Authoring 3D Layers and Creating Web Scenes in ArcGIS Online

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# Bringing Your Visions to Life: Authoring 3D Layers and Web Scenes in ArcGIS Online

For years, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been the backbone of spatial analysis and mapping. But let’s be honest, sometimes those maps felt…flat. We’ve all been there, trying to convey complex urban environments or dramatic landscapes using 2D representations. It’s like trying to describe a symphony with just a single note. Thankfully, things have changed. The ability to create immersive 3D experiences and share them easily online is now within reach, thanks to advancements in software like ArcGIS Pro and the power of ArcGIS Online.

This isn’t just about pretty pictures, though. It’s about unlocking new levels of understanding, collaboration, and engagement. Imagine a city planner presenting a proposed development *as if* you were flying over it, allowing stakeholders to truly grasp the impact. Or a real estate agent giving potential buyers a virtual tour of a property, complete with surrounding amenities. Or even a disaster response team using a 3D scene to assess damage and coordinate relief efforts. The possibilities are genuinely exciting.

I’ve been working with GIS technology for over a decade, and seeing the evolution of 3D web scene creation has been remarkable. What used to require specialized expertise and extensive processing power can now be achieved with relative ease. This article will guide you through the process, leveraging the latest tools and techniques, to create stunning 3D content for ArcGIS Online. Originally I wrote a piece in 2017 detailing this process with ArcGIS Pro 2.0, but the advancements made since then – like the now one-click publishing process – warrant a fresh look.

**Why 3D in ArcGIS Online Matters: A Real-World Shift**

Before diving into the “how,” let’s quickly address the “why.” Why bother with 3D when 2D maps have served us so well? There are several compelling reasons:

* **Improved Visualization:** 3D allows for a more intuitive understanding of spatial relationships and features. You can see height, depth, and volume, which are often critical for analysis and decision-making.
* **Enhanced Communication:** Immersive 3D scenes are far more engaging than traditional maps. They capture attention and help convey information more effectively to a wider audience.
* **Increased Analytical Capabilities:** 3D data opens up new avenues for analysis. You can perform line-of-sight studies, calculate cut-and-fill volumes, and model surface water flow, just to name a few.
* **Wider Accessibility:** ArcGIS Online makes it easy to share your 3D scenes with anyone, anywhere, through a web browser or dedicated applications.
* **Business Impact:** From urban planning to infrastructure management, from real estate to tourism, 3D GIS is transforming how organizations operate and interact with the world.

I recently spoke with a friend who’s a landscape architect, and she shared a fantastic example. She’s using 3D scenes created in ArcGIS Pro to present her designs to clients *before* construction begins. “They used to struggle to visualize my concepts from 2D blueprints,” she told me. “Now, they can experience the space as it will be, walk through it virtually, and provide much more informed feedback.” That’s the power of 3D.

**What You’ll Need: The Toolkit for 3D Success**

To follow along with this guide, you’ll need a few things:

* **Data:** We’ll be using data available for download [here](*Replace this with the actual link*). This dataset provides a foundation for creating a compelling 3D scene of Portland, Oregon. The data is a good real-world example.
* **ArcGIS Pro 2.4 (or later):** This is the desktop GIS application where you’ll author and prepare your 3D content. Make sure you have a license and the latest updates installed.
* **ArcGIS Online Organizational Account:** You’ll need an organizational account that allows you to publish hosted layers. This is typically managed by your organization’s GIS administrator.
* **Understanding of Hosted Layers:** Becoming familiar with Hosted Scene Layers, Hosted Elevation Layers, and Hosted Feature Layers will be a big help throughout the process.
* **Scene Viewer:** ArcGIS Online’s built-in 3D viewer. This allows you to examine, style, and refine your web scene directly in the browser.
* **Web AppBuilder (Optional):** If you want to create a custom web application based on your 3D scene, Web AppBuilder is the tool for you. But, you can also share your scene as a standalone web scene.

**Step 1: Creating a Local Scene in ArcGIS Pro**

Let’s start by setting up our project in ArcGIS Pro.

1. **New Project:** Open ArcGIS Pro and create a new project.
2. **Project Template:** Choose the “Local Scene” template from the available options. This template is specifically designed for working with 3D data. Give your project a meaningful name, like “Portland3D.”
3. **Remove Default Layers:** The Local Scene template comes with default layers (World Topographic and World Elevation). These are helpful for getting started, but in our case, they are cached and use a different spatial reference than the Portland data. They can hinder performance and potentially cause display issues. To remove them, right-click on each layer in the Contents pane and select “Remove Layer.”

