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Configure content overview

Creating interesting visualizations of data in your scenes may be the most important aspect of conveying your message to your audience. In the Designer, there are many layer configuration options available to enhance your story. The Layer Style pane allows you to use smart mapping styles, such as point styles, where, for example, you can visualize average income levels in communities with a sequence of colors and object sizes. The Layer Poperties pane allows you to modify layer properties such as filters, transparency, pop-ups, and the legend.

Change layer style

In the Layer Style pane, you can explore layers through smart mapping styles and discover themes and patterns in the data. Smart mapping styles are available for points and 3D object or point cloud scene layers. Point styles allow you to visualize your data with 2D or 3D symbols driven by attributes or location. 3D object scene layer styles allow you to present 3D model data, such as buildings, bridges, and trees, Finally, with point cloud styles, you can symbolize your point cloud data in a variety of ways, such as by elevation, class, or intensity.

If you have line or polygon feature data, you can open the Layer Symbology pane to change layer symbology. For example, you can convert 2D underground utility lines to 3D pipes, or adjust the elevation of features based on the vertical values in the data.

Change layer properties

You can change layer properties in your scene through the Layer Properties pane. Depending on the layer type, you can adjust layer options such as filters, pop-ups, and transparencies.

Change other layer options

In Scene Viewer, you can review the layer options available by clicking the layer options tool Layer options tool. The options available are based on the layer type and include the following:

  • Layer Style—Opens the Layer Style pane where you can apply smart mapping styles to your layer.
  • Layer Symbology—Opens the Layer Symbology pane where you can change symbols for line and polygons layers.
  • Layer Properties—Opens the Layer Properties pane where you can change layer properties, such as Transparency, Pop-up, and Legend.
  • Zoom to—Shows the layer to its full extent in the scene.
  • Move up—Moves the layer up one level.
  • Move down—Moves the layer down one level.
  • Show/Hide in Layers—Shows or hides the layer in the Layers/Legend tool.
    Note:

    When you choose Hide in Layers, the layer is hidden in the Layers/Legend tool and is unavailable in Layers.

  • Rename—Highlights the layer so you can type a new name.
  • Remove—Deletes the layer.
  • Add to new group—Adds the layer to a new group layer.

You can also click and drag to reorder the layers.

Add a layer to a new group

Use group layers in your scene to organize layers that are similar in content or location. Once your layers are grouped, you can change the way they appear in the Layers/Legend tool.

  1. Click the layer options tool Layer options tool in any layer and click Add to new group.

    The layer is added to a new group.

  2. Name the new group layer.
  3. Drag layers into the new group.

    You can drag layers to remove them from the group or to reorder the group layers.

  4. Click the group layer settings tool Layer settings tool for the group layer options.
    • Change group type—Allows you to modify the behavior of the group layer in Layers/Legend.
      • Checkbox Checkbox —Allows individual layers to be turned on and off.
      • Radio Radio —Converts group layers into radio buttons and allows only one to be turned on at a time in case there are overlapping layers.
      • Merge Merge —Combines all group layers into one.
      • Hide Hide —Hides the group and its layers in Layers/Legend. To unhide, click one of the other options.
    • Zoom to—Zooms to the combined extent of all the layers in the group.
    • Move up—Moves the group layer up one level.
    • Move down—Moves the group layer down one level.
    • Rename—Highlights the group layer so you can type a new name.
    • Remove—Deletes the group layer and the sublayers.
    • Ungroup—Ungroups the layers.

Configure other content

You can configure other content in your scenes, such as ground in the Ground section of the Designer. Ground gives you access to the Configure Ground pane, where you can change how you display and interact with the ground. Additionally, in the Properties section, you can change scene properties like the scene background under Background Color.