About measuring distances and heights in ArcScene

What can you measure in 3D?

The Measure Measure tool in ArcScene can measure 2D distances, 3D straight-line distances, and heights in 3D, as well as areas and features such as points, lines, polygons, and multipatches. You can also dynamically measure the distance between an observer and target when hovering the pointer in the view. This is explained below.

Click the Measure Measure tool on the Tools toolbar, and the Measure window appears. The ArcScene pointer icon changes, and by default, the Measure Length On Ground Measure Line tool is enabled until you choose a different option from the Measure dialog box. Until you click on a feature in the scene, you can move the Measure Length On Ground pointer around and get automatic feedback in the dialog box reporting its geographic location and the distance between the observer and target. The pointer location is treated as the target on the surface.

Choosing between the other tools available, you can draw a line and get results such as 3D straight-line distance measurement or height information. On the Measure dialog box, you can also set the units to report the results in. Measurements are displayed inside the window, so it is easy to copy and paste them into other applications.

To use the Measure tools, you click one or more times to digitize a line with one or more segments.

If you see the pointer icon change to red (Measure) it means that there is no data available under the pointer. You must reposition the pointer over visible features in order to complete the measure task.

NoteNote:

  • If there is no defined coordinate system in your ArcScene document, the Measure window will display values marked with unknown units. Care should be taken when defining your scene document that it is using spatially referenced data. With spatially referenced data, you can also choose from a list of unit options and see your measurements converted for comparison.
  • Measuring distances and heights in 3D does not utilize snapping as with the ArcMap Measure tool.

The different measure tools on the Measure window

The Scene Measure Tool dialog box in 3D
Measure results for the Measure Length On Ground tool and a recorded sum of all the line segments digitized

The tools on the Measure window are described below:

Keyboard shortcuts to enhance measuring tasks

To improve the experience when measuring in 3D, certain keyboard keys have been enabled to provide added function.

Keyboard key

Function

SPACE

Press and hold the space bar when you want to navigate the view to change your perspective in the middle of a measure sketch. You can do this mid-sketch, or you can pause (ESC) the sketch first and save the last point digitized before navigating.

ESC

Pause the sketch. This is useful before using the SPACE key to navigate.

ESC + ESC

Clear & reset the sketch and results. This is the same as clicking the reset Clear and Reset Results button on the Measure window.

TAB

Resume the sketch if you have paused it using the ESC key.

If you have finished your sketch (double-click to end), pressing TAB will also resume the sketch so long as you have not changed to another tool. It will continue from the last digitized vertex remembered.

If you have Show Total turned on, it will also resume after clicking TAB.

Related Topics

8/16/2013