Now, let’s add our Portland data. I always find it helps to understand the source of your data. Is it LiDAR? Photogrammetry? Knowing this can influence how you process and visualize it.

1. **Add Data:** Click the “Add Data” button on the Map tab.
2. **Portland Topo Raster:** Navigate to the downloaded data and select the `Portland_Topo` raster file (located within the geodatabase). This raster provides the base imagery for our scene.
3. **Add Elevation Data:** Right-click on “Ground” under “Elevation Sources” in the Contents pane. Select “Add Elevation Source.”
4. **Select DTM:** Choose the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from the downloaded data. This will provide the elevation data for our scene, creating the terrain surface.

Next, let’s clip our scene extent to the Portland data. You don’t want the scene to render areas where you don’t have data; it’s just inefficient.

1. **Scene Properties:** Right-click on “Scene” in the Contents pane and select “Properties.”
2. **Clip Layers:** In the Properties dialog box, click on the “Clip Layers” tab.
3. **Clip to Custom Extent:** Select “Clip to a custom extent.”
4. **Extent of a Layer:** Under the “Extent of a layer” dropdown, choose `Portland_Topo`. This will clip the scene to the boundaries of the raster data.

**Step 2: Building the 3D City – Multipatch Features and Extrusion**

Now for the fun part – creating the 3D buildings! We’ll leverage the power of multipatch features to do this. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with multipatches; they’re essentially 3D objects that can be created from 2D polygons.

1. **Add Building Footprints:** Using the “Add Data” button on the Map tab, add the building footprints layer to the scene.
2. **Move to 3D Layers:** In the Contents pane, drag the `Buildings` layer from the “2D Layers” group into the “3D Layers” group. This tells ArcGIS Pro that you want to treat these polygons as 3D objects.
3. **Building Properties — On The Ground:** Right-click on the `Buildings` layer and select “Properties.” In the Properties dialog box navigate to the Elevation tab and set “Features are” to “On the Ground.” It will ensure that any buildings added will start at the terrain surface and extrude upwards.
4. **Feature Extrusion:** Click on the `Buildings` layer in the Contents pane and click the “Appearance” contextual tab. Choose “Base Height” from the “Feature extrusion type” dropdown.
5. **Extrusion Expression:** Click the “Extrusion Expression” button. This is where things get interesting. We want to extrude the buildings based on their actual roof height. The expression we’ll use is: `[ROOF_ELEV] — [SURF_ADJ]`.
* `[ROOF_ELEV]` is the attribute containing the roof elevation of each building.
* `[SURF_ADJ]` is the attribute representing the adjusted surface elevation (the terrain height at the base of the building).
* Subtracting the adjusted surface elevation from the roof elevation gives us the building’s height relative to the terrain.
6. **Units:** Set the “Unit” dropdown menu to “Feet” to match the projection of the data. This is crucial for accurate height representation.

At this point, your buildings should be extruded, but they might not look quite right. They might be «floating» above the terrain or have distorted shapes. This is where the next step comes in.

1. **Layer 3D to Feature Class:** Run the “Layer 3D to Feature Class” tool to create a multipatch feature class from the extruded polygons. This tool converts the 2D polygons with extrusion into true 3D objects.
* **Input Features:** Select the Buildings layer.
* **Grouping Field:** Click “Building ID.” This ensures that each building is represented as a single, coherent multipatch object.
* **Run:** Click “Run” to execute the tool.
2. **Join Attributes:** Export the newly created multipatch into a new feature class, using a join from the original building polygons (making sure you include attributes that will be useful such as «Address», «Owner», etc.).

This process might seem a little complex, but it’s essential for creating accurate and visually appealing 3D buildings.

**Step 3: Publishing Your Scene to ArcGIS Online**

Now that our scene in ArcGIS Pro is looking fantastic, it’s time to share it with the world.

1. **Share Tab:** Open the “Share” tab in ArcGIS Pro.
2. **Web Scene:** Click the “Web Scene” button. This will open the “Share as Web Scene” pane.
3. **Review Layers:** The pane will list all the layers in your scene that are about to be published.
4. **Configure Layers (Optional):** You can configure publishing settings for each layer. For example, you can enable editing capabilities for feature layers or adjust the levels of detail for tile layers. In our case, we don’t need to make any changes.
5. **Publish:** Click the “Share” button. This will upload your scene and layers to ArcGIS Online.

