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Import a satellite view as a sheet

Satellite import turns a framed aerial view of a US address into a sheet that arrives with its scale already set. You can measure an existing site with the manual tools before plans exist; importing takes an estimator seat.

What it's useful for

  • An invitation to bid a mill-and-overlay of an existing access road arrives with an address and no drawings.
  • You want to compare a plan's pavement limits with what is built today before a site walk.
  • An existing site needs a first count of light poles before the survey comes in.

Import an aerial view

  1. On the Sheets tab, click Satellite.
  2. Start typing the address and pick the match from the list.
  3. Drag to pan and scroll to zoom until the site fills the map.
  4. Click Import this view and wait while the imagery is fetched and stitched.
  5. The new sheet opens with its scale set, ready for takeoff.
An address is typed and picked, the aerial is zoomed onto the site, and the imported sheet opens at a scale of 1" = 103.75'.

Start a new project from an address

Zip Takeoff creates a project named after the address and opens the aerial as its first sheet. Measure it with conditions, the named, colored measurement groups that hold your quantities.

  1. On Home, click Start from satellite.
  2. Type the address, frame the site and click Import this view.

Limits and checks

  • Imagery covers the US only, and it is whatever vintage the source has, so recent site changes may be missing. The picker names its source, currently USGS NAIP.
  • Measure flat ground only. Roofs and slopes are displaced in aerial imagery.
  • Aerial sheets are images, so Smart Area, Smart Linear and Smart Count find nothing on them. Use the manual tools.
  • Each imported image counts toward your workspace's plan storage.
  • Import this view stays disabled until you zoom in close to the site. If the framed area is outside imagery coverage, the import stops with Import failed.

Questions

Do I have to set the scale on a satellite sheet?

No. The scale is set from the imagery's ground resolution when the sheet is imported, so you can start measuring right away.

Can I use Smart Area on an aerial?

No. Aerial sheets are images with no vector data, so the Smart tools find nothing. Trace areas, lines and counts with the manual tools instead.

Does satellite import work outside the US?

No. Imagery is US only, and the import fails if the framed area is outside coverage.

Does an imported aerial use storage?

Yes. Each imported image counts toward your workspace's plan storage.

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