About measuring distances and heights in ArcScene

Available with 3D Analyst license.

What can you measure in 3D?

The Measure tool in ArcScene can measure 2D distances, 3D straight-line distances, and heights in 3D, as well as areas and features such as points, lines, polygons, and multipatches. You can also dynamically measure the distance between an observer and target when you hover the pointer in the view. This is explained below.

Click the Measure tool on the Tools toolbar, and the Measure window appears. The ArcScene pointer icon changes, and by default, the Measure Length On Ground tool is enabled until you choose a different option from the Measure dialog box. Until you click on a feature in the scene, you can move the Measure Length On Ground pointer around and get automatic feedback in the dialog box reporting its geographic location and the distance between the observer and target. The pointer location is treated as the target on the surface.

Choosing between the other tools available, you can draw a line and get results such as 3D straight-line distance measurement or height information. On the Measure dialog box, you can also set the units in which to report the results. Measurements are displayed inside the window, so it is easy to copy and paste them into other applications.

To use the Measure tools, you click one or more times to digitize a line with one or more segments.

If you see the pointer icon change to red () it means that there is no data available under the pointer. You must reposition the pointer over visible features in order to complete the measure task.

Note:

• If there is no defined coordinate system in your ArcScene document, the Measure window will display values marked with unknown units. Care should be taken when defining your scene document that it is using spatially referenced data. With spatially referenced data, you can also choose from a list of unit options and see your measurements converted for comparison.
• Measuring distances and heights in 3D does not utilize snapping as with the ArcMap Measure tool.

The different measure tools on the Measure window

Measure results for the Measure Length On Ground tool and a recorded sum of all the line segments digitized

The tools on the Measure window are described below:

• Measure a 2D line distance over ground. Double-click to complete the line. This line feature will conform to the surface.
• Measure a direct 3D straight-line distance. Double-click to complete the line.
• Measure the height in 3D. Double-click to complete the line or height measurement.
• Measure an area over a surface. Double-click to complete the polygon. TIN surfaces will report greater accuracy, rather than grid surfaces, for area measurements.
• Click a feature to measure its length (line); perimeter and area (polygon); height (multipatch); or x,y,z location (point features).
• Keep a sum of consecutive measurements.
• Set the distance and area measurement units. The measurement units are set to the map units by default.
• Clear and reset the measurement results in the dialog box.

Keyboard shortcuts to enhance measuring tasks

To improve the experience when measuring in 3D, certain keyboard keys have been enabled to provide added function.

Keyboard key	Function
SPACE	Press and hold the spacebar when you want to navigate the view to change your perspective in the middle of a measure sketch. You can do this midsketch, or you can pause (ESC) the sketch first and save the last point digitized before navigating.
ESC	Pause the sketch. This is useful before pressing the SPACE keyboard shortcut to navigate.
ESC + ESC	Clear & reset the sketch and results. This is the same as clicking the reset button on the Measure window.
TAB	Resume the sketch if you have paused it pressing the ESC keyboard shortcut. If you have finished your sketch (double-click to end), pressing the TAB keyboard shortuct will also resume the sketch as long as you have not changed to another tool. It will continue from the last digitized vertex remembered. If you have Show Total turned on, it will also resume after pressing the TAB keyboard shortcut.