A resolution pyramid stores a series of increasingly reduced resolution representations of a raster layer. Having a resolution pyramid enables rapid display of the raster at various resolutions, by allowing TerraBuilder to fetch only the data at the specific resolution required for display. When you are zoomed out of the layer and don’t require a high resolution representation, TerraBuilder can display a reduced resolution that draws faster. When you zoom in, levels with finer resolutions are drawn but performance is maintained because successively smaller areas are being drawn.
Although layers will display in the layer windows in the available resolutions, even if other resolution levels don't exist, TerraBuilder requires sufficient resolution levels for each layer to create the final 3D terrain output (MPT). If a layer has no resolution pyramid or only an incomplete or insufficient one, TerraBuilder creates it automatically before creating an MPT file. When publishing a project for streaming using DirectConnect, the DirectConnect project can be optimized by creating resolution pyramids for layers that do not have MPT resolution pyramids.
After a resolution pyramid is built for a layer, it is accessed each time the layer is viewed. If certain settings such as compression are changed for a layer, its resolution pyramid may also require updating. You can select the format MPU/MPT and format settings (compression) for the resolution pyramid in the Properties Sheet for each layer.
Some source file formats already have a built-in resolution pyramid. When you add a source to a project, TerraBuilder looks for an existing resolution pyramid, first in the source path directory, and then in the list of directories of the project. If multi-resolution data is available for the source for all resolution levels until the Max Visible UPP (maximum UPP in which the source is still visible) defined for the source, TerraBuilder marks the source as having a pyramid. The status of each layer's resolution pyramid (Complete, insufficient, no pyramid) is displayed in the Info column of the Layer List. This column contains one of the following icons:
- Layer has a sufficient resolution pyramid
- Pyramid incomplete
- No resolution pyramid
Create Resolution Pyramid and Create Resolution Pyramid for All Layers create resolution pyramids, using the MPT or MPU formats, for layers that do not have resolution pyramids sufficient for the project. If resolution pyramids are not created, TerraBuilder creates them automatically before creating an MPT file.
Create a Resolution Pyramid for a Specified Layer
To create a resolution pyramid for a selected layer:
1. In the Properties Sheet, in the General group, do the following:
a. In the Image/Elevation Pyramid Format field, select the required format.
For imagery layers:
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- JPEG v3- For basic raster imagery that does not require transparency.
- PNG-24 - For high-quality images.
- PNG-Palette - For schematic maps using less than 256 colors.
- MPU - If require an uncompressed (lossless) pyramid. MPU format is generally not recommended since it requires more time than the other formats for pyramid and project creation.
For elevation layers:
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- JPEG v3- For standard resolution.
- PNG-16 - For high resolution, best for LiDAR data.
- PNG 16.8 - For very high resolution.
- MPU – If require an uncompressed (lossless) pyramid. Use of MPU format is generally not recommended since it requires more time than the other formats for pyramid and project creation.
b. If you select JPEG v3, type the required quality value (30-100). More about: Output format >
2. In the Pyramid Include Source field, select Yes to include the original source file in the resolution pyramid, or No to exclude the original source file from the resolution pyramid.
3. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Resolution Pyramid and select Create Resolution Pyramid… The TerraBuilder Fuser dialog box is displayed in the background and the Convert Layer(s)… dialog box opens. The layer appears in the Layers Waiting for Conversion area until the resolution pyramid has been completed. If MPU format was selected, the fuser dialog box does not display.
4. Add the required local and network fusers, and click Start MPT. Network fusers can be used only if source and pyramid file directories are made network compatible. More about: Managing fusers > and Using network fusers >
5. If this process takes a long time, and you want to pause it, click Cancel. A warning message is displayed confirming that you wish to pause creation of the file. Click Yes to stop. The creation process is stopped and can be resumed later.
6. When conversion is completed, click OK. The Pyramid indicator for that layer in the Layer List changes from or to , to indicate that a resolution pyramid was created.