Table of Contents
Part I What's New in v8.0 Part II Getting Started 2 6
1 Hardware ................................................................................................................................... Suggestions 6 2 Quick Terrain ................................................................................................................................... Modeler Keys & Licensing 6 ................................................................................................................................... 11 3 Visualizing the Sample Model 4 Navigating ................................................................................................................................... Through the Model 11
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3 Quick................................................................................................................................... Terrain Modeler Button Bar 24 4 Configure Toolbar ................................................................................................................................... 28 5 Quick................................................................................................................................... Terrain Modeler Hot Keys and Shortcuts 29 6 Configure ................................................................................................................................... Status Bar 30
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1 Preview ................................................................................................................................... Geospatial Data 32 2 Open ................................................................................................................................... Model 34 3 Add Models ................................................................................................................................... 34 4 Add Models ................................................................................................................................... with Offset 34 5 Opening ................................................................................................................................... Quick Terrain Modeler from External Applications 35 6 Coordinate ................................................................................................................................... Converter Utility 35 7 Model................................................................................................................................... Search 37 8 Search ................................................................................................................................... Cache 39 9 Save Models ................................................................................................................................... 40 10 Remove ................................................................................................................................... Models 40 11 Clear ................................................................................................................................... All Models 40
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14 Options/Settings ................................................................................................................................... 43
Always Copy .......................................................................................................................................................... QTA Data Files 43 Add Normals .......................................................................................................................................................... When Importing Point Clouds 43 Auto Reset .......................................................................................................................................................... View on Model Load 43 Convert DTEDs .......................................................................................................................................................... to UTM 43 Memory .......................................................................................................................................................... Management Options 44 Show Toolbar .......................................................................................................................................................... 44 Show Progress .......................................................................................................................................................... Bar 44 .......................................................................................................................................................... 44 Go Fullscreen Set Screensize .......................................................................................................................................................... 45 GeoTIFF.......................................................................................................................................................... Export Setup 45 KML Options .......................................................................................................................................................... 45 LAS File.......................................................................................................................................................... Open Options 45 Mensuration .......................................................................................................................................................... Options 46 Set QTM.......................................................................................................................................................... Display Units 46 Open QT .......................................................................................................................................................... Files Directory 46 Set QT Temp .......................................................................................................................................................... Directory 47 Set QTM.......................................................................................................................................................... Registered File Types 47
15 Exit ................................................................................................................................... 48
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Visible Points .......................................................................................................................................................... Functions 55 Smooth Area .......................................................................................................................................................... 55 Flatten Area .......................................................................................................................................................... 55 Undo Last .......................................................................................................................................................... Cut/Crop 56 Temporary .......................................................................................................................................................... Cut and Crop 56
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Quick Terrain Modeler User's Manual ................................................................................................................................... 59 7 Merge Models 8 Repair ................................................................................................................................... DEMs 60 9 Subtract ................................................................................................................................... Models 61 ................................................................................................................................... 62 10 Edit Model Text 11 Rename ................................................................................................................................... Models 62 ................................................................................................................................... 62 12 Georegister Model 13 Set Model ................................................................................................................................... Position 64 14 Add Normals ................................................................................................................................... to Surface Models 64 ................................................................................................................................... 64 15 Remove Normals from Surface Model
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1 Model................................................................................................................................... Overview 67
QTA Attribute .......................................................................................................................................................... Table 67 Proxy Mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 68
3 Re-Import ................................................................................................................................... Model Data 86 4 Import Vector Data ................................................................................................................................... 87 5 Import ................................................................................................................................... Merged GeoTIFF DEMs 88
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................................................................................................................................... 99 7 PowerPoint Tool 8 Render ................................................................................................................................... Screen to Registered Image 100 ................................................................................................................................... 101 9 Render Screen to TIF 10 Export ................................................................................................................................... Screen to Garmin GPS 102 11 Render ................................................................................................................................... Selection Area to GPS 103 ................................................................................................................................... 105 12 Create KML Index 13 Export Outline to KML ................................................................................................................................... 107 14 Save................................................................................................................................... Extents to KML 108 15 KML ................................................................................................................................... Options 108 16 GPX ................................................................................................................................... Export Options 109
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1 Overlaying ................................................................................................................................... Textures: Overview 112 2 2D Only ................................................................................................................................... Mode 114 3 Overlay ................................................................................................................................... Texture (Orthorectified) 114 4 Overlay ................................................................................................................................... Texture (Orthographic) 117 5 Overlay Texture (Projective) ................................................................................................................................... 117 6 Overlay ................................................................................................................................... Unregistered Texture 118 7 GeoTIFF ................................................................................................................................... Image Search Tool 118 8 Edit Texture ................................................................................................................................... (Orthorectified) 120 9 Image ................................................................................................................................... Registration 120 10 Remove Texture ................................................................................................................................... 122 11 Sample ................................................................................................................................... Active Textures Into Vertex Colors 123 12 Configure ................................................................................................................................... Height Coloration 124
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1 About ................................................................................................................................... Vertex Colors 127 2 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... Tools (Vertex Colors) 127
Change.......................................................................................................................................................... Detection Map 127 HLZ Map .......................................................................................................................................................... 128 Add Shadow .......................................................................................................................................................... Map to Model 131 Add Slope .......................................................................................................................................................... Image to Model 131 Vertex Colors .......................................................................................................................................................... from File 132 Copy Intensity .......................................................................................................................................................... into Alpha 133 Save Vertex .......................................................................................................................................................... Colors 133 Remove .......................................................................................................................................................... Vertex Colors from Model 133
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6 Generate ................................................................................................................................... Grid Lines 165 7 Generate Contour Lines ................................................................................................................................... 168 8 Generate ................................................................................................................................... Outline 169 9 Generate ................................................................................................................................... Range Rings 170 10 Import ................................................................................................................................... Mensuration from KML 171 11 Import ................................................................................................................................... Mensuration from Shapefile 172 12 Save................................................................................................................................... Mensuration as KML 172 13 Save................................................................................................................................... Mensuration as Shapefile 172 14 Point ................................................................................................................................... Query Utility 172 15 AGL ................................................................................................................................... Analyst 174
AGL - Ground .......................................................................................................................................................... Estimate 175 AGL - Visualization .......................................................................................................................................................... 176 AGL - Exploitation .......................................................................................................................................................... 177 AGL - Export .......................................................................................................................................................... Products 178
16 Area................................................................................................................................... Statistics 179 17 Find ................................................................................................................................... Highest Point in Area 179 18 Model ................................................................................................................................... Manager 179
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19 Model ................................................................................................................................... Statistics 180 20 Volume ................................................................................................................................... Calculations 181 21 Filtering ................................................................................................................................... 181
Set Alpha .......................................................................................................................................................... Filtering 182 Set Change .......................................................................................................................................................... Detection Filtering 182 Set Clipping .......................................................................................................................................................... Plane 182 QTA Continuous .......................................................................................................................................................... Filtering 183 Clear All .......................................................................................................................................................... Filters 184
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4 Layer ................................................................................................................................... Opacity Control 198 5 Set Base ................................................................................................................................... Model Color 199 6 Status ................................................................................................................................... Bar Options 199 7 Toggle ................................................................................................................................... Clouds/Surface 200 8 Autocolor ................................................................................................................................... Model 200 9 Configure ................................................................................................................................... Vector Models 200 10 Remove ................................................................................................................................... Model Colors 201 11 Layer ................................................................................................................................... Transparency 201
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1 Edit Camera ................................................................................................................................... Settings 204 204 2 Face................................................................................................................................... Center 3 Go to ................................................................................................................................... Point 204 ................................................................................................................................... 206 4 Point to Point Viewing 5 Reset ................................................................................................................................... Viewer 207 6 Control ................................................................................................................................... Mode 208
Constant .......................................................................................................................................................... Altitude 208 Flight Mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 208 Model Mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 208 Terrain.......................................................................................................................................................... Following 209 Targeted .......................................................................................................................................................... Point 209 Enforce.......................................................................................................................................................... Collisions 209 .......................................................................................................................................................... 209 Independent Rotation Orbit Mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 209 Google .......................................................................................................................................................... Earth Style Zoom 209 Synchronize .......................................................................................................................................................... Google Earth 210
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1 Place ................................................................................................................................... Marker 213 2 Create ................................................................................................................................... Marker 213 3 Create ................................................................................................................................... at Point 213 4 Edit Marker ................................................................................................................................... 215 5 Marker ................................................................................................................................... - Sensor Model 215 6 Import ................................................................................................................................... Markers 216
Load Marker .......................................................................................................................................................... 217 Markers .......................................................................................................................................................... - Import from ASCII File 217 Markers .......................................................................................................................................................... - Import from CSV File 218 Import Marker .......................................................................................................................................................... from KML 219 Markers .......................................................................................................................................................... - Import from SHP File 219
8 Remove ................................................................................................................................... Markers 220 9 Hide ................................................................................................................................... All Markers 221 10 Inspect ................................................................................................................................... Markers 221
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11 Show/Hide ................................................................................................................................... Markers 223 12 Edit Route ................................................................................................................................... 224 13 Export ................................................................................................................................... Mission 228 228 14 Save................................................................................................................................... Mission 15 Load................................................................................................................................... Mission 228 ................................................................................................................................... 228 16 Marker Options 17 Marker ................................................................................................................................... Options Individual 230 18 Markers ................................................................................................................................... - Billboards 230 ................................................................................................................................... 231 19 Marker Point and Click
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1 Place ................................................................................................................................... Measurement Line 234 2 Edit Measurement ................................................................................................................................... Line 235 3 Recover ................................................................................................................................... Measurement Line 236 4 Measurement Line Display Preferences ................................................................................................................................... 236 5 Profile ................................................................................................................................... Analysis Tool 237
Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Buffer Settings 239 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Y Axis Attribute Selection 240 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Display Points vs Lines 240 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Color Scheme 241 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Cursor Position Display 241 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Model List 242 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Outline Area in 3D 243 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Mask to Area in 3D 243 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Push Buffer to Selection 243 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Mark Cursor in 3D 243 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Zooming Tools 243 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Force Proportional Scaling 243 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Measurement Tool 244 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... Configure Appearance 244 Profile .......................................................................................................................................................... PowerPoint Export 245
7 Travel ................................................................................................................................... Route Analysis Tool 248 8 Cross ................................................................................................................................... Section Tool 253 9 Measurement ................................................................................................................................... Vector Info 254 10 Measurement ................................................................................................................................... Endpoint Info 255 11 Vector ................................................................................................................................... Annotation 255 12 Point ................................................................................................................................... Interrogation Utility 257
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Part
Whats New for Quick Terrain Modeler Version 8.0 (February 2013)
We are finally rolling the Quick Terrain Modeler version number forward to v8.0! Our decision was based on a combination of new features in v8.0 and a refinement of significant capabilities we have introduced with little fanfare the past few releases (e.g., coordinate conversion, virtual tools running on the graphics card, route planning tools, etc.). Version 8.0 is, in some ways, a return to basics. In addition to a sleeker new look, we have revisited one of our most fundamental tools measurement lines and their associated profiles and come up with a handful of powerful new analysis and editing tools that are easier, faster, and more capable than ever. Here is a brief overview:
Measurement Line Upgrades: Profiles, Travel Routes, Cross Sections, and More
The measurement line has become simple to edit and the profile has morphed into 4 new tools: Measurement Line Editing: Double click on measurement lines to interactively add/delete/move nodes. Measurement lines can be instantly converted to routes (Right click on Active Mensuration Line in Layer Tree, Choose Create QT Route) (Learn More) Profile Analysis Tool: The profile now offers dozens of way to look at point cloud profiles, isolate and interrogate points in the profile, correlate them to the 3D point cloud view, and then operate on them (set color, hide, delete, set classification, etc.). These tools will be useful not only in the scientific and remote sensing communities, but also in the defense tactical community for slicing through point clouds and spotting objects in areas of dense foliage. (Right click on Active Mensuration Line in Layer Tree, Choose Profile Analysis Tool) (below, left). (Learn More)
Travel Route Analysis Tool (above, right): This is a specialized profile view of a measurement line or route that includes tools such as buffer settings, cross/down track slope analysis, instantaneous (i.e., virtual) line of sight analysis as the traveler moves down the route, and inprofile measurement tools to measure travel route slopes and obstructions to mobility. (Right click on Active Mensuration Line in Layer Tree, Choose Travel Route Analysis Tool). (Learn More)
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Cross Section Tool: Easily and interactively create cross sections and parallel profiles. See the cross sections in the 3D scene before finalizing exports. Mask to just the cross sections in the 3D scene. (Right click on Active Mensuration Line in Layer Tree, Choose Cross Section Tool) (Below, left). (Learn More)
Point to Point Line of Sight (above, right): A fusion of the old point to point line of sight and point to point viewing tools that makes it very easy to become one marker and look at another marker. The visualization of the terrain profile in between is now optional. (Analysis Menu > Visibility Analysis > Point to Point Line of Sight) (Learn More)
For the tactical community, route planning is very important. Routes can now be created directly from the measurement line as noted above. Color imagery can now be sent directly to Garmin GPS devices (as a Custom Map) by placing a selection area, then choosing Render Selection Area to Garmin. QT Modeler will do all the heavy lifting of tiling the image into smaller pieces, grooming into Garmin format, setting draw order, etc. (Texture Menu > Render Selection Area to Garmin, or from the GPS button in the tactical toolbar) (shown below). (Learn More)
Miscellaneous:
Licensing Eliminated the automatic fallback of Flex licenses to the Sentinel dongle in the USA version. This capability is still available, but requires the user to interact with the .INI file which is in the QT Modeler program files directory (filename = QTDefaults.ini if QTM has never ben run) or in the user directory (QTViewer.ini if QTM has been installed and run at least once). Coordinate System handling
Added auto-handler for Vertical Datum differences. Note that: This assumes that you can correct for a vertical datum difference with a simple, global z offset and it doesn't actually convert the source file, so for some purposes (file export) the z values will stay in the original CS. Updated to latest libPROJ4 Updated to latest GDAL Fixed EGM96 datum file to fix half-pixel offset. Fixed issue where "export to GEOTIFF DEM" and Model->Export->"GDAL GEOTIFF DEM" didn't honor CS overrides. The standard window that pops up to warn you when you are loading incompatible data now includes vertical CS info. It also now contains some explanation text. Miscellaneous Enhancements & Tweaks Placing Markers when you have large models and lots of Markers already loaded should be snappier. Updated PDAL libraries Updated GDAL libraries to 1.9.2. Better handler in AGL Analyst for sampling Z from user-provided Bare Earth models. Added options to layer tree context menus to "Move Item in List", "Up", "Down", "Top", "Bottom". This will impact draw order for textures. I.e., users can now move 2D overlaid textures up/down the list to designate which texture should be on top. Added ability to export multiple vectors to single KML/SHP from Vector Manager. Sped up cut/crop operations particularly on very large models. Attempted to make QTA histogram recalculation faster - should speed up Cut/Crop. Mensuration & Vector Lines pushed to the vector list (layer tree) will be given unique names. Sped up routine for updating point cloud LOD after changing colors/filters/etc. QTM is smarter about how many significant figures to use in legend and gridstat histograms Import to QTC now defaults to white when intensity channel is missing. Updated to new Profiler functionality in point to point line of sight Tweaked bias settings and altered depth buffer sampling algorithm to achieve better results with Virtual Line of Sight on point clouds. Coordinate Converter Utility: You can now still access the full Coordinate Converter utility even when no models are loaded. Added optional toolbar buttons for "Discrete QTA Analysis" and "Continuous QTA Analysis" Should now honor Visual Styles in newer versions of Windows Added POINT and SURFACE subfolders to the Models folder: Clicking on the POINT folder selects all point models and deselects all surface models Clicking on the SURFACE folder does the opposite "Import Error Log.txt" file now created in QT Temp directory rather than user file directory. Updated QT Modeler and QT Reader Splash Screen Icons Setting File association Defaults: QT Modeler and QT Reader now support auto-registration of file types. Use "File"->"Options"->"Set Registered File Types" to alter which file extensions QT considers its own and registers with Windows on startup. Updated to new zip library to support workspaces greater than 2 gig. Added HGT Files (SRTM HGT Format) to "Open Models" extension list. Now supports LAS VLRs with ULEM data (will not work with ULEM, but will append ULEM data to exported LAS files)
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2.1
Getting Started
Hardware Suggestions
Quick Terrain Modeler will run on a very wide range of PC hardware. While there are a few basic requirements, most of the hardware guidance below is in the form of suggestions. The hardware components to consider are:
Hardware Component
Operating System
Requirement
Recommendation
Video Card
CPU
Windows 7 64-bit. 64-bit OS can Windows (XP, Vista, or Win7, 32load more memory, thus enable bit or 64-bit) exploitation of larger data sets. NVIDIA or ATI with OpenGL 3.3+ Discrete Graphics with OpenGL 3.3 support, 1GB+ video memory. Optional quad buffered stereo for + Support * 3D stereo display output. 8GB - 16GB+. More is better, 2 GB especially when working with very large point clouds and/or DEM's. 10 GB (must have enough to write 100GB+ available storage. very large temp files) More pixels = better. Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) user N/A experience is better than at lower resolution. Multi-core (dual or quad) N/A optimizes QTM's multithreading capabilities.
