4.1 Convert a Map to a Scene

4.1 Convert a Map to a Scene

Most commonly we display data as a 2D map (although this may change in the future). Traditionally, in ArcGIS software, a 2D map was displayed in ArcMap and a 3D scene displayed by ArcScene.

Credit: 2016 ArcGIS

In ArcGIS Pro, you will have 2D maps and 3D scenes in the same platform. A scene is a map that displays data in 3D. By default, ArcGIS Pro will convert a map to a global scene, which depicts the entire world as a spherical globe. Since your area of interest is University Park Campus, not the entire globe, you will need to change the settings so the map converts to a local scene instead.

1. Before starting this section, turn on UP_BUILDINGS and Smoothed_DEM layers.
2. Click the Project tab.
   

   Credit: 2016 ArcGIS
3. Click Options, on the blue pane.
   

   Credit: 2016 ArcGIS
4. The Options window will appear. Under Application, click Map and Scene.
   

   Credit: 2016 ArcGIS
5. Choose the default base map of your organization.
   

   Credit: 2019 ArcGIS
6. Click OK. In the blue pane, click the back arrow to return to your map.
7. On the View tab, in the View Group, click Convert and from the drop-down menu choose ‘To Local Scene’.
   

   Credit: 2019 ArcGIS

   Your map converts to 3D, creating a new pane called Map_3D. You can go back to your 2D map at any time by clicking the Map tab.

   

   Credit: 2016 ArcGIS
8. Under the Map_3D pane, still, your data is 2D and flat. This is because your layers are designed as 2D. You will change them later in this section. If the UP_BUILDINGS layer is in the 3D Layers, drag it down to 2D Layers.
9. In the Map_3D scene, hold down the scroll wheel or the V key and drag the pointer to tilt and rotate the scene. Pan and zoom the same way you would in a 2D map.
   

   Credit: ChoroPhronesis Lab

The flatness of the campus contrast with hills in the distance. By default, scene uses a map of elevation data, called an elevation surface, to determine the ground's elevation. It is a low resolution but spans the entire world.

10. On the Map tab, in the Layer group, click the Add Preset button and choose Ground. The Add elevation source window opens. The Smoothed_DEM should be set as the ground in the area around campus. Navigate to the location of Smoothed_DEM. Click Select.
    

    Credit: 2019 ArcGIS
11. Pan, zoom, and tilt to navigate the scene and better view the new ground elevation. You may have to zoom very close to see the shifts in elevation.
    

    Credit: ChoroPhronesis Lab