HOW TO USE THE GOOGLE EARTH® BASED DATA


This release incorporates data that can be seen as a Google Earth® interactive image overlay. The notes and instructions on this page were written while referring to Google Earth® version 7.1, later versions of Google Earth® may behave differently.


BACKGROUND

The Google Earth® file covers Queensland and contains 11,039 Statistical Area 1 (SA1) areas with information for each of these areas categorised into 4 themes;

• Land area and value
• Population and land development
• Land use
• Land cover

Getting the Google Earth® data onto your computer

1. Download and install the free Google Earth® software (minimum system requirements are shown on this page).
2. Download the Land account KMZ file from the "downloads tab" of this publication onto your computer (note: even though this is a KMZ file, it has a .ZIP extension)
3. Unzip the file using Winzip to your preferred location.
4. Start Google Earth® then choose Open from the File menu.
5. Make sure the file type is set to Google Earth
6. Find the Land account file (KMZ) on your computer and click open

The following will appear inside the Google Earth window:

Viewing Queensland data

Using your mouse or the navigation controls within Google Earth® you will be able to zoom in and out and navigate around Queensland. When you have identified an SA1 of interest, left click on the region and an information window containing data for that region will pop up.



This window presents data for more than 50 attributes in the selected SA1.

Features of the information window:

• Choose a theme by clicking on one of the tabs at the top of the information window.
• The scroll bar on the right hand side will allow you to navigate up and down through the data for the particular window.
• Hovering over the information symbol will provide more information about the data item.
• Each table has a source at the bottom.

Searching for a region

Each SA1 has a unique 11 digit hierarchical code. SA1 areas are not identified by "name", however you can search for a town or city that you are interested in by entering the name in the "Fly to" box.



If you know the SA1 code you are searching for another option is to click anywhere on the sidebar and press Ctrl-F, this will bring up a find box. Type in the number of the SA1 you are looking for and press enter.

Turning off image tilt

Some versions of Google Earth® tilt the ground as you zoom in. To turn the tilt off left click on the map screen ,close the pop up window then press 'R' on your keyboard.

Customise the boundaries

You can change the style such as colour, border width and fill colour of an individual SA1 region or all the SA1 regions in the whole of Queensland.

To change the properties for all SA1s right click on the Google Earth layer and select properties.

If you only want to change the properties of a single SA1 region, select that region in the left hand side bar or on the screen, right click and select properties.



Change the style properties and then select "OK".

Some SA1s are contained within larger SA1s (like a doughnut). Changing the fill colour of an SA1 will help you identify the SA1 of interest.