How to display features as rasters in ArcScene

Available with 3D Analyst license.

Unlike ArcGlobe, ArcScene does not have the concept of rasterized layers. This means that if you have cartographically displayed vector data that you want to display as draped on the surface in ArcScene (particularly line and polygon data), you will need to manually convert your symbolized vector data to raster using ArcMap. Converting data into a consistent raster format can improve rendering speed and regulate effective analysis tasks.

To manually rasterize vector data, you will display the data inside ArcMap first and export the map to a raster format (raster file exporters included with ArcMap are BMP, TIFF, JPEG, GIF, and PNG). You will need to do this for each layer or group of layers you want to display as a separate entity in ArcScene. Then simply add the results of the exported image into ArcScene for viewing.

Note:

• When exporting your map document, be sure to georeference the output raster by checking the option to write a world file when exporting the image from ArcMap. This is included in the steps below.

Also see Rasterizing features for 3D for more information.

Follow the steps below to export rasterized vector data from ArcMap. After exporting, you can add the image back into ArcScene.

1. In ArcMap, click the File menu and click Export Map.
2. Navigate to where you want to save the export file.
3. Click the Save as type drop-down arrow and click any raster file format (BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or GIF).
4. Type a file name for the export file.
5. Click the word Options on the lower left corner of the Export Map dialog box to expand the export options.
6. Click the General tab from the Options section at the bottom of the dialog box.

To add georeferencing information, check Write World File. This option is only available when you export while in data view and will create a world file that contains information that is used in conjunction with the exported raster file to tell software where the image is located in the world. The file will have the same name as the image file and a file extension that is based on the first and last letters of the image's file extension plus the letter w. (For example, if you create a TIFF image named MyMap.tif, the world file will be called MyMap.tfw.)

The TIFF file format has the additional ability to store georeferencing information internally. This is a GeoTIFF. To create a GeoTIFF, click the Save as type drop-down arrow and click TIFF, click the Options arrow to expand the options, then click the Format tab and check Write GeoTIFF Tags. This option is only available when you export while in data view.

7. Optionally, click the Formats tab to set format-specific options.

The Color Mode option sets the bit depth of the exported raster.

The Compression option sets the compression method used to encode the image.

The Background Color option sets the color used as the background in the exported image.

GIF, JPEG, and PNG have an Interlaced (or Progressive for JPEG) check box, which creates a raster that draws gradually as it is loaded. ArcMap does not support progressive rasters, so this option should be disabled if the exported raster data will be used in ArcMap.

PNG and GIF support transparency. They have a Transparent Color option, which selects the color in the map that will be marked as transparent.

8. Click Save to write the file.
Now you can add the image back to ArcScene.