GoogleEarth in GUI

Open GE in Matlab - GUI via ActiveX

This function is an example on how to integrate GoogleEarth in a Matlab figure or GUI.
You need the GoogleEarth plugin to be installed. Therefore just visit a website, where the plugin is needed
and install it, e.g.: http://code.google.com/intl/de-DE/apis/earth/

Next step you'll need an api-key-see: http://code.google.com/intl/de-DE/apis/earth/documentation/index.html
Take the key and put it in the head of the ge_ma.html while replacing ABCDEF" -->
src="https://www.google.com/jsapi?key=ABCDEF"></script>
Maybe the abcdef-key also work - try it.

The rest is more simple:

The workaround for integrating GE in Matlab GUI is simple to embed a Microsoft Internet ActiveX-Control in the GUI (ge_html --> line 56); You need the activex: shell.explorer.2 (see Matlab Help)

Then you can import any website or a in our case a local html-document with your programmed GoogleEarth functionality (ge_ma.html). For further function-examples see the Google Code Playground:
http://code.google.com/apis/ajax/playground/?exp=earth#hello,_earth

At the Playground you can toogle to "Edit HTML" and save the code on local machine. The functions inside you can call from Matlab as shown in the pushbuttons of the GUI.

Further Readings:
http://code.google.com/intl/de-DE/apis/earth/
http://code.google.com/intl/de-DE/apis/earth/documentation/reference/index.html
see in Matlab Help: actx_explore for integrating Shell-Explorer

Programmed by Sven Koerner: koerner(underline)sven(add)gmx.de
Date: 2011/07/27