This Guide walks you through the steps to count houses on Google Maps using the CountThings from Photos app.

For each type of object to be counted, you need to add the right Counting Template to your device.
You only need to select the Counting Template once, before counting multiple photos of the same item type.

1. Adding a Counting Template From the Template Library, select the Houses on New Google Maps ID: 109 Counting Template by clicking on the GET button and click Done.

Note: Google has recently changed the look of the maps. If you're using old versions, please use the Houses on New Google Maps ID: 668 Counting Template.

Step 2 - Find the area Using Google Maps, find the area you are interested in.

Step 3 - Capture the screen From the map, create an image (png, jpg) or PDF file of your target area.

Step 4 - Open Image From the CountThings from Photos app, open the image or PDF file.

Step 5 - Optional: Define Area of Interest Defining an area of interest is optional, but may be useful in some cases, it allows you to count only a portion of the image.
Make sure the "Count Area" button on the left is selected.
Hold down the left mouse button and drag around the area. For more details, see the Define an Area guide.

Step 6 - Count Click Count.

Step 7 - Review the Results - Make Modifications if Necessary If you notice any counting mistakes, you can easily correct them by adding, deleting, or moving tags.
It's very helpful to use the "Count Review," which divides the image into cells that can be reviewed one cell at a time. You can add, delete, or move tags: left click to add, right click to delete, and left press and drag to move a tag.
Make sure the "Edit Tags" button on the left side is selected. Left click to add a tag: Right click to delete a tag: Left press and drag to move a tag to a new location: For more details, see the Review large counts using grid guide.

Step 8 - Save results Click Save.

Step 9 - Saved Image The results are located on your desktop in a folder named CountThingsResults.
To open the results folder, click on the green Saved button. The results folders are structured by date: the top level folder is named by year, inside each year folder are folders by month, and inside each month folders are folders by day.

Step 1 - Calibration Tool If the counting results are not accurate enough, use the Calibration Tool to create a new Counting Template that's optimized to your photos.

Use the Calibration Tool to:

• Specify the colors of the houses in your photo
• Specify a minimum and maximum size for the houses in your photo

Turn the Calibration Tool on by selecting it. The Calibration ToolBox will be displayed over the image. The predefined picked colors should work in most cases. If needed, you can change the predefined colors.

Check the Use manual size checkbox to enable more adjustments. The tool will appear over your image. Move it over a typical house. Adjust the size of the two yellow circles to specify the minimum and maximum size of the houses to be counted.

Using the Calibration tool:

• To specify the colors of the houses in your photo
• To specify the minimum and maximum size of the houses, select either the maximum or minimum yellow circles and use the sliders to adjust width and height
• When you have completed the calibrations, assign a name to the new Counting Template and click Save to apply the changes

Count to test your newly created Counting Template.

Step 1 - Calibration Tool If the counting results are not accurate enough, use the Calibration Tool to create a new Counting Template that's optimized to your photos.

Use the Calibration Tool to:

• Specify the colors of the houses in your photo
• Specify a minimum and maximum size for the houses in your photo

Turn the Calibration Tool on by selecting it. The predefined picked colors should work in most cases. If needed, you can change the predefined colors.

Check the Use manual size checkbox to enable more adjustments. The Calibration ToolBox will be displayed over the image along with the Tool.

Using the Calibration tool:

• To specify the minimum and maximum size of the houses, select either the maximum or minimum yellow circles and use the sliders to adjust width and height
• Specify a minimum and maximum size for the houses in your photo
• When you have completed the calibrations, assign a name to the new Counting Template and click Save to apply the changes

Count to test your newly created Counting Template.

If you need help, email Support@CountThings.com and send us a few images from which you would like to count.
Make sure to send images with the highest possible resolution available to you. Do not resize the image to save space.