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  2. 3D & 360 Tools

3D & 360 Tools

This page will explore the functionality available within the GeoResGlobe in respect to 3D and 360 mode.

Create an elevation profile

You can show the elevation profile along a drawn line, based on the terrain available in 3D view mode (on 3D compatible devices).

  1. To display the terrain profile, first ensure you are in 3D mode by clicking on the 3D icon at the bottom left of the map.
    2. change 3d
  2. Select the Draw line tool and draw a line on the map at the required location for your profile.
  3. Your new line is stored in Places.
  4. To access the profile tool, click the Places button to reveal the Places panel.
    5. place button
  5. Click the down arrow next to your new line to view the options for that place (called My Place 1 in this example).
  6. Click Show profile using surface terrain.
    7. elevation
  7. View the elevation profile along the line that was drawn, elevation values are taken from the base terrain dataset in the application.
    8. elevation profile
  8. Hover over a point on the graph to view the elevation of that point. Please note, for long, east-west lines this point may appear offset from the drawn line. This is due to the curvature of the earth. You can minimise this by adding more vertices to the input line.
    9. elevation profile 2
  9. The Show profile using surface terrain tool will also incorporate bathymetry information and to allow the generation of profiles greater than 50km in length.

Using 360 view mode

360 view mode launches a local scene at the current position of the map, presenting 3D data both above and below the surface of Queensland.

local scene 3D layers

The controls while in this view are similar to 3D.

  • Left click to pan
  • Right click to tilt
  • Mouse scroll to zoom in and out

360 mode is located down near the bottom left corner of the screen alongside the 2D and 3D view modes, and can be enabled once the icon lights up upon zooming in below a certain scale.

There are also the normal navigation tools available on the lower right side of the screen.

If you lose track of your local scene, you can navigate back to it through the drawing tools (in the top right), using the Reset Map button.

reset map

Or by clicking the Reset Tilt button (near the navigation tools down near the bottom right).

reset tilt

Please note that several functions are not available in 360 mode.

3D Places

Drawing places in 3D or 360 mode now utilises the sketch widget. This allows for the creation of places that have an elevation applied to them.

Please note that if places are drawn in 2D mode, when they are viewed in 3D or 360, they should continue to drape over the terrain.

3D places can be saved and shared in a map or included in a print. They can also be used in conjunction with the extrude tool.

Please note that 3D places can only be created using the point, rectangle, polygon and circle draw tools. Line, ellipse and text can be drawn when in 3D or 360 view but will be added as 2D places.

Create a 3D point

  1. Zoom to your location of interest and switch the view mode to 3D or 360.
  2. Open the toolbar and select the Draw places tool. Select the Draw point option.
  3. Click on the map, an orange arrow and circle will appear around the proposed place.
    4. 3D point tool
  4. Before accepting the place, you can adjust the placement of the point. Click and hold within the orange circle to move the point in an x or y direction. The proposed place will be highlighted red.
    5. 3D point pan
  5. Alternatively, the orange arrows allow you to limit the movement of the 3D point in a North, South, East or West direction.
    6. 3D point pan w
  6. Click and drag on the arrow to adjust the height of the point.
    7. 3D point adjust height
  7. The elevation value of the 3D point (both above sea level and relative to the ground) will be displayed in the bottom left corner of the map.
    8. 3D point elevation value
  8. Click outside of the orange circle to accept any changes you have made, and the point will be added as a place.
    9. 3D point accept place
  9. Please note that the placement of 3D places can't be edited once they have been accepted.
    10. 3D point place
  10. Expanding the place will display the height above sea level and above the ground in conjunction with the latitude and longitude in the attributes.
    11. 3D place point attributes
  11. A label can be added to the 3D point once it has been created.
  12. The 3D point place can be opened in 360 mode or reverted to a 2D place but not extruded.

Create a 3D rectangle

  1. Zoom to your location of interest and switch the view mode to 3D or 360.
  2. Open the toolbar and select the Draw places tool. Select the Draw rectangle option. Please note that the 3D rectangle can't be rotated (due to current API limitations). Rotating the view prior to drawing the 3D rectangle will allow you to draw a 3D rectangle at an angle if this is required.
  3. Click and drag on the orange arrow to adjust the height of the rectangle. The elevation (above sea level) and (from ground) will be displayed in the bottom left corner of the map view. As the height of the rectangle is altered, these values will adjust accordingly.
  4. Click within the shape and the corners of the rectangle are highlighted with an orange point. If the corner point is selected, the height of that corner can be adjusted independently.
  5. Please note that the elevation value provided is for the centroid of the shape, not the vertex selected.
  6. Additional vertices can be added to the rectangle to convert it to a polygon.
  7. Please note that the placement of 3D places can't be edited once they have been accepted.
  8. Click outside of the shape to accept any changes you have made, and the rectangle will be added as a place.
  9. Expanding the place will display the height of the centroid of the rectangle (above sea level and above the ground) in the attributes.
  10. A label can be added to the 3D rectangle place once it has been created.
  11. The 3D rectangle place can be opened in 360 mode, reverted to a 2D place or extruded.

