Digitizing a 3D polygon graphic in ArcGlobe

Available with 3D Analyst license.

You can set the default properties, such as size, color, and symbol, prior to digitizing new polygon graphic elements. Besides these properties, you can also set the display options such as drawing the polygon as a draped image or vector. For more information, see Setting defaults for 3D graphics.

Considerations when digitizing polygon graphic elements

When digitizing in areas of varying topography, polygon interiors may not conform to surfaces. This is because when you digitize a polygon graphic, only the vertices of the edges you indicated by digitizing are interpolated from the surface or object. A special case in which a polygon will conform is in a flat area. When constructing polygon graphics at large distances in ArcGlobe, the interior of the polygon may fall beneath the curvature of the earth.

If you find that polygon interior nonconformance is an issue, you can set the default polygon fill to be No Color. This will show the perimeter of the polygon only. See Editing 3D graphics for more information.

To digitize a new 3D polygon graphic element, do the following:

1. Click the New Polygon tool on the Globe 3D Graphics toolbar.
2. Click the first point you want to digitize on the surface object.
3. Click any additional vertices you want to create, double-clicking the final point.

A polygon outline appears, defined by the vertices you digitized.

To adjust the properties, such as color and size, of the newly digitized graphic, right-click the selected element and click Properties.

Tip:

• In ArcGlobe, another option to make polygons conform is to rasterize the graphic element. This will fully drape the interior of the polygon over the surface. To rasterize a graphic, select it using the Select Graphics tool, right-click the element, then click Rasterize Graphic.
• Vector polygon graphics in ArcGlobe do not support all layer effects. For example, transparency is not supported.