One of the most practical elements with QGis is the possibility to work
with, as a base map, the images from Google Earth, Bing, etc. Just install the
plug-in and you’re done.
For ArcGis users this does not seem possible … just at first glance.
The benefits of directly loading Google Earth satellite images, or maps, into
ArcGIS, and being able to work with your own data from above, do not have to be
enumerated.
So, how does it work?
At usage level, it will be as simple as in QGis. On the other hand at
installation level it is a little more complicated, but accessible to everyone.
Let’s follow together the different steps.
The first step is to download ArcBruTile
ArcBruTile is a toolbar developed as part of the Codeplex project
Here we offer two available downloads:
Download ArcBruTile – Basemaps in ArcGIS Desktop 0.2.2 This version is not the
last but it allows to work with Google and Bing.
Download ArcBruTile –
Basemaps in ArcGIS Desktop 0.4 This is the latest version. But it no longer takes
into account Google Maps. But it does work with Bing, OpenStreetMap, Stamen,
MapQuest, CloudMade, and MapBox.
It’s up to you to decide which
one you prefer.
We will continue this article assuming you have chosen the first option
because it is the most complicated to set up. If you download the second one,
the ArcBruTile toolbar is automatically added to ArcMap.
In the case of version 0.2, it must be done manually.
Once the download is finished, unzip the file and
run setup.exe.
If you have left the installation options by default, the toolbar files
are in the C: \ Program Files (x86) \ CodePlex directory
You must register the ArcBruTile.dll dll in
ArcGis in order to use it. If you’re not familiar with this procedure, here’s
how.
In the Windows file manager:
Right-click ArcBruTile.dll to open the context menu
You select “Open with“
In the window that opens you click on the button “Browse“
You must find and select the ESRIRegAsm.exe application to open the
ArcBruTile.dll file. This application is found in the ” Common
files From ArcGis. In principle C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Common Files
\ ArcGIS \ bin, but it depends on your operating system .
Click OK and accept the program execution and registration.
Now by opening ArcMap you can display the ArcBruTile toolbar by going to
Customize menu -> Toolbars -> ArcBruTile
If you selected version 0.4
Launch the setup.exe program. It is in charge of
saving the toolbar in ArcMap. You can, once finished the installation,
launch ArcMap
Customize menu -> Toolbars -> ArcBruTile
You will have the version 0.4 toolbar
Using the toolbar
First tip: Always load data before requesting images or maps. This
provides a logical footprint for loading images and maps.
Second tip: Even if it works, or it should work, when working in projected
coordinate systems, if you see offsets or display problems, switch the WGS84
geographic data block coordinate system.
If not, it’s simple, in the ArcBuTile toolbar,
select the layer you want to display, this is added at the top of the legend
window.