Create a 3D polygon

  1. Zoom to your location of interest and switch the view to 3D or 360.
  2. Open the toolbar and select the Draw places tool. Select the Draw polygon option.
  3. Draw a polygon and double click to close the shape.
  4. The drawn shape will be highlighted, and an orange circle and arrow appear in the centre of the polygon.
  5. Click within the shape and the vertices of the polygon are highlighted with an orange point. If a vertex is selected, the height of that vertex can be adjusted independently.
  6. Click and drag on the orange arrow to adjust the height of the polygon. The elevation (above sea level) and (from ground) will be displayed in the bottom left corner of the map view. As the height of the polygon is altered, these values will adjust accordingly.
  7. Click within the 3D polygon, hold and drag will allow you to adjust the location of the place.
  8. Please note that the elevation value provided is for the centroid of the polygon, not the vertex selected.
  9. Additional vertices can be added to the polygon, if this causes an overlap then this will create a hole in the polygon. Once extruded this becomes more apparent.
  10. If the height of the 3D polygon place is adjusted and a portion of the polygon is hidden, this means that portion falls underneath the terrain. If viewed in 360 mode the portion of the place that falls under the ground can be seen by adjusting the tilt.
  11. The 3D polygon place can be opened in 360 mode, reverted to a 2D place or extruded.

Create a 3D circle

  1. Zoom to your location of interest and switch the view mode to 3D or 360.
  2. Open the toolbar and select the Draw places tool. Select the Draw circle option.
  3. Click and drag on the orange arrow to adjust the height of the circle. The elevation (above sea level) and (from ground) will be displayed in the bottom left corner of the map view. As the height of the circle is altered, these values will adjust accordingly.
  4. Please note, that drawing an ellipse as a 3D place is not supported. When an ellipse is drawn in 3D or 360 mode it will be drawn as a 2D place that drapes over the terrain.
  5. Click within the 3D circle and drag to allow you to adjust the location of the place. The size of the 3D circle can't be adjusted. If you click within the circle, vertices are highlighted orange. The location and height of these points can be edited at this stage, if required, to create a polygon that has a circular component. The height of each vertice can be adjusted independently. Please note that the elevation value provided reflects the centroid of the shape and not the vertex.
  6. Fill colour, opacity, and stroke colour and width can be changed prior to accepting the place.
  7. Click outside of the shape to accept any changes you have made and the circle will be added as a place.
  8. A label can be added to the 3D circle place once it has been created.
  9. The 3D circle can be opened in 360 mode, reverted to a 2D place or extruded.

Download 3D places

File format Place type Download available Symbology retained Reimport available Expected behaviour 3D features display
SHP 3D ✔ ✘ ✔ 3D features are reverted to 2D ✘
KML 3D ✔ ✔ ✔ 3D features display;
Symbology is retained		 ✔
JSON 3D ✔ ✘ ✔ 3D features display;
Reverts to default symbology		 ✔
CSV 3D ✔ ✘ ✔* * CSV added as points display 3D features;
CSV added as line or polygon display as 2D		 ✔*

Extrude

The Extrude tool is available for places that have been drawn in 2D, 3D or 360 mode (circle, rectangle and polygon only). The extrusion can be applied in both above and below a place.

extrude 2D and 3D places

Any extrusions that extend below the ground surface can be viewed in 360 mode.

extrude 2D & 3D places in 360 mode

The extrude tool is also available for polygon places that have been added via the search tools (e.g. Lot on plan) or by using the identify tool on an added layer where a polygon is returned.

By default the extrusion height is set as 100m above and below the place. These values can be specified by the user.

extrusion height default

The extrusion displayed takes into account the height of the vertices of the place. If the extrusion extends below the surface of the earth, switch to 360 mode to view the extrusion above and below the ground.

extrude land parcel

extruded land parcel below ground

The opacity setting applied to the place is applied to the extrusion.

Because 2D places are draped over the DEM in 3D and 360 mode, the extrusion displayed will extend from each of the vertices.

The extrude tool is not supported for point, line, ellipse or text places.

If a label has been added to the place, this will appear above the extrusion.