Toolbox

Under "Map center", the coordinate tool displays the geocoordinate of the currently selected map center point.

Furthermore, the displayed coordinates can be converted into various other coordinate systems using the drop-down menu under "Current coordinate system". Which coordinate systems are offered here depends on the individual design of the map you are using.

Furthermore, it is possible to search for coordinates. To do this, enter geocoordinates in the coordinate system selected via "Current coordinate system" and then click on the "Jump to coordinates..." button. The viewer will now align the map center to the entered coordinates.

You can use the "Measure height" tool to capture three-dimensional measurement points and then export them.

The “Measure height” tool can be used to record height values along a vertical measurement section and then export them.

Once you have selected “Measure height”, a measuring cross appears on the map. If you now press the left mouse button, the starting point of your vertical measurement section is recorded. Now select a higher point in the 3D viewer and press the left mouse button again. You have now finished capturing the vertical measurement section.

The tool displays the measured vertical distance as “Height” under “Height measurement”.

The tool is available in 3D mode as well as for 360° panoramic images and Oblique mode.

The measured distance can be downloaded as GeoJSON and used for further processing in an external geoinformation system.

Note: The accuracy of the measured values depends on the accuracy of the geodata used.

By clicking on the offered buttons, the selected external map application is called up at the current geocoordinate/the currently selected map section.

Note: The selection of the offered external map applications is not identical in every map.

To simulate shading, first check "Show shading" at the very top of the tool.

If you check the "Use current time" box, the 3D viewer will display the shading at the current time.

Alternatively, you can use the sliders at "Day" and "Time" to enter a desired date and time. The 3D-Viewer will now display the shading for this time.

The tool will also display the sunrise and sunset times for each selected day.

The brightness of the shadow display can be adjusted using the "Intensity" slider.

Note: The accuracy of the calculated values depends on the accuracy of the geodata used.

Functions in the "Flight tour" tab

Switch to the tab to access the functions described below.

Under "Flight Tour", a flight tour can be created and played through the 3D viewer. You can use external screen capture software to save a played tour as a video.

First give your tour an appropriate name under "Name". Under "Speed" you can enter a speed in kilometers per hour (km/h) at which the tour will later be flown.

Under "At tour end" you define what should happen at the end of a tour (at the last base). The following options are offered:

Start at first base: If you select this option, the tour will be restarted at the first base point.

Stop: If you select this option, the tour will be stopped and not flown again.

Start tour backwards: If you select this option, the tour will be flown backwards. The camera view is rotated and the points are flown in reverse order.

Fly circuit: If you select this option, the tour will be flown as a circuit. The camera view flies directly from the last to the first base point.

Under "Interpolation" you can define how the viewer calculates the flight distance between the defined support points. The following options are offered:

Spline: The viewer will calculate a curve between the support points to avoid a sharp turn to the next point.

Linear: The viewer will fly over the points strictly one after the other without calculating curves.

To define a tour, click on "Add base point". The Viewer will now define the currently displayed map center point as the base point for your flight tour. Now select other map sections and press "Add base point" again in each case to adopt these map centers as base points for your flight tour.

The defined support points are displayed as a sphere in the 3D viewer. The distance between the support points is displayed as a line.

After you have defined support points, they appear in a list. You can approach individual support points via the displayed eye. You can use the garbage can to delete individual points.

In addition, the following buttons are now displayed for a flight tour:

Back: Jumps to the previous base.

Stop: Stops the flight tour.

Play: Plays the flight tour.

Forward: Jumps to the next base point.

You can make changes to the settings described so far at any time to test them. If you agree with the tour, press "Save tour".

The tour is now displayed under "Interesting Places" on the left side of your map and can be executed there. Changes to the created flight tour are now no longer possible.

If you are logged into PlexMap and have access to the PlexMap backend, you can find the created tour under "Layers" and permanently add it to a map as a Point of Interest (POI).

If you are not logged in as a user in PlexMap or do not have access to the PlexMap backend, the created flight tour will disappear as soon as you reload the viewer.
 

"Technical" tab

Various technical settings can be made in the "Technical" tab. You should ignore these settings if you are not an expert user.

If "Test depth against terrain" is checked, the terrain (the 3D terrain) will shine through a displayed 3D surface (e.g. a 3D mesh) in some places. If the check mark is not set, this is not the case. Please note that for tools like "Measure" or the PlexMap Planner "Test depth against terrain" must be set.

Using the slider under "Image and Terrain (Depth Resolution)" you can set the depth resolution of the displayed image and terrain layers. With a low value (minimum value = 1), less details are loaded for all image and terrain layers. With a higher value (maximum value = 5), the viewer loads more details of the image and terrain layers.

You can use the slider under "3D models (depth resolution)" to set the depth resolution of the displayed 3D models. With a low value (minimum value = 5), less details of the displayed 3D models are loaded. With a higher value (maximum value = 200), the viewer loads more details of the displayed 3D models.

Using the slider under "Viewing height (m)", you can enter the height from which the visibility analysis is to be performed. The tool is preset to 1.8 meters (visibility height of a human). The minimum value is 1 meter the maximum value is 300 meters.

Using the slider under "Maximum visibility (km)", you can set the distance to which the visibility analysis should be performed. The default setting is 2.5 kilometers. The minimum value is 0.1 kilometers and the maximum value is 3 kilometers.

Using the slider under "Opening angle (°)", you can set how large the opening angle should be in degrees. The default setting is 60 degrees.  The minimum value is 20 degrees the maximum value is 100 degrees.

To perform a visibility analysis, click on the "Start" button. A red sphere will now appear over your mouse pointer in the 3D viewer. Now find the location from which you want to start the visibility analysis and then press the left mouse button. The field of view and a green sphere with which you can set the viewing direction will now appear. With another left mouse click you can set the viewing direction. Green colored areas are visible from the selected point, red colored points are not visible. The visibility analysis is now complete. 

Use the "Restart" button to start a new visibility analysis. You can jump to the selected visibility position using the "Jump to visibility position..." button. From this position, all areas are colored green and are therefore visible.

After you have selected the slice tool, a blue plane appears in the 3D viewer.

By moving the slider under "Layer height (meters above normal zero)" you can change the height of the layer. Moving the slider under "Opacity (%)" causes a higher or lower opacity of the layer.

After you have selected the export tool, please click on the icon with the dashed area.

Now a blue sphere appears over your mouse pointer. You can now draw an area (polygon) within which the displayed geodata are to be exported. To capture the first base point of the polygon, make a left mouse click. By further left mouse clicks you can add as many further supporting points as you like. By a double click you finish the acquisition of the polygon.

The tool will now output the selection area in square meters and the number of selected objects (pieces). The tool will export all objects that at least touch the defined polygon.

Using the drop-down menu under "Export format", you now select the desired data format for your export. The export tool basically supports all formats listed here. Depending on the configuration of a map application, not all listed formats may be available in the tool.

Then click on the "Export selection" button. The exported objects will be saved in the download folder of your end device.

Please note that usually not all layers of a map are also exportable. The tool will export all currently active map layers, provided that the publisher of your map allows an export of the selected map layer.

After you have opened the tool, you can define the distance between the individual contour lines via the slider under "Line spacing (m)". The contour lines are now displayed in the 3D viewer as blue lines at the desired distance.

By clicking on the button "Query height" you can query the height of the displayed terrain at any point in the 3D-Viewer. To do this, simply move the mouse over the terrain surface after you have selected the "Query height" button. The measured values are queried live and displayed in the viewer. Press the button "Query height" again to end the measurement.

If you tick the "Altitude" box, you can colour the terrain according to altitude. Mountains are now coloured red, valleys blue.