Create a project

A Drone2Map project must be created before you can begin working with Drone2Map. Projects are created through the use of processing templates. Processing templates are preconfigured optimal project settings that are used for processing of a selected output product or products. These templates are the basis for any imagery processing in Drone2Map and a template always needs to be defined before a project is created. Processing templates can support the processing of multiple types of input imagery and the generation of multiple types of imagery products. The table below provides an overview of what types of products can be generated with each processing template and some example uses.

Processing template	Products	Example usage
Rapid	Contour lines True Ortho Multispectral Orthomosaic Thermal True Ortho Pansharpened Orthomosaic Panchromatic Orthomosaic Digital surface model Digital terrain model Shaded relief Inspection report NDVI	Create a reduced-resolution True Ortho, orthomosaic, or digital elevation model. Quickly verify that your drone collection was successful. Minimum settings are applied in processing options. Inspect buildings and infrastructure.
2D Products	Contour lines True Ortho Multispectral Orthomosaic Thermal True Ortho Pansharpened Orthomosaic Panchromatic Orthomosaic Digital surface model Digital terrain model Shaded relief Inspection report NDVI	Create 2D products that are ready for use in ArcGIS. Perform measurements and volumetric analysis. Share products as fast-performing tile or imagery layers to ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online. Create multispectral products that are ready for analysis. Use output multiband TIFF images to generate soil and vegetation indices (MSAVI, NDVI, SAVI, TSAVI, Green NDVI, and Red-Edge NDVI). Create thermal True Orthos that are ready for analysis. Monitor temperature trends to gain insights on infrastructure or agricultural health.
3D Products	3D point clouds 3D textured meshes Note: 3D templates and products are available with a Drone2Map Advanced license.	Create 3D products that are ready for use in ArcGIS. Visualize 3D data in scene view. Share textured meshes and point clouds as fast-performing scene layers.
Batch	Output products are determined by each project in the batch process.	Process multiple projects in sequence. Prioritize projects to finish first. Create different products per project.
Custom	Can be configured for any ArcGIS Drone2Map product	Allows iterative work using the identical project settings. Allows multiple flight projects over the same area at different times.

Create a project using a project template

To create a project, complete the following steps:

1. Start Drone2Map.
2. Type a name for the new project in the Give Your Project a Name text box.
3. Under Project Location, accept the default location, or click Browse to choose a different location on your local file system where you want the new project to be stored.
4. Click Add Images to add individual images to your project, or click Add Folder to add a folder of images to your project.

   Images can be JPEG or TIFF.

   • Input JPEG images as .jpg or .jpeg files.
   • Input monochromatic or multiband TIFF (RGB, infrared, thermal) as .tif or .tiff files.

   Note:

   Drone2Map supports a wide range of thermal cameras, however, some DJI thermal cameras may require an optional installation package, which can be downloaded from My Esri and installed alongside Drone2Map 2024.1 and later.

   If your input imagery supports more than one product type, the Choose Product Type window will appear, asking what type of output product you want to process. This will disable any images that do not meet the requirements for that product type before the project is created.

   Drone2Map checks the images for geolocation information. If your imagery does not have geolocation information embedded, you're prompted to provide a file with this information. Browse to the file on your local system and add the file with the GPS data. Choose whether the file will contain headers and the delimiter type. If necessary, map the field to the correct column in the geolocation file. For more information, see Work with geolocation data.

   The selected images and geolocation information appear.

5. Choose one of the template options on the new project page. Choose from the following options:
   • Rapid
   • 2D Products
   • 3D Products
   • Batch
   • Custom
6. Click Create.

   The project is created and opened in the Drone2Map home screen. A project directory is created in your chosen location, which stores your project settings, processing outputs, and other information about your project.

   Note:

   When you create a project, Drone2Map checks for available disk space and notifies you if you may need to increase available disk space before processing. If you have less than 10 GB of available space, you will see the following message: Less than 10GB disk space is available. It is recommended to increase available disk space to at least 10GB before processing.

Import a template

If you have exported a Drone2Map template during a previous Drone2Map session, you can import that template to quickly create a project using your specific processing options and outputs. To use your Drone2Map template to create a project, complete the following steps:

1. Start Drone2Map.
2. Click the Custom template button.
3. Browse to your stored Drone2Map template, select it, and click OK.

Export as a template

You can export your own templates to create projects based on recurring workflows and processing options. To export a custom template, complete the following steps:

1. On the ribbon, on the Home tab, in the Processing group, click Options .
2. On the Options dialog box, configure the settings and options on each tab.
3. Click Export Template.
4. Choose a location, name the template, and click Save.