must also match the UTM Zone of all cave entrance locations within your project.

    • Go to Part 1: Entering Dive Survey and read Section 3, Part 2: The Geographical References tab for more information.

  3. Repeat the above steps to confirm that the specific book you are exporting is also configured correctly.

    • Note that if the cave entrance is more than 40 kilometers from the Geographical Reference location used for the main project, you should assign a new reference location to the book.

Part 2: Compile your project.

  1. Select the book you would like to export to Google Earth, then select Compile or Review.

    • Remember: Once a file has been compiled, the Compile button automatically switches to a Review button. You can also right-click a book and select Recompile Item.

    • You can export your entire project by compiling the main book at the very top of the project-tree.

  2. Confirm that the line survey looks correct and is fixed to a set of coordinates.

    • A fixed point is indicated by a square-shaped flag symbol on the compiled map.

    • Go to Part 1: Entering Dive Survey and read Section 6, Part 3: Header Directives for more information.

Section 2: Export the shapefile.

Part 1: The Segments tab.

  1. Working in the Review box of your compiled project, select the Segments tab.

  2. Next, select Details / Rpts... under the Branch Totals column. A new window showing the Adjusted Totals of your project will appear.

  3. In the Adjusted Totals window, select Shapefiles... to open the GIS Export box.

Part 2: Shapefile settings.

  1. Working in the GIS Export box, choose a Shapefile base name. To avoid problems when importing your shapefiles into GIS programs, the base name should adhere to the following:

    • Be 8 characters or less

    • Use only letters (no numbers or special characters)

    • No spaces.

    • In this case, I will name the file NOHOCH as it is enough for me to identify the cave.

  2. Select or create an Output Folder where you would like to save the files.

    • I recommend creating a shapefiles folder in the same directory that your Walls project files are being saved into.

  3. Under the Shape Types column, select Vectors to export a basic line survey.

    • Note that all of the available Shape Types will import into Google Earth.

  4. Select Lat/Long degrees.

    • Some GIS programs may require the PRJ file if UTM Meters is selected.

  5. Select Export to create the shapefiles.

 
 

Section 3: Google Earth Pro.

Part 1: Import the shapefile.

  1. Open Google Earth Pro (the desktop version)

  2. Go to File > Import...

  3. An Open window will appear. Go to File Types and select ESRI Shape (*.shp).

  4. Navigate to the folder used to save your shapefiles, and select the file. Then select Open.

    • If you have imported more than just the Vectors shape type, you can import all of the available files at once.

  5. A notification may appear which asks, “Do you want to apply a style template to the features you ingested?”. Select, No.

Part 2: View your survey.

  1. Your shapefile will be imported into the Temporary Places folder of Google Earth.

  2. Select the file to hide/unhide the line survey.

  3. Right-click the file and select Save To My Places.

Part 3: Change the line color or thickness.

  1. Right-click the file and select Properties.

  2. Select the Style, Color tab and then adjust the color / width to your preference.

  3. Select OK, then go to File > Save > Save My Places.

Finished!

Exporting your dive survey to Google Earth is a great way to view or share data between multiple team members and projects.