How to measure land with free software tools

To start : Install Google Earth and GPSU Only the free versions of these are needed.

1. Use Google Earth to find the area of land to be measured. Zoom in so that the land almost fills the screen but does not extend beyound it.

2. Click the Polygon Icon

3. Give the Polygon a name (Land' in this example) and change the style to 'outlined'

4. Using the cursor, click around the edges of the land and then click OK in the polygon window.

5. In the Places pane, right click on the name of the polygon, select Save As and save as type KML

6. Open GPSU, select Options, Data Set and make sure Horizontal Units are Metres/Seconds

7. Select File, Open, choose type Google Earth KML,find the file you saved, open it and click 'Yes' to import as a Track

8. Select View Reports and the area is shown in Square Metres.

9. Multiply by 1.196 to get square yards; divide by 4047 for Acres