Create & manage placemarks

Find your favorite locations around the globe and save them as placemarks.

Mark map locations with placemarks

On your computer, open Google Earth.
Navigate to the place you want to save.
Above the map, click Add Placemark .
In the new window, next to "Name," enter a placemark name.
To choose a different placemark icon, to the right of the "Name" field, click the button.
To save the current view, click View Snapshot current view OK.

Change a placemark

You can move them, add details, and change icons.

Move a placemark

Drag or edit the placemark

Open Google Earth.
In the left panel under "My Places," right-click the placemark you want to move.
- Windows: Click Properties. A yellow, blinking placemark box will appear.
- Mac: In the top menu, click Edit Get Info or press ⌘ + i. A placemark box will appear.
Drag the placemark to a new location.
- Optional: In the Edit Placemark dialog, you can edit other placemark info like description, style, and color.
Click OK.

Use coordinates

If you know the latitude and longitude you want to move the placemark to, you can use the coordinates.

Open Google Earth.
In the left panel under "My Places," right-click the placemark you want to move.
Click Properties (Windows, Linux) or Get info (Mac).
Enter coordinates.

The placemark will move to the coordinates you entered.

How to enter latitude & longitude

You can use these different notations:

Decimal Degrees (DDD): Set in the "degree" coordinate.
Example: 49.11675953666N
Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds (DMS): Decimal precision is set in the "seconds" coordinate.
Example: 49 7'20.06"N
Degrees, Minutes with Decimal Seconds (DMM): Decimal precision is set in the "minutes" coordinate. Example: 49 7.0055722"N. (Here, 20.06 seconds above is divided by 3600 to get the decimal minute value for 20.06 seconds.)

Separate coordinates with a space:

DMS example: 37 24 23.3
DMM example: 49 7.0055722

Use a single quote for minutes and a double quote for seconds:

Example: 49 7'20.06"

Direction notation (North/South, East/West):

Use N, S, E, or W to indicate direction.

Example: N 37 24 23.3 or 37 24 23.3 N

Use the minus sign (-) for western or southern positions: When you use this, do not specify a letter.

Example: 37 25 19.07, -122 05 08.40
Note: Don’t use a plus sign (+) for northerly/easterly directions.

Latitude first, longitude second: Unless you use a direction notation (N, S, E, or W), enter latitude before longitude.

Example: 122 05 08.40 W 37 25 19.07 N or 37 25 19.07, 122 05 08.40

Separate pairs with a space, a comma, or slash:

37.7 N 122.2 W
37.7 N,122.2 W
37.7 N/122.2 W

Change the 3D view of a placemark

You can change the angle or direction of the view over the placemark. To create a consistent viewing angle of all placemarks in that folder, change the 3D view for that folder.

Open Google Earth.
Reposition the 3D viewer to the angle you want.
In the left panel under "My Places," right-click the placemark or folder and click Snapshot View.

The current view is then set as the view for the selected placemark or folder.

Reset the view of a placemark

Open Google Earth.
In the left panel under "My Places," right-click the folder or icon and select Get info (Mac) or Properties (Windows).
Click View Reset.

The view updates to the default orientation for the selected item.

Change icons for places and folders

To organize folders, change the icon for placemarks and folders. You can’t assign an icon for a folder that holds different things, such as placemarks and overlays.

Open Google Earth.
In the left panel under "My Places," right-click the placemark you want to change. Then, click Properties (Windows, Linux) or Get Info (Mac).
To the right of the "Name" field, click the placemarks button.
Choose a new icon.

Use a custom icon

Open Google Earth.
Right-click the placemark you want to customize. Click Properties (Windows, Linux) or Get Info (Mac).
At the top right of the "Edit Placemark" or "Edit Folder" window, click the icon.
Choose Add Custom Icon.
In the field next to "Icon location," add an icon:
- Paste a file path or image’s Web URL.
- Click Browse to choose an image on your computer.

Make & delete folders

You can use folders to organize trips and other projects.

Create a folder

Open Google Earth.
In the left panel under "My Places," right-click.
Note: To add a sub-folder, right-click on an existing folder.
Select Add Folder. A "New Folder" window opens.
Add folder info that will apply to all placemarks and folders in that folder.

Organize placemarks & folders

Open Google Earth.
In the left panel under "My Places" you can drag a placemark or folder anywhere on the list, including into other folders.

If you move placemarks or sub-folders to a folder with custom settings, those settings will apply everything in that folder.

Delete a placemark or folder

Important: If you delete a folder, everything in it is also deleted, including sub-folders and icons.

Open Google Earth.
In the left panel under "My Places," choose a placemark or folder to delete.
Right-click the placemark or folder and click Delete.