Object Parameter

Activity

Symbol

Type

Select the symbol type to use when rendering the features in a polygon feature layer: 2D polygon, 3D polygon, or building. The properties listed in the property sheet are based on the type selected. This property is only displayed for polygon feature layers. See "Building Property Sheet Parameters" in this chapter for a description of the properties listed if building is selected as the symbol type.

Appearance

Name

Type the description or name of the polygon. This text appears in the Project Tree as the name of the object.

Activation Action

Select the action to perform when selecting the object from the Project Tree.

Line Color

Select the outline color for the polygon.

Click the Edit button to open the Color dialog, or type the color code in hexadecimal BBGGRR format (B = Blue channel 00-ff, G = Green channel 00-ff, R = Red channel 00-ff).

Line Opacity

Enter the opacity for the object’s lines.

The opacity is defined as a percentage, where 100% is opaque and 0% is transparent.

Fill Color

Select the fill color for the polygon.

Click the Edit button to open the Color dialog, or type the color code in hexadecimal BBGGRR format (B = Blue channel 00-ff, G = Green channel 00-ff, R = Red channel 00-ff).

Fill Opacity

Enter the opacity for the object’s fill.

The opacity is defined as a percentage, where 100% is opaque and 0% is transparent.

Line Style

All the properties in this group except for Line Pattern are not available if Classification Mode is set to 3D polygon or colorize.

Line Width

Enter the polygon's line width.

The width is measured in meters.

Line Back Color

Sets the polygon back color.

The line back color is visible when the Line Pattern property field is set to non-solid pattern values, or when the Line Width property field is set to a value that is larger than 1.

The Line Back Color property is only enabled when the Altitude Method property in the Position group (See Position Group below) is set to On Terrain value.

Click the Edit button to open the Color dialog, or type the color code in hexadecimal BBGGRR format (B = Blue channel 00-ff, G = Green channel 00-ff, R = Red channel 00-ff).

Line Back Opacity

Enter the polygon line back opacity, visible when Line Pattern is set to non-solid patterns such as a dotted pattern.

The opacity is defined as a percentage, where 100% is opaque and 0% is transparent.

The Line Back Opacity property is only enabled when the Altitude Method property in the Position group (See Position Group below) is set to On Terrain value.

Line Pattern

Select the polygon line pattern, e.g., solid, dashed, dotted or a combination thereof.

Line Spline

Determines if the polygon is drawn as a curve based on its nodes.

This property is only enabled if Volume Classification is set to No.

Extend to Ground

Extend the edges of the polygon vertically to the ground (to create a partition such as a wall).

Select Yes from the dropdown list to extend the selected polygon.

Note:    The Extend to Ground parameter is not available if the “On Terrain” Altitude method was selected.

Timespan

Start Time

Click Edit and select the date and time when the polygon should first become visible.

End Time

Click Edit and select the date and time when the polygon should stop being visible. 

Position

Altitude Method

Sets the altitude method to be used by the polygon:

§  Select Relative to Terrain to place each point of the polygon at a specified altitude above the ground, defined by its “Point Altitude.”

§  Select Absolute to place each point at a specified altitude above the terrain database vertical datum base ellipsoid. You can use this feature to create polygons of known absolute altitude values that are not dependent on the terrain elevation values.

§  Select Relative to Pivot to place each point of the polygon at a specified altitude above the pivot point altitude, defined by its “Point Altitude.” The pivot is located at the center of the polygon. You can use this feature to create horizontal polygons in mountainous terrain.

§  Select On Terrain to create the polygon on the terrain itself. This selection also changes the drawing method of the polygon. Instead of straight lines between the polygon’s points, it paints the terrain in the selected color. It is recommended to use this feature to improve performance.

Altitude

Enter the altitude, as defined in Altitude Method, for the pivot point.

The pivot’s altitude is the average altitude of all the points. This value is used as the initial altitude of the points when you create a new polygon. Changing the pivot altitude to an existing polygon adjusts all the points according to the offset from the previous value.

X

Enter the X-coordinate for the polygon’s pivot point.

The pivot is located at the center of the polygon. Change this value to move the entire polyline.

Y

Enter the Y-coordinate for the polygon’s pivot point.

The pivot is located at the center of the polygon. Change this value to move the entire polygon.

MGRS

The coordinates of the polygon’s pivot point in Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) coordinates. This field is only available if Show MGRS Coordinates was selected in the Options dialog. See “View” in the “Using TerraExplorer Options” chapter for more information.

Volume Classification

The volume classification properties are applied when a polygon is used as a classification polygon for a different layer, e.g., mesh. Classification enables you to visually distinguish different areas of the layer and perform spatial and attribute queries on the polygon objects classifying the mesh layer. The classification can be displayed either by colorizing the intersecting layers and objects or by displaying a 3D polygon based on an extrusion of the polygon. See "Classifying Layers and Objects Using Feature Layers" in the "Feature Layers" chapter for more information on classification using polygon feature layers.

The properties in this group are enabled only if Extend to Ground is set to No.

Classification Mode

Determines whether to use the polygon as a classification polygon, and if it is used, how to display it: Classify by colorizing all objects and layers contained within the extruded polygon or Classify by displaying a 3D polygon (based on the extruded polygon).

Extrude Up / Front

Length to extrude the polygon upwards or frontwards in the direction of its normal. If a polygon’s elevation angle to the ground is less than 20 degrees, the polygon is extruded vertically. If the polygon points were created in a clockwise orientation, then the front is the side facing the user. This option is only available if Classification Mode is set to 3D polygon or colorize.

