Wireless Network Engineering Software

Export to Google Earth Add-in

User Manual

Version 5.4

AD002
Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4 User Manual
Release: AD002 (September 2023)
© Copyright 1997-2023 Forsk. All Rights Reserved.
Published by:
Forsk
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Tel: +33 562 747 210
www.forsk.com
The software described in this document is provided under a license agreement. The software may only be used or copied under the
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Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4
User Manual

1 Export to Google Earth Add-in

The Export to Google Earth add-in can export the following elements from Atoll to KMZ files that can be viewed in
Google Earth Pro:
◼ Sites
◼ Transmitters
◼ Microwave and other links
◼ Coverage prediction plots
◼ 3D building vectors
You must have Google Earth Pro for desktop computers installed to view elements exported from Atoll to KMZ files
by the add-in. For information on downloading Google Earth Pro, see the following web site:
https://www.google.com/intl/fr/earth/versions/

q The export of in-building predictions and building vectors is only supported with the
Atoll In-Building module in Atoll 3.4.2 and later.

2 Installing the Export to Google Earth Add-in

The Export to Google Earth add-in is included in the Atoll installer and can be installed at the same time as Atoll. If
necessary, you can download and install the add-in separately after installing Atoll.
You can install the Export to Google Earth Add-in by using the setup program.

To install the Add-in:

1. Run the Export to Google Earth Add-in setup program. The setup wizard appears.
2. Click Next. The Select Destination Location page appears.
3. Select an installation folder for the application. It is not necessary to install the application in the Atoll
installation folder.
4. Click Next. The Ready to Install page appears.
5. Click Install to start the installation. The Installing page appears showing the installation progress.
6. Once the installation is complete, click Finish to exit the setup.

Once the add-in is installed, the Export to Google Earth ( ) add-in command is available in the Addins toolbar.
You can deactivate the add-in in the Add-ins and Macros dialog box. For example, if you clear the Export to Google
Earth check box in this dialog box, the Export to Google Earth ( ) add-in command will no longer be available in
the Add-ins toolbar.
To uninstall the add-in, open Uninstall a program from the Windows Control Panel, locate the Export to Google Earth
Add-in tool and click Uninstall.

3 Configuring the Export to Google Earth Add-in Tool

An initialisation file is used to configure the Export to Google Earth Add-in.
By default, the tool uses the file named "ExportToGoogleEarth.ini" that is placed in the installation directory of the
Export to Google Earth Add-in tool. You can specify another initialization file as a command line parameter to use a
different set of settings.

3 © 2023 Forsk. All Rights Reserved.

 Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4
AD002 User Manual

The [Options] section contains the following options:

Option Description

Verbose = 0 | 1 Verbose mode. Default is 0.

OpenDocument = 0 | 1 Automatically open the KMZ file after export. Default is 1.

DefaultStorage = <output location Default name and storage location for the file created by the add-in. If Default-
and file> Storage is not specified, the add-in uses the following default KMZ file and
location:
"%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Forsk\Atoll\Atoll.kmz"

PylonHeight = <height> Default pylon height in case of PYLON_HEIGHT is not defined in the Sites
table when using microwave. Default is 50.
PylonGeometry = 0 | 1 | 2 Display no towers (0), simple towers (1), or detailed towers (2). Default is 2.

TransmitterSize = <value> Radius (in metres) of the polygon that represents transmitters in Google
Earth. Default is 50.
TransmitterIncrement = <value> This option defines the increment angle in degrees between sectors when
drawing transmitters. Default is 5 degrees.

SmallCellPower = <value> Cell power threshold in dBm below which a cell is considered a small cell and
its transmitter polygon is drawn using half the radius defined in Transmit-
terSize. Default is 30.

EllipsoidNumber = <value> Number of Fresnel ellipsoids to be drawn for microwave links in Google Earth.
Default is 4.

DetailLevel = <value> The minimum level of detail (in square pixels). Only coverage plots larger
than the defined level of detail on the screen will be visible. Default is 0.
MaximumWidth = <value> Width and height (numbers of pixels) of Max Texture Size supported by
MaximumHeight = <value> Google Earth Pro (see About box in Google Earth Pro). Default for both set-
tings is 4096.
AccuracyLevel = 0 | 1 | 2 Determines the level of accuracy for exporting coverage predictions:
◼ 0 (default): Intermediate pixels are extrapolated.
◼ 1: Tiling method that increases precision.
◼ 2: GDAL method with pixel by pixel rasterisation.

