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You can also use Google Earth to map driving directions, just as you can with Google Maps. The big difference in using Google Earth for this purpose is that your directions are mapped in a 3D view, so you can bet more of a birds-eye view of where you'll be driving.

Getting Directions

The easiest way to generate driving directions is to click the Directions tab in the Search pane, and then enter your Start and End addresses. When you click the Search button, your route is mapped onscreen, with each turn placemarked on the map, as shown in Figure 20.22. You can zoom into, rotate, pan, and tilt the map as you like, as well as zoom into any specific direction by double-clicking that placemark. As you can see in Figure 20.23, zooming into a placemark like this gives you a very good idea of what you'll encounter when you make your trip.

Touring Your Route

And here's an even neater feature. Once you have your route displayed onscreen, you can use Google Earth's tour feature to "fly" the complete route in the viewer. Just select the Route item at the end of the directions listing, click the Play Tour button, and get ready for a wild ride!

Printing and Saving Directions

To print step-by-step directions for your route, all you have to do is click the Click Here for a Printable View link in the directions listing. This will open a Google Maps web page on the bottom half of your screen, with the directions displayed in that window. From this window, click the Print link to print the directions.

To save your route for future use, select File, Save As. Enter a new filename for your trip, and then click the Save button.