Summary
Converts raster cell centers into 3D multipoint features whose Z values reflect the raster cell value.
Usage
Consider using this tool if you have raster elevation data and require access to the functional capabilities provided by a triangulated surface, as multipoint features can be loaded into a TIN or Terrain dataset.
When the input raster is very large in size, consider applying a thinning method to reduce the number of cells that get exported to the multipoint feature class.
- Use the Z Tolerance thinning method when it is important to preserve vertical accuracy.
- Use the Kernel thinning method when it is important to control the horizontal sample distance.
- Use the VIP thinning method if the resulting multipoints will be primarily applied for visualization applications. This method is relatively fast, outputs a predictable number of points, and is good at selecting local peaks and pits. However, it is sensitive to noise and may ignore topographic features that span an extent that is larger than the 3 cell by 3 cell area.
- Use the VIP Histogram option as an initial step to apply the VIP thinning method, as it produces a histogram of the significance scores that lets you know the number of points that would be selected with each incrementing percentile value.
Syntax
RasterToMultipoint_3d (in_raster, out_feature_class, {out_vip_table}, {method}, {kernel_method}, {z_factor})
Parameter | Explanation | Data Type |
in_raster | The raster to process. | Raster Layer |
out_feature_class | The feature class that will be produced by this tool. | Feature Class |
out_vip_table (Optional) | The histogram table to be produced when VIP Histogram is specified for the Method parameter. | Table |
method (Optional) | The thinning method applied to the input raster to select a subset of cells that will be exported to the multipoint feature class.
| String |
kernel_method (Optional) | The selection method used within each kernel neighborhood when kernel thinning is applied on the input raster.
| String |
z_factor (Optional) | The factor by which Z values will be multiplied. This is typically used to convert Z linear units to match XY linear units. The default is 1, which leaves elevation values unchanged. | Double |
Code sample
RasterToMultipoint example 1 (Python window)
The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in the Python window.
import arcpy
from arcpy import env
arcpy.CheckOutExtension("3D")
env.workspace = "C:/data"
arcpy.RasterToMultipoint_3d("elevation.tif", "","elev_VIP.dbf", "VIP_HISTOGRAM", "", "1")
RasterToMultipoint example 2 (stand-alone script)
The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in a stand-alone Python script.
'''*********************************************************************
Name: RasterToMultipoint Example
Description: This script demonstrates how to use
the RasterToMultipoint tool to create multipoint datasets
fot all IMG rasters in a target workspace.
**********************************************************************'''
# Import system modules
import arcpy
from arcpy import env
import exceptions
try:
arcpy.CheckOutExtension("3D")
# Set default workspace
env.workspace = "C:/data"
# Create the list of IMG rasters
rasterList = arcpy.ListRasters("*", "IMG")
# Loop the process for each raster
if rasterList:
for raster in rasterList:
# Set Local Variables
# [:-4] strips the last 4 characters (.img) from the raster name
outTbl = "VIP_" + raster[:-4] + ".dbf"
method = "VIP_HISTOGRAM"
zfactor = 1
#Execute RasterToMultipoint
arcpy.ddd.RasterToMultipoint(raster, "",outTbl, method, "", zfactor)
else:
"There are no IMG rasters in the " + env.workspace + " directory."
except Exception as e:
# Returns any other error messages
print e.message
Environments
Licensing information
- ArcGIS for Desktop Basic: Requires 3D Analyst
- ArcGIS for Desktop Standard: Requires 3D Analyst
- ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced: Requires 3D Analyst