TileNumber = <value> The maximum number of tiles that can be generated, in direct proportion to
the size of the covered area and the size of the tiles (TileWidth, TileHeight).
Default is 1024.
TileWidth = <value> Width and height (numbers of pixels) of the tile used for the accurate cov-
TileHeight = <value> erage plot export. Default for both settings is 1024.

OverlapLayers = 0 | 1 Whether polygons corresponding to different signal levels are allowed to

overlap or not. Default is 0.

OpacityGroundOverlay = [0 - 255] The level of transparency (0 to 255) of the of the coverage overlay at ground
level. Default is 127.
OpacityStoreyOverlay = [0 - 255] The level of transparency (0 to 255) of the of the coverage overlay at storey
level when using the multi-storey add-in. Default is 255.

FilteringPercentage = [0 - 100] The level of filtering (0 to 100) applied by filling empty and orphan pixels with
a value averaged from the surrounding pixels. Default is 0.

SmoothingPercentage = [0 - 100] The level of smoothing (0 to 100) applied to the exported vectors. Default is 0.

HeightField = <field> Specifies the field that is used to determine the height field. Default is AGL.

ClampToGroundHeight = <height> Sets the clamp-to-ground height, in particular for Multi-storey coverage pre-
dictions.
Predictions for which the receiver height is higher than this value are exported
at the receiver height. Predictions for receivers that are lower are clamped
to the ground level. Default is 1.5 m.

RemoteConfigurationFile = <path to This option allows you to use an optional .ini file from a different location. For
.ini file> example, this could be a single file on the network that can be accessed by
multiple users. Both the local and the remote .ini file are parsed by the add-
in. If an option is present in both files, then the option from the remote INI file
override is applied.

© 2023 Forsk. All Rights Reserved. 4

Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4
User Manual

4 Using the Add-in

Once the add-in is installed, the Export to Google Earth ( ) add-in command is available in Atoll. The following
figures show examples of the export using the add-in:

Figure 1: Sites, transmitters, and a signal level coverage prediction

Figure 2: Transmitter properties

5 © 2023 Forsk. All Rights Reserved.

 Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4
AD002 User Manual

Figure 3: Multi-storey coverage predictions and 3D building vectors

Figure 4: A microwave link with its Fresnel ellipsoid

© 2023 Forsk. All Rights Reserved. 6

Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4
User Manual

To run the Export to Google Earth add-in:

1. Click Export to Google Earth ( ) in the Addins toolbar. The Export to Google Earth dialog box appears.

Figure 5: Export to Google Earth add-in dialog box for a 3GPP multi-RAT document

2. Select the network elements to export to Google Earth:

◼ Sites: Select this check box to export site locations and heights to Google Earth.
You can choose to export the site altitudes as Absolute values or Relative to the Ground. Select or clear
the Display Label check box to show or hide site labels in Google Earth.

q In Google Earth Pro, you must activate the Terrain layer in order for the exported
height information to be correctly rendered.
The selected site altitude export option, Absolute values or Relative to the Ground,
is also applied to the altitudes of exported transmitters.

You can export other site properties to Google Earth as well. For more information, see step 3.
◼ Transmitters: Select this check box to export the transmitter heights, azimuths, antenna beamwidths,
mechanical tilts, and activity statuses to Google Earth. In 3GPP and 3GPP2 multi-RAT documents, you can
select the transmitters of each technology and their properties separately.
You can export other transmitter properties to Google Earth as well. For more information, see step 3.

q For Sites and Transmitters, the visibility check box used in Atoll is taken into
account. Sites and Transmitters that are displayed on the Atoll map, are exported
by the add-in to Google Earth Pro.