The publishing process can take some time, depending on the size and complexity of your scene and the speed of your internet connection. Once it’s complete, you’ll receive a notification, and a link to your new web scene in ArcGIS Online.

**Step 4: Refining Your Scene in Scene Viewer**

ArcGIS Online’s Scene Viewer is an incredibly powerful tool for exploring, styling, and refining your 3D scenes. It allows you to make changes directly in the browser without having to go back to ArcGIS Pro.

1. **Open in Scene Viewer:** Click on the link to your web scene in ArcGIS Online to open it in Scene Viewer.
2. **Layer Styling:** Click on the `Buildings` layer in the Contents pane. This will open the styling panel.
3. **Types Smart Mapping Renderer:** Click on the “Types” smart mapping renderer. This renderer allows you to color your buildings based on an attribute. In this case, we’ll use the “Maintaining Agency” attribute to uniquely color each building.
4. **Customize Colors:** In the “Types” options, you can customize the colors used for each agency. You can also enable “Edges” to add more definition to the buildings.
5. **Tree Styling:** Click on the `Trees` layer. Select “3D Object” from the style options.
6. **Choose a Tree Model:** Click “Options” and browse the Esri-provided web styles to choose a tree model that you like. I recommend “Schematic Vegetation” for a realistic look.
7. **Height Attribute:** Use the `TREE_HEIGHT` attribute to drive the height of the trees in the scene. Make sure the units are set to “Feet.”

**Step 5: Adding Atmosphere and Context – Slides and Daylight**

To truly bring your scene to life, you can add atmospheric effects and control the daylight settings.

1. **Daylight Control:** Click on the sun symbol in the Scene Viewer toolbar. Use the slider to adjust the sun’s position and create different lighting scenarios. Observe how the shadows change on the buildings and trees.
2. **Create Slides:** Open the “Slides” panel and click “Create Slide.” This will capture the current view and settings of your scene.
3. **Multiple Slides:** Create multiple slides, each with a different daylight setting or viewpoint. This allows you to create a dynamic presentation that showcases your scene from different perspectives.
4. **Save Slides:** Click “Save” to apply the changes to your web scene.

**Step 6: Sharing Your Vision – Web AppBuilder (Optional)**

If you want to create a custom web application based on your 3D scene, Web AppBuilder is the tool for you. It allows you to add widgets, tools, and branding to create a tailored user experience.

* **Create a New Web App:** In ArcGIS Online, click “Create” and select “Web App.”
* **Choose Web AppBuilder:** Select “Web AppBuilder” as the application type.
* **Add Your Web Scene:** Add your published web scene as the base map for the application.
* **Customize with Widgets:** Add widgets to provide functionality such as search, measurement, and information popups.
* **Configure Branding:** Customize the look and feel of the application with your organization’s logo and colors.
* **Share Your App:** Share the application with your colleagues or the public.

**Beyond the Basics: Tips and Tricks for 3D Success**

* **Simplify Geometry:** Complex 3D models can slow down performance. Simplify the geometry of your models where possible without sacrificing visual quality.
* **Use Level of Detail (LOD):** LOD allows you to display different levels of detail based on the distance from the viewer. This can significantly improve performance.
* **Optimize Textures:** Large textures can also impact performance. Optimize your textures by reducing their size and using appropriate compression formats.
* **Consider Lighting:** Lighting plays a crucial role in the visual appeal of your 3D scene. Experiment with different lighting settings to achieve the desired effect.
* **Tell a Story:** Don’t just create a 3D scene; tell a story with it. Use annotations, popups, and slides to guide the viewer and highlight key information.

**The Future of 3D GIS**

The field of 3D GIS is evolving rapidly. We can expect to see even more powerful tools and techniques emerge in the coming years. Here are a few trends to watch:

* **Real-time 3D:** The ability to stream and visualize real-time 3D data from sensors and drones.
* **AI-powered 3D Modeling:** Using artificial intelligence to automatically generate 3D models from imagery and other data sources.
* **Integration with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR):** Bringing 3D GIS experiences to life in the real world through AR and VR technologies.
* **Digital Twins:** Creating virtual replicas of physical assets and systems, enabling real-time monitoring, analysis, and optimization.

These advancements will unlock even more possibilities for using 3D GIS to solve complex problems and create a more sustainable and resilient future.

I hope this guide has inspired you to explore the exciting world of 3D GIS. It’s a powerful technology that can transform how you visualize, analyze, and share spatial information. Don’t be afraid to experiment, learn from your mistakes, and push the boundaries of what’s possible. The future of mapping is three-dimensional, and it’s here now.

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