Load and Edit Layers

In this article:

• Load Layers from SkylineGlobe Server
• Attribute and Spatial Queries
• Edit Feature Layer Properties
• Edit Mesh Layer Properties 
• Edit Point Cloud Layer Properties
• Edit Imagery and Elevation Layer Properties
• Add a Feature to a Layer
• Determine What Layers and Objects Are Displayed and Fly to Them

Load Layers from SkylineGlobe Server

You can load any layer type from SkylineGlobe Server: 3DML, elevation, feature, imagery, point cloud, or raster complex. These layers are added to the side toolbar’s Layers tab and Project Tree tab. Feature layers with complex geometries, i.e., multi-polygons, multi-lines, and multi-points, are supported. Loading and editing layers from SGS is only supported in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus.

You must be logged in to a SkylineGlobe Server to load a layer. More about: Logging in >

To load a layer from SkylineGlobe Server:

1. On the side toolbar > > Load Layers from SkylineGlobe Server > Select the layer type.
2. In the SkylineGlobe Layers dialog box, search for the required layer. See below for instructions how to search.
3. The Properties dialog box is displayed. The specific properties displayed depend on the layer type. See below for information. Edit as required and then click Close to save your changes. All layers loaded from SGS are added to the My Data section of the Layers panel.

To search for a SkylineGlobe layer:

1. Do either of the following:
   • To search for layers whose property information contains a specific string, do the following:
     1. In the Search String field, type a search string and click Search. 
     2. If you want to perform an advanced search, click Advanced.  Enter an attribute, condition, and value and click Insert String . The search expression is displayed in the Search String field. Select a connector:  to include additional strings. 
   • To search according to geographic location:
     1. Click Advanced. 
     2. Click Set Bounding Box, and select the required region by drawing a rectangle on the map on the right side of the page around the area to which the search is confined.
     3. From the Map field, select Contained - to search only for layers whose entire geometry fall within the bounding box OR Intersect – to search for all layers whose geometry intersect at any point with the bounding box.
2. Click Search.

Attribute and Spatial Queries

Feature layers can be queried by attribute or based on spatial relationship with a polygon or selection point.

To query feature layers by attribute:

1. On the side toolbar >  > right-click the layer you want to query > Select and Query. The Query panel is displayed.
   
2. To see attribute information and perform a search by attribute, do the following:
   1. Click Attributes. The Attribute Table is displayed.
      
   2. In the Search Query field, enter an attribute, operator, and value and click Search.  Your search results are displayed in the search results list. A maximum of 200 features is displayed. To fly to a feature, double-click the feature’s row in the attribute table.
3. To perform a spatial query, do the following:
   1. Select either of the following from the Query panel:
      Select – To select a particular feature.
      Area – To select all features that are spatially related to a polygon that will be drawn.
   2. In the 3D Window, do one of the following depending on the type of spatial query:
      Point selection – Place a single point in the 3D Window by clicking in the desired location.
      Area selection – Place the polygon points in the 3D Window by clicking in the desired locations. You must place at least three points. Finish the polygon creation by right-clicking.
4. The Attribute Table is displayed showing the selected features. Toggle off the spatial query command when you want to turn off the query. 

Edit Feature Layer Properties

You can edit the properties of "My Data" layers that you have loaded into the project and have Edit access to.

To edit basic layer and feature properties from the layer’s property sheet:   

1. On the sidebar >  > right-click the layer you want to edit > Properties. The layer’s property sheet is displayed.
2. Edit the layer properties as required. The specific properties displayed depend on the feature layer type.
   

   Description	Name of layer.
   Text	For point layers represented by a label, the label text.
   Text Color	Sets the foreground color of the text Click the color bar to open the Color dialog, where you can select a color (points).
   Icon	For point layers represented by an icon, URL to the icon file (points).
   Icon Color	For point layers represented by an icon, the background color of the image. Click the color bar to open the Color dialog box, where you can select a color (points).
   Line Width	Line width in pixels (1-5) (polygons and polylines). Note:    When layers published in TerraExplorer Pro are loaded into your project, all meter values are displayed as 1 pixel wide.
   Line Color	Outline color for each of the layer’s features (polygons and polylines). Click the color bar to open the Color dialog box, where you can select a color.
   Line Opacity	Line opacity (polygons and polylines).
   Fill Color	Fill color for the layer's features (polygons). Click the color bar to open the Color dialog box, where you can select a color.
   Fill Opacity	Opacity for the object’s fill.
   Altitude Method	Sets the altitude method to be used by the layer: Relative to Ground - Places each point of the layer at a specified altitude above the ground, defined by its Altitude Offset (polygons, polylines, points). Above Sea Level - Places each point according to its elevation relative to mean sea level. Drape on Terrain - Creates the layer on the terrain (polygons and polylines).  Relative to Model - Creates the layer's pivot point at a specified altitude above the 3DML layer (points).
   Altitude Offset	Specified altitude above the ground to place each point of the layer. This property is only available for polygons and polylines if “Relative to Ground” or “Above Sea Level” were selected as the Altitude Method.
   Visibility Distance	Sets the maximal distance from the camera above which the layer features disappear.
   Line to Ground	Adds a line from the label’s pivot point to the ground (points)
   Tooltip	Text to display when the mouse cursor is placed over the layer in the 3D Window.
   Message	The message displayed when clicking on a feature.

