There are some key terms you will encounter when managing and visualizing temporal data in ArcMap, ArcGlobe, or ArcScene. These are identified below.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
Time-enabled layer | A layer that will display data based on the current time of the time slider. A layer can be time enabled by setting the time properties on the Time tab of the Layer Properties dialog box. |
Time instant | Refers to a single point on the timeline. |
Time stamp | The time attached to a piece of data (feature, image, and so on). The term stems from the idea of stamping a document with the time it was received. The same general concept holds true for data. The time stamp could be a single instant or a time interval. |
Time step interval of the time-enabled layer | Identifies how frequently the data was collected or updated. The time step interval of a time-enabled layer is used by the time slider. |
Time step interval of the time slider | The duration after which the map, globe, or scene will be refreshed to display the data valid at that time. |
Time extent | The period of time between two points on a timeline. |
Time extent of temporal data | The period in time within which the data was collected. Basically, it is the distance between the minimum and maximum time stamps in your time-enabled layer. |
Time extent of the time slider | The period on the timeline used by the time slider to display data. This is the cumulative time extent of all time-enabled layers in the map, globe, or scene. |
Time window | The period of time that the user wishes to visualize with the time slider. |
Temporal reference | A temporal reference provides information about the time zone and rules for daylight saving time. Setting a temporal reference allows you to visualize datasets recorded across different time zones that may or may not have rules for daylight saving time. |