* Note: New Intel HD4000 graphics have moderate OpenGL support, but advanced QTM functions such as Virtual Shadows, Virtual Line of Sight, etc. require still more advanced capability.
2.2
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Getting Started
Once the Quick Terrain Modeler is loaded onto you PC, run the program. If this is the first time you are using it, a screen will appear asking you for a name and a key. If Applied Imagery has already issued you a key, please enter these exactly as they were given to you. If not, click "OK" on this screen and the Quick Terrain Modeler will display your hardware fingerprint. Your hardware fingerprint will be a group of eight numbers and letters that look something like this: 1A2B-3C4D. If you do not have a key, please send an email to: info@appliedimagery.com Please include the following information: Version of Quick Terrain Modeler (This should appear on your screen when you start the Quick Terrain Modeler) Name Company or Organization Name Address Phone Number Applied Imagery will send you a key via email. When you receive the key, please restart the Quick Terrain Modeler and enter the name and key information exactly as they appear in the Applied Imagery email. You will only need to do this once, as the key will be stored for all future uses.
A hardware key is an external physical key (also known as a "dongle" - see image below) that plugs into a USB or parallel port on the PC. A hardware key allows the user to install the Quick Terrain Modeler on any number of PC's, but only permits one simultaneous use. Applied Imagery uses SafeNet Sentinel SuperPro hardware keys. Since the Sentinel drivers look for the key "outside" of the PC (i.e., either on the USB port or the local network), users must ensure that their firewall and/or security software permits this communication to occur. Install the Quick Terrain Modeler. You must also install the Sentinel key drivers. Please be sure that the Sentinel key is NOT installed when installing the Sentinel key drivers. Once both packages are installed, simply plug your hardware key into your PC, start the Quick Terrain Modeler and begin using the software. Notes: Please be sure to remove your Sentinel key from the USB or parallel port prior to installing the new drivers. After installing the new drivers, please allow your system to reboot prior to using the Quick Terrain Modeler again. Sometimes Quick Terrain Modeler may lose contact with the Sentinel hardware key. Users may get the message "Aborting, Cannot Find Sentinel Hardware Key!". If this is the case, please ensure that a hardware key is plugged in locally (Portable Version or Floating Version) or is available on the network (Floating Version only). If the key is plugged in, simply click the retry button (see window below). If this
Getting Started With Portable and Floating Licenses (Sentinel Dongle License Key)
does not solve the problem, you may need to restart the Sentinel driver. This can be done one of two ways: 1. When prompted with "Attempt to Restart Sentinel Driver?" (see window below), choose "Yes". This will restart the Sentinel driver and Quick Terrain Modeler should recognize the key. 2. If you have an older Quick Terrain Modeler version, please go to your PC's Control Panel, then click on "Administrative Tools", then click on "Services". You will see the "Sentinel Protection Server" as one of the services. Make sure its status is "Started". If Sentinel Protection Server is Started and you still have no connectivity to the key, highlight Sentinel Protection Server on the list, right click with your mouse, and choose "Restart" from the menu. This should fix the problem. If it does not, please contact Applied Imagery at support@appliedimagery.com. 3. The default mode for the Quick Terrain Modeler floating license is to first look on the local machine USB port. If the key is not available there, the next step is to broadcast a request for the Sentinel key on the local subnet of the network. If a key is available, QTM will use it, regardless of the IP Address location of the available key. If no key is available, QTM will indicate a failure to find a license, then prompt the user for an IP address. Enter a specific IP address in the window. QT Modeler will search specifically on that IP address, even if it is not on the same subnet with the client workstation.
As of version v7.1.1 (Summer 2010), Applied Imagery offers Quick Terrain Modeler (QTM) floating licenses via FLexNet License Manager - otherwise known as FLexLM. This solution offers all the flexibility of the existing QTM floating licenses that were previously only available using Rainbow Sentinel server/ dongles, but with no physical dongle required. The FlexNet architecture is ideal for enterprise-wide deployments and for secure facilities in which USB dongles are discouraged or forbidden. The architecture is fairly simple and can be broken down into two basic pieces: the server that runs the FlexNet licenses server software and holds the licenses files, and the client side (end user workstations) that run Quick Terrain Modeler and query the license server to see if a valid license is available. These are the important pieces and terminology: License Server: In a floating license environment, the license server is usually a network server that does not run Quick Terrain Modeler software. The key components on the server are: o FlexNet Software LMGRD: The basic license server engine. LMGRD can manage license servers for many software packages simultaneously (e.g., Quick Terrain Modeler and ARCMap) o LMTOOLS: A suite of utilities and diagnostic tools that assist in troubleshooting and performing tasks such as starting and stopping FlexNet servers. o Vendor Daemon: A small exe file that identifies the software vendor (Applied Imagerys will always
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Getting Started
be named aiqtmod.exe regardless of what operating system the server runs. o License File: A small text file that describes how many licenses exist, if/when they expire, and various other parameters about the software licensing and privileges. Client Machine: This is the end user machine that actually runs Quick Terrain Modeler. The only relevant component in this architecture is the QTM executable itself. When using QTM the first time, the user will be prompted for the location of the license server, but after that the process should be transparent to the end user. What Applied Imagery Needs from the Customer to Create a License File: 1. The Flex License Server Name - It is typically a very short text string, something like this: flexsrvr02 Remember, this is the license server machine, not the client machine. 2. The FlexNet Server ID. The server Operating System (OS) will dictate what the Server ID looks like. When in doubt, run the FLEXTOOLS utility and determine what FLEX thinks it is. Here is what they will look like: o Windows 32-bit: It is the MAC Address of the Flex Server. A MAC address looks like this: 00219B69DF21 o Windows 64-bit: Also MAC address, same as Windows 32-bit. o SPARC/Solaris 32-bit: an 8 digit string that looks something like this: 837b1b9e 3. The License Server Operating System. License Files are generated differently if they are on different OS. We can support o Windows 32-bit o Windows 64-bit o SPARC/Solaris 32-bit 4. Getting your license file: Please email the information above to Applied Imagery info@appliedimagery.com. Applied Imagery will use this information to create your license file. Applied Imagery will email you the license file as an attachment. Server Side: What the Customer Needs from Applied Imagery: 1. General FlexNet Support Files. If the server is already running Flex, they will already be installed. If the server is not already running Flex, they will need to run LMGRD, which is included in the FLEX Tools utilities on our FLEX support web page: http://www.appliedimagery.com/supportflex.php 2. Applied Imagery Vendor Daemon: Even if the server is already running FlexNet, the customer will need the Applied Imagery Vendor Daemon. It needs to match the server Operating System. Everything is on our website on the Flex support page. The vendor daemon will be in a Zip file. 3. A license File: A Quick Terrain Modeler Flex license file is a small text file that Applied Imagery generates based on the customer-supplied information noted above. See examples below. 4. All the support files and vendor daemons are on our website in the Support section: http:// www.appliedimagery.com/supportflex.php Server Side: What the Customer Needs to Do on the Server: Here are the basic steps to install: 1. Copy the aiqtmod.exe vendor daemon onto the license server. 2. Copy the license file onto the license server. 3. Run LMTools on the Server. (LMTools is found on our website as well http:// www.appliedimagery.com/supportflex.php . 4. On the LMTools Config Services tab, make sure you create and save a service that points to lmgrd, the license file, and the debug log. (Screen grab below) 5. On the start/stop/Reread tab, highlight the QT Modeler service you created and click Start Server.
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You should get an indication that the service has started successfully. If not, there is a problem and it needs to be fixed on the server before proceeding to the client side. (Screen Grab Below) 6. Once the service is running successfully, proceed to installing QT Modeler on the client and pointing to the server. LMTools Start/Stop Services Tab:
Client Side: What the Customer Needs to Do on the Client Machines: 1. Install QTM Installation Executable. Just like a normal installation, the user needs to install the appropriate version (X32 or X64) on the client machine. Both X64 and X32 can access the license server, regardless of what OS the license server is running. The user or IT Administrator will need to install the QTM exe on every machine that intends to run QTM. 2. Point to the license Server. QTM/Flex will prompt them for the license server name/ID upon opening up. If it cannot find the server or a valid license, QT will attempt to fall back to the Sentinel license/ server. If neither can be found, QT will not open. An error message will appear indicating the locations that QT had attempted to look for a valid license. Notes/Helpful Hints: 1. As of Version 7.1.2, QTM Flex Floating licenses can fall back to a Sentinel dongle. I.e., the QTM Flex executable can use a QTM Sentinel dongle instead of a Flex license file. This can make a migration from a Sentinel environment less painful. It can also enable a hybrid flex/sentinel architecture. 2. Finding my MAC address: If you are not sure what the server MAC address is, use the LMTOOLS utility to assist.
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Getting Started
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2.3
2.4
12
Reset Lighting: Hold down the control key and right mouse button and drag the mouse. Moving the mouse around will display a variety of lighting conditions. Helpful Hints: It may take a few attempts to get the "feel" of navigation. It may help to think of a terrain model as a table top that pivots about its center. The most friendly control mode is "Targeted Point". If you get "lost" or get "under" a model, press the Reset Display button or go to the Control pull down menu and select Reset Viewer. This will return you to the starting point. Resetting Lighting can be very useful and may need to be adjusted as imagery is overlaid. Simply click the lighting button and adjust as needed. Lighting can also be found in the Display...Settings menu.
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Part
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3
3.1
3.2
Layer Tree
QT Modeler's Layer Tree provides a very simple way to interact with loaded data. As data is added in QTM, it will appear in the layer tree. Left clicking, right clicking, and double clicking on elements of the layer tree will enable different behaviors and context menus depending on what type of data it is. The layer tree can be minimized to provide more screen space for data display. The types of elements included in the layer tree are: 1. Workspaces: Useful way to save/share complex projects. 2. Special Overlays: These are things like height colors, Virtual Shadows/LOS/Contour lines, axes (3D North Arrow), compass, cross hairs, and the legend. 3. Models: Models are 3D data sets, either point clouds or surface models (DEM, DSM, DTM, DTED, SRTM, etc.) 4. Vectors: Vectors are models that are represented by lines. Vectors can be imported from SHP, KML and other sources or can be generated from QT Modeler (e.g., range rings, contour lines, measuremnt vectors, etc.)
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5. Markers: Markers are QT Modeler-generated marker files, either generated manually by the user or imported from an external file. 6. Routes: Routes are an assembly of markers that are connected in a sequence to define routes for walking, driving, or other travel. 7. Textures: Textures are imagery and other raster products that are overlaid on a model, but never actually become part of the model. 8. Bookmarks: Bookmarks allow a quick marking of a specific view or perspective that can be returned to later or sent to another user. 9. Minimize the layer tree by clicking the minimize layer tree button at the top of the layer tree: 10.Access the layer transparency control by clicking the layer transparency button at the top of the layer tree: The basic operations performed in the layer tree are: 1. Checking/Unchecking boxes makes that element visible (checked) or invisible (unchecked). 2. Left Clicking Section Headers: Calls up a "Manager" interface for all loaded elements of that type 3. Left Clicking on individual elements: Calls up either an information screen on that element, some of which provide editing capability (e.g., markers, routes) or in the case of Bookmarks, takes the user to that specific view perspective. 4. Right Clicking on individual elements: Calls up a context menu to perform relevant actions on that element (e.g., Go to, Rename, Edit, etc.) 5. Right Clicking on a Section Header: Pulls up relevant tools for the entire category (e.g., load, open, etc.)
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3.2.1
Special Overlays
Layer Tree > Special Overlays Folder Special Overlays are tools that assist with visualization, but are not file-based or object-based entities that have separate folders in the layer tree (e.g., Models, Textures). The special overlays that are available are: Virtual QTA Analyst: Enables filtering/coloring based on QTA attributes of point clouds. Only works on QTA point clouds with attributes. (More Info - QTA Continuous Attribute Filtering Advanced) Virtual Height Colors: Basic Height coloration (More Info - Set Height Coloration) Virtual Contour Lines: Customizable Contour Lines (More Info - Contour Lines) Virtual Shadows: Generates shadow maps instantly based on user-set lighting direction (More Info - Set Lighting) Virtual LOS Map: Instant generation of Line of Sight map based on a marker position. (More Info - Virtual Line of Sight - Marker) Axes: 3D Version of a North Arrow. Compass: Gives real time readout of camera orientation (azimuth and elevation) Crosshairs: Places small crosshair in the center of the screen. "Targeted Point" mode rotates around the center of the screen, so crosshairs can be a useful navigation aid. Legend: Displays the legend for a variety of purposes - e.g., height color, slope, HLZ, etc.
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Note that Special Overlays are all reliant upon graphics card capabilities. In particular, Virtual Contours, Virtual Shadows, and Virtual LOS Map rely heavily on relatively advanced OpenGL capabilities and the availability of multiple texture slots.
3.2.1.1
Virtual Shadow Map Virtual Shadow Map is accessed either from the Layer Tree > Special Overlays > Virtual Shadows checkbox, or from the Set Lighting Tool/Button: Virtual shadows cast shadows in real time as the lighting direction is adjusted. Subsequent shadow maps can be turned into a "real" shadow map image file and exported to other applications. To use Virtual Shadows:
Unlike Traditional Shadow Map, Virtual Shadow Map works on both point clouds and surface models (DEM's, DTM's, etc.). Activate Virtual Shadows either from the Layer Tree > Special Overlays, or from the Lighting tool. If "Virtual Shadows" is grayed out in the layer tree, either your graphics card does not support Virtual Tools at all, or you have a configuration setting that is preventing QT Modeler from accessing the OpenGL functions necessary to calcualte and render Virtual tools. Check your OpenGL Configuration to ensure Multi-Stage Rendering is enabled (File > Options/Settings > Configure OpenGL) and also check to ensure your computer's OpenGL version is sufficent to support Virtual Tools (Help > OpenGL Resources) More Info on OpenGL Resources
1. Use the Lighting tool: The advantage of the lighting tool is that it has a slider for time of day, thus giving Geo-correct lighting conditions. In addition, it has an Azimuth/Elevation setting that could be
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useful in simulating lunar lighting conditions. 2. Use the shortcut of CTRL + Leftclick/Drag to move lighting around in any direction. This is a simple and easy, but does not track the arc of the sun in a geographically correct fashion.
Since Virtual Shadow Map results are "virtual", they exist only on the graphics card (i.e., they are not a file). If you would like to export Virtual Shadow Map results as an image, right click on Special Overlays > Virtual Shadows, and "Create Shadow Map texture". A new texture will appear in the textures folder called "QT Shadow Map". Once the virtual texture has become "real" (i.e., it is now a file), it can be exported, saved, etc. just like any texture.
In order for Virtual Shadows to work, your video card must support OpenGL version 3.0 or higher. Discrete graphics cards (e.g., NVIDIA, ATI) will likely support this, but may need the driver upgraded. This is usually a fairly straightforward process of downloading an upgraded driver from the manufacturer's website and installing it. Integrated graphics chipsets (e.g., Intel) will have a more difficult time supporting advanced graphics capabilities.
3.2.2
Workspace
File Menu > Save Local Workspace, Export Portable Workspace, and Load Workspace Layer Tree Button Bar: Workspaces enable the user to save and/or share the entire contents of the layer tree for future use. Workspaces can be accessed from the button bar at the top of the layer tree or from the File menu. There are two types of workspace - local and portable. These are the basic principles behind workspaces. Please click the hyperlinks to learn more about each topic.
