SAS.Planet SAS.Planet is a free program for downloading and stitching together imagery from many sources on the internet including Google and Microsoft. Their website, SASGIS http://sasgis.org/, is in Russian but the program has the option to work in English. To download it click the button with the green arrow pointing down on the top right side of the page. This takes you to a page of different versions but after waiting 10 seconds the latest stable release download automatically starts. They also have an older archived site http://sasgis.ru/ but downloads do not work there anymore. For a rough translation of the webpages use Google Translate [link] and paste in the URLs. The information and instructions I’ve written below hopefully prevent you from needing to do this. Some data sources block you for a period of time if you download too much. For example, Google blocks you from downloading more than around 500 MB of satellite imagery at a time from Google Maps. If you pass this mark you typically can’t view new imagery for 24-48 hours in any application that uses the maps API on the desktop or web. Google Earth still works because it is separate from the Google Maps API. This is a problem for downloading imagery of an entire course when a zoom level of about 22 or greater is available. SAS.Planet caches imagery to help avoid hitting caps and avoid wasting bandwidth on something already downloaded. This cache is still visible while you are blocked from downloading new content. Bulk downloading breaks the terms of service for most companies but it is primarily concerned with downloading on a much larger scale then the size of a golf course. There is questionable legality but since the companies do not offer an official way to download imagery, paid or not, it is currently the nature of things. Do take this into consideration however and limit downloads to your needs. Below are instructions for downloading and saving imagery. This includes satellite imagery from Google Maps but not Google Earth. There are special instructions for accessing imagery only available through Google Earth. 1. Find the area you want to download imagery. To pan, click and drag with the left mouse button. To zoom use the mouse wheel or side bar button navigation. 2. Click on the Selected Basemap button on the toolbar. This is the button that says the name of the data source currently selected. The default is Satellite (Google maps). 3. Select a data source. There are many choices including satellite imagery, street maps, and topo maps. Many of the sources are for specific parts of the world. Some good sources to try for imagery in the US or globally include: • Google > Satellite (Google Maps) • Bing > Bing Maps – Satellite • Bing > Bing Maps - Bird’s Eye North • Yahoo! > Satellite (Yahoo!) • ESRI > ArcGIS.Imagery 4. Find the highest resolution zoom level available. a. Zoom in one level at a time, moving toward the same location on the course you zoomed into on Google Earth LOCAL, until the image disappears. b. Zoom back out one level and make a note of the zoom number. This is the maximum zoom level for that image. Usually it is in the usually in the 18-22 range. If the image does not disappear and only appears more pixelated you need to change the Use Maps from Lower Zooms setting. [link] 5. Create a selection box covering the area you want to download. a. Click on the Selection Manager button and choose Rectangular Selection. Selection Manager is second from left on the toolbar. b. Click one corner of the area you want to download. The mouse begins drawing a blue box to outline the download area. c. Click the opposite corner of the area you want to download. The area inside the blue box is what is downloaded if you proceed. The Selection Manager dialog box pops up. 6. On the Download Tab under the Map: choose the source you want to use from the drop down. 7. Under Zoom: choose the highest level zoom level you found earlier. 8. Check Try to re-download missing tiles. 9. Click Start. SAS.Planet shows a progress bar for downloading. 10. Click the Quit Button when it is finished downloading. Stitching Tiles 1. Create or use a previous section. To use the last selection again – a. Click on the arrow on the right side of the Selection Manager button and select Last Selection. To use a saved polygon as a section – a. Click on the Placemark manager button. b. Select the polygon for the course. c. Click the Selection Manager button. 2. Click on the Stitch tab. 3. Set the Output Format to what you want to save the image in. For Global Mapper – a. Save it as an ECW (Enhanced Compression Wavelet) file. This is an image format designed specifically for large satellite photos to improve compression with emended coordinates. For free mapping programs - a. Save it as a regular image file such as JPEG or PNG. b. Under Create georeferencing file check .kml file. This saves the coordinates of your image in a separate file. 4. To the right of Save To: click the … button and choose the location you want to save the download. 5. Verify the correct source and highest resolution Zoom level. 6. Set the Quality to 100% 7. Click Start. When it is finished the file is saved to the location you chose.