Extrude Down / Back

Length to extrude the polygon downwards or backwards in the direction of its normal. If a polygon’s elevation angle to the ground is less than 20 degrees, the polygon is extruded vertically. If the polygon points were created in a clockwise orientation, then the back is the side opposite the side facing the user. This option is only available if Classification Mode is set to 3D polygon or colorize.

2D Buffer

Distance of the buffer around the extruded polygon (in meters). This option is only available if Classification Mode is set to 3D polygon or colorize.

Points Position

The parameters in this group are enabled only when Edit Nodes  on the top bar of the property sheet is selected.

Selected Point

Select the point you wish to edit.

The selected point is highlighted on the 3D Window.

Point X

Enter the X-coordinate for the selected point.

Point Y

Enter the Y-coordinate for the selected point.

Point MGRS

The coordinates of the selected point in Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) coordinates. This field is only available if Show MGRS Coordinates was selected in the Options dialog. See “View” in the “Using TerraExplorer Options” chapter for more information.

Point Altitude

Enter the altitude above ground (when Altitude Method is set to “Relative to Terrain”), above the pivot altitude (when Altitude Method is set to “Relative to Pivot”), or absolute altitude (when the Altitude Method is set to “Absolute”) for the selected point.

Segment Yaw

Enter the direction from the selected point to the following point.

Segment Pitch

Enter the slope angle from the selected point to the following point.

Segment Length

Enter the distance between the selected point and the following point.

Geometry

Height

Enter the height of the polygon. This property is only available if 3D Polygon was selected as the Type.

Texture

The properties in this group are enabled only if Volume Classification is set to No or 3D Polygon.

Texture File

Type the full path of the file, or use the Edit button, for a BMP, GIF or JPEG texture file to provide the texture for the object. If the polygon was extended to the ground, the texture will be applied to all sides of the 3D polygon created.

Note:    You can set a transparent color for GIF and BMP files. Pixels with this color appear as holes in the texture. With GIF files, you can assign any color as the transparent color by using the GIF transparent color feature. With BMP files, the total-black color (RGB = 0, 0, 0) is used as the transparent color.

Note:    You can load textures from the Data Library (.\Program Files\Skyline\TerraExplorer Pro\Tools\Data-Library).

Tiling Method

Determines how the texture image file is applied to the polygon. The options are:

§  Tiles per axis – Designate a set number of tiles (repeats of the texture file) for the x and y axes of the polygon. The image file will be sized to enable the set number of tiles per axis.

§  Meters per tile – Designate a size in meters for each tile.

Scale X

Determines the scaling for the texture according to the setting for Tiling Method:

§  If Tiling Method is Tiles per axis: Determines the number of repeats of the image file in the X-axis.

§  If Tiling Method is Meters per Tile: Determines the size, in meters, of each tile in the X-axis.

Scale Y

Determines the scaling for the texture according to the setting for Tiling Method:

§  If Tiling Method is Tiles per axis: Determines the number of repeats of the image file in the Y-axis.

§  If Tiling Method is Meters per Tile: Determines the size, in meters, of each tile in the Y-axis.

Rotate

Determines the angular rotation of the image used for the texture.

Texture X Scroll Rate

Number of times per second, texture scrolls completely on its x axis. If a negative value is entered, the texture scrolls in the reverse direction. This property is enabled only when Terrain Method is set to Relative to Terrain, Absolute, or Relative to Pivot.

Texture Y Scroll Rate

Number of times per second, texture scrolls completely on its y axis. If a negative value is entered, the texture scrolls in the reverse direction. This property is enabled only when Terrain Method is set to Relative to Terrain, Absolute, or Relative to Pivot.

Visibility

Default Viewing Distance

Determines the viewing distance of the camera from the polygon.

This distance is used as a stop mark for any “Fly-to” or “View Object” operation. It is also used when selecting to edit the polygon from the Project Tree.

When this value is set to the default of -1, TerraExplorer calculates and sets the ideal viewing distance for the polygon based on its size.

Max. Visibility Distance

Sets the distance from the camera at which the polygon disappears.

Min. Visibility Distance

Sets the minimal distance from the camera below which the polygon disappears.

Max. Show-Through Dist.

Sets the maximum distance of object's pivot from camera, in meters, beyond which it will not show through terrain, mesh layer, or objects that are hiding it. Set to -1 to enable show-through at any distance when editing the object. The object's outline and fill will both show through.

When an object is showing through terrain, mesh or objects, it can be selected, edited, and snapped to other objects.

Visibility Filter

This property is only displayed for polygon features in a polygon feature layer. Sets the visibility of features based on their attribute values. Type a search expression comprised of one or more conditions, or click the Field by Attribute button  to create the search expression using the Attribute Table. See “Searching and Performing Operations by Attribute (Attribute Table Tool)” in the “Feature Layers” chapter for more information.

General

Show in Viewer

Determines if the polygon appears in the 3D Window when the file is viewed with the TerraExplorer Basic viewer.

Message

The message associated with the object. The number displayed is the number of the message.

To create a new message, or update an existing message, open the Create Message dialog by clicking in this field and selecting Edit. See “Using the Create Message Dialog” in the “Working with Objects” chapter for more information.

Tooltip

Type a tooltip text to appear when the mouse cursor is placed over the polygon in the 3D Window.

Ground Object

Determines if the object is calculated as part of the terrain’s elevation.

Order

Determines the order of objects with On Terrain altitude method, from back to front.

Objects with higher values are displayed on top of objects with lower values.