Scalable Mesh Elevation Source Editor dialog

Used to add elevation and imagery data to a 3SM file.

Opens when you create a new 3SM file.

3SM files can be composed of multiple sources of elevation and clip data. The order of the files in the list is important as the files are processed in order. So, if a certain area is to be clipped, then the clip definition should come after those data files. The order of the files in the Elevation Sources dialog can be changed by right-clicking on the selected files and using the contextual menu or the Edit menu items to order the files.

Files can be grouped for custom processing. For instance, when adding a portion of a new file to an existing 3SM, add the source file and the file that represents the clipping area into a group. That way only the source file will be clipped and not the files that are above it in the list. Files can be grouped by right-clicking on the selected files and using the contextual menu or the Edit menu items.

The supported formats described can be used to create 3SM files.

Type

Description

Terrain

Terrain files are elevation models that have been processed by other software.

Type	File Extension
Terrain Model elements	Terrain Model elements in .DGN files
InRoads	.DTM
GeoPak, GeoMacao	.TIN, .BCDTM, .DAT
Descartes Scalable Terrain Model	.STM
LandXML	.XML
DGN Level	.DGN

Point

Point files are pure XYZ points.

Type	File Extension
InRoads	.DTM
GeoPak	.TIN, .BCDTM, .DAT
GeoMacao (same as GeoPak)	.TIN, .BCDTM, .DAT
STM	.STM
LandXML	.XML
DGN Level (point elements)	.DGN
Point Cloud*	.POD
ASCIIXYZ	.XYZ
Binary XYZ	.XYZ
Raster DEM	Same as supported by Descartes.

*When adding a .Pod file as a "points" source to the 3SM, if the .Pod file is classified, only the points belonging to the "Ground" class are imported. Data in the file should be from aerial sources.

Breaklines

Breaklines define abrupt changes in the terrain due to ridges, escarpments, road edges etcetera.

Type	File Extension
DGN Level (linear elements)	.DGN

Clip

Clipping polygons restricts the DTM to areas inside the polygons.

Type	File Extension
DGN Level (closed shapes)	.DGN

Specify the level that contains clipping elements to be applied to the source elevation files. The levels come from the active DGN file. Select All Levels on the left or a specified level on the right side.

Mask

Masking polygons restricts the DTM to areas outside the polygons. They can be used to prevent DTM processing for unimportant areas such as lakes.

Type	File Extension
DGN Level (closed shapes)	.DGN

Specify the level that contains masking elements to be applied to the source elevation files. The levels come from the active DGN file. Select All Levels on the left or a specified level on the right side.

Textures

Textures are used to apply raster textures to the generated 3SM.

Type	File Extension
Raster	All raster files supported by Raster Manager.
WMS	.XWMS
Bing Maps	Bing Maps layer

GeoCoordination Service Download

Geospatial query to find data sources indexed in GeoCoordination Service. Automatically download sources and generate a new Terrain Scalable Mesh.

Check if Up-to-date

Use to verify if any changes were made to the source files. The 3SM system keeps a record of the files used to create each 3SM . The Check if Up to Date tool can be used to determine if any files used to create the 3SM are newer than the 3SM itself. In that way, the user can decide if the 3SM should be regenerated to become current.

Generate

Use to generate the 3SM.