Importing from CAD – Creating KMZ Models for Scalgo Live

The KMZ file format is commonly used to import building models into Google Earth, and supported by most CAD software, such as Rhino, Civil 3D, Vectorworks, and Archicad.

When exporting your model, you will need to geo-reference it, that is, specify the model's position in latitude, longitude, and elevation.  This is normally done by selecting a reference point in the model, and then entering the geographic coordinates of this reference point.

In Rhino, the reference point is called the earth anchor point, in Civil 3D it is the earth position, in Vectorworks you set the reference point as part of the export dialog.

If the y-axis of your model is not the north direction, you should specify the angle between the two directions.

The CAD software may offer to export only the geometry (no textures and styles), for a smaller file size. Scalgo Live only needs the geometry.

The KMZ format supports several altitude modes.  Here, "absolute" means that the elevation is above sea-level, like the elevation values you see in Scalgo Live.  Google Earth also supports "relative to ground", which means that a zero elevation is on the ground level.   Scalgo Live will always interpret your model as absolute, so you need to enter the actual elevation of the reference point above sea level.  If your design does not already specify this information, you can use a point query in Scalgo Live to determine it (you can type longitude and latitude into the address field to find the right location).

If your CAD software allows you to set the altitude mode, set it to absolute.  This is for instance possible in Archicad and Civil 3D.   On the other hand, Rhino and Vectorworks do not seem to allow this, and Rhino always sets the altitude mode of the resulting file to relative to ground.  This means that the model will look different in Scalgo Live and Google Earth.  You can fix this in Google Earth by right-clicking on the model name (under Places ➤ Temporary Places), choosing Properties, then the Altitude tab, then changing "Relative to ground" to "Absolute".