3. Click Close.

Edit Mesh Layer Properties 

You can edit the properties of "My Data" layers that you have loaded into the project and have Edit access to.

To edit:

1. On the sidebar >  > right-click the layer you want to edit > Properties. The layer’s property sheet is displayed.
2. Edit the layer properties as required. 
   

   Description	Name of layer.
   Quality	The mesh layer’s Level of Detail (LOD).
   Scale	Determines the dimensions, of the mesh layer. The actual size of the model in the 3D World is the size of the model in its internal coordinate system times the Scale value, (i.e., if the model has a width of 5 units and the scale is set to 10, the width of the object in the 3D World is 50 meters.)
   Altitude	The altitude for the 3DML’s pivot point.
   Replace Terrain	Determines whether terrain imagery and elevation in the mesh area is replaced with the 3DML’s ground layer (created in 3DML from PhotoMesh) or with the mesh’s lower resolution data (Simplified Mesh), or not replaced at all.
   Display Style	Select a mesh model display style. The mesh model can include a wireframe and be textured, solid color, or semi-transparent (x-ray). Texture X-ray - Semi-transparent model, enabling you to see through all model walls Solid color

3. Click Close.

Edit Point Cloud Layer Properties

You can edit the properties of "My Data" layers that you have loaded into the project and have Edit access to.

To edit:

1. On the sidebar >  > right-click the layer you want to edit > Properties. The layer’s property sheet is displayed.
2. Edit the layer properties as required.
   

   Description	Name of layer.
   Point Size	Size, in pixels, of each of the point cloud’s points.
   Point Color	Color of the point cloud points.
   Intensity Blend	Determines how much the point cloud’s intensity value is factored in colorizing the point cloud, where 0% colorizes the point cloud model by point color only, and 100% colorizes by intensity only.
   Flatten Terrain	Determines if the terrain under the model is leveled to the point cloud's elevation value.
   Altitude Method	Sets the altitude method to be used by the layer: Relative to Ground - Places each point of the layer at a specified altitude above the ground, defined by its Altitude Offset (polygons, polylines, points). Above Sea Level - Places each point according to its elevation relative to mean sea level. Drape on Terrain - Creates the layer on the terrain.
   Altitude	Enter the altitude, as defined in Altitude Method, for the point cloud model’s pivot point.

3. Click Close.

Edit Imagery and Elevation Layer Properties

You can edit the properties of "My Data" layers that you have loaded into the project and have Edit access to.

To edit:

1. On the sidebar >  > right-click the layer you want to edit > Properties. The layer’s property sheet is displayed.
2. Edit the layer properties as required.
   

   Description	Name of layer.
   Remove Null Value	Select Yes to display the color or elevation data whose value is nullified. Select No to keep the selected value nullified.
   Null Value	Nullify a color value in an imagery layer or an elevation value in an elevation layer: Imagery Layer - Nullify a color value to make the underlying terrain visible in places that are colored with the nullified color value. Elevation Layer - Nullify an elevation value to cancel the value's elevation effect.
   Null Tolerance	Enter the permissible deviation from the specified Null value when the color value is irregular.

3. Click Close.

Add a Feature to a Layer

You can add a feature to "My Data" feature layers that you have loaded into the project and have Edit access to.

To add a feature to a layer:

1. On the sidebar >  > right-click the layer you want to edit > Edit. The Edit dialog is displayed.
2. Click Add [Polyline, Point, or Polygon].
3. In the 3D Window, place the object’s points by clicking in the desired location. You must place at least two points for a polyline and three points for a polygon. Finish the object insertion by right-clicking.
4. The Feature property sheet opens. Set the attributes of the geographic feature [polyline, point, or polygon].
5. To move the feature nodes in the XY plane:
   1. Click . To move the feature nodes in the Z plane, click .
   2. In the 3D Window, place the cursor over one of the feature's nodes. The node turns orange, and the cursor changes to Move mode .
   3. Click the node and drag it to the required location. Release the mouse button to set the node at the current location.

Determine What Layers and Objects Are Displayed and Fly to Them

To display layers/objects:

• On the side toolbar > > on the Project Tree or Layers tabs > select the checkboxes of the layers/objects you want to display.

To delete a layer (Only layers that you have added to the project can be deleted):

• On the side toolbar > > My Data section, right-click the layer you want to delete, and then select Delete.

To fly/jump to a layer:

• On the side toolbar >  > on any of the tabs > double-click the layer/object you want to fly to. You can also right-click the layer and select Fly to Object or Jump to Object.