Users are generating increasingly complex products from their LiDAR & 3D data. Workspaces enable the saving of everything that is in the layer tree - Models, textures, markers, vectors, etc. When a user is
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finished working for the day, or needs to move to another project, a local workspace enables a return to the entire project at a later time. When an analyst needs to share results with a downstream user, a portable workspace will copy all files and display settings into a single file that contains 3D models, images, vectors, annotation layers, bookmarks, etc., so the end user sees exactly what the analyst wanted to share.
An easy way to understand what is going to be saved in a workspace is to look at the layer tree. Everything that is loaded in the layer tree will be saved in the workspace. If objects in the layer tree are unchecked (i.e., not visible in the QTM model space window), they will still be saved in the local/portable workspace. The only way to prevent a model, texture, marker, etc. from being saved with a workspace is to remove it from the scene altogether, thus making it disappear from the layer tree as well. At this time, there is no way to save "partial" workspaces - i.e., subsets of what you see in the layer tree. It is all or nothing. Yes. It is probably best to share a portable (rather than a local) workspace, as a local workspace is simply a collection of links back to locally stored files. Even if the files used in a local workspace come from a central server, there is some risk that the precise path names to the original data may have a user name or other unique identifier in the path name itself, thus making it useless to another workstation. Workspaces can also be shared with the free Quick Terrain Reader, which can read workspace files and manipulate data in the layer tree, just like Quick Terrain Modeler. See next topic.
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Yes. The Quick Terrain Reader is free, requires no key, and has the same underlying rendering "horsepower" as the Quick Terrain Modeler. It can be downloaded from here: http:// www.appliedimagery.com/download.php The QT Reader will be able to view workspaces, but will not be able to create or save workspaces. See more Information and Suggestions here: Sharing Workspace with QT Reader.
3.2.2.1
Workspace - Share with QT Reader Workspaces can be shared with users who have the free Quick Terrain Reader software. The QT Reader "experience" will be quite similar to the QT Modeler experience. Some things to consider when sending workspaces to the QT Reader: The Quick Terrain Reader is free and does not require a license file or any interaction from Applied Imagery. Simply download from our website - http://www.appliedimagery.com/download.php , install, and begin using. You can Open Workspace files in QT Reader multiple ways: o Drag and drop the Workspace file (.qwz) into QT Reader. o Open using the "Open Workspace" button at the top of the layer tree: o Go to the File Menu > Open Workspace. Keep in mind the potential limitations of your downstream users' computers: o Potential graphics card limitations, especially lack of OpenGL support, will impact display of point clouds and textures. QT Reader has the same graphics requirements as QT Modeler. o Potential RAM limitations could limit maximum file sizes. There could be a user learning curve for the end user. Bookmarks are a good way to guide the end user to the features you want them to see.
3.2.2.2
Workspace File Format The QT Modeler workspace file format is a Zip file with the extension .qwz. The workspace file can be opened and examined with WinZip or comparable Zip file tool. To create a workspace from another application, simply establish the file structure shown below, Zip the entire file structure together, then rename the extension ".qwz". File structure required. Please use the exact names, including capitalization to establish a workspace file
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(Notes in parenthesis) : Bookmarks (Include only QT Modeler bookmark files) Markers (Include only QT Modeler marker files or any point based marker file such as KML or SHP) Models (Include 3D models - LAS/LAZ Files, GeoTIFF Files, BPF, QTT, QTC/QTA, etc.) Routes (Include QT Modeler route files) Textures (Include 2D overlaid imagery of any acceptable file format - GeoTIFF, MRSID, NITF, ECW, IMG, etc. These images should be orthorectified and georegistered.) Vectors (Include QT Modeler vector files, SHP, and KML files - or any vector format that can simply be "opened) After creating the folder structure and copying files into the appropriate folders, it is also useful (but not mandatory) to copy a QT Modeler INI file into the top level directory. See images below. The .ins File: When QT Modeler generates a workspace, it creates an auxiliary file for each model that is called modelname.ins (where modelname is the original file name). This is an instruction file. It details specific characteristics about the file in the context of how the workspace was saved. At the present time, it only contains information about whether the model/vector/image/etc. was visible (i.e., was the checkbox checked in the layer tree when the workspace was saved/exported?). In the future, the instruction file may contain additional information. Instruction files are not necessary for the successful creation and opening of a QT Modeler workspace. The only drawback at this time for not having an instruction file is that all check boxes in the layer tree will be checked when a user opens a workspace.
3.2.3
Bookmarks
Bookmarks are similar in concept to bookmarks in a browser or "favorites" in other software. Bookmarks store a specific viewpoint that can be returned to again in the future, saved, or shared with other users. To use bookmarks: 1. Navigate to a zoom level and perspective that you would like to recall later. 2. Type "Q" on the keyboard or Right Click on the Bookmarks section of the layer tree to create a bookmark. It will appear in the layer tree. 3. Rename the bookmark by right clicking on it and choosing "Rename" 4. If desired add an Annotation Layer to a bookmark. Annotation layers enable documentation of features in a scene. More info on Annotation Layers
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5. Continue navigating through the model. Click on the bookmark to return to that view. Bookmark notes: Bookmarks are storing a camera position and view angle. They are not associated with a specific data set, nor do they store an image of the scene. Bookmarks can be saved and shared with other users, but the other user needs to load the same data set (or at least a data set from the same location) for bookmark sharing to work.
3.2.3.1
Annotation Layer for Bookmarks Users can attach an annotation Overlay Layer to bookmarks to assist in documenting or highlighting features in a scene. The annotation overlay can only be seen when a bookmark is "locked", i.e., the annotation layer checkbox is checked. This will temporarily suspend navigation and enable "annotation mode" in which objects can be placed, moved, resized, and edited. To Create/Edit the Bookmark Annotation Overlay:
Bookmarks can be established either from the hot key "Q" or by right clicking the Bookmark folder in the Layer tree and choosing "Create New Bookmark". See more info on Bookmarks.
Establish a Bookmark
Right Click on Bookmark, Add Overlay Check the Check Box, Open Overlay Drawing Tools
Check the check box next to the bookmark to which you want to add an annotation overlay. Open the annotation overlay drawing tools one of two ways: o Right click on the bookmark, Select Overlay > Overlay Tools o Left click on the Bookmarks folder. The Annotation Tools interface will pop up.
When the Bookmark with Annotation Overlay has its check box checked, the scene is locked to that perspective and is in "Annotation Mode", i.e., all mouse controls, hot keys, etc. are now dedicated to
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Check Box Checked = Annotation Mode: Locked to Bookmark & Navigation Suspended
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editing the annotation layer, not to manipulating the model. To get back to "normal" control modes, the check box must be unchecked. The Annotation Tools interface contains basic drawing, text, and image import functions. The basic functions are : Linear Circle/Solid Circle: Click the button, left click/drag in the scene. Right click on object to edit it. Linear Rectangle/Solid Rectangle: Click the button, left click/drag in the scene. Right click on object to edit it. Linear Polygon/Solid Polygon: Click the button, left click/drag in the scene. Right click on object to edit it. Line/Arrow: Click the button, left click in scene to start line, left click to add vertices to the line, right click to end the line. Right click on existing line to edit. Text: Text input tool. See More Info Image Import: Left Click, select image file, Open. Right click to move/resize image. Settings: Basic Default Settings for Annotation Tools See More Info
When an annotation overlay is created, it is created on a specific scene and the annotations only make sense when they align with the features of that scene. In the creation of the original annotation layer, there is a specific aspect ratio (ratio of height to width of the model space window). In order for the annotation layer to make sense to other users, this aspect ratio must be preserved. While QT Modeler can scale the annotation layer image to fit different sized screens, there is nothing it can do to stretch the annotation layer to different screen aspect ratios. For this reason, when loading an annotation layer on another computer, or even in a smaller window on the same computer, a white frame may appear in the scene. This frame represents the aspect ratio of the screen when the annotation layer was created. It may be useful to try to adjust the QT Modeler window to match the annotation aspect ratio. See example below.
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Once an annotation layer is created, there are multiple export possibilities: Export to PowerPoint (Export Menu > PowerPoint Tool, or PowerPoint button Export Image as TIFF (if in 3D mode) or GeoTIFF if in 2D Mode. (Export Menu > Render Screen to Registered or Unregistered Image or use export GeoTIFF button ). Note, annotated images can only be exported as a georegistered raster product if QT Modeler is in 2D mode. Otherwise, the perspective of 3D mode will make it impossible to correctly georegister the image. Export to Garmin GPS - but only if annotation layer was created in 2D mode. Otherwise, it cannot be exported as a georegsitered product an Garmin will not know the location of the image. Use Garmin button
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3.2.3.2
Annotation Settings Annotation Settings establishes the default annotation characteristics for all annotation tools. Simply set the Line Style/Size/Color/End Style, Fill Color, and Font Color/Size to set the default values for these items. Subsequent objects will all have these characteristics when placed, but can be edited later. See more about Annotation Overlays for Bookmarks.
3.2.3.3
Annotation Text The Edit Annotation Text interface is used to add/edit text in an annotation layer. To access it, click the Text Icon in the Annotation Tools Window (More Info on Annotation Layers) or right click on a text object in an annotation layer and select Edit/Move.
3.3
Users can customize the toolbar by going to the File...Options and Settings menu and selecting Configure
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Open New Model: Opens a model and displays it in Quick Terrain Modeler. This button will open pre-built models of any type - point cloud, surface model, DTED, GeoTIFF DEM as well as LAS files.
Add Model: Loads an additional model into the model space. Save Model: Saves an existing model. Clear Model: Clears all loaded models. Note: Be sure to save all models before clearing. Import Model Data: This button calls up the import functionality. This functionality creates models from raw model data. Export Model Data: This button calls up the export functionality. This functionality exports various types of 2-D or 3-D models and images from the existing model. Import Vector Data: Thus button calls up the import vector functionality. Most vector formats (e.g., SHP, KML, etc.) are supported. Export KML to Google Earth: This button exports KML products as specified by the user. If specified, it also opens Google Earth and displays the products. Toggle Height Coloration: This button turns height coloration on and off. Please note, on some video cards, the height coloration effect can only be achieved simultaneously with overlaid textures. Real time contour line generation. Click this button to generate contour lines on the fly. Right click on the button to display the Contour Line configuration window. This feature only works with surface models. Toggle Loaded Textures: "Texture" is a generic term for overlaid imagery (e.g., photographs, maps, etc.) that is independent of the model itself. Images may be overlaid as textures across all current models in one of three methods Projective, Orthographic and Orthorectified. Once these images/textures are overlaid, use the "Toggle Loaded Textures" button to quickly and temporarily add and remove the imagery from the current display. Toggle Vertex Colors: This button turns on/off any colors that are embedded in the models themselves. This includes LOS maps, slope maps, change detection maps, shadow calculations, intensity or
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RGB imported with the model, etc. Overlay Orthorectified Texture: This button calls up the Overlay Orthorectified Texture functionality. Please note that the Quick Terrain Modeler also overlays orthographic and projective imagery, so this button may not be suitable for all imagery. 2-D Mode: 2-D Mode toggles the display mode to 2-D. 2-D mode may be more suitable for tasks that involve overlaying vector data. In 2-D mode, tilt and rotate are suspended. 3-D Mode: 3-D mode toggles the display mode to 3-D. Reset Display: This button resets the model view to the entire extents of the visible model(s). This is a useful tool for reorienting the user in a large model or set of models. Occasionally, the user may need to reset more parameters (e.g., lighting, height scale, etc.). To reset display and these other parameters, use the menu function "Reset Viewer". Go To: Pulls up the Coordinate Conversion Utility. Help: Displays the Quick Terrain Modeler Help file. Stop Current Process: Depending on model sizes and PC configurations, some processes may take a long time to complete. Almost any process except for saving and loading may be canceled by pressing the "Stop Current Process" button on the toolbar. View Model Statistics: Users can obtain information and statistics on the currently loaded models by clicking on the View Model Statistics button. This will open a window listing the total number of points, model extents in X, Y, and Z, the model origin in Geodetic/UTM space, the model size and type, and a histogram of all the Z values in the model. The top of the window will contain a drop-down list allowing you to select for which model to display statistics. If multiple models are loaded one scale will be selected for all model histograms to make comparisons direct. Also refer to Model Statistics section. Place Marker Pin: The user can add custom labeled and colored markers to indicate positions of important features and to create Line-of-Sight maps. To place a marker, the user can click on the "Place Marker Pin" button in the toolbar, left-clicking and dragging the mouse on the model to the desired position. The user can then edit markers positions, names, sizes and colors by selecting Edit Marker, Set Marker Size and Show Labels from the Markers menu. "Markers" are saved and loaded as "mrk" files. If you have saved your markers they will be added to any tilesets you save. But you must save the markers to load them either through the Marker menu, Load or through a tileset. Select: Pressing the Select button places the user in "Select" mode which enables the user to select an area to keep or an area to cut. Pressing the button again exits the user from Select mode. This can also
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be done by choosing Select from the Edit menu. To select an area, left-click and drag in the main viewing window to select a region of the model. The selected region will be highlighted. Right clicking and dragging will allow the user to rotate this box to a desired orientation. Regions may also be selected numerically by choosing "Select Area" from the Edit menu. Z Select Polygon: Pressing the Select Polygon button places the user in "Z Polygon Select" mode which enables the user to select an area down the Z axis to keep, measure, or cut. Once the button is pressed, the user simply left clicks on each vertex of the desired polygon. When completed, the user right clicks on the polygon to complete it. Select Window Polygon: Pressing the Select Polygon button places the user in "Polygon Window Select" mode which enables the user to select an area down the viewing axis to keep, measure, or cut. Once the button is pressed, the user simply left clicks on each vertex of the desired polygon. When completed, the user right clicks on the polygon to complete it. Window select is useful for removing groups of points from a point cloud without removing the points directly beneath them. See Example. Cut: The Cut button removes the selected area from the model. Select Area with either Select or Select Polygon tools. Selection areas can also be imported from a shape file. Crop: the crop button removes everything except the selected are from the model. Select Area with either Select or Select Polygon tools. Selection areas can also be imported from a shape file. Place Mensuration Line: The user can measure between any points in the model. Simply click the Place Mensuration Line Button, then move the mouse cursor to any place in the model. Left click on the start point and again on the end point. This can be repeated for a multi-segmented line. When the line is complete, click on the Place Mensuration Line button again. Volume Calculation: Clicking the volume calculation button calls up the volume calculation function. Line of Sight: Calls up the Line of Sight functionality. (USA Version Only) Set Water Level: Calls up the Set Water Level function which performs flood simulation and tidal inundation analysis. Show/Hide Models: Calls up the Show/Hide Models window which enables turning individual models/ layers on and off selectively. Set Height Scale: Calls up the Set Height Scale Function to exaggerate or minimize elevation differences.
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Calculate Grid Statistics: Calls up the grid statistics tool. The same function is also available in the Analysis menu. QTA Quick Color button: Enables the quick coloration of point cloud models by a variety of attributes, such as classification, return number, intensity, first/last/intermediate return, AGL height, etc. Set Lighting: The set lighting button calls up the Set Lighting functionality. It is frequently useful to manipulate the lighting to achieve maximum relief in the model or to brighten the model after overlaying a texture. Set Cloud Point Size: Calls up the Set Cloud Point Size interface to allow rapid changing of point sizes.
3.4
Configure Toolbar
Configuring the toolbar enables users to create a toolbar with any buttons they choose, in any order they choose. The baseline configuration has 33 buttons. As of version 7.1.4, there are not two separate button bars, but simply a sequence of buttons that wraps to another line if/when necessary due to the width of the screen. See the list of buttons below. To add buttons to the toolbar, double click on a button choice in the left hand "Button Choices" column. It will appear in the right hand "Current Toolbar" column. Use the Move Up, Move Down, and Remove button to group buttons together as desired. Click "Apply" to make the choices appear in the actual toolbar. Click the "QT Modeler Defaults" button to return to the default button selection and order. DoD users may find it helpful to click "Tactical Defaults" to configure the most commonly used buttons - i.e., HLZ Analysis, GPS Export, Model Search, etc. Custom toolbar configurations can be saved and loaded using the Save and Load buttons.
