If you have a contract with Planet, you can download imagery directly from Explorer or via Planet's APIs. If you do not have a contract with Planet, you will not be able to download imagery. Please contact sales if you would like to download imagery but don't currently have access.
At the very bottom of the Search panel on the left of the screen, you will see two buttons - one for API {:} and one for Orders. Both of these buttons reference the images in the above panel that you've selected (in the case below, the 9 images from January 23, 2022 - PlanetScope Scene)
The API Button¶
The API button will open a modal with thre sections - API Key, cURL and Selected Item Ids.
Each section is collapsed by default, they can be expanded via the "< >" icon to show the content. The content text can be easily copied by pressing the copy icon on the far right, whether you expand it or not.
The cURL Request section has the text of the cURL request syntax prepared. It also has a Include Authentication toggle so that you don't expose your api key.
The Selected Item Ids section simply gives you the identification numbers of the images you have selected.
The Order Items Button¶
The Order Items(n) - where n equals the number of image sets you have selected in the panel above - button will open a new window. If you'd like to download imagery, select "I want to order this data for download."
Placing your Order¶
From here, you will see a new window for completing your order. There are 3 steps to completing your order: naming your order, selecting assets, and tools (where available) and final review.
At the first step, the Name field is required and you can choose your own naming convention here.
Once you have named your order, you have two options. You can make further selections for your order or you can do an express check-out.
To complete the express check-out, you can click "Order" on the bottom right-hand side of the screen. This will place an order for each selection displayed in the Orders Summary column. Each white box shows a summary of your selections, including item type, asset type, and any tools selected. Each white box will be placed as a separate order, and will be charged to your account accordingly. You should only do an express check-out if you are familiar with the default assets chosen and if you don't want to add any tools (such as clipping).
To make further selections for your order, click the "Continue" button or click on "Select Assets" at the top header.
At the "Select Assets" step, you will see the item types listed that you ordered (for example, PlanetScope Scenes or SkySat Collects). Click into the item type that you wish to select assets for. Once you click on the item type (i.e. PlanetScope Scene), you will see a menu of assets to choose from. The default asset is highlighted in teal. You can unselect it by clicking on it. If you would like to order un-rectified assets, click "Show More+" and choose from the menu of un-rectified assets. The asset that you select will show up on the Order Summary to the right of the screen.
Once you are done selecting assets, click "Continue" or click on the "Tools & Review" header at the top of the screen. At this step, you will see a list of all of the assets that you have chosen. Click on each asset to add tools (clipping or harmonization, where applicable). Your selections will be reflected in the Order Summary on the right hand side.
Note
Some customers have access to clipping imagery (per their contract). When you clip imagery, you only order pixels that are in the AOI you drew. Otherwise, you download the entire scene your AOI touches. If you would like to clip imagery, but don't currently see that option in the interface, please reach out to the support team.
Customers will also have access to the harmonization tool for surface reflectance assets. The harmonization tool ensures consistent radiometric calibration with Sentinel-2 satellites. This helps with combining and comparing Planet data from other sources.
Downloading your Order¶
Once you choose Order, you will see a note pop up briefly that you'll be notified by email when your imagery download is ready. The left panel will pop open automatically to the Orders tab, and you'll see your order in progress.
When the order is ready for download, you will get an email to the address associated with your account. Once ready, you will be able to download a .zip of your assets from the Orders section in the left hand toolbar.
How to save your work¶
Create a Saved Search¶
Start by searching for your imagery by creating an area of interest (AOI), either by drawing an AOI or by typing in a location in the Search panel. To find the Search panel, which can be found in the upper left hand corner, indicated by the magnifying glass icon.
Once the panel is open, you can select your cadence (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly), choose filters and date ranges.
When you are happy with your selections, you will find a "Save Search" button above the search results.
When you click "Save Search" you will see a window appear where you can make some additional selections. You will name your search, and then make selections under "Search Options" and "Search Parameters". The name of your Saved Search will default to the text you typed into the Search bar initially.
On the left hand side under "Search Options", you have the option to enable or disable email notifications and also organize your search into a Folder. When selecting email notifications, email notifications are enabled when the toggle is teal. When the toggle is grey, the email notifications are disabled.
Note
These notifications are not affected by the Date Range Filter you specified—it applies to all new imagery within your AOI boundary.
You can create a new Folder to organize your searches by typing in a name and clicking "Add". Your search will be added to the Folder that is highlighted in teal.
Under "Search Parameters" you can verify your selected date range or omit an end date for your saved search. If you click "No End Date" you will always see the most recent imagery in your saved search. You can also verify the other parameters of your saved search. If any of these parameters are incorrect to you, click the "x" in the upper right hand corner and adjust in the "Search" panel.
To access Searches that you have Saved, click the icon just below the Search icon in the left-hand toolbar, called Saved Search.
Update Saved Search¶
If you have already Saved your Search, and wish to update it with new filter parameters, you can choose "Update Search" at the top (where the Save Search prompt was initially).
Download area of interest as GEOJSON¶
You can download the GEOJSON file of the area of interest (AOI) you drew in Explorer by clicking this icon on the map. The icon only appears once you have drawn an AOI.
Name your file and click "Download".
Rate this guide: