Measuring distance

Use the Distance Tool to measure the distance between two or more points in one or more images or maps.

If you want Distance Tool measurements to reflect changes in the contour of the Earth’s surface, click Preferences > Advanced tab and select Walk the Earth before using the Distance Tool. This results in more accurate measurements of the land’s surface.

To measure distance:

1. Click the Distance Tool .
2. Press and hold the left mouse button on the starting point.

NOTE: To insert a vertex (corner), press and release the V key. To drag a freeform line, hold down the ALT key and drag the mouse pointer along the path you want to measure. (You will be able to drag the mouse in any direction.)

3. Drag the mouse to the ending point and release the mouse button. A line appears on the image as you drag.

The measurement appears on the Status Bar and in the Image window.

To measure across images:

1. Click the Distance Tool .
2. Click the starting point—the point you want to measure from. The distance appears as zero on the Status Bar.
3. Navigate to the location of the ending point. This can be in the same image or in any other image to which you have access. (You can pan the Navigation window or you can search for a street address by using a geocoder search engine.)
4. Hold down the P key.

3. Click the ending point and release the P key.

The measurement appears on the Status Bar and in the Image window.