Working with ArcGlobe and ArcScene

ArcMap 10.3

Other versions

Available with 3D Analyst license.

 ArcGlobe

 ArcScene

 Main differences between ArcGlobe and ArcScene

 Examples of choosing the 3D display environment

 Functional differences between ArcGlobe and ArcScene

ArcGIS offers two 3D visualization environments in which to work—ArcGlobe and ArcScene—which

allow you to display, analyze, and animate your 3D or 2D data in a 3D space.

ArcGlobe

ArcGlobe is part of the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension. This application is generally designed to be used
with very large datasets and allows for seamless visualization of both raster and feature data. It is based
on a global view, with all data projected into a global Cube projection and displayed at varying levels of
detail (LODs), organized into tiles. For maximum performance, cache your data, which will organize and
copy the source data into tiled LODs. Vector features are generally rasterized and displayed according to
their associated LOD, which assists in very fast navigation and display.

ArcScene

ArcScene is a 3D viewer that is well suited to generating perspective scenes that allow you to navigate
and interact with your 3D feature and raster data. Based on OpenGL, ArcScene supports complex 3D line
symbology and texture mapping as well as surface creation and display of TINs. All data is loaded into
memory, which allows for relatively fast navigation, pan, and zoom functionality. Vector features are
rendered as vectors, and raster data is either downsampled or configured into a fixed number of
rows/columns you set.

Main differences between ArcGlobe and ArcScene

Projected data

ArcGlobe projects all data onto a globe-shaped surface using one particular coordinate system—Cube
Projection. All data added to an empty ArcGlobe document is projected on the fly to this coordinate
system. Data that does not have projection information associated with it cannot be added into
ArcGlobe. Being spherical, this application is optimized for visualizing geography at a global scale. It also
renders a representation of the surface of the earth more realistically than other projections.

ArcScene projects all data in an ArcScene document according to the first layer added to the document.
Usually, a planar projection, ArcScene is geared for those with smaller spatial datasets who want to
examine a defined study area.

Learn more about the ArcScene coordinate system

Cached data vs. memory management

One of the most significant differences between ArcGlobe and ArcScene is how each application handles
information management. Since ArcGlobe is designed to be used with very large datasets, you should
cache your data for optimum performance. The process of caching indexes and organizes all your data
into tiles and levels of detail. This allows for fast display and visualization as you zoom in and out, pan
around, and navigate to different places in your ArcGlobe document.

Learn more about cache management in ArcGlobe

ArcScene loads all data into available memory and uses paging files if necessary. This is one of the
reasons why ArcScene is optimized for smaller study areas with less amounts of data.

Analysis

ArcGlobe is an excellent application for visualizing large, global data. It has very good performance at
navigation and rendering high- and low-resolution raster and vector data. However, ArcScene is better
optimized for analysis. The 3D Analyst toolbar is fully supported in ArcScene, as are triangulated
irregular network (TIN) surfaces. ArcScene renders subsurface data and volumes very well. ArcGlobe
supports the terrain dataset, but ArcScene does not. All the geoprocessing tools are available in both
applications.

Viewing and display

In ArcGlobe, you have the option of displaying vector data as rasterized on the surface layer or
rendering it as a vector layer with independent properties from the surface layer. This option is
particularly useful with annotation feature classes, which can be draped on the surface or automatically
billboarded to face the viewer. In ArcScene, vectors remain in their native format and can float
independently of the raster surface. You have control over the amount of downsampling that occurs
with the raster data in ArcScene. Annotation features cannot be displayed in ArcScene.
Another difference between the two applications is the ability of ArcScene to support stereo viewing.
Stereo viewing is a great way to enhance the 3D visualization experience.

Learn more about viewing in stereo in ArcScene

Viewing over remote desktop

3D applications often rely heavily on a graphics card's GPU (graphics processing unit) to support
rendering. A server running a virtualized desktop environment cannot leverage a graphics card in the
same way your local desktop can. As a result, Esri has disabled the ability to run ArcGlobe over remote
desktop.

If you attempt to launch ArcGlobe (or any other Globe Control based application, such as ArcGIS
Explorer or ArcReader) through remote desktop, you will receive a pop-up notification that this ability
has been disabled.

Although ArcScene is enabled for remote desktop access, performance can be very limited. If you need
to access an ArcScene session remotely, it is recommended that you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network)
access instead.

Examples of choosing the 3D display environment

Example 1—Presenting a county relief map

Data: You have detailed data for the entire county. Your data includes a series of aerial photographs,
road centerlines, parcel boundaries, building footprints, land-use regions, and points of interest. For
elevation data, you have a number of tiled DEM rasters that cover the entire county.

Goal: To visualize the county in three dimensions for promotional purposes, such as images for
brochures and animations for videos.

Environment: ArcGlobe is the best choice because of the following:

 The data volume is high and would most likely require caching to be used at full resolution.

 The extent covers a wide region where curvature of the earth may come into play.

 You have a series of DEM tiles that you would like treated as a seamless elevation source.

Example 2—Investigating local mining data

Data: Most of your data is within one square mile around a group of oil wells. You have an aerial
photograph, 3D polylines for the vertical drill paths, multipatch data for underground salt domes, and
2D lines for the outgoing oil pipelines. You also have a raster DEM for about 10 square miles around the
wells.

Goal: To visualize the oil wells in three dimensions to see the effectiveness and coverage of your bores.
Environment: ArcScene is the best choice for these reasons:

 The data volume is small.

 The visualization is limited to a small extent.

 You want to see the data as though it has been sliced out of the ground.

Example 3—Building a virtual city

Data: You have building footprints, road centerlines, park areas, and transportation infrastructure data
for a city, based on a prediction model for 15 years in the future. You also have a TIN for elevation relief.

Goal: To create an interactive environment for general display and analysis.

Environment: ArcGlobe and ArcScene are both viable choices because of the following:

 The data is not excessive in volume.

 Both applications support the applicable symbology options.

 Both applications support graphics for 3D view adornment, such as 3D trees, cars, and street
furniture.

 Both applications support TIN data as an elevation source.

Example 4—Running a line-of-sight analysis for placement of a forestry fire watchtower

Data: You have raster data for elevation, vegetation type, and fire risk. You also have vector data for the
fire road network and streams.

Goal: To identify the best candidate locations for placing a forestry fire watchtower.

Environment: ArcMap is the best choice for these reasons:

 You will be creating many raster surfaces, some temporary, as you run geoprocessing tools and
models.

 You do not gain anything by interactively seeing the analysis results in 3D.

 You can easily copy final raster and vector data layers into ArcGlobe or ArcScene when the
analysis is complete.

Functional differences between ArcGlobe and ArcScene

Functional differences

This is a sampling of some of the more significant functional differences between ArcGlobe and
ArcScene.
Functional differences between ArcGlobe and ArcScene

Description ArcGlobe ArcScene

3D Analyst Toolbar (contour, steepest path, line of

Not supported Supported
sight, profile, and so on)

Ability to handle large volumes of data via caching Supported Not supported

Terrain surfaces Supported Not supported

LAS datasets Not supported Supported

Dynamic hillshading (layer properties symbology and

Not supported Supported
rendering display options)

Annotation feature classes Supported Not supported

Stereo viewing Not supported Supported

VRML support Can import Can import/export

Nonprojected data Not supported Supported

Animation (move layer along path) Not supported Supported

Supported for
Representation symbology Not supported
rasterized layers

Display of KML data Supported Not supported

Consumption of ArcGIS for Server services Supported Not supported

Supported, but not

Running the application over remote desktop Not supported
recommended

Functional differences between ArcGlobe and ArcScene