Google Street View Python Add-in for ArcMap

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Updated – 2/4/2015
Fixed backwards compatibility with 10.1
Added exception handling for custom/undefined coordinate system, and Layout view.

Select your version of ArcMap:
Download the Google Street View Python Add-in for ArcMap 10.1
Download the Google Street View Python Add-in for ArcMap 10.2
Download the Google Street View Python Add-in for ArcMap 10.3
Download the Google Street View Python Add-in for ArcMap 10.4

(any donations go towards hosting costs)

StreetViewMain2

I work for an electric utility, and Google Street View is a very handy tool to do a quick “field check” to verify, for example, equipment or pole specifications. It can save a lot of time, and gas! Of course, the Street View data may not always accurately depict what’s in the real world since things change, but it’s still a very good source to have available.

To use this Google Street View Python Add-in, first download the add-in by clicking the link at the top of this page. Next, install the add-in. This should add the following toolbar to ArcMap.

StreetView

If it didn’t automatically add the toolbar, in ArcMap go to Customize –> Toolbars –> and click on Street View.

CustomizeToolbars

Once the toolbar is visible, click on the Street View icon, and then using either satellite imagery, or some other landbase data click on a road. Once a road is clicked, your browser will open and show that location within Google Street View. If the screen that loads is black, then there is no Street View data available for that location.

I’ve recently found out the add-in will not work in Layout view, so I’ve added a warning message to alert the user. I’ve also added a warning message when the Data Frame coordinate system is either undefined, or uses a custom coordinate system.

Check out the following guide to add or remove a button, or add a keyboard shortcut for a button:
Tutorial On Customizing ArcMap Toolbars and Keyboard Shortcuts

I hope you find this tool useful. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or problems, and be sure to check out the other tools I’ve created!

47 thoughts on “Google Street View Python Add-in for ArcMap”

  3. I have built a similar python add-in for accessing Bing/Esri/Google (BAG) Web Maps directly from within ArcMap. Originally I even had the ability to “Grab Google Aerial” image tile and automatically georeference directly into ArcMap, all via a single click. This proved to be very popular..so much so that Google got wind and let me know that it violates there Terms of Service (TOS). I thought I was in compliance with the Google Maps TOS, but sadly I was not. I am not sure where your Street View Tools falls..but my guess is that you are okay.

    Get the “BAG” tool here.
    http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7cca7c34d6ac4ca4a61387dcf4f14e57

    Also, a similar tool that’s called SIGGIS
    http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=295fc9c8d17f4512ab77cae095bf0395

  9. Thank you for posting this handy tool. I’m not sure why, but it works great in some .mxds, while in others (where I know there is streetview imagery) it shows black and in the preview images at the bottom it is showing places in Alabama. I am in western NC.

    Any thoughts on why this might be? I have made sure that the data sources are the same as in the .mxd that works.

    Thanks for any guidance on this.

    1. Well, the tool uses the coordinate system of the ArcMap data frame. When you click on a road, it grabs the coordinates of that location, and assigns the data frame coordinate system. It then reprojects these coordinates into WGS84.

      I’ve seen another person have a similar issue, and it’s because their data frame uses a Custom coordinate system, which causes problems when reprojecting.

      So, for the MXDs that don’t work, check the Data Frame coordinate system, and if it says Custom then that’s most likely the problem. Here’s a screenshot to show what I mean:

      http://i.imgur.com/bUil4YI.png

  10. Unfortunately that does not appear to be my issue as my current coordinate system is shown as:

    “NAD_1983_StatePlane_North_Carolina_FIPS_3200_Feet
    WKID: 2264 Authority: EPSG”

    Thank you for your response though.

  11. Just installed and tested using ArcGIS 10.3. Toolbar installed but had no button until I added it through Customize > Commands. But it appears to be working well and will be a great tool. Thanks for sharing!

    James Wingate
    Blue Stakes of Utah
    (Utah’s “call 811 before you dig” utility notification center)

  13. What browser is this set to open in? When I click on a street, it brings up IE 9 and says it is running in lite mode. There is no street view and I am not positioned correctly in the map.

  15. Great add-in. Thanks

    Initially had doubts whether it will work halfway round the world. But it did – after setting the DF geograpghic coordinate system,

  17. Ian, I upgraded to ArcGIS 10.4 without realizing your streetmap tool will need to be updated as well. Any idea if/when you can get a new version. Great tool, btw, very good time saver.

    Thanks, Jeff

  25. Very nice tool! Thanks for sharing. @Rick , with regards to similar tools for ArcGIS Online, if you have the capabilities to deploy Web AppBuilder (WAB) Developer Edition, there are a number of third-party widgets available for Google Streetview integration. Alternately, you could create URL links from your feature classes that build the necessary URL for launching Google Streetview at the specific coordinates of your features. E.g. something like this:

    http://maps.google.com/maps?q=&layer=c&cbll=31.33519,-89.28720

    where the lat and long would be parameters coming from attributes in your feature class.

    That is probably the only way you could do something like that In Collector, since there is no function that I know of to add third party widgets to Collector.

  28. Looks like 10.4 works on 10.7

    Can you please add bing street view? Their street view is quite competitive now with Google’s and some people just do not like Google because they censor information.

    Thanks

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