Launching today
Window View
Step inside any building on Google Earth to see the view
68 followers
Step inside any building on Google Earth to see the view
68 followers
Ever shown up to an apartment only to find the "city view" is a brick wall? Window View lets you step inside any building on Google Earth and look out the window. Pick a floor, drop a window on any wall, and see exactly what's outside. A sun path overlay shows you when sunlight actually hits throughout the year. Free, open source, no account needed.
Window View
Hi everyone!
I built this from my own apartment hunt needs, as I was surprised that there are no similar tools online at all! With this tool, I was finally able to check exactly which floors and units of the apartment building have satisfactory view, privacy and sunlight, without having to guess.
Now, for your apartment hunt, you can:
👀 See the outside view from a specific floor or unit.
🏙 Check obstructions by other buildings.
☀ View year-round daily sun exposure.
🔗 Send the exact 3D view to roommates or brokers via URL.
Window View is powered by Google Earth's Photorealistic 3D Tiles and CesiumJS. Feel free to contribute or open issues for any features you want to see! https://github.com/wengh/window-...
This is genuinely impressive. I just spent way too much time playing with it—it feels more like an immersive travel experience than a utility tool. Using Google Earth 3D tiles for something as practical as checking apartment views is a brilliant execution. Does it currently support sunlight simulation for specific seasons, or is it based on the current date?
Window View
@linapok Thanks for trying it! The sunlight simulation plots the path of the sun for every day over the year.
Window View
@vouchy
Yes! I visited a apartment building that claimed "river view" only to find out that it faces a more recently built office tower right next.
Really interesting idea. I like the concept of checking the view before renting.
Curious: how do you handle cases where Google Earth data is outdated or buildings have changed? Does the tool account for that in any way?
Window View
@cosmin1907 I don't know any good way to handle outdated 3D tiles data. I guess you could replace Google Earth with any other more up-to-date 3D tiles Cesium asset that you find for the city you're interested in, by changing the Cesium Ion asset ID in the source code.
The shareable URL for roommates and brokers is really helpful. Are you planning to integrate directly with listing platforms like Zillow or Realtor.ca ? Also a “compare units” mode where you can pull up two apartments side by side would be cool. Congrats on this!
Window View
@jacklyn_i
You can do this by opening 2 tabs on the browser and placing them side by side!
No plan to do this so far.
This is one of those “why didn’t this exist already” products. Renting an apartment and being burned by a listing photo that conveniently hid the parking garage wall outside the window? Not ideal. Congrats on your launch!