There are several options available to display or symbolize a point cloud scene layer. You can quickly change the display of a point cloud scene layer with the Symbology drop-down menu or the Symbology pane.
There are four symbology renderers to symbolize a point cloud scene layer: Stretch, Classify, Unique Values and RGB. Detailed information for each renderer type is provided below.
The Symbology options for a point cloud scene layer honor any applied point filters. See Change filter options for a point cloud scene layer for more information on point filter options. Only one renderer can be drawn at a time.
When a point cloud scene layer is added to a 3D scene in ArcGIS AllSource, the points are drawn with an elevation renderer and eye-dome lighting applied, by default. Eye-dome lighting is a shading technique that improves the perception of depth and contour when viewing points. To turn eye-dome lighting on or off, select a point cloud scene layer in the Contents pane, select the Point Cloud Layer tab set and locate the Lighting and Shading group. Select the Eye-Dome Lighting button to turn the shading effect on or off.
For more information on symbology in ArcGIS AllSource, see Symbolization, Data classification methods, and Symbolize feature layers.
Use the symbology drop-down menu
Use the Symbology drop-down menu to quickly change the symbology of a point cloud scene layer between common representations. The appearance of the point cloud scene layer automatically changes with each selection from the Symbology drop-down menu.
Follow these steps to access the Symbology drop-down menu.
- Select a point cloud scene layer in the Contents pane, click the Point Cloud Layer tab set.
- In the Drawing group, click the Symbology drop-down arrow.
- Select the applicable symbology for the selected point cloud scene layer.
The choice of point-based symbology renderers will vary depending upon the source data and can include the following:
| Point symbology attributes | Description |
|---|---|
Elevation | Symbolize points based on point elevation. |
Class | Symbolize the points by the LAS classification code (if available). |
Return | Symbolize the points by the lidar pulse return number (if available). |
RGB | Symbolize the points by RGB values assigned to each point (if available). |
Intensity | Symbolize the points by intensity values assigned to each point (if available). |
| Point renderers | Description |
|---|---|
Stretch | Stretch values along a color ramp. |
Classify | Assign a color for a group of values. |
Unique Values | Assign a color to each value. |
Use the symbology pane
There are four options available to symbolize a point cloud scene layer using the Symbology pane: Stretch, Classify, Unique Values, and RGB. Details of each renderer are provided below.
- Select a point cloud scene layer in the Contents pane, and click the Point Cloud Layer tab set.
- In the Drawing group, click the Symbology button.
Stretch
Stretch allows you to define how the values will be stretched between a minimum and maximum value that is associate by a color ramp for either the Elevation or Intensity values.
- Symbol Size increases or decreases the size of the points based on a percentage.
- Draw allows you to change between Elevation and Intensity values.
- Modulate using intensity darkens the base color computed by the renderer based on the intensity value for each point. High intensity values leave the base color unchanged while low intensity may darken the base color. The amount of modulation is proportional to the intensity value within an intensity range representative of the dataset where extreme intensity values (low/high) have been excluded.
- Color scheme sets the color scheme.
- Stretch defines the range of values to display.
Classify
Classify allows you to group points together in a specified number of classes when displaying either Elevation or Intensity values.
- Symbol Size increases or decreases the size of the points based on a percentage.
- Draw allows you to change between Elevation and Intensity values.
- Modulate using intensity darkens the base color computed by the renderer based on the intensity value for each point. High intensity values leave the base color unchanged while low intensity may darken the base color. The amount of modulation is proportional to the intensity value within an intensity range representative of the dataset where extreme intensity values (low/high) have been excluded.
- Edit color scheme allows the modification to the default color scheme used. You can change the Method, Classes and Color scheme used to classify the points. For more information on the standard classification methods provided in ArcGIS AllSource, see Data classification methods.
- Class Breaks defines the range of values to display.
Unique Values
Unique Values assigns a color to each value in your dataset. LAS files of a point cloud scene layer can be attributed with additional information. The Unique Values renderer allows the points to be rendered with individual colors for point attributes such as Class Codes, Number of Returns, Return Number, or other modeled attributes.
- Symbol Size increases or decreases the size of the points based on a percentage.
- Draw allows you to symbolize the points using Class Codes, Number of Returns, or Return Number or other modeled attributes.
- Modulate using intensity darkens the base color computed by the renderer based on the intensity value for each point. High intensity values leave the base color unchanged while low intensity may darken the base color. The amount of modulation is proportional to the intensity value within an intensity range representative of the dataset where extreme intensity values (low/high) have been excluded.
- Edit color scheme allows the modification to the current color scheme.
- Values defines the range of values to display.
RGB
A point cloud sourced from lidar can be attributed with RGB (red, green, and blue) bands. This attribution often comes from imagery collected at the same time as the data survey. If the data does not have RGB attribution, a warning message will display indicating that the renderer could not be opened.