She opened Google Earth Pro (the free desktop version – a must-have for this task). She dragged the KMZ file into the “Places” panel.
Chapter 1: The Client’s Impossible Request how to export autocad drawing to google earth
Elena exported again. The bridge now sat perfectly at 45 feet elevation. But Google Earth was slow . Every time she moved the camera, the computer chugged. Why? She opened Google Earth Pro (the free desktop
Marco chuckled. “Because AutoCAD thinks 0,0 is somewhere in the ocean. You forgot to tell it where on Earth your drawing is located.” The bridge now sat perfectly at 45 feet elevation
“AutoCAD draws the lines. Google Earth gives them a home. But you – you have to be the translator.” Note for the reader: This method works best with AutoCAD Civil 3D , AutoCAD Map 3D , or AutoCAD 2024 and newer with the Geo-location tools. If you have plain AutoCAD LT, you cannot geo-reference natively – you would need to manually move the drawing in Google Earth or use a third-party tool like Global Mapper or QGIS to do the conversion.