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3.5
Google Earth:
G: Type "G" to perform an instantaneous synchronization with Google Earth.
Cutting/Cropping:
CTRL: If multiple models are loaded, but some models are hidden (using show/hide model),cutting or cropping will only apply to the visible model(s). Holding down "CTRL" prior to performing cut or crop will force the editing function to apply to all models, whether they are hidden or visible.
Lighting
CTRL: Hold down "CTRL", then left click and drag. Lighting direction will change.
Line of Sight
L: Calculate Vector Line of Sight (move cursor to desired observation point, left click, then type "L") to all loaded markers. Type "L" again to remove LOS vectors. (USA Version only).
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Coordinate Conversion
P: Left click on location, Type "P" to pull up coordinate conversion utility and populate with position information.
Markers:
M: Hold down "M", left click to quickly place markers in a model. K: Hold down K, move cursor to the vicinity of an existing marker, then left click and drag to move the marker.
Bookmarks:
Q: Simply type Q on the keyboard to create a new bookmark.
3.6
Note that when the coordinates displayed in the status bar are no longer the native coordinates of the model, the status bar will be colored yellow. In the example below, the range to the model at the point under the cursor is 177.87 meters.
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4
4.1
Menu - File
Preview Geospatial Data
QT Modeler and QT Reader offer the ability to preview 3D, 2D, and vector data prior to loading and/or importing it. This capability can significantly reduce the amount of time spent on file selection, as the user can quickly see critical information about data without taking the time to load and inspect it. Specifically, users can: Inspect the file header to determine critical information such as number of points in an LAS file, georegistration information in LAS and GeoTIFF files, and the spatial extents of the data. Essentially, any information contained in the file header is visible. Inspect NGA Variable Length Records (VLR's) that contain important information such as collection date, sensor, classification level, etc. Please note that users will have identical functionality for NGA LAS files that are encoded as NTM. Preview the file's spatial extents in Google Earth. This enables a quick check to see if the data is in the user's Area of Interest prior to taking the time to load it. If LAS point data coverage is irregularly shaped, the extents will appear in Google Earth as a rectangle (min/max X and Y), rather than conforming to the exact shape of the actual data coverage.
To preview file information, simply select "Open Model", Add Model", "Import Model", etc. - Any place that the file selection dialog appears, the preview capability exists. When the file dialog window appears, simply highlight a file. If it contains header information, the header information will appear. Use the preview window to inspect the header text. This preview capability will work with any file structure that uses a standard header (e.g., LAS, GeoTIFF, MRSID, IMG, etc.) but will not work with file types that have no standard header (e.g., text files, ASCII data, etc.).
LAS files have a header section known as the Variable Length Record or VLR. VLR's are user-defined strings of information that are created and defined in the LAS header. While the VLR can contain any amount or type of information, the most common types of VLR information are standard georegistration keys, identical to those used in GeoTIFF's. The LAS standard also defines a protocol to insert user-defined information. NGA has used this capability to define its own information - data such as the data
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acquisition date, sensor ID, security level, etc. QT Modeler gives the user the ability to preview the NGA VLR in the preview window. The process is identical if the LAS file is in its native LAS file format, or if it is wrapped in a NITF wrapper (i.e., file extension of .ntm).
File Header Preview Showing NGA VLR Data - Date, Sensor, etc.
QTM's file preview capability also give the user the ability to see the spatial footprint of the file in Google Earth. This can be very helpful to identify the correct file in the user's area of interest without actually opening the file. To use this capability, simply check the "Preview in Google Earth check box. Notes: 1. Data in UTM, geodetic, and State Plane can be previewed in Google Earth. 2. Unregistered Cartesian data can not be previewed, as QT Modeler has no way to understand its position on the Earth. 3. Spatial preview works with 3D, 2D, and vector data. 4. Multiple file selection will result in multiple footprints being displayed in Google Earth. If these file are not near each other, it may result in Google Earth zooming out extremely far.
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4.2
Open Model
Open New Model: This choice will allow the user to select an existing model. The default setting is for the file selection window to only look for supported model formats. These formats are: .QTC Quick Terrain Modeler's proprietary ungridded point cloud. .QTT Quick Terrain Modeler's proprietary gridded surface model. .QDT Quick Terrain Modeler's proprietary model type for DTED data. Since DTED's store elevation values as integers, only a "short" (i.e., 2-byte integer value) is required to represent elevation values. Thus, the QDT model type does not have the dynamic range of the QTT model type, but it will appear as the same type of gridded surface model. LAS: Industry standard for point data LAZ - Compressed LAS Model GeoTIFF DEM (16-bit and 32-bit) IMG DEM DTED - DTED can be opened directly into the QDT model format or "imported" into the QTT format. When opening directly into QDT format, DTED's can be converted to UTM. When importing into QTT format, DTED's must remain in geodetic coordinates (i.e., latitude/longitude). By default, DTED's are opened as QDT, which is a 16-bit height field. QDT's can not be exported as GeoTIFF DEM because they are not 32-bit elevation data and they are not gridded orthogonally. Pseudo DTED "DTC DEM" - This high resolution DTED format increases the dynamic range of DTED elevations by specifying an elevation scale factor in the header. Normal DTED's are only capable of integer values in the elevation field. Pseudo DTED's can support sub meter precision in elevation values. Quick Terrain Modeler automatically reads the scale factor and opens DTC's as QTT surface models. Note that Pseudo DTED's, by default, will be opened as a QTT (32-bit height field gridded data set). Other file types supported by GDAL libraries. If the model you are trying to load does not have a recognized extension, you will need to use the pull down menu to look at "All Files".
4.3
Add Models
The Add Models function is similar to Open New Model, but does not close the existing model before opening the new model. Please note that you can continue to add any number of models and any type of models to be displayed simultaneously. The size and number of models you may load is limited only by the amount of memory on your PC.
4.4
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4.5
4.6
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Provides a simple way to convert a single point between five coordinate systems - Native (could be any known coordinate system, Geodetic (decimal degrees), Geodetic (Degrees/minutes), Geodetic (degrees/minutes/seconds), and Military Grid Reference System (MGRS). A sixth coordinate box contains an "Edit" button that enables the user to select any other known coordinate system to convert to. Allows the user to quickly zoom to the location specified in the interface or to pre-placed markers. Create markers in specific locations. Convert existing marker positions between the five coordinate systems mentioned above. Determine elevation values for specific X-Y positions. Converting Point Coordinates To convert the coordinates of a single position, there are three ways to populate the coordinate converter interface: Manually: To manually go to a specific location, simply type in the coordinates in one of the five available coordinate system input fields. Regardless of which coordinate system is entered, all five will be immediately updated to the new position. From a Marker: If markers are loaded, the user can select a marker from the "Marker" pull down menu. Once a marker is selected, the position of the marker will be populated in the five coordinate systems. From a Position in the model: To convert the coordinates of any position in the model, simply point the cursor to that position, left click the mouse, and type "P" on the keyboard. The position under the cursor will be populated in all five coordinate systems. Entering Altitude The default position of the "Altitude" field is set to AGL (Above Ground Level) with a value of zero. This means that the position is resting on the surface of the model. To set a specific altitude, either set the AGL value to a nonzero number (e.g., to simulate a planned observation tower), or set an absolute elevation value. Creating Markers Once a position has been entered either manually (by typing the position into one of the input fields) or from a position in the model (by left clicking on a model position and typing "P"), the user can create a marker in that position. The user must manually type a marker name in the marker name field (to the right of the "Create Marker Named..." button). A marker will appear. Markers can be edited, saved, and exported. Furthermore, markers of locations can be sent to users of the Quick Terrain Modeler or the free Quick Terrain Reader to share positional information. Please note that markers also form the basis of line of sight analysis. Zooming to a Point or Marker Once a position has been entered in the steps above, a user can zoom to that location in one of two ways: "Look Here": This function brings the location (or marker) to the center of the screen, but using the current camera position. This operation is equivalent to rotating one's head to put an object in the center of the field of view. The head (camera) is rotated (camera heading) and/or tilted (camera pitch), but the head (camera) stays in the same position. For this reason, Zoom level is irrelevant with respect to "Look Here". To "Look" at a point, simply enter the position manually or by typing
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"P", then click "Look Here". To "Look" at a marker, simply select the appropriate marker from the pull down menu and click "Look Here" "Go Here": This function reorients the model so the user is looking straight down (nadir view) on the position or marker. In contrast to the "Look Here" function, the "Go Here" function moves the camera position, points it straight down at the marker, and orients the model north-up. The Zoom Level is important when using the "Go Here" function, as it will determine how closely the user is zoomed in when the "Go Here" button is pressed "Zoom Level": Zoom Level determines how closely the user will be zoomed in when using the "Go Here" function. The zoom level is irrelevant when using the "Look Here" function. Using Coordinate Conversion Utility with "Cartesian" Coordinates Quick Terrain Modeler can not convert between Cartesian coordinates and the coordinate systems noted above. The functionality of "Look Here", "Go Here", and marker creation still apply.
4.7
Model Search
Model Search is a tool that enables very fast search of relevant 3D and/or 2D data. Frequently, LiDAR and other geospatial data is divided into "tiles" of data. A survey may consist of hundreds, even thousands, of tiles. They are not always named or organized in a consistent or intuitive manner. Consequently, finding the right tiles can sometimes be a very arduous and time consuming effort. The concept of this tool is simple: 1. Start with a coordinate. If models and data are in either UTM, MGRS, or geodetic (geographic), the user-specified search coordinate can be in any one of the coordinate systems. For example, if data is in UTM, the user can still specify and MGRS coordinate for model search. 2. Point to a directory or drive. Quick Terrain Modeler will inspect the directory as well as all subdirectories to find data that contains that coordinate. 3. QTM will display a list of the data and/or models in the model list window. 4. Highlight a model or models and click "Load Models" to load the models into QTM. Instructions (Starting with No Models Open): 1. Go to the "File" menu. Select "Model Search" from the menu.
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2. Choose whether to search for 2D Imagery or 3D Models. Note that these are separate searches that cannot be performed at the same time. The 2D Imagery search will find almost any raster format (GeoTIFF, MRSID, ECW, CADRG, CIB, etc.) and the 3D Model Search will find any type of 3D data (LAS, GeoTIFF DEM, DTED, etc.). 3. Click the "Select Directory" button. Choose a directory to search. Note that all subdirectories of the chosen directory will be searched for relevant data. 4. Alternatively, use a "Search Cache" to find data. A Search Cache is a precalculated result to expedite repetitive searches. A search cache is a file that is created by pointing the QTM search tool to a directory or drive, calculating what files exist and their spatial extents. Learn more about Search Caches. 5. Input a coordinate in the appropriate field. Note that the coordinate system only needs to be input in one of the five available coordinate sections. Upon input of the coordinate, QTM will convert between the input coordinate and the other four coordinate systems (e.g., if you input an MGRS coordinate, the UTM, Decimal Degree, Degrees-Minutes, and Degrees-Minutes-Seconds will be automatically and simultaneously updated). See notes below. UTM: Input both the northing and easting coordinates. Use the pulldown menus to select the zone. MGRS: Input a single MGRS coordinate. Please use as much precision as possible (e.g., 18S TH 93523 24676 - 10-digit grid coordinates). If using coordinates with lower precision, please be sure to include the spaces when inputting the coordinate (e.g., 18S TH 935 246) or pad the number with zeroes (e.g., 18S TH 93500 24600). Note that if less precision is used, QT Modeler is still interpreting the input coordinate as a single point with 10-digit precision, rather than a grid square (i.e., a point rather than an area) and will return relevant data as such. Future releases will have the ability to search an area, but this release (v7.0.3) is searching on a point with no buffer area around it. Geodetic/Geographic: Input a coordinate in one of the three formats available - Decimal Degree, Degrees-Decimal Minutes, and Degrees-Minutes-Seconds. Cartesian/Unregistered/State Plane: Check the "Unregistered" check box. Input the X and Y coordinates. The other coordinate systems will be grayed out. 4. Click "Find Models". The search time will depend on how many files and subdirectories QTM needs to search, but should be measured in seconds. Searches for remotely connected storage will take longer than local storage. 5. QTM will display a list of the files that match your search criteria. The list will potentially consist of QTT, QTC, QTA, LAS, DTED, GeoTIFF DEM, and/or shape files. 6. Highlight a file or files on the results list. Click "Load Models" 7. Click "Load Search Point as Marker" to create a marker that quickly identifies the exact location of the search coordinate one the model(s) is loaded. 8. Export to KML: Highlight the models of interest in the Search Results window, then click "Export to KML". Save the KML vector outlines of model extents. Instructions (Starting with One or More Models Open): 1. Begin with data loaded into Quick Terrain Modeler. 2. Left click anywhere in the model and type "F" (i.e., "Find") on the keyboard. The Model Search interface will pop up and be prepopulated with the coordinate you clicked on in Step 2. 3. Alternatively, simply click the "Set Search to the Center of the Models" to enter the search coordinate. QTM will populate the coordinate fields with the location of the center of the loaded model(s). 4. Click the "Select Directory" button. Choose a directory to search. Note that all subdirectories of the chosen directory will be searched for relevant data. 5. Click "Find Models".
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6. QTM will display a list of the files that match your search criteria. The list will potentially consist of QTT, QTC, QTA, LAS, DTED, GeoTIFF DEM, and/or shape files. 7. Highlight a file or files on the results list. Click "Load Models" 9. Export to KML: Highlight the models of interest in the Search Results window, then click "Export to KML". Save the KML vector outlines of model extents. Model Search Windows and Cartesian Coordinate Interface:
4.8
Search Cache
A QT Modeler search cache is a file that catalogs what spatial data exists in a given location. The purpose of a search cache is to prevent repetitive, time consuming searches through large catalogs of LiDAR, imagery, and other spatial holdings. It is used in conjunction with the Model Search and Image Search tools and is related to the file indexing tool. Important Note: QT Modeler's cache will catalog every geospatial file available, regardless of whether it is 2D, 3D, or vector data. Thus, the resulting cache can be used for subsequent searches on either imagery (2D) or LiDAR (3D) data.
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4.9
Save Models
To save the current model, select Save Model form the Models pull-down menu or press the Save Model button. The Quick Terrain Modeler will provide a standard Windows file selection dialog, from which you may name and place your model according to your own standard naming and storage conventions. When saving models, whether individually or as a batch, Quick Terrain Modeler will retain the original file name, but will strip off the original file extension (e.g., .las, .xyz, etc) and replace the extension with either .qtt (gridded surface models) or .qtc (ungridded point clouds). The user can choose a different extension manually. When saving multiple files, the user can choose a custom extension for all files by clicking the "Use Custom Extension", then manually entering the desired extension in the window.
4.10
Remove Models
Similar in function to the Clear Model functionality, but will not remove all models at the same time. This is helpful if multiple models are simultaneously loaded and one or more need to be closed. This function immediately removes one of the current models from the Quick Terrain Modeler workspace. CAUTION: If you have created or modified a model and wish to save it, be sure to save it before you clear it. If you accidentally clear a newly created model without saving it, you will need to reconstruct it from the raw data.
4.11
4.12
Load List
Load list enables the user to load models that are contained in a text list of file names. The entire path names of the files need to be included with one file entry per line. There should be no header information in the list.
