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Add layers to scenes

In this topic

  1. Layers that Scene Viewer supports
  2. Search for layers
  3. Add an ArcGIS web service layer
  4. Add a GeoJSON layer
  5. Add a CSV layer
  6. Add a line of sight layer
  7. Add a dimensions layer

Add layers to new or existing scenes to help better tell your story. You can browse Scene Viewer resources such as My Content or My Organization to add content and enhance your scene. You can also add a layer by entering a URL.

Note:

See Global versus local scene: layer support for layer requirements.

  1. Verify you are signed in to the portal and open Scene Viewer.
  2. On the Designer toolbar, click Add Layers Add to add layers.
  3. Click Save Save to save the layers added to the scene.

Layers that Scene Viewer supports

Scene Viewer supports the following layers:

  • CSV layer
  • Elevation layer
  • Feature layer
  • GeoJSON layer
  • Imagery layer 1
  • Map image layer
  • OGC Web Feature Service (WFS)
  • OGC Web Map Service (WMS)
  • OGC Web Map Tile Service (WMTS)
  • Scene layer
    • 3D object
    • Building
    • Integrated mesh
    • Point
    • Point cloud
    • Voxel 2
  • Tile layer
  • Vector tile layer

Note:
  • 1 Scene Viewer doesn't support all the image rendering properties set in Map Viewer Classic.
  • 2 Voxel layers are only supported with WebGL2. If you are using Safari, ensure you have version 15 or later. See Scene Viewer requirements.

See Scene Viewer layer support for information about ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online layer availability in Scene Viewer.

Search for layers

To add layers to a scene, do the following:

  1. Click Add Layers Add on the Designer toolbar.
  2. Click Browse layers Browse layers to search for layers from the following:

    • My Content—Includes layers you own.
    • My Favorites—Includes layers you've marked as favorites.
    • My Groups—Includes layers from groups to which you belong.
    • My Organization—Includes layers from the organization.
    • Living Atlas—This option returns selected layers from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, including traffic, demographics, and land-cover layers. This option is only available if you are signed in to a portal that is configured to use ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World content.

  3. Do any of the following to help you find the layers you want:
    • Type search terms in the search box. You can also use advanced search to help narrow your search results.
    • Click the Filter button Filter to narrow the search results. For example, if you are searching for layers in an organization and content categories have been set up, you can use the Categories filter to narrow the results. You can also filter ArcGIS Living Atlas layer results using the ArcGIS standard category set or the Regions filter. Use the Status filter if you want your search to only return layers that have been marked as authoritative. The filter options you see depend on where you are searching for layers, and whether and how you are signed in.
      Note:

      To limit search results based on the current view, select Only show content within map area. For example, if your scene is zoomed to Nevada, USA, your search results are ordered and based on your current view. Changing your view to Pennsylvania typically returns different results (depending on your keywords). All layers that overlap your current view (and match your keywords) are returned.

    • Click the Sort button Sort to sort the layer results and change the sort direction as needed.
    • To see important details about a layer, click its title. In the layer details pane, click the View full item details button Item details to open the item page to see more information about the layer.
  4. Click Add Add to add a layer to a scene.
  5. Repeat the previous step for each layer you want to add.
    Tip:

    You can add any of the layer results to your favorites by clicking Add to Favorites in the layer details pane. You can view your complete list of favorites by choosing My Favorites when searching for layers in Scene Viewer or from the My Favorites tab on the content page.

  6. Click Remove Remove to remove a layer from a scene.
  7. On the Designer toolbar, click Save Save to save the layers added to the scene.
  8. Add more layers to the scene or click Done.

Add an ArcGIS web service layer

You can also add an ArcGIS web service layer to a scene by entering the URL of the layer.

  1. Click Add Layers Add on the Designer toolbar.
  2. Click ArcGIS web service Web service to open the Enter Layer URL pane.
  3. Enter the URL of the service in the Layer URL text box.
  4. Enter a name for the layer in the Layer name text box.
  5. Optionally, do the following to append custom parameters to requests made to the service:
    1. Under Custom parameters, click Add parameter.
    2. Type the name of the parameter you want to append in the Parameter text box.
    3. Type the parameter value in the Value text box.
    4. Repeat these steps for each parameter you want to append.

      If you specified custom parameters, they are applied to all the layers you chose. To append different custom parameters to specific layers only, you must add those layers separately.

  6. Click Add to add the service to the scene.

Add a GeoJSON layer

GeoJSON is an open standard geospatial data interchange format that represents simple geographic features and their nonspatial attributes.

Do the following to add a GeoJSON layer:

  1. Click Add Layers Add on the Designer toolbar.
  2. Click GeoJSON GeoJSON to open the GeoJSON pane.
  3. Enter the URL of the service in the Layer URL text box.
  4. Enter a name for the layer in the Layer name text box.
  5. Optionally, append custom parameters to requests made to the service, as follows:
    1. Under Custom parameters, click Add parameter.
    2. Type the name of the parameter you want to append in the Parameter text box.
    3. Type the parameter value in the Value text box.
    4. Repeat these steps for each parameter you want to append.

      To append different custom parameters to specific layers only, you must add those layers separately.

  6. Click Add to add the service to the scene.

Add a CSV layer

A comma-separated value file (CSV) is a web-based text file that typically includes location information.