◼ Microwave Links: Select this check box to export the microwave link heights and activity statuses to
Google Earth.
Select the Generate Fresnel Ellipsoid check box if you want the add-in to generate and export Fresnel
ellipsoids to Google Earth for the exported microwave links.
You can export other microwave link properties to Google Earth as well. For more information, see step 3.
◼ Other Links: Select this check box to export other transmission links (fibre optic, leased lines, cables, etc.)
to Google Earth.
You can export other link properties to Google Earth as well. For more information, see step 3.

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 Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4
AD002 User Manual

3. To specify the properties you want to export to Google Earth:

a. Click the Browse button next to the relevant Properties field. The Selection of fields dialog box appears.

Figure 6: Selection of Fields to Export to Google Earth

b. Under Available fields, select a field you want to export and click to move it to the Selected fields list.

To remove a field from the Selected fields list, select the field and click .

To change the order of the fields under Selected fields, select one or more fields and click or to move
the field or the group of fields up or down in the list. The exported properties will be ordered in the same
way.
c. Click OK.
4. Under Coverage Plots, select the coverage predictions to export to Google Earth. The list contains all the
coverage predictions available in the Predictions folder.
Coverage predictions can be exported in raster and vector formats. By default, ground-level coverage
predictions are exported in raster format and multi-storey coverage predictions in vector format. Multi-storey
predictions are predictions calculated at receiver heights other than the receiver height defined in network
settings. Multi-storey predictions calculated using the Multi-Storey Prediction add-in also contain receiver
height information in their names, for example, "(7.50 m)". Multi-storey coverage predictions are exported to
Google Earth at the receiver heights defined in their properties, or otherwise in their names. Other predictions
are considered ground-level coverage predictions and are exported at ground level.

q The export of in-building predictions is only supported with the Atoll In-Building
module in Atoll 3.4.2 and later.

The vector export format creates high precision overlays in Google Earth compared to the raster format.
However, exporting coverage predictions in the vector format may take longer compared to the raster format.
To change the export format of a coverage prediction or all the coverage predictions within a folder:
a. Right-click the coverage prediction or folder. A context menu appears.

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Export to Google Earth Add-in 5.4
User Manual

b. Select Vector Format or Raster Format in the context menu.

† If you are exporting multi-storey coverage predictions in raster format, you must
hide the Terrain layer.
If you encounter display anomalies in Google Earth, due to raster layers at altitudes
above the ground, you can fix this issue by using a lower screen resolution. For
example, if you encounter this issue on a full HD (1920x1080) screen, you can
temporarily switch to another resolutio, for example, 1280x1024.

† If you are exporting multi-storey coverage predictions in vector format, you must
calculate these predictions according to the following recommendations:
◼ It is strongly recommended that you calculate multi-storey coverage
predictions using eight to ten display thresholds. A higher number of display
thresholds will only make the export process longer and display in Google
Earth Pro slower without necessarily improving the visible accuracy.
◼ It is recommended to calculate multi-storey coverage predictions using a
resolution greater than or equal to 5 metres. A better resolution will only make
the export process longer and display in Google Earth slower without
necessarily improving the visible accuracy.
◼ It is strongly recommended that you calculate multi-storey coverage
predictions with an average storey height greater than 6 metres. If the actual
average storey height is around 3 metres, this value corresponds to
calculating one prediction on every other building floor.

5. Under Buildings, select the 3D building vector items to export to Google Earth. The list contains all the polygon
vector items available in the Geo Explorer whose properties contain a numerical field called "AGL" (above
ground level) containing the polygon height in metres.

q The export of in-building vectors is only supported with the Atoll In-Building module
in Atoll 3.4.2 and later.

6. Under Export zone, select an existing zone in the drop-down list. Only the network elements, coverage
predictions, and building vectors within this zone will be exported to Google Earth. If there is no existing zone,
all the items will be exported to Google Earth which may take a long time depending on the number of
elements and the size of the geographic area covered by the Atoll document.
7. Under Save as, enter the name and location of the KMZ file to be created by the add-in.

q 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.

8. Click OK. The selected items are exported to a KMZ file.

The Export to Google Earth Add-in automatically launches Google Earth if installed and focuses on the location of
the exported items. The selected properties are also exported into Google Earth and can be displayed in tip text in
Google Earth by clicking the item in the Places window or by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and clicking the item
on the map.

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AD002 www.forsk.com September 2023