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Globe scales and scales properties

Scale is a ratio between measurements on a globe view and measurements in the real world. In ArcGIS Reality Studio, you can display the globe at any scale. You can also set up a series of desired globe scales that allow you to choose a scale from a list. The scale list is at the bottom corner of the globe, where the scale list refers to the camera's height above the ground elevation surface.

Scales display in one format only, but you can enter a scale in a different format and it will be converted to the display format. For example, if the scales in the list display as relative fractions but you enter 1 cm = 1.5 km, the application converts this to 1:150,000.

Customize the globe scale list

You can customize the globe scale list that appears for each globe throughout your project. When you expand the scale list and click Customize, the Scale Properties dialog box appears. Here you can build your own globe scales by adding or deleting from the list, setting scale alias names, importing an external list, saving changes to your list, or sharing it.

You can optionally define alias values for scales in your globe scale list. To set an alias for a particular scale, enter the description in the Alias column on the Standard Heights tab on the Scale Properties dialog box.

Add a new scale to the list

When the Scale Properties dialog box appears, only the Add Current button is enabled. Use this button to add the current globe scale to the scale list. Alternatively, add a specific scale by typing the scale, and an optional alias, in the boxes above the corresponding headings and pressing Enter or clicking Add. Click OK to save this change.

Note:

Scales are added to the list in sequential order.

Remove a scale from the list

When the Scale Properties dialog box appears, the Delete All button is enabled. Use this button to remove all scales from the list. Alternatively, select one or more scales in the list and click Delete to remove scales individually. Click OK to save this change.

Load a globe scale list

Replace the current scale list by loading a new list from one of four sources:

  • User Profile Default Scales—Reset the active globe to use the default scale list associated with the user profile.
  • Factory Default Scales—Reset the scale list to the Esri-provided default scales.
  • From File—Load the list of scales from a text file, such as .txt, .csv, or .tab.
  • ArcGIS Online / Bing Maps / Google—Load the scale list used by ArcGIS Online.

Share a globe scale list

The globe scale list can be shared. Click Save to open the Save dialog box. Browse to the location to save the file and provide a name.

Note:

Provide a file extension to generate a file type other than .txt.

Click Save to create the file.

Update the default scale list

You can make your current set of globe scales the default used in all of your projects by updating the user profile default scale list. Click the Set as default button on the Standard Heights tab.

Set how the scale list displays

Change how the scale list is presented in the project by choosing a display mode from the Display drop-down list. Four display options are available:

  • Scale—For example, 1:1,000
  • Alias—For example, Engineering Scale
  • Scale (Alias)—For example, 1:1,000 (Engineering Scale)
  • Alias (Scale)—For example, Engineering Scale (1:1,000)
Note:

If a scale does not have an alias, it uses the scale value.