Displaying 3D graphics in ArcScene

Sometimes the information portrayed in your 3D view isn't enough to make your point. In some cases, you will want to add text and other graphics, such as points, lines, and polygons, to bring attention to certain features or emphasize important areas. For example, you might define a study area by enclosing it with a line or polygon boundary or label buildings with text indicating their names. You might also want to add realism to the 3D view by placing trees, cars, and light poles as multipatch graphics at key locations.

To help you accomplish these tasks, you can use the 3D Graphics toolbar in ArcScene. The 3D Graphics toolbar allows you to digitize 3D points, lines, polygons, and text based on elements in your display. The toolbar allows you to dictate how these graphics are drawn by defining properties, such as shape, color, font, location, and size. You can also import 3D models from other formats—such as COLLADA (.dae), OpenFlight (.flt), SketchUp 6.0 (.skp), 3ds Max (.3ds), or VRML (.wrl)—or billboards (PNG, JPG, BMP, TIF, GIF, and so forth).

You can also copy graphics from ArcMap into your 3D view. By using the interactive tools on the ArcGIS 3D Analyst toolbar, graphics can be created in ArcMap, then pasted into ArcScene. In addition, you can symbolize these graphics using 3D symbology.

Custom 3D objects and text can also be displayed in ArcScene by developing functionality using ArcObjects and OpenGL. See the Esri Developer Network (EDN) for more information.