Creating 3D views

Viewing data in three dimensions gives you new perspectives. Three-dimensional viewing can provide insights that would not be readily apparent from a planimetric map of the same data. For example, instead of inferring the presence of a valley from the configuration of contour lines, you can actually see the valley and perceive the difference in height between the valley floor and a ridge.

ArcGlobe and ArcScene allow you to build multilayered 3D environments and control how each layer is symbolized, positioned in 3D space, and rendered. You can also control global properties for the 3D view, such as the illumination or vertical exaggeration. You can select features by using their attributes or their position relative to other features or by clicking individual features in the scene or globe. You can interactively navigate around the 3D view or specify the coordinates of the observer and target for a viewer.

See Choosing the 3D display environment to learn more about when to create ArcGlobe 3D views and when to create ArcScene 3D views.