4.13
Batch Scripting
Batch scripting enables users to script and perform repetitive and/or complicated tasks. The user must open Quick Terrain Modeler and create the script by adding actions to a list. The list is then saved, and then run against a set of data files. The script can be run from Quick Terrain Modeler, or can be run from a command line interface external to QTM. The following "Actions" are available:
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Import Model Data Save Model Convert Model to UTM Export GeoTIFF (2D Image and 3D DEM ) Export LAS Export FLT Export ASCII XYZI Export ASCII XYZRGB Export ASCII XYZAll Export Binary FXYZI Export GridStats Set GeoKey Override Batch scripting is found in the "File" menu. The basic steps of scripting are as follows: 1. Open Batch Scripting interface from the File Menu. 2. Add Actions: Create a new script by adding Actions to the script. - Select from pull- down menu. - Configure 3. Edit Actions: If necessary, edit, insert, or remove actions. - Reconfigure import settings - Remove unnecessary actions - Rename actions to more intuitive names (e.g., "Import LAS Last Returns to QTC") 4. Save the script. The script will be saved with a file extension of .qsc. 5. Run the script. - Select files in Windows GUI (Perform Script Button) - Select an ASCII file to run script against (Apply to List Button)
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Compressed Data" if desired. (See compression). 2) Select a representative file. NOTE: This is only a representative file. You do not need to select all of your files that you want to batch process at this time. File selection for batch processing will occur when you run your script. 3) Configure the import options as you normally would for LAS, ASCII, etc. 4) Click the "Go!" button. 5) The import action will appear in the "Scripted Actions" List
Save Model: Save model simply saves the model as it was created (i.e., as specified in the "Import Model Data" Model Format), either a QTT gridded surface model or a QTC point cloud. At this time, the model name will be the original data file name with an extension of QTT or QTC, depending on the import model type chosen. For example, models generated from the LAS file smithcounty_101.las get saved as smithcounty_101.qtt and/or smithcounty_101.qtc. Export Model to GeoTIFF: Export Model to GeoTIFF simply exports a QTT as a GeoTIFF DEM (NOTE: QTC point cloud models can not be exported to GeoTIFF DEM because they have not been gridded/rasterized) and/or 2D GeoTIFF export products. The saved model or image will have the extension .tif. In the example above, an exported GeoTIFF DEM would be called smithcounty_101.qtt_dem.tif. A KML file will also be created with the same name.
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In the qtvlog.txt file, there are some useful comments indicating progress of the scripts as they perform their functions. At this time (i.e., during the beta testing period), the activity of the batch script is documented as "QT Error 0". This does not actually indicate an error, it is simply documenting a step in the process to assist in diagnosis of progress and any problems that may occur along the way . If scripts are not executing properly, it will be helpful to examine the log file and determine where the process is breaking down. Providing this log file to Applied Imagery (support@appliedimagery.com) will be helpful in diagnosis.
4.14
Options/Settings
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Pseudo DTED's (DTC), if converted to UTM, will need to be regridded to fit the QTT (i.e., 32-bit elevation value) format. Therefore, loading will take longer.
4.14.8 Go Fullscreen
Toggles to/from Fullscreen and Window Mode.
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require support from Applied Imagery, it is frequently useful for Applied Imagery's support team to see your QTVLog.txt file, as well as your INI files.
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4.15
Exit
The Exit command closes the Quick Terrain Modeler. Please make sure all models are saved prior to exiting.
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5
5.1
Menu - Edit
Editing Overview
Quick Terrain Modeler offers many ways to edit 3D point and surface data. The basic tools Editing Individual Points: Individual points can be deleted by holding down the "Shift" key, then left clicking on an individual point. Users can delete these points if necessary. Editing Selection Areas: Users can cut, crop, flatten, smooth, or decimate data within a selection area. These functions can be accessed via the Edit menu or by holding down "Control" on the keyboard and right clicking in the selection area. See separate sections on each of these functions. Exporting from Selection Areas: Users can export the actual area perimeter as ASCII, KML, or shape file. In addition, all the points contained within a selection area can be exported as LAS, Binary, or ASCII text. These functions can be accessed by holding down "Control" on the keyboard and right clicking in the selection area. Editing Entire Models: Entire models can be edited by converting between point clouds and surfaces, merging models together, setting their positions, or adding/removing surface normals.
5.2
5.2.1
Selection Areas
Select
Edit > Select Also accessed from the Select Button Pressing the Select button places the user in "Select" mode which enables the user to select an area to keep or an area to cut. Pressing the button again exits the user from Select mode. This can also be done by choosing Select from the Edit menu. To select an area, left-click and drag in the main viewing window to select a region of the model. The selected region will be highlighted. Right clicking and dragging will allow the user to rotate this box to a
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desired orientation. Users may temporarily suspend mouse controls for selecting an area by holding down the "ALT" key, moving the model, then releasing the "ALT" key to resume selecting the area. Regions may also be selected numerically by choosing "Select Area" from the Edit menu. Note: Once the area is selected, the user can interrogate the Quick Terrain Modeler for the area statistics, use the area as the basis for area smoothing or flattening, or can export the selection area as a shapefile.
5.2.2
5.2.3
Select Area
This tool allows the user to manually input an area of interest. Simply enter the desired values of the opposite corners of a rectangular area. If the rectangle needs to be rotated, simply enter the desired orientation.
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5.3
5.3.1
5.3.2
5.3.3
5.3.4
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5.3.5
5.4
5.4.1
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Set Alpha: Use this to reset alpha values. This may be useful when using alpha filtering to show/hide subsets of the data. Values must be between 0 and 255 (i.e, an 8-bit field). Set Color: Setting color resets the vertex colors in a point cloud or a surface model. This may be useful to color specific areas of the model or to modify raster analysis results display. For example, after performing HLZ analysis, a user may want to remove the coloration. Cut: Cuts all points within selection area. Crop: Cuts all points except those contained in the selection area. Decimate: Removes every nth point from the selection area. Export Area: Export the selection rectangle or selection polygon as a vector file (SHP, KML, etc.) Export Points: Exports all points within the selection area as LAS, ASCII, or Binary.
5.4.2
Cut
The cut function removes the selected area from the model. Prior to cutting, a user must select an area in one of the following ways: Use the "Select" Tool, which will select a rectangular area. Use the "Select Polygon" Tool, which will select an irregular closed polygon. Import a selection area from a shape file. The shape file must be a closed polygon. Cutting will only apply to the visible model. If multiple models are loaded, but only one is visible, the cut function can be applied to all models by holding down the "CTRL" key while cutting. Note: The "Undo" function will only undo one cut or crop option.
5.4.3
Crop
The Crop function removes every part of the model except the selected area. Prior to cropping, a user must select an area in one of the following ways: Use the "Select" Tool, which will select a rectangular area. Use the "Select Polygon" Tool, which will select an irregular closed polygon. Import a selection area from a shape file. The shape file must be a closed polygon. Cropping will only apply to the visible model. If multiple models are loaded, but only one is visible, the crop function can be applied to all models by holding down the "CTRL" key while cropping. Note: The "Undo" function will only undo one cut or crop option.
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5.4.4
5.4.5
Smooth Area
To smooth an area, a user selects an area with a selection polygon. The smooth area tool interpolates a new surface based on the perimeter of the selection polygon. Instructions: Draw a selection polygon around an area that requires smoothing. Choose "Smooth Area" from the Edit menu. Quick Terrain Modeler will create a surface based on the elevations of the perimeter surface. Notes: Smooth area only works on surface models (.qtt files). Once the area is "smoothed", the process can not be reversed. Selection areas can be imported as shapefiles. Therefore, desired areas can be identified in GIS applications. Try to avoid including trees or other jagged surface elements in the selection polygon boundary. These elevation anomalies may contribute to an irregular surface being created. Save model after smoothing. If the model is not saved, the changes will be lost. The two figures below illustrate selecting an area for smoothing. The first figure shows the house with a selection polygon around it. The second figure shows the result of the area smoothing. The house has been replaced by a smooth terrain surface.
5.4.6
Flatten Area
The flatten area tool performs a similar function to Smooth Area, but the user selects a constant elevation to be applied within the selection polygon. A user may flatten an area to conform to the surrounding surface model (e.g., water surface) or may create an artificially low (e.g., cut and fill) or artificially high (e.g., simulated new structure in a terrain) elevation for the edited model. Flatten area only applies to visible models. Instructions: Draw a selection polygon around an area that requires flattening. Choose "Flatten Area" from the Edit menu. When the "Desired Area Height" window appears, enter the elevation height required for the surface. Quick Terrain Modeler will create a flat surface based on the elevation specified. Note: Any elevation can be specified to either flatten a terrain or to simulate a new structure in the terrain. In the example below, the goal is to remove the building and vehicles from the Grass Lake model and flatten the DEM to an elevation of the surface of the surrounding terrain. First, use a selection polygon to select the building and area around it. Use the Flatten Area command in the Edit Menu. Specify an elevation value for the resultant surface (302.5m). Click OK. The result of the area smoothing operation is a DEM with the
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Artificial structures can be created by selecting elevations higher than the surrounding terrain. In the example below, an elevation of 320m is used to create a building in the same footprint as the selection area above.
5.4.7
5.4.8
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5.5
Convert Model
Convert Model allows users to build or load one type of model, visualize, analyze, and/or edit, then convert to another model type. This function will convert QTT (gridded surface models) to QTC (ungridded point clouds) or convert QTC to QTT. In addition, it can be used to convert coordinates between UTM and Geodetic. To Convert Models: Load or build a model(s). Select Convert Models from the Edit menu. Choose the model you wish to convert from the "Input Model" pull down menu. Select the Model Format from the pull down menu. If creating a QTT, select the desired grid sampling. Grid sampling is the distance between vertices in the resulting gridded surface model. The value is in the units of the original model/data. For example, a model in meters, if the user specifies grid sampling at 3, will result in grid sampling of 3 meters. For further information on grid sampling, please refer to the Gridding Options section. Also, please refer to the Filtering Options section for various options to limit triangle side lengths when gridding over areas that contain no data and to the section on Allowing Rotated Grid for an explanation of this option. 6. If creating a QTC, grid sampling is irrelevant. Helpful hints: It may be useful to build a point cloud to see the original data as collected, then use Convert Models to change the point cloud into a gridded surface model. Furthermore, users may outline a specific area of a point cloud with the selection tools, then convert only that area to a surface model. If the user builds a QTT gridded surface model first, please note that Quick Terrain Modeler will not convert the model to a point cloud of the original data, but rather to a point cloud of the gridded data. When converting coordinates, any coordinate system can be converted to UTM or Geodetic (lat/long). If using any other coordinate system than UTM or geodetic, select "No Change" to preserve 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
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5.6
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of the fields in the QT Match Report is as follows: The numerical values in the "Altitude Matching" section are the calculated differences between the pairs of models. The numerical values in the "Calculated Corrections" are the corrections to move all Models to the calculated "median level" The "selected baseline" is the model selected as closest to the median. The numerical values in the "Applied Corrections" section are the values added to all z values in each model to match it to the baseline.
5.7
Merge Models
Users can load multiple models of the same type and merge them. If the models are of different resolutions (i.e., point/post spacing), this merging process will preserve the maximum resolution if an area of high resolution overlaps and area of low resolution. The resultant model will be a .qtt surface model or a .qtc point cloud model. Users can load any number of models (within the normal memory constraints, of course) and any combination of model types. Note: The Merge Models Function is not available on the Quick Terrain Modeler Education Edition. Why: Users frequently have models (e.g., .qtt surface models, .qtc point clouds, DTED's, GeoTIFF's) that are of varying resolutions, varying overlaps, tiled to various smaller sizes, etc. that need to be merged into a single coherent model. The merged model can then be enhanced, edited, exported and distributed as needed. Instructions: Open/Add desired models. From the "Models" menu select "Merge Models". The "Select Models" Window will appear (See Fig 15). Select the desired models to merge. Simply "Select All" if you need to merge all loaded models. Select your desired "Density Cutoff". This value is preset at 2. The Density Cutoff establishes a data density threshold above which data will be ignored. For example assume Model X has a data density of one point every 1 meter and Model Y has a density of one point every 4 meters. If the Density Cutoff is set to 2, the Quick Terrain Modeler will ignore Model Y's data in any overlap areas (i.e., Quick Terrain Modeler will utilize the high density data and discard the low density data.) If the Density Cutoff is set to 4, Quick Terrain Modeler will use both sets of data. It is important to note the principles: Data Densities Identical: If the densities of the two models are the same, both sets of data will be used to merge the models. Data Density Variance Relatively Small: If the densities of the two models being compared are different but within the user-specified Density Cutoff (i.e., one density is less than X times the other density, where X is the Density Cutoff), both sets of data will be used to merge the models. Data Density Variance Beyond User-defined Tolerance: If the difference in densities of the two models being compared is greater than the user-specified Density Cutoff (i.e., one density is greater than X times the other density, where X is the Density Cutoff), only the high density data will be used to merge the models. Select type of output model desired. This is either a .qtt surface model or a .qtc point cloud. Select whether to color by density. This is the same functionality as the normal Data Density
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Analysis tool. Choose whether to allow a rotated grid. This is only applicable for .qtt surface models. Allowing a rotated grid creates the smallest possible model size and is therefore recommended. Unchecking the box will force the grid to be aligned North-South, therefore not minimizing the size of the grid/model. The Quick Terrain Modeler will suggest a grid spacing based on model information. If you require a specific grid spacing, enter it in the grid spacing window. Choose Decimation/Crop and Filter options as appropriate. Click "Merge". Important: Save the merged model after merge process completes.
5.8
Repair DEMs
QT Modeler's Repair DEM tool enables users to quickly perform several common DEM editing tasks across the entire surface of an existing surface model (DEM, DSM, DTM, etc.) The primary reasons for creating and using the tool are as follows: No Access to Original Point Data: Users may not have access to the original point data that created a DEM, so the Import process and configuration tools are not available. Repair DEM is a tool to use on an existing surface and does not require, nor does it permit, access to the original source point data file. Hole Fill: Some surface models may have "holes" - areas of null data values - that may not be desirable. DEM repair offers several choices to fill holes. Spike Removal: Some surface models may contain "spike" - areas of abnormal or erroneous data that need to be removed. Quick revision of imported surface model: Even if the user has access to the original source data file, a quick revision of an existing surface model may be all that is necessary. Avoiding the entire importing process could save time. The following are the basic steps to Repairing DEM's: 1. Load an existing surface model such as a QTT, GeoTIFF DEM, or DTED file. 2. Go to the Edit Menu and select "Repair DEM" from the menu. 3. Choose options to fill holes and remove spikes. These choices are explained fully in the Gridding and Triangulation Section.
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5.9
Subtract Models
Subtract Models is a tool which will subtract the elevation values of one entire model from another model. Subtract Models only works on .QTT gridded surface models. This can be a very helpful tool to highlight differences between data sets. In addition, subtracting a bare earth model from a first return model will produce a 3D model of Above Ground Level (AGL) elevations To subtract models: 1. Load a gridded surface model (.QTT) 2. Go to the Edit Menu and choose "Subtract Models". 3. Choose a model to subtract. Click OK. Quick Terrain Modeler will subtract the elevation values from the loaded model. A normal model in absolute elevation space:
The same model with the bare earth model subtracted. Note that all elevations are now measured in AGL space (i.e., terrain is flattened around an elevation of zero):
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5.10
5.11
Rename Models
Use "Rename Models" to change the model name without saving. This can be very helpful to distinguish between models when importing multiple models from the same data set. In the case, the temporary name of the model is the name of the data set, so it would be possible to have multiple models named the same thing.
