3D Toolbox widget

The 3D Toolbox widget adds 3D effects and analysis tools to both global and local web scenes. Currently, the widget supports daylight, weather, shadow cast, line of sight, and slice tools.

Examples

Use this widget to support app design requirements such as the following:

• You want construction site managers to visualize lines of sight.
• You want farmers to model sunlight on farmland by date and time.
• You want customers to view snowfall and cloud cover effects on a ski resort map.

Usage notes

This widget requires connection to a Map widget. To generate 3D effects, the Map widget must be connected to a 3D data source, either a global or local web scene.

When you include this widget in an app, a toolbar provides users with the following tools for adding 3D effects and analysis:

Note:

The tools appear in the toolbar based on the order and selection configured in the widget's settings.

• Daylight—Illuminate the scene with simulated real-world sunlight and shadows.
  • Sun position by date and time—Choose to simulate daylight based on a given date and time. You can provide a season or exact date and drag the time slider left and right to simulate sunlight at different times of day. You can use the play button to animate sunlight and shadows over time. Uncheck Sun position by date and time to simulate daylight relative to the camera's point of view.

    Note:

    When working in 3D, the camera is the point in 3D space from which you view the scene.

    Learn more about how to define a camera

  • Shadows—Choose whether to show direct shadows cast by 3D input features based on the configured sun position.
• Weather—Add atmospheric effects for Sunny, Cloudy, Rainy, Snowy, or Foggy weather. Optionally, for Snowy, choose to cover all surfaces except the basemap with snow.
• Shadow cast—Model shadows cast by 3D input features based on sunlight for a given date and time.
  • Analysis type—Choose a mode for analyzing shadows.
    • Areas above threshold—Only display the areas that receive shadows for more than a certain amount of time within the given range. Hovering over the scene displays a ToolTip showing the amount of time that location is in shadow.
    • Total shadow duration—Display the duration of cumulative shadows using opacity. Areas that do not receive any shadow are fully transparent, while areas that receive a maximum amount of shadow have a default opacity of 0.7. The values in between are interpolated. Hovering over the scene displays a ToolTip showing the amount of time that location is in shadow. With this mode, the visualization can display shadows in a continuous gradient or in one-hour intervals.
    • Discrete shadows—Display individual shadows at a given time interval. For example, setting the time range to 10 a.m.–11 a.m. and the time interval to 30 minutes displays shadows for 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 11 a.m.
  • Color—Choose a color to represent shadows.

  Note:

  The Shadow cast tool has the following known limitations:

  • Terrain does not cast shadows and is therefore not taken into account in this analysis.
  • The tool does not take daylight saving time into account. You can use the time zone drop-down menu to account for daylight saving time.
  • The time zone updates automatically depending on the camera's location, but in some situations the detection may not be accurate. You can manually set the time zone using the drop-down menu.

• Line of sight—Determine sight lines by setting observer and target points.
  • New analysis—Start a new line of sight analysis. Place the observer point, and place one or more target points. The generated line or lines divide into visible and obstructed portions.
• Slice—Reveal obstructed features with a movable rectangular plane that can block out certain layers, like a cross section.
  • New slice—Place a slice plane. Once the plane is placed, you can click and drag its edges and corners to resize it. You can rotate, move, and tilt the plane with the three tools that appear along the plane's edges. The tilt tool only appears when it is turned on in the widget's settings.
  • Exclude layer—Click a layer in the view to exclude it from being affected by the slice. Excluded layers are listed in the Slice tool pane. You can click Include layer in the slice to include a layer.

Note:

When you close a tool panel, its configured 3D effect or analysis remains active on the scene. For all tools, you can click Clear effect or Clear analysis to remove the effect or analysis and close the tool panel.

Settings

The 3D Toolbox widget includes the following settings:

• Select a Map widget—Select a Map widget connected to a 3D scene.
• Tools—Include tools for users to add 3D effects and analysis. You can drag the tools up and down to change their order or unselect them to remove them.
  • Daylight—Illuminate the scene with simulated real-world lighting.
    • Timezone selector—Include a tool for selecting a time zone for the time slider. The time zone updates automatically based on the camera's location.
    • Time slider steps—Set the number of minutes the time slider moves when the user manually drags it. For example, if you set Time slider steps to 60, dragging the slider moves it hour by hour.
    • Date selector—Include a tool for selecting either a season or exact date to model sunlight and shadows.
    • Enable play control—Provide play buttons allowing the user to animate sunlight and shadows over a day or year.
      • Autoplay—Play the one day animation automatically when the Daylight tool is activated.
      • Daytime play speed—Set a play speed for the one day animation. You can adjust the play speed to anywhere ranging from 0.1 to 10.0 times faster than the default speed.
    • Shadow option—Include the Shadows option.
    • Date and time option—Include the Sun position by date and time option.
    • Active tool when widget load—Set the Daylight tool to run automatically when the 3D Toolbox widget loads.
  • Weather—Add cloud, precipitation, and fog effects to the scene's atmosphere and sky.
    • Default weather—Choose a default weather effect.
    • Default values—Set default values for the Cloud cover, Precipitation, and Fog density sliders.
    • Snow cover—Include the Snow cover option.
    • Active tool when widget load—Set the Weather tool to run automatically when the 3D Toolbox widget loads.
  • Shadow cast—Model shadows cast by input features based on sunlight for a given date and time.
    • Default analysis type—Choose a default shadow analysis mode.
    • Timezone selector—Include a tool for selecting a time zone for the time slider. The time zone updates automatically based on the camera's location.
    • Date selector—Include a tool for selecting an exact date to model shadow cast.
  • Line of sight—Determine sight lines by setting observer and target points.

    Note:

    Currently the Line of sight tool does not support customization.

  • Slice—Reveal content that is obstructed by other layers. The slice tool can be used to block out any layer type, making it possible to see inside buildings or explore geological formations.
    • Allow slice place tilt—Allow the user to rotate the slice plane in z-space.
    • Allow excluding ground—Allow the user to exclude the scene's ground layer from the slice. Excluded layers are unaffected by the slice.
    • Default slice—Set an initial slice to appear when the Slice tool is active.
    • Active tool when widget load—Set the Slice tool to run automatically when the 3D Toolbox widget loads.
• Arrangement style—Choose a layout for the widget tools, either List or Icon. For the Icon style, choose to display the tools in a vertical or horizontal direction.