Explore the UK with Google Street View

There are a couple of ways to access Google Street View. The first is to download and install the Google Earth desktop application from http://earth.google.co.uk. However, there’s a far quicker and simpler way to experience Street View by visiting the Google Maps website. So, launch a web browser, and then type http://maps.google.co.uk into the Address or Location bar at the top and hit Enter.

This is a Workshop about Street View rather than Google Maps but the two are intrinsically linked, so it is useful to memorise a couple of navigational tricks about the latter. First, the focus of the map area can be easily changed by simply left-clicking and dragging within the window. Alternatively, move it around using the cursor (arrow) keys on the keyboard. Similarly, zooming in and out can be achieved by clicking the ‘+’ or ‘-’ icons on the magnification slider to the left of the map, or using the corresponding keys on the keyboard.

Now on to Street View. The first thing to do is to focus the map view on a road or street that you want to view from eye level. Either use the controls described in Step 2 or type a road name or postcode into the white search box above the map and click the Search Maps button. We’ve typed in the postcode of the Computeractive office’s post room, clicked Search Maps and Google Maps has zoomed in and centred on the spot we want, in this case Broadwick Street in London, home of the Computeractive office.

Notice the little peg man just above the zoom slider control in the map pane? Assuming street-level photography is available for this location, he will be coloured orange. If no imagery is available (because Google’s camera cars have yet to drive around this area), then he will be coloured grey. However, as 95 per cent of UK streets have now been snapped by Google, it’s likely that he’ll be orange in most instances (as he is for the area around the Computeractive office). Hover the mouse pointer over the peg man and he’ll jump out.

Now left-click on the peg man and hold down the mouse button. As you do this, some or all the roads in the map pane will turn blue: this indicates streets where Street View photography exists. Keep the left mouse button held down and drag the peg man across to a street. The green shadow below him indicates where he’ll ‘stand’ when the mouse button is released. If you pause momentarily over any road a small preview window will pop up, showing a thumbnail image of the Street View photography. If it doesn’t look quite right, move the peg man. Otherwise, release the left mouse button to drop the peg man onto the street.

More or less immediately, the map view will be replaced by an eye-level image of the spot where the peg man was dropped in place. In this instance, he’s on Broadwick Street in London, but the imagery is of a pub opposite the Computeractive building. The reason for this is that our peg man is simply facing the wrong direction, as indicated by the green arrow in the shrunken map area that sits in the bottom-right corner of the Street View pane.

To change the peg man’s outlook just click and hold down the left mouse button in the Street View pane and drag the pointer around. The view can be shifted in any direction, much as you might move your head to look around. Release the mouse button to explore the new view. We’ve shifted direction to focus on our office building. It’s possible to zoom in for a closer look by clicking the ‘+’ icon, or the same key on the keyboard; and you can probably guess that ‘-’ zooms back out.

Once in Street View it is possible to ‘walk’ around an area. Hover the mouse pointer over the Street View pane and axis lines will appear over the roads, replete with labels naming the streets. Notice, too, the small arrows on these lines: click one to have Street View take a ‘step’ in that direction. If you’d like to enjoy a larger view, click the square full-screen icon at the top-right of the Street View pane.

There are a couple of other ways to move around. Rather than clicking the arrows on the axis lines described in Step 8, for example, try hovering the mouse pointer over a ‘distant’ point in the Street View pane (perspective comes into play here). If an oval appears under the mouse pointer, a double-click will immediately switch the view to this point. This is a more efficient way of navigating long roads. A similar technique can be employed to zoom in to building facades: just double-click when the shadow below the mouse pointer turns into a quadrilateral shape.

Alternatively, the peg man in the small map area can simply be picked up with the left mouse button and dragged and dropped to a new location. To make this easier, the map thumbnail can be enlarged by clicking the double-chevron at the top left (just click again to shrink the map). We’ve dropped our peg man just outside Buckingham Palace, so that we can better demonstrate a few more Street View features.

In some locations, Street View offers more than the eye-level photography captured by Google’s camera cars. Here, for example, hovering the mouse pointer over the Street View pane reveals a label over the Victoria Memorial that sits in front of Buckingham Palace. Clicking this will bring up more information about the sculpture.

In some areas, particularly tourist hotspots, it’s possible to view images submitted by users of Google’s photo-sharing site, Panoramio. To do this, hover the mouse pointer over the Street View pane and look for a Photos icon at the top right. Should it appear, clicking on this icon will open a strip of thumbnails showing user-submitted photos of the location. What’s the point? Well, individual snappers can get to places where Google’s cars are unable to reach, so you may find photos with preferable angles or lighting. The dots on the Street View pane and the shape of quadrilateral shadow under the mouse pointer will help you find new perspectives. Click the Photos icon again to return to Street View.

Found an interesting view that you’d like to share with a friend or place on your own website or blog? Click the Send link at the top right of the Street View pane and use the panel that pops up to forward a link as email directly from the site. For more freedom, click Link and then right-click on the link and choose Copy store it in the Windows Clipboard. The necessary code for embedding the Street View imagery in a website or blog can be copied in the same way.

Finally, for a bit of fun try exploring Street View in 3D mode; just tap 3 (or T) on the keyboard to toggle it on and off. You’ll need a pair of 3D glasses (the old-fashioned type, with red and blue filter lenses) and we’d advise turning the lights down. To exit Street View and return to Google Maps, click the X at the top-right of the Street View pane.