5.12
Georegister Model
The Georegister Model tool transforms all loaded models from their existing coordinate system to a userspecified coordinate system. This is frequently necessary if models are generated from a sensor which has no georegistration (e.g., ground-based laser scanners). The concept behind georegistration is simple: import a set of known georeference points, match them to existing points in a model, transform the model coordinates to real world coordinates, and, if the error level is acceptable, permanently apply the changes. To Georegister models, follow these basic steps: 1. Build/load model (s). Georegistration will work on gridded surface models (QTT) as well as ungridded point clouds (QTC). The georegistration transformation will be applied equally to all loaded models. For example, if a terrestrial laser scanner exports four scans, and all four scans are loaded together as point clouds, Quick Terrain Modeler will transform all four point clouds during the georegistration process, regardless of where the registration points are placed. 2. Click Import on the Georegister Models window. The Import ASCII Registration Points window will appear. 3. Load the reference points input file. The input file should be a user-created list of ground truthing points that easily correspond visually to reference points in the loaded model. At a minimum, the input file must be in an ASCII columnar format and contain a column for XYZ (Easting, Northing, Altitude) locations. The Import ASCII Registration Points window can adapt to a variety of formats. Once selected, a sample of the input file text can be previewed in the "Sample Text from File" window. 4. Configure the format for the input file. Specify the appropriate coordinate system. If the data is
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not in UTM or Lat/Long, choose Cartesian. Specify the number of header rows (if any). Specify the column numbers for Point ID, X (Easting), Y (Northing), Z (Altitude). Specify a delimiter (e.g., comma) if necessary. Click "OK". The Registration points will appear in the left "Unmatched Points" column of the Georegister Models window. 5. If the model is completely unregistered and/or not even close to the target coordinate system (e.g., 3-D laser scanned data in project coordinate space), the user must press the "Prepare Unregistered Model"button. This will move the model roughly into the coordinate space, allowing for an easier registration process. This is a mandatory step for unregistered models. 6. Helpful Hint: If you are matching georegistration points to the known origin points of terrestrial (e.g., ILRIS) scans that have been aligned in the scan alignment tool, be sure to turn on the display feature "Show Model Origins" in the Display...Options menu. THis will highlight the origin points in yellow, making the identification of the origins much easier. 7. Click on a point and highlight it in the "Unmatched Points" column. Move to the loaded model(s) in the model space. Select a corresponding point in the loaded model(s) by holding down the "SHIFT" key and moving the cursor in the model space. A cross hair and a red square will move from point to point as the cursor is moved. When the cursor is over the correct point, left click on the mouse. Once the corresponding point has been identified, the point will move from the "Unmatched Points" to the "Matched Points" column. The point will also turn blue in the model. 8. If the user selects the wrong point accidentally, the point can be reselected. Simply highlight the point in the "Matched Points" column, then repeat Step 6. 9. Repeat Step 6 for all points, or at least a sufficient number of points to calculate registration (4 points minimum). 10.Press "Calculate Registration" to determine the required adjustments in X, Y, Z, Roll, Pitch, Heading. Tis function will also calculate the RMS error of the transformation. If the error is acceptable, proceed to step 10. If the error is not acceptable, the user must attempt to re-match points. The user may choose to start from scratch by clicking the "Unmatch All" button and repeating step 6. 11. To apply the registration to the model, the user has two choices. Only one is necessary. Do not attempt to apply both, as the transformation will be applied twice.: Apply to Models (2D): If the model(s) are in roughly the correct coordinate system and are not skewed in pitch and roll (e.g., airborne LiDAR data), press "Apply to Models (2D)" to apply only the X, Y, Z, and Heading transformation. This method is faster. Apply to Models (Full): If the model(s) were originally unregistered data (e.g., terrestrial laser-scanned data such as Optech ILRIS), press "Apply to Models (Full)" to apply the full transformation: X, Y, Z, Roll, Pitch, and Heading. The transformation values will be applied to all loaded models. Save Models. The "Georegister Models" Window (left) and the "Import ASCII Registration Points" Window (right). Note all points are unmatched.
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The "Georegister Models" Window (left) showing a single point, "Crane" matched. The "Georegister Models" window (right) showing 4 corresponding matched registration points.
5.13
5.14
5.15
Menu - Edit
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and memory consumption. removing surface normals will increase the size of a QTT surface model with nor vertex colors by approximately 120%. Please note that surface normals can be removed and added as the user see fit. See also Smooth Normals.
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6
6.1
Menu - Import
Model Overview
When importing "Raw" or "Source" point data (See raw data formats), the user has the choice between 3 basic model types: QTT Gridded Surface Model: This type of model, often called a DEM (Digital Elevation Model), is a triangulated, regularly gridded surface representation of the original data. (See QTT details) QTC Point Cloud Model: QTC models are point-cloud models that simply represent each XYZ point as a graphical point. The primary advantage of QTC models over QTT models (which can also be displayed in point-cloud form) is that QTT models encapsulate evenly gridded data, while QTC models can display arbitrarily dispersed 3-D data. (See QTC Details) QTA Attribute Table: QTA Attribute tables enable the use and exploitation of per-point attributes that may be available in an LAS, ASCII Text, or other type of source data files. A QTA file is simply an index and attribute table for the original source data file that enables Quick Terrain Modeler to work with the perpoint attributes. (See QTA Details)
6.1.1
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QTA key points: In the case of LAS files, QTA's serve as an intermediary between the point cloud (QTC) and the source data file (LAS). Therefore, the original source data file must be available to enable all of the functionality described above (i.e., the QTA is not a "standalone" file - it needs to be associated with the source data file.) In the case of ASCII XYZ files, QTA's can be a standalone model type, as it serves as the complete attribute table, rather than a "lookup" table. There is no memory "cost" to working with QTA's. Because it is never loaded in memory, the QTA file never consumes memory resources. Hence, it has no impact to maximum model sizes.
6.1.2
Proxy Mode
Proxy Mode is an optional import setting that allows manipulation of much larger point cloud models than will fit in memory. Proxy mode requires the establishment of a QTA attribute table. In contrast to a "normal" QTA attribute table/QTC point cloud, proxy mode will only display a subset of the points in a given data set. For example, a data set may contain 100 million points, which may be too much to load in a given machine's available memory. Proxy mode will build the QTA attribute table that access all 100 million points, but will only display 10 million points (or whatever is specified in the decimation level by the user). All subsequent analysis, however, will be performed on ALL points in the data set, rather than just what is visible. Please note the following guidelines about proxy mode: 1) Proxy mode will only work with a QTA import. QTT gridded surface models and "normal" (i.e., non-QTA) QTC point clouds can not access the original data in proxy mode. 2) Proxy mode is designed to overcome memory limitations. It is an excellent tool if a given data set will not fit in available memory, but is not necessary if models will fit in memory. 3) Proxy Mode decimates a model by 10 as a default. This means that every 10th point of the data set will be displayed, although all points will be available for analytical purposes. To adjust the decimation level, go to the decimation/crop options of the import interface and set the decimation level to another number. The proxy mode decimation level will be designated in the model information window as shown below. 4) When in proxy mode, analysis tools such as grid statistics will be performed on all points in the data set, not just what is visible. 5) When taking profiles of point clouds in proxy mode, the user will have the option to generate a "Scatter Plot" of either the visible points "From Model", or the entire data set "From QTA Data". There will be a significant difference in the scatter plot profile as shown below.
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Scatter plot "From Model" (i.e., the loaded and visible points):
Scatter plot "From QTA Data" of the same profile and data set (i.e., all points in the original data file). Note the increased density of points:
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The basic steps for importing models are as follows: Select Import Models from the Models Menu. The Import Models window will appear. Select the appropriate input file format. The choices are: FLT (Binary Float Height Field) DTED ASCII XYZ ASCII Z Grid (ESRI's gridded format generated from gridascii command) GeoTIFF DEM FXYZ (Binary) LAS (also see LAS Quick Open) Version 1.1 and 1.2 TIFF USGS DEM Optech Comprehensive Optech CSD Optech IXF Select whether to build a QTT Gridded Surface Model, QTC Point Cloud, or QTA (Point Cloud with Attribute Table). Select whether to batch import the selected file (s) Select whether to compress models or not. Compressing models only applies to QTC (Point Cloud) models. Please refer to the section on compressing models. Select whether to access data in Proxy Mode Click Import. Select your raw data file from the file selection window. If it does not appear, it may be because the file extension is not recognized. If this is the case, choose "All Files" in the file type window. NOTE: The Quick Terrain Modeler will build models from multiple data sets at the same time. If you wish to use multiple data sets, select them all during this step. Click Open An appropriate Import window will pop up for your specified source data file. This window will display various attributes about your file and about the model you are creating.
6.2.1
Batch Import
There are two drivers behind introducing batch functionality. First, the size of surveys is increasing. Second, surveys are getting cut into many "tiles" to accommodate this larger size. Quick Terrain Modeler's new batch functionality will permit users to import multiple data sets one at a time, build the individual model based on normal import specifications, name the model, save the model, clear the model, then move on to the next data set. Batch functionality will permit users to build many models that, if loaded together, would overflow existing memory. It will also allow users to select hundreds of data sets and build corresponding models without taking the time to build each one.
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Instructions: When importing models, simply check the box labeled "Batch Import?", then import as normal. The Quick Terrain Modeler will automatically create models in the same directory as the source data files. The models will be named identically to the source data, but will have a .qtt or .qtc extension.
6.2.2
Compressed Data
Quick Terrain Modeler offers the option to "Allow Compressed Data" when importing models as well as the ability to compress existing, uncompressed QTC point cloud models. Selecting this option will make QTC point cloud models half their normal size in terms of file size and memory consumption. Compressed QTC files will contain the same number of points as uncompressed QTC files created from the same source data file. The engineering tradeoff will be a slight reduction in model precision, depending on the X, Y, and Z ranges of the particular model. Quick Terrain Modeler will inform the user in the model information window as to what reduction in precision has been introduced in the model. This statistic is called "Model Format Precision". Model format precision is the impact to model precision introduced by Quick Terrain Modeler during the model compression process. Compressed data is only relevant in QTC point cloud models. Important Note: Model Format Precision is not the accuracy of the model data. Model accuracy is dependent solely upon the accuracy of original survey data, and will be minimally impacted by compressing model data. Do not use "Model Format Precision" as an accuracy basis for making critical spatial decisions (e.g., targeting, flight planning, etc.).
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in between as well. Therefore, there would be thousands of miles of empty space in the model. In a surface model, this would occupy enormous amounts of memory and would probably result in a failure to load.
6.2.4
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6.2.5
For Building Point Cloud Models If you intend to build a point cloud, the options and tools can be used as follows: Grid Sampling: Grid sampling is irrelevant to building a point cloud. Decimation/Crop Options. Allows the user to limit the size of a point cloud by reducing the number of points. Also allows the user to reduce the size of point clouds by limiting the geographic extents of the model being created. For Building Surface Models (DEM's) If you intend to build a surface model, the options and tools can be used as follows: Grid Sampling: Grid sampling defines the underlying grid spacing. When the Quick Terrain Modeler builds a surface model, it creates a regular grid under the interpolated surface. The spacing between the grid vertices is referred to as "Grid Sampling". The grid sampling determines the final size and resolution of a surface model. A Grid Sampling of "1" defines the grid as 1 meter in a UTM model. A Grid Sampling of "1" defines the grid as 1 foot in a State Plane model. A Grid Sampling of "5" defines the grid as 5 meter in a UTM model. A Grid Sampling of "5" defines the grid as 5 feet in a State Plane model. Decimation/Crop Options. Allows the user to reduce the size of surface models by limiting the geographic extents of the model being created. Important notes on Grid Sampling: 1. Ideally, grid sampling is the same as your target posting of your original data set. For example, a survey with a target of 1 meter point spacing (aka, "posting") is optimized with a grid sampling of 1 meter. 2. There is little to be gained by making a grid "denser" than the original data. The Quick Terrain Modeler can not compensate for sparsely collected raw data sets. The net result will most likely be about the
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same visual resolution with a much larger model size (i.e., unnecessary memory consumption). For example, data collected with 1 meter posting will not look appreciably better by using a grid sampling of .25 meters. Forcing the grid into such tight spacing will, however, make the surface model 16 times as large. So the user that attempts this will have an enormous file, but still will not achieve a "super high resolution" effect. 3. There is something to be gained by making the grid "sparser". For example, if data was collected over a vast area at 1 meter posting, the file size would be enormous - too big to build and load, perhaps. By building a model with 4 meter grid sampling, the user may be able to visualize the entire data set albeit at a lower resolution - because the resulting model is only 1/16 (6%) the size of the same data set at 1 meter grid sampling. The user may then choose to re-import data in specific sections at 1 meter grid sampling. 4. Engineering tradeoff: Smaller grid spacing results in higher resolution models, but larger models. A model that contains 20 million points (vertices) at 2 meter grid sampling will contain 80 million points at 1 meter sampling. Each halving of the point spacing results in a quadrupling of the points. Memory usage is directly proportional to number of points. 5. Be mindful of units. If the raw data set is in meters, make sure to specify grid spacing in meters. If the raw data set is in feet, make sure the grid sampling is in feet. Decimation/Crop Options. Both of these options are accessed by clicking the Decimation/Crop Options button. The user can utilize both of these features at once. Only one of these options will reduce the size of the final surface model. Decimation Level: The decimation level does nothing to minimize the size of a surface model. Surface model size will be entirely determined by the grid sampling and the geographic extents of the model. Crop to a Defined Area: Crop to defined area works exactly as above for a surface model.
6.2.6
It is usually best to allow the grid to be rotated. The Quick Terrain Modeler can significantly minimize the final model size (and therefore memory usage) by rotating the grid to the optimum orientation. Some external applications may require that the grid be oriented north-south. If the user wishes to export the gridded data to an application that requires north-south orientation, simply uncheck the box.
6.2.7
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Terrain Modeler samples every 10th point, etc. Decimation is irrelevant when creating gridded surface models. See FAQ: Why should I decimate a file? 2. Crop to a Defined Area: If the user knows is only interested in a subset of the overall survey, he/ she may define that smaller section in this window. This can be done in a number of ways: Manually insert the extents of the area in the windows provided. Important: make sure to select the extents by checking the boxes "Crop to defined Area" as well as the boxes for the extents of your subset area. Most subsets will only require checking the boxes next to "Min X - Max X" and "Min Y - Max Y". If the user further wishes to crop by altitude (Z) or Intensity (I), check those as well, but they are not necessary. Automatically insert the extents of the area based on an existing mensuration. Use this method if you have a mensuration line in a model that represent the area you would like to import. Click the "Copy From Mensuration" button to automatically populate the values from the area you have just measured. Note: The Quick Terrain Modeler will simply import a rectangle based on the min/max X and Y of your existing mensuration line. Automatically insert the extents of the area based on a selection. Use this method if you have used the Select or Select Polygon to define the area to import. Note: The Quick Terrain Modeler will simply import a rectangle based on the min/max X and Y of your selected area. If you have an irregular area defined, it will be imported as a rectangle. Automatically insert the extents of the area based on an external shape file. Use this method if you have an external shape file that defines the desired boundary of the imported area. The user will need to specify the coordinate system and UTM zone (if working in UTM) for the shape file. Note: The Quick Terrain Modeler will simply import a rectangle based on the min/ max X and Y of your shape file. If you have an irregular area defined, it will be imported as a rectangle. If you wish to cut or crop to the irregular area later, please import the shape file as a selection area. Important: make sure to select the extents by checking the boxes "Crop to defined Area" as well as the boxes for the extents of your subset area. Most subsets will only require checking the boxes next to "Min X - Max X" and "Min Y - Max Y". If the user further wishes to crop by altitude (Z) or Intensity (I), check those as well, but they are not necessary. The Decimation/Crop Options Window and the Shape File Importer Window:
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Antialiasing, Smoothing = None. Import only "Ground" points. DSM - Digital Surface Model (Buildings, trees, ground, etc.): Adaptive Triangulation, Max Z, Apply Antialiasing, Smoothing Radius = 1.00 Bins, Smoothing Z Tolerance = 3.0 m. Import all points or perhaps only first returns. The first choice to make when creating a surface model is how to interpret point data in the surface creation process. The surface creation process for "No Fill", "Simple Interpolation", and "Adaptive Triangulation" use the following process to create a surface: 1. Mathematically create a grid of user-specified spacing. This spacing is the "Grid Sampling" specified in the gridding options section of the import window. Ultimately, this becomes the grid framework for the 3D raster surface model (DEM, DSM, DTM, etc.). 2. Evaluate the points within each of the grid cells to determine the elevation value that should be used for each raster or vertex. There are four possible choices: Min Z: QT Modeler will choose the lowest point in each grid cell to represent the elevation in that cell. This may be useful to approximate a ground surface or to eliminate spikes caused by vegetation. Max Z: QT Modeler will choose the highest point in each grid cell to represent the elevation in that cell. This might be useful to ensure that vertical obstructions and/or vegetation are accurately represented. Mean Z: QT Modeler will average all elevation values in each grid cell to represent the elevation in that cell. This is perhaps the most useful all-around methodology, as it is less susceptible to spikes and noise, but should accurately represent buildings and vegetation. Max I: QT Modeler will choose the point with the maximum intensity value in each grid cell to represent the elevation in that cell. 3. In grid cells that have no points whatsoever, the user must decide what to do with the holes. In some cases, it is best to leave them as null data values, thus accurately representing that no data existed in the first place. In other cases, it is more desirable to fill the holes as intelligently as possible. It is best to think of the first three "Hole Fill" methodologies as a continuum, as this is the sequence of the process used by QT Modeler: No Fill --> Simple Interpolation --> Adaptive Triangulation No Fill: Any grid cells with no data are assigned a value of "null" - i.e., no data exists. Simple Interpolation: Interpolate an elevation value for an empty grid cell by evaluating the 8 neighboring cells. In the interpolation methodology, the empty grid cell must have a minimum of five neighboring grid cells (out of a possible of 8 neighboring cells) with a valid elevation value (i.e., not an interpolated value) for interpolation to take place. If there are less than 5 valid neighbors, the grid cell will remain empty. If there are 5 or more valid neighbors, QTM will average the adjacent elevation values and assign the empty cell the average elevation value. Adaptive Triangulation: Once the gridding and simple interpolation processes are complete, adaptive triangulation continues the hole fill process by creating surfaces across the remaining empty cells. Please note that triangulation will not impact grid cells that have been assigned an elevation value in the previous two steps. Triangulation is simply a tool to fill empty areas that simple interpolation was unsuitable for. Adaptive triangulation creates 3D triangles across empty areas, then samples the elevation value of the triangle surface at each empty grid cell. This sample value then becomes the elevation value for each empty cell. Anti-Aliasing: Anti-aliasing attempts to increase the precision of the triangulation by subdividing each grid cell into 16 equal segments and recording which segment contained the point that was
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used to represent the elevation value of the grid cell. When triangulation occurs, this increased level of precision will enhance the accuracy of the triangles and the subsequent sampling that occurs. The sub-grid is not retained after the QTT is created. Smooth Interpolation: Checking "Smooth Interpolation" applied a Natural Neighbor smoothing algorithm. Instead of a straight line on each triangle edge, the triangulated surfaces can form graceful curves based on the elevation values of a given point's neighbors. Therefore, slopes and building edges may be represented in a smoother, more natural fashion. In all of these methods, the hole fill decision process is as follows: 1) Choose Fill Method: a) No Fill: Leave empty holes where no data exists. b) Simple Interpolation: Create an estimated surface where no data exists. This estimate is a maximum of one grid cell away from real data. c) Adaptive Triangulation (DEFAULT): Create estimated surface at unlimited distances from real points. Please note that these maximum distances can be limited by setting the max distances to real points and max triangle sides if the user chooses. d) Legacy Triangulation: This is the way QT Modeler has always done triangulation (i.e., triangulate prior to gridding). Please note this process is slower, less accurate, and is being phased out. 2) Select Algorithm: a) Min Z: Use the lowest point in each grid cell. b) Max Z: Use the highest point in each grid cell. c) Mean Z: (DEFAULT) Use the mean elevation value of all the points in a grid cell. d) Max I: Use the elevation value of the point with the maximum intensity value as the elevation value for the grid cell. 3) Triangulation Options: a) Max Distance to Real Point: In some LiDAR data sets, there are areas of very sparse data. This may occur for a variety of reasons such as very steep terrain, surveys over water, or parts of the survey being blocked from view of the laser (i.e., "laser shadow"). When the Quick Terrain Modeler builds a surface model, it will simply attempt to draw the best surface from the existing data. If data is sparse, this may result in extraordinarily large triangles in the surface model (See Example below). In order to prevent this, the user may set a Max Distance to Real Point. This feature will limit the length of an individual triangle side to the value input by the user. For example, if the user sets a value to "5", the maximum triangle side length will be 5 meters (if working in UTM). This may result in "holes" in the model. In some cases, holes may be preferable to false surfaces. (DEFAULT = unchecked = minimum 10 times the user-specified grid sampling) b) Max Length of a Triangle Side: The "Max Length of Triangle Side" value will ignore large triangles in the triangulation process that exceed the user set value. (DEFAULT = unchecked = unspecified, but at least 10 times the grid sampling) c) Edge Threshold: Setting the edge threshold is a tool to help ensure that sides of buildings are truly vertical, preserving sharp edges. It is particularly useful where there is laser "shadow" on one side of a building. The number specifies the change in Z for a triangle, above which QT Modeler may consider it an "edge", rather than a gentle change in slope. When using spike/well filtering, it is useful to have this turned on, as it might assist in identifying a spike as a spike, rather than a gentler slope. (DEFAULT = unchecked = no limit) d) Helpful Hints: If you get "holes" in your data and do not want them, increase the Max distance to real point and max length of triangle side until holes get filled in.
