I do use Google Earth from time to time (which by the way they’re supposed to release v4.3 today with more Mac support and Street Views included), and find that memorizing the keystrokes in the software does make it faster to use. I mention this because said honestly, the interface is a bit clunky at best. Then again there’s really no other software (for free anyway) like it.

Panning the map

ALT+Arrow keys

(Using mouse: Click/drag)

Zooming in/out

CTRL+Up/Down arrow keys

(Using mouse: Scroll wheel up/down)

Tilting the map

SHIFT+Up/Down keys (if the map is “flat”, press SHIFT+Down arrow first)

Save an image of what you see on the map at the moment

CTRL+SHIFT+S

Reverting the map to “flat” 2D mode (i.e. the original mode on start)

R (yes, just the R key)

Switching to decimal degrees format

(Reason for doing this: Makes for easier copying/pasting to Google Maps if necessary)

Tools / Options / “3D View” tab / select “Decimal Degress” under “Show Lat/Long”

Making the touring speed faster

The touring speed by default is fairly slow. You can speed it up by doing the following:

Tools / Options / “Touring” tab

Fly-to Speed: 0.5000

Tour Speed: 0.5000

You can also use the slider bars but I prefer manually entering in values.

(Re)setting your Start Location

Navigate to where you want on the map (maybe your home address).

Click View / Make this my start location