Raster data is made up of pixels, each of which has its own value. TerraExplorer supports two types of raster data: georeferenced satellite or aerial imagery that overlays the terrain imagery, and georeferenced elevation raster data that replaces the elevation data of the terrain database.
Imagery and elevation layers are created by referencing imagery and elevation data from files on your computer or local network, or from a database served over a network by one of the supported servers. To display only part of a layer, you can clip the layer.
To display a layer at different altitudes, TerraExplorer requires multiple resolution levels for each layer. These are also known as a resolution pyramid or a multiresolution file. If a raster layer lacks resolution levels or has an insufficient number of them, it can be converted to a stream-optimized MPT file with resolution pyramids.
For a quick overview of raster layers in TerraExplorer, see our Quick Guide.
Point cloud models are created from a collection of points in a 3D area captured by sources such as 3D scanners. TerraExplorer supports loading point cloud files in Skyline's proprietary CPT format, as well as importing point cloud data in the following formats: LAS/LAZ, PTS, TXT, XYZ, and E57.
When imported, these files are converted using the Convert Point Cloud to CPT tool to Skyline's unified, visualization- and stream-optimized CPT format.
More about: Working with point cloud layers >
Video Tutorials
| Point Clouds | Raster Layers |