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There is no direct correlation between the file size of the input file and the file size of the surface model created from it/them. Final surface model file size only depends on the user selected grid size and geographic extents of the final model. Input file size only depends on the number of points. Time/Speed Impacts: Most of the interim process during grid creation involve reading the original file data. In order of speed, No Fill is the fastest, followed by Simple Interpolation, followed by Adaptive Triangulation. Each of these processes is adding a new step to the same process. Legacy triangulation is far slower than Adaptive Triangulation. Memory Impacts: Most of the interim processes that impact memory consumption involve grid creation and triangulation. Minimizing max triangle sides reduces memory consumption for Adaptive Triangulation, but not for Legacy. Anti-aliasing, smoothing, and using Mean Z as the algorithm each consume additional memory during model creation, but do not impact the size of the final model. Legacy triangulation methodologies are both slower and more memory consumptive than the newer grid creation methodologies.
Gridded Surface with No Fill - Areas of Sparse Data Leave Empty Holes
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Adaptive Triangulation - Fills All Holes, but Building Edges May Be Sloped
Triangulation Examples: Without Maximum Excursion Set (Large Triangles) and with Maximum Distance to Real Point set to 10 Meters (jagged model outline).
The Smoothing sub-window allows filtering options to be set to improve the smoothness of the triangulated surface. Essentially, if selected, the smoothing filter will perform a pre-filtering process that will eliminate points that vary significantly in Z from their neighbors. QTM will then perform the surfacing and triangulation process noted above, but only on the subset of points that pass through the filter. Radius: The distance, measured terms of in the user defined grid cell spacing (i.e., "bins"), that the pre-filter will use to evaluate subsets of points. QTM will use a radius centered in each grid cell to
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compare every point to maximum Z (or Min Z) its neighbors within that radius. The numbers on the radius are .5 (no filtering), .75, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3- indicating the search radius as measured in grid increments. The larger the radius, the higher the probability that points will be filtered out - i.e., larger radius = smoother surface. Terminology note: a "bin" is simply a way to divide up points based on a certain criteria for the purpose of statistical analysis. In the case of 3D LiDAR points, the "bin" is the 2D user-defined grid cell. Z Tolerance: How close to the max (or min) Z that is tolerable for a point to be considered in the triangulation process within the radius that is set above. For example, if Z tolerance is set to 1 meter, any point that has a difference in Z greater than 1 meter from the highest point (or lowest in the case of using the Min Z algorithm) will not be considered in the gridding/triangulation process, thus permitting a smoother surface.
Spike/Well removal attempts to identify grid cells that may contain erroneous elevation data that the user may not want reflected in the final surface. There are many causes of erroneous point data, but the symptoms are usually similar - data that is considerably higher or lower than all of its neighboring grid cells. QTM's approach to identifying these areas is to evaluate each and every grid cell to answer the fundamental question - is this cell a spike or well? To answer this question, QTM will evaluate the elevation of each grid cell relative to its 20 closest neighboring grid cells (i.e., two grid cells in each direction except diagonally). The process is as follows: QTM will evaluate the elevation of the 20 adjacent grid cells and count how many meet the criteria for "Minimum Spike Level". Thus, the user must specify the difference in elevation that would trigger the tool to classify a cell a spike. QTM will tally the number of cells in the adjacent 20 cells in which the difference was less than the "Minimum Spike Level" (i.e., relatively close in value). QTM will designate a cell a "spike" if the criteria was met between one time (least aggressive) and five or more times (most aggressive). It is helpful to think of this as follows: If there is only one cell in the adjacent 20 cells that is less than the "minimum Spike Level", then that grid cell is most likely a spike. Thus, interpolating a new elevation value in that circumstance is the "least aggressive". If the cell is designated a "spike", its elevation value will be reset using simple interpolation of its 8 neighboring grid cells. Note: When spikes are negative, they are referred to as wells. Spikes and wells are treated the same in this filter. Position: The tiling settings for position attempt to guarantee the corner location of a QTT model. Rather than letting QT Modeler decide where the grid corner origin should be based on the extents of the original point data, users may prefer to "snap" to a specific grid increment or location. The choices are as follows: Auto: Quick Terrain Modeler will decide on the placement of the grid origin (i.e., corner). It may or may not fall on a logical grid increment (e.g., an even 1 meter UTM grid corner) Snap to Grid (Expand): This choice will "Snap" the created grid to the next higher grid increment (relative to the grid sampling chosen) in both X and Y (Easting and Northing), but will choose to increase the size of the grid to achieve the "snap". For example, a 2m QTT in UTM built with "Snap to Grid (Expand)" will always choose a lower left corner on an even UTM 2m increment that
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Tiling Settings
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starts slightly further south and west of the "natural" mathematically calculated origin as well as an upper right corner that is further east and north than may "naturally" occur. Snap to Grid (Contract): Similar to the (Expand) choice, but will snap to the lower left corner to the north and east, and the upper right corner to the south and west, thus creating a smaller grid than may have naturally occurred. Choosing Snap to Grid (Contract) may prevent null data values along the edges of DEM's. Specify Grid Tie Point: Specifying the grid tie point ensures that a model or series of models is "locked down" to a designated origin. Specifying Grid Tie Point goes hand in hand with the selection of the grid size, and will most likely be used when the tile size specified is uniform across an entire data set. For example, specifying an origin of X = 1000 and Y = 1000, along with a fixed Size Model of 1000m high and 1000m wide will ensure that all subsequent model edges will begin and end precisely on a 1000m UTM corner. This will take the guesswork out of tile sizes and will effectively "trim" the edges of DEM's to ensure perfect alignment with adjacent tiles. Size: The tile size settings allow the user to choose specific resulting surface model sizes, or to let QT Modeler choose an appropriate size based on the extents of the original point data. The choices are as follows: Auto: Quick Terrain Modeler will decide how big to make the model based on the extents of the original point data. Maintain Size: Quick Terrain Modeler will maintain the height and width of the original point data extents. Fixed Size (Units): The user must specify the number of units in height or width. Fixed Size (pixels): The user must specify the number of pixels in width and height. E.g., if using 2m grid spacing and a 1000m x 1000m is desired, width and height need to be specified as 500 x 500. Amount to Trim from Borders: In some instances, it may be desirable to remove rows/columns from the edges of DEM's. This may be desirable to avoid "null data" values around the edges of DEM's. In some cases, QTM's gridding algorithm may create an extra row or column that may be partially populated with null data values. Trimming the edges will allow QTM to first create a DEM, then trim off any edges. The units specified will be in the linear units of the model.
6.2.9
Import - Geo-Registration
As of Version 7.1.5, Quick Terrain Modeler will support data in any known coordinate system. Ideally, the coordinate system, vertical datum, horizontal units, and vertical units will be accurately represented in the header of the source data files. If so, there should be nothing the user needs to do. If the coordinate system is not correctly tagged in the header space, you can set the georegistation tags during Import using the Edit button (see #3 below). This will change the tag for this current session of QT Modeler. You may want to permanently change the header GeoTags. To do this, navigate to the Export Model window and click the SET GEOREGISTRATION TAGS button. For more information on Setting the georegistration tags on export, click here: Set Georegistration The Geo-Registration portion of the import window is divided into these sections: 1. Source Data Native Coordinate System: This field is automatically populated with the Geo Keys of the source data file. This source data native coordinate system can be overridden by clicking the "Edit" button and selecting the correct coordinate system. Please note that editing the coordinate
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system does not perform a coordinate conversion on the data. It simply changes the coordinate system tag. The coordinate system should only be edited and overridden if the Geo Key is incorrect or if the data has no coordinate system whatsoever. 2. QTM Active Coordinate System: This field is only populated if data is already loaded into QTM. If no data is loaded, the field will display "Unknown". Once a data set is loaded into QTM, subsequent data sets will be compared against the loaded data set to determine of the two data sets have a compatible coordinate system. Important: QT Modeler can only work in one active coordinate system at a time. Even if data may be spatially overlapping, but in different coordinate systems, it will likely not display properly in the same scene. 3. Edit Button: Clicking the edit button enables the selection of an alternate coordinate system for the source data file. Read more: Set Georegistration 4. Radio Buttons to Perform Actions Upon the Source Data Geo Registration Compatible CS/Ignore CS: Do nothing to the georegistration tags of the data to be imported. If the data about to be imported is deemed to be compatible with the data already loaded, the background color will be green and the radio button will display "Compatible CS". Essentially, this means that the data is compatible with what is loaded and nothing will be done to the georegistration. If the source data georegistration is different and incompatible with the Active Coordinate System, the radio button will read "Ignore CS" and will offer the user the option to disregard the warning of incompatible coordinate system and proceed anyway. This is usually not advisable, but there may be instances where it could be useful (e.g., "Cartesian" coordinate systems in relative survey coordinate frameworks) Set Data to Active CS: Simply re-tags the source data file to the active Coordinate system. Note that this does not perform coordinate conversion - only a re-tagging of the data. Transform Data to Active CS: This feature is disabled at this time. In the future, this will provide a dynamic coordinate conversion upon import or load 5. Background Color Indicators For Source Data Native Coordinate System: Green: The source file is tagged with a compatible coordinate system with the active (i.e., already loaded) coordinate system. QTM will be able to convert units (e.g., feet to meters) if necessary, but otherwise cannot perform coordinate conversion upon import. When the background color is green, there is no need to edit or change the source data coordinate system. The "Compatible CS" radio button should remain selected. Blue: The source file is tagged with a different coordinate system than the active (i.e., already loaded) coordinate system, but QTM has determined that it can be loaded into the same scene and, with some minimal adjustment, be recognized in the active coordinate system. A common example of this would be data in two adjacent UTM zones, which is a very understandable relationship. In this case, the Active Coordinate System would not be changed, the new source file would simply be placed adjacent to the already loaded data. Yellow: The user has chosen to manually override the existing Geo Keys to make the source data file have a compatible coordinate system with the loaded data, or the user has chosen to tag data that was never tagged in the first place. In essence, the yellow color means that the use has chosen to manually set the coordinate system of the source data file, and thus the responsibility is upon the user to ensure that this is correct. Once the user manually sets or overrides the coordinate system of a given data set, QTM will have no subsequent way to determine of the override is correct.
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Red: The source file is tagged with a different coordinate system than the active (i.e., already loaded) coordinate system and QTM has determined that it cannot be loaded into the same scene as the active data. The user may proceed and the data will load, but the placement of the resulting data will be entirely dependent upon the Active Coordinate System that has already been established. Any resulting analysis done on data that has been "forced" into the Active Coordinate System will likely be unreliable.
The Geo-Registration Section of the Import Window - No Data Loaded (Green) and a "Compatible" Source Data Native Coordinate System (Green):
The Geo-Registration Section of the Import Window - Source Data Native Coordinate System Different and Incompatible (Red), Different but Still Compatible (Blue):
The Geo-Registration Section of the Import Window After Source Data Native Coordinate System Has Been Edited/Changed by User (Yellow):
"Cartesian" Coordinate System Quick Terrain Modeler offers a "Cartesian" coordinate system option that should be used in cases where the data is not georegistered in a generally recognized coordinate system. This is the case for some experimental sensors and for scanners working in "Survey" coordinates - i.e., improvised coordinate systems with relative X-Y-Z positions.
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Northing and Altitude. In the example below, these are in columns 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The user has input these values into the appropriate boxes. Import Intensity: The user must check this box to import intensity values into the model. Import RGB: The user must check this box to import RGB (Red, Green, Blue color) values into the model. Note: Intensity or RGB may be built into the model, but not both. Import Alpha: The user must check this box to import Alpha values into the model. The ASCII Format Section of the Import Window
6.2.10.1 Import - Intensity The import intensity window instructs the Quick Terrain Modeler to import intensity. The user must specify two things about importing intensity: 1. Auto Scaling: The default is to auto scale. When this box is checked, the Quick Terrain Modeler will assign the intensity a value between 0 and 255 automatically. Thus, regardless of the absolute values of intensity, the Quick Terrain Modeler will scale between 0 and 255. If this box is unchecked, the user may specify minimum and maximum values for intensity. 2. Intensity Column: Simply specifies the data column in which the intensity value is found.
6.2.10.2 Import - RGB The import ASCII RGB window instructs the Quick Terrain Modeler to import color values associated with each point/vertex. The user must specify two things about importing RGB: 1. Auto Scaling: The default is to auto scale. When this box is checked, the Quick Terrain Modeler will assign the color a value between 0 and 255 automatically. Thus, regardless of the absolute values of color, the Quick Terrain Modeler will scale between 0 and 255. If this box is unchecked, the user may specify minimum and maximum values for color. 2. Red/Green/Blue Column: Simply specifies the data column in which the respective color value is found.
