ArcGIS 3D Analyst Frequently Asked Questions

No, ArcGIS 3D Analyst can use all the data sets supported by ArcGIS. If your data does not have explicit three-dimensional coordinates, you can drape it on other surface data, such as a digital elevation model (DEM), or you can extrude the features in a 3D thematic representation, (e.g., sales districts extruded by sales with the height representing the amount of sales).

ArcGIS 3D Analyst contains a number of sample and tutorial data sets as well as a global 150 m resolution image. This data provides an extensive data set for global visualization down to approximately 1:300,000. This data decompresses to more than 55 gigabytes in size but is delivered in a compressed JPEG200 format in less than six gigabytes.

A digital elevation model is a representation of the earth's surface for a geographic area stored in a digital file containing regularly spaced point locations with an elevation attribute. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) DEM is a specific data product that adheres to standards defined by the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. USGS DEMs can be downloaded for use with ArcGIS 3D Analyst.

Yes, you can display TINs by slope, aspect, node elevation, and similar edges as well as many other analysis methods through the TIN symbology options.

You can adjust a variety of visual effects through the three-dimensional effects toolbar such as applying transparencies, layer face culling, layer lighting, shading, and depth priorities. The contrast, altitude, and azimuth can also be adjusted through the scene properties dialog box.