In the previous chapter we have added a data layer to a map. We created this new map using the ribbon
But this button is a shared button, that is to say, by default if we click it will cause the creation of a map, but if we deploy the options, we can perform other operations. Which ones?
We will stop for a moment on this point to understand the management of cartographic views (Maps) in ArcGis Pro.
The three types of cartographic views are familiar to you. The map corresponds to the ArcMap data window, the Scene corresponds to the ArcScene view and the Basemap to the ArcMap map background.
If this is true and gives you a good idea of what and how to do in each one, let’s see how they fit into ArcGis Pro and the differences with similars.
The maps
Map views are the windows in which you display your spatial data. You can have as many map views as you need in a single project, and you can open multiple views at the same time and view them side by side. This means that you can simultaneously view the same data in 2D and 3D.
In ArcMap you only have one data view and even though you can create multiple data blocks, only one can be active and displayed. On the other side, each block of data in ArcMap will be a separate map and you will be able to display them at the same time, switch from one to another without any particular operation, and link them so that they follow the movements of others, and so on.
You do not need to expand the map view. This is the usual view when working with ArcMap and its operation is very similar. Where it changes is on the other two types of view.
The 2D (Map) view can incorporate the third dimension through outlines, shading, and profile view elements, but at the end, it is limited in the amount of vertical information it can transmit.
The scenes
For cases where the vertical axis is important, ArcGIS Pro includes the ability to tilt your map and see the 2D geometric relationships in a three-dimensional scene. This makes the data more understandable and helps to reveal new perspectives in the process.
The 3D work can incorporate real elements into your content, highlighting phenomena such as terrain undulations or the impact of three-dimensional objects such as trees, buildings, or the subsurface geology. In addition, purely quantitative phenomena (population, temperature, etc.) can often be communicated more effectively with a 3D view.
In ArcGis Pro there are two types of scenes:
- the global scenes: they are compulsory in geographical coordinates (degrees), they take into account the curvature of the Earth. You will use a global scene for areas with a large extent.
- the local scenes: they are in a system of projected coordinates (meters), they do not take into account the curvature of the Earth. The study area is considered to be flat. You will use local scenes for areas of limited extent.
You create a scene in three different ways:
- adding an empty scene view to your project and loading data into it.
- by importing an ArcGlobe (.3dd) view into a global scene, or an ArcScene (.sxd) scene into a local view. The layers present in the original scenes are loaded into the new scene, with all of their settings.
- by converting a map into a scene. When you convert a map to a scene, the existing mapping remains unchanged, and the new scene is created in the project to represent the data in 3D. The scene has two blocks of layers:
- a 3D block where the layers containing vertical information (Z) are placed in their structure
- a 2d block where the data layers having no value for Z are placed in their structure. This data is automatically draped over the elevation reference layer of the scene.
Attention, a DTM in raster form, for example a TIF file, whose pixel value is the altitude, will be loaded in the 2D block. It is up to you to manually pass it in the 3D block by indicating where is the information for Z. A layer of lines XYZ (where you defined a value of z in the definition of the structure of the layer) will be loaded directly in the 3D block.
The base maps
A basemap serves as a reference and provides a framework on which you overlay operational layers, tasks, and visualize geographic information. The basemaps provide the context for your work.
A basemap is built from multiple layers. Creating a basemap is the same as creating any other map. What changes is that you can define two types of layers in a basemap:
- the reference layers, which will be drawn over the layers of your other maps,
- the bottom layers, which will be drawn below the layers of your other maps.
The maps in your project will display their own data layers, in between the baseline and baseline layers of your Map Background.
Basic maps tend to be relatively static and in a typical setting, are updated on an infrequent basis. In addition, base maps are often designed to be used at multiple map scales, so the basemap depicts the appropriate content for each range of map scales.
The Basemaps can contain raster functions, raster or web layers. When you create a basemap in a project, it can be used by other maps in a project using the Basemap Gallery.
Now that we have set the scene, we will take one by one the types of map view and we will discuss a concrete example of implementation.