Do the following to add a CSV layer:

  1. Click Add Layers Add on the Designer toolbar.
  2. Click CSV CSV to open the CSV pane.
  3. Enter the URL of the service in the Layer URL text box.
  4. Enter a name for the layer in the Layer name text box.
  5. Optionally, do the following to append custom parameters to requests made to the service:
    1. Under Custom parameters, click Add parameter.
    2. Type the name of the parameter you want to append in the Parameter text box.
    3. Type the parameter value in the Value text box.
    4. Repeat these steps for each parameter you want to append.

      To append different custom parameters to specific layers only, you must add those layers separately.

  6. Click Add to add the service to the scene.

Add a line of sight layer

You can use the Line of sight tool Line of sight to perform 3D visibility analysis from an observer to multiple target points. The visibility between the observer and multiple target points is calculated against the currently displayed content in the view, including ground, integrated meshes, and 3D objects, such as buildings or trees.

The line of sight analysis appears as lines and spheres: green lines are the visible part that the observer can see; red lines are the occluded part. Also, green spheres indicate visible targets in which the full line is green; red spheres indicate the occluded targets. When the line of sight can't be calculated, it is displayed with a gray color. This happens when either the target or the observer are not in the view, or when neither of them are in the view.

Create a line of sight layer

Do the following to create and add a line of sight layer:

  1. Click Add Layers Add on the Designer toolbar.
  2. Click Line of sight Line of sight to open the Line of sight pane.
  3. Click in the scene to place an observer point.
  4. Drag and click to place a target.

    Click and drag to place more targets.

  5. Click Stop anytime to stop placing points.

    Do any of the following:

    1. Click and drag any of the points to adjust the line of sight.
    2. Click Continue to place more target points.
    3. Click New to reset the line of sight.
    4. Right-click a target to remove it.
  6. Click Done when you are finished.

    A new line of sight layer is added to Layers Layers.

Modify a line of sight layer

Do the following to modify a line of sight layer:

  1. Click Layers Layers to open the Layers pane.
  2. Select the line of sight layer or click the layer options tool Reorder and select Edit Line of sight to open the Line of sight pane.
  3. Do any of the following:
    1. Click and drag any of the points to adjust the line of sight.
    2. Click Continue to place more target points.
    3. Click New to reset the line of sight.
    4. Right-click a target to remove it.
  4. Click Stop anytime to stop placing points.
  5. Click Done to apply changes and return to Layers Layers.

    Click Cancel to quit and return to Layers Layers.

Add a dimensions layer

You can use the Dimensions tool Dimensions to communicate critical information about the dimensions of objects in a scene. Each dimensions layer allows you to create multiple dimensions with labels that display either the horizontal, vertical, or diagonal distance between the points. You can group the dimensions into themes, with different colors and sizes for the lines and labels for each layer, allowing you to customize the visualization. The dimensions are saved in the scene and can be used in slides to share with stakeholders, such as for existing and proposed developments.

Create a dimensions layer

Do the following to create a dimensions layer:

  1. Click Add Layers Add on the Designer toolbar.
  2. Click Dimensions Dimensions to open the Dimensions pane.
  3. Click in the scene to place the first point.
  4. Drag and click to place the endpoint.

    Click in the scene to place more dimensions.

  5. Click Stop to stop adding dimensions.
  6. To edit the dimensions, do any of the following:
    1. Click a dimension and drag any of the points to edit the distance.
    2. If available, rotate the positioning of the dimension.
    3. Click an orange bar to change the dimension edge and drag to position the label.
    4. For Line, click Color Pencil to change the line color:
      • Choose a color in the color picker.
      • Create a custom color by the Hex, RGB, or HSV values.
      • Under Saved, you can temporarily save colors. Click Add or Zoom out to add or remove a color.
      • Click Done to apply the settings and return to the previous pane.

      You can also click one of the recent colors.

    5. For Label, click  Color Pencil to change the color of the label through the color options. You can also click one of the recent colors.
    6. For Size, choose small, medium, or large to set the size for both the line and label.
  7. Click Add to add more dimensions.
  8. Click Clear all to clear the dimensions for that layer and start over.
  9. Click Done when you are finished.

    A new dimension layer is added to Layers Layers.

  10. Click Cancel to return to the previous pane.

Modify a dimensions layer

Do the following to modify a dimensions layer:

  1. Click Layers Layers to open the Layers pane.
  2. Select the dimensions layer or click the layer options tool Reorder and select Edit Dimensions to open the Dimensions pane.
  3. To edit a dimension, do any of the following:
    1. Click a dimension and drag any of the points to edit the distance.
    2. Click an orange bar to change the dimension edge and drag to position the label.
    3. If available, rotate the positioning of the dimension.
    4. For Line, click Color Pencil to change the line color:
      • Choose a color in the color picker.
      • Create a custom color by the Hex, RGB, or HSV values.
      • Under Saved, you can temporarily save colors. Click Add or Zoom out to add or remove a color.
      • Click Done to apply the settings and return to the previous pane.

      You can also click one of the recent colors.

    5. For Label, click Color Pencil to change the color of the label through the color options.

      You can also click one of the recent colors.

    6. For Size, choose small, medium, or large to set the size for both the line and label.
  4. Click Add to add more dimensions.
  5. Click Stop to stop adding dimensions.
  6. Click Clear all to clear the dimensions for that layer and start over.
  7. Click Done when you are finished.
  8. Click Cancel to return to the previous pane.

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In this topic
  1. Layers that Scene Viewer supports
  2. Search for layers
  3. Add an ArcGIS web service layer
  4. Add a GeoJSON layer
  5. Add a CSV layer
  6. Add a line of sight layer
  7. Add a dimensions layer