Variable Touring Time

When you create a tour from a folder of Placemarks, you are limited to the same time between features for all points:

You can set these times in the preferences of Google Earth under the Touring tab:

Sometimes this is all right, but sometimes you want variable times between features or change wait times:

To do this, we will go into the KML and edit the times manually in a few easy steps:

1. Record your tour from a folder of Placemarks - you will make changes to this file. 

2. Open the KML tour file in a text editor - use a text editor like SCiTE  (PC) or TextWrangler (MAC), both free.

3. Find the duration tags in the tour - once you open up the tour KML, locate the <gx:duration> tags (example simplified):

    <gx:FlyTo>

        <gx:duration>5</gx:duration>

            <LookAt>

                (truncated to save space)

            </LookAt>

    </gx:FlyTo>

<gx:Wait><gx:duration>2</gx:duration></gx:Wait>

    <gx:FlyTo>

        <gx:duration>5</gx:duration>

            <LookAt>

                (truncated to save space)

            </LookAt>

    </gx:FlyTo>

<gx:Wait><gx:duration>2</gx:duration></gx:Wait>

    <gx:FlyTo>

        <gx:duration>5</gx:duration>

            <LookAt>

                (truncated to save space)

            </LookAt>

    </gx:FlyTo>

That number is the Time Between Features you set in the Preferences in Google Earth (5 seconds):

Time between features

You may also notice the <gx:Wait> tag between the <gx:FlyTo> tags. This value is set through 'Wait at Features'. 

3. Make changes to duration - Changing the value in the <gx:duration> and  <gx:Wait> tags will change the time between features in your tour:

    <gx:FlyTo>

        <gx:duration>8</gx:duration>

            <LookAt>

                (truncated to save space)

            </LookAt>

    </gx:FlyTo>

<gx:Wait><gx:duration>2</gx:duration></gx:Wait>

    <gx:FlyTo>

        <gx:duration>3</gx:duration>

            <LookAt>

                (truncated to save space)

            </LookAt>

    </gx:FlyTo>

<gx:Wait><gx:duration>5</gx:duration></gx:Wait>

    <gx:FlyTo>

        <gx:duration>3</gx:duration>

            <LookAt>

                (truncated to save space)

            </LookAt>

    </gx:FlyTo>

4. Save your tour and test in Google Earth - Once you make changes, you can re-open the tour in Google Earth and see your edits reflected.