Why is terrain greyed out in google maps

Path - Click this to add a path line or lines. Image Overlay - Click this to add an image overlay on the Earth. Measure - Click this to measure a distance or area size.

Email - Click this to email a view or image. Print - Click this to print the current view of the Earth. Sky - Click this to view stars, constellations, galaxies, planets and the Earth's moon. Navigation controls - Use these to tilt, zoom and move around your viewpoint see below.

Layers panel - Use this to display points of interest. Places panel - Use this to locate, save, organize and revisit placemarks. Status bar - View coordinate, elevation and imagery streaming status here. Try any of the the following: View an image of your home, school or any place on Earth - Click Fly To.

Enter the location in the input box and click the Search button. In the search results Places panel , double click the location. Google Earth flies you to this location. Search button Go on a tour of the world - In the Places panel, check the Sightseeing folder and click the Play Tour button: Get driving directions from one place to another and fly follow the route - See Getting Directions and Touring the Route. View other cool locations and features created by other Google Earth users - In the Layers panel, check Community Showcase.

Interesting placemarks and other features appear in the 3D viewer. Double click these points of interest to view and explore. View 3D terrain of a place - This is more fun with hilly or mountainous terrain, such as the Grand Canyon.

Go to a location see number 1 above. When the view shows the location, use the tilt slider to tilt the terrain. Tilt slider View samples of other things you can see and do in Google Earth. New Features in Version 4. The recommended configuration for Linux computers: Kernel 2. Changing Languages You can change the language displayed in Google Earth. Click the General tab. Under Language settings, choose the appropriate language of your choice. System Default corresponds to the language used by the operating system of your computer.

Google Earth Version 4. These include: Tutorials : These provide hands-on lessons using the Google Earth. Troubleshooting : View information that specifically pertains to troubleshooting issues with Google Earth. Using Google Earth : This blog describes how you can use some of the interesting features of Google Earth.

Settings in this dialog box include: Server : Choose or enter the address for the appropriate server. For more information, contact your administrator. Port : The appropriate port for this server. Always login to this server : Check this to automatically login in this server when you start Google Earth.

Subsequently, this dialog box does not appear. Enable secure login : Check this if your work environment requires a secure login to this server. You can navigate through this 3D view of the globe in several ways: Using a mouse Using the navigation controls You can also manipulate your view of the earth by tilting the terrain for perspectives other than a top-down view.

Using a Mouse To get started navigating with your mouse, simply position the cursor in the middle of the 3D viewer image of the earth , click one of the buttons right or left , move the mouse and note what happens in the viewer.

Notice that the cursor icon changes from an open hand to a closed hand. Pull the viewer as if the hand cursor is like a hand on an actual globe, and you want to drag a new part of the earth into view.

You can drag in any direction to reveal new parts of the globe, and you can even drag in circular motions. Then, briefly move the mouse and release the button, as if you are "throwing" the scene. Click once in the 3D viewer to stop motion. Zoom in There are a number of ways to zoom in with the mouse.

You can double-click anywhere in the 3D viewer to zoom in to that point. Single-click to stop, or double-click to zoom in more. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, use it to zoom in by scrolling towards you. More settings. Once the cursor changes to a double arrow, move the mouse backward or pull toward you, releasing the button when you reach the desired elevation. If you want to zoom continuously in, hold the button down and briefly pull the mouse down and release the button, as if you are "throwing" the scene.

Click once in the viewer to stop the motion. On some Macintosh laptops, you can drag two fingers across the trackpad to zoom in and out. Zoom out There are a number of ways to zoom out with the mouse. If you want to PM me, I can give you more details about how to look at the call to maps. Any more ideas? Did you get a recent software update that might have included a graphics card update? What version of IE are you running?

Anyway to add a nice button to do this somewhere like the Preferences dialog? Most of these images are between one and three years old, according to Google.

It doesn't arrive in "real time" from satellites above your requested location. Instead, the images are collected over time from different satellites, as well as some aerial plane photography and other existing sources of map imagery. These images are then stored according to map coordinates in a vast database.

Google retrieves mapping data as a series of tiles, each corresponding to a particular coordinate. It then lays these digital tiles together to create the appearance of a seamless map. If you use Google maps on a mobile device or on a weak Internet connection, it may take some time for these tiles to load. As you wait the loading areas look grey or pixelated until they render completely.

This particularly applies to the Google Maps terrain view. Some areas of the world simply aren't accessible to Google Maps. For example, a search on Google Maps for the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang, returns only satellite images.