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6.2.10.3 Import - Alpha The import ASCII Alpha window instructs the Quick Terrain Modeler to import alpha values associated with each point/vertex. The user must specify two things about importing alpha: 1. Auto Scaling: The default is to auto scale. When this box is checked, the Quick Terrain Modeler will assign the alpha a value between 0 and 255 automatically. Thus, regardless of the absolute values of alpha, the Quick Terrain Modeler will scale between 0 and 255. If this box is unchecked, the user may specify minimum and maximum values for alpha. 2. Alpha Column: Simply specifies the data column in which the alpha value is found.
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hide models. Including Withheld, Synthetic, and/or key points enables the filtering based on these specific criteria, which frequently behave as extensions of the classification byte in the LAS point data record.
6.3
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6.4
2. Import 2-D shape files for use as a mensuration line. The concept behind this tool is that users may have created lines in other programs that can be used as mensuration lines in a 3-D terrain model. As a mensuration line, this tool can provide repeatable measurements and cross sections. An imported mensuration line can also serve as the basis for multiple cross section analysis (e.g., for cut and fill applications). 3. Import shape file polygons for use as a selection area. Just like the 2-D shape file import, the import of a polygon shape file forms the basis of analysis of specific areas. For example, an imported shape file selection area can specify an area in which to edit the terrain (e.g., crop to a specific area designated in GIS analysis), perform volume calculations or to measure area statistics (number of points, average point density, etc.) 4. Save a Quick Terrain Modeler mensuration line as a shape file. Once a specific measurement is performed, the user can save the mensuration line as a shape file. The mensuration line can be imported into ESRI GIS software, other applications, or can simply be saved to perform repeated mensuration analysis (e.g., cross section of before/after DEM's, compare cross sections of a bare earth DEM versus an all points
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DEM, etc.) in Quick Terrain Modeler. 5. Save a Quick Terrain Modeler selection area. Just as in saving a mensuration line, saving a selection area provides two basic benefits. First, the area is available to perform the same analysis in the same location on different models (e.g., before/after volume analysis, etc.). Second, the measured and analyzed area can be easily exported to other applications (ESRI GIS, etc.) for additional analysis. 6. Save and export the perimeters of surveys as shape files. This tool serves as the basis for evaluating survey coverage. Quick Terrain Modeler will create and save a shape file that represents the total survey coverage. This can be imported into ESRI GIS and other software to compare survey coverage against target survey extents (e.g., county boundary) as well as existing geospatial information. 7. Save contour and grid overlays as shape files. This tool enables the export of contour and grid lines as shape files.
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7.1
Menu - Export
Export Models
Users can export 3-D models, whether point cloud (.qtc) or surface model (.qtt) into several other formats. To export 2-D imagery of the 3-D models, please look in the Export Model Images section. The two most popular formats, by far, for exporting 3D data are LAS for point clouds and GeoTIFF DEM for DEM's and other surface models. Please refer to the appropriate sections for the following export formats: LAS: Open standard file format for exchange and storage of point cloud information. LAZ: Open standard file format for storage and exchange of compressed LAS point cloud files. GeoTIFF 32-Bit DEM: Open standard gridded height field format. FLT + HDR: A gridded floating point format. XYZ ASCII (I) (A): Generates a columnated ASCII file format and will append Intensity and/or alpha values if they are present. ASCII XYZ-RGB (A): Generates a columnated ASCII file format and will append RGB color values and/or alpha values if they are present. AutoCAD ASCII DXF: This format is only appropriate for exporting contour lines and grid lines. Binary XYZ (I) (A): Generates a binary file format and will include Intensity and/or alpha values if they are present. Binary XYZ (RGB) (A): Generates a binary file format and will include RGB color and/or alpha values if they are present. ESRI ASCII Z Grid: The ESRI ASCII format is similar to the GeoTIFF DEM format. It is ESRI's format that consists of a grid of elevation values. ESRI Shape File: The ESRI shape file format can export vectors or points. Export file extensions: Quick Terrain Modeler has a default extension for each exported file format, but users can set a custom file extension when exporting multiple models/files. Simply click the radio button "Use Custom Extension?", then manually enter the file extension in the box. All files will have the same extension.
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7.1.1
Export LAS
Quick Terrain Modeler can export point data or gridded data to LAS. Quick Terrain Modeler currently exports to LAS Version 1.1 and 1.2. When exporting to LAS, Quick Terrain Modeler will create the standard LAS header based on model information. In addition, each point will be exported according to the LAS Point Data Record specification. Since all Point Data Record information may not be available for each point, Quick Terrain Modeler will treat a "no data" condition as follows: X: Stored as a 4 byte "Long" Y: Stored as a 4 byte "Long" Z: Stored as a 4 byte "Long" Intensity: Stored as a 2 byte unsigned short. When no intensity value is available, QT will write zero for each point. Return Number: 3 bits, always zeroes. Number of Returns (Given Pulse): 3 bits, always zeroes. Scan Direction Flag: 1 bit, always zero. Edge of Flight Line: 1 bit, always zero. Classification: 1 byte, unsigned char, always zero. Scan Angle Rank: 1 byte, char, always zero User Data: 1 byte, unsigned char, always zero Point Source ID, 2 bytes unsigned short, always zero. While some of these values may have been present in the original LAS data file, Quick Terrain Modeler does not retain some of them unless the data was import as a QTA, thus the information may not be available during export.
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7.1.3
7.1.4
7.1.5
7.1.6
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case Quick Terrain Modeler will choose a lower value. If the original model was built with rotation (i.e., the "Allow Rotated Grid" box was checked), and the model is not oriented North-South, then the rotation value will not be saved upon export in the ASCII ZGrid Format. The user must manually account for the rotation when exporting and re-importing into other applications. Models eligible for export to ESRI ASCII Z Grid: QTT
7.1.8
7.2
Note: Quick Terrain Modeler will export a KML file along with each GeoTIFF created. This will enable the export of 2D imagery to Google Earth. Please be aware that there are suggested image size limits (2k x 2k pixels) for importing into Google Earth. Related Topics: Create KML Index, Export Outline to KML, Save Extents Outline to KML, KML Options, Synchronize Google Earth Basic definitions for the types of exported GeoTIFF: Intensity Image exports the vertex colors (e.g., intensity, change detection, slope analysis, etc.) in black and white only. Overlay Image exports vertex colors (e.g., intensity, change detection, slope analysis, etc.) as a color image. Sun-shaded options produce images shaded by the current light orientation. This tool is helpful for producing hillshade images at various lighting conditions. Note that the user can set lighting (by pressing the set lighting button ) based on the following parameters: Time of day. Azimuth and elevation (e.g., AZ 315, EL 45 for hillshade imagery)
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By user preference by holding down the control key, left mouse button and moving the mouse to a satisfactory result. Ray-traced options calculate and apply shadows to the model. Height-colored GeoTIFF's export the terrain colored by altitude based on the user altitude coloration settings. Notes: Be sure altitude coloration is set appropriately prior to generating GeoTIFF's. It may be beneficial to remove vertex colors prior to generating GeoTIFF's. To remove image from model, go to the Analysis menu and Remove Vertex Colors. This will prevent intensity or analysis results from obscuring the exported GeoTIFF. Vertex colors will be generated in the exported GeoTIFF's even if they are not visible at the time of export. Be sure to export the appropriate format of GeoTIFF header, world (.tfw) file, etc. by using the GeoTIFF Export Setup.
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7.4
Georegistration Tags:
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1. The first choice the user has is whether to write the .tfw file (aka World file) associated with the GeoTIFF. Applications such as ESRI Arc GIS may look for the .tfw file to determine the geographic information. If you require a .tfw file, please check the first box. Note that the .tfw file does not hold as much information as the standard GeoTIFF header. For example, the coordinate system (e.g., UTM vs. Geodetic) is stored in the GeoTIFF header but not in the .tfw file. 2. The second choice is whether to write the GeoTIFF tags into the TIFF header. If this box is unchecked, a simple TIFF will be generated without the geographic information in the header. 3. The third choice is whether to write the georegistration tags specifically to meet ESRI expectations.
These configuration choices may be particularly useful if the original DEM is not oriented north-south (i.e., allow rotated grid). Some applications struggle to read the rotation value in the GeoTIFF header, but may be able to read it in the .tfw file or vice-versa. Some applications may require a North-South oriented GeoTIFF. Ultimately, the requirements of your downstream applications will determine the correct configuration, as there is no single universally accepted method of reading GeoTIFF's.. If so, the two choices for handling rotation are: Use the GeoTIFF Model Transformation Tag. This is the default and complies with the GeoTIFF standard. Use multiple GeoTIFF tie points. This provides explicit coordinates for the corners of the GeoTIFF. While this is not a standard, it may be useful for applications that do not support the standard method of representing GeoTIFF rotation.
Handling Rotation*:
Color Map:
In some instances, it may be useful for a "no data" condition in an exported 2D GeoTIFF to be distinguished from a "real" color of black, which may be the result of an analysis process. The default behavior of QT Modeler is to export "real" black as exported as RGB = 0,0,0. Checking the box in the Color Map section forces export products to distinguish between no data and "black". If the box is checked, nodata conditions will be exported as RGB = 0,0,0 and "black" pixels will be exported as RGB = 0,0,1. This will allow downstream applications to distinguish between the two conditions: no/null data and real data with a color value of RGB = 0,0,0. This only applies to 2D GeoTIFF's.
7.5
Override Georegistration
Overriding Georegistration enables the user to either correct geokeys that were set improperly, or to add geokeys where none existed. This task can be performed during import (see related topic) or export. The default setting of the Define Georegistration window will be the Active Coordinate System currently being used in the model space. To override the default setting: 1. Check the "Override Native Data Projection" check box
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2. For some of the more popular coordinate systems, namely UTM, Geodetic, and Cartesian, use the coordinate system presets at the top of the interface, then fine tune things like linear/vertical units in the various georegistration keys pull down menus. 3. Use the check boxes and pulldown menus to select the precise coordinate system, vertical datum, and units. 4. If you intend to reuse the coordinate system override frequently, use "Custom" as the Coordinate System Preset pull-down, then click the "Add to Preset List" button to save it. It can later be removed with the "Remove from Preset List" button. Notes: QT Modeler has no way of knowing if your selections are correct. Once you choose to override georegistration tags, there is no checking process to ensure that the choice is correct. If geokeys existed previously, they will be overwritten by the new selection. Not all geokey types are required. Only check the keys that you require and are sure are correct.
7.6
7.6.1
Movies
Record QMV Movie
The Quick Terrain Modeler allows you to record and play back movies of fly-through's on given models. When this is done, only the camera motions and lighting settings are recorded, so the same "movie" flythrough can be played back with different models, textures, and view settings. It can be done two ways: 1. Recording and playing a .qmv movie that requires the Quick Terrain Modeler to be running during playback. 2. Using the .qmv movie as a template to create an .avi movie that does not require the Quick Terrain Modeler for playback. To record a movie: Select Record Movie from the Export...Movies menu. Push the Select File button and select a file to which to save the movie. Press Start Recording, and move about the model and alter lighting as desired. When finished, press Stop Recording to end the movie.
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You may also generate AVIs from QMV movies recorded as above. First select Create an AVI from the Export menu, and then select a QMV movie as the source (being sure you have already loaded the desired models, textures, etc into the Quick Terrain Modeler). Then select the desired window size and frame rate of the AVI, and press "OK". You will then be prompted with a window to select the desired compression format from those video codecs installed on your computer. You can configure the compression options for the format you have selected using the "configure" button. Once that is completed press "OK" to generate the AVI. A few notes and limitations: Due to the way video card buffers are currently manipulated you cannot generate an AVI larger than the current Quick Terrain Modeler window. The AVI utility will prevent you from doing this. Although the AVI generator will attempt to smoothly interpolate between points in the QMV movie to generate higher frame rates, the interpolation algorithm is not perfect. If you find you are having problems with "jumpy" motion it may help to re-record your QMV movie at a higher frame rate than the default of 8 (by altering Set Framerate in the Control...Options menu before recording the QMV).
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7.7
PowerPoint Tool
Export > PowerPoint Tool Also Accessed from the PowerPoint Tool Button The PowerPoint Tool quickly builds PowerPoint briefings by directly exporting QTM screen grabs, titles, captions, orientation axes (North arrow), and legends to PowerPoint slides. This tool also enables a "permanent burn" of classification level or other text into the exported images and the ability to save specific view parameters to return to later (i.e., a 3D bookmark). To Use the PowerPoint Tool: 1. Load a model(s). 2. Adjust lighting, coloration, vertex colors, overlaid imagery, mensuration lines, selection areas, etc. and move the model to a desirable orientation and zoom level. Note that the export to PPT will export the entire QTM screen space as the image. Exported images will not be georegistered. 3. Go to the Export Menu and choose "PowerPoint Tool" 4. Choose checkboxes for showing axes (the 3D orientation arrows) and/or showing legends (e.g., height coloration) in the exported image. 5. Choose a PowerPoint template to populate by clicking either "Select" or "Edit" in the PowerPoint Template section. A sample template is included (QTTemplate.ppt) and will be installed in the same directory as the Quick Terrain Modeler executable file (qtmodeler.exe). See notes below for creating a new template or modifying an existing presentation to accept QTM export. 6. Manually type in Title Text (displayed at the top of the template), Caption Text (displayed at the bottom of the template), and QT Screenshot Text ("burned" permanently into the exported image). Note that images will be scaled to fit in the available image space of the PowerPoint slide, so the QT Screenshot Text font size may need to be adjusted accordingly, as it will also be scaled identically to the image. 7. Click the Export button. If PowerPoint is not already open, it will open and the first slide after the title slide will be created. If PowerPoint is already open, it will create a new slide at the end of the presentation. All new slides will be built upon the template of the last slide in the presentation. 8. Note: Quick Terrain Modeler will immediately rename the template file to a unique name such as "QT42.ppt", "QT58.ppt", etc. and will save it in your pre designated Window TEMP directory. 9. Continue to add slides as needed. 10. If you would like to return to the same perspective in the future, click the "Save View" button and save a QTV file. Load the QTV file later by clicking "Load View" and selecting the saved file. 11. When completed, save the PowerPoint presentation, moving it out of the TEMP folder if necessary/ desired. To Create a New PPT Template: 1. Remember the basic premise that QTM PPT exports will append slides to the end of the slide pack and will seek to place the screenshot image in a pre-assigned space, the Title Text in the slide "Title" area, and the Caption Text in a user-defined caption location. You may create any number of slides in a template file, but the last slide in the presentation must conform to the following rules : 2. Title: PowerPoint uses a universal tag for "Title", so no modification are likely to be needed to establish the title text. 3. Caption Text: For the caption text, you will need to place a sample caption in the desired location in the template slide. While many templates include some sort of "caption text", there is no universal way to identify this text (as there is with Title Text). Therefore, the caption text needs to be tagged with
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Alternative Text. Important: Right click on the Caption Text place holder and select "Format Place Holder..." from the dialog box. Select the "Web" tab. In the "Alternative Text" box, type in "Caption". This is the only way that QT Modeler will be able to identify the Caption Text area. 4. Image: For the image area, you will need to place a sample image in the desired location in the template slide. Important: Right click on the image place holder and select "Format Picture..." from the dialog box. Select the "Web" tab. In the "Alternative Text" box, type in "QT Image". This is the only way that QT Modeler will be able to identify the desired image area and required scale factor. 5. Save the template. Use as directed above. PowerPoint Tool GUI and Sample Exported Slide:
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etc. 5. Go to the Export Menu and select "Render Screen to Registered Image" 6. Select an output file name/location. 7. Choose a pixel width/height. These values will be autopopulated with your QT Modeler window size. Please note the file size window for the exported file. Some applications, notably Garmin GPS, have a 3MB file size limit. 8. Image Options: Show Axes: Checking this box will cause the 3D Axes/North Arrow to display in the exported image. Show Legend: Causes the legend to be included in the exported image Create in KMZ: Will wrap the exported file in a KMZ format. Create Garmin KMZ: creates a very specific output format required by Garmin GPS devices so the resulting imagery can be used as a "Custom Map". Make sure to save the file in Garmin's "Custom Map" folder. 9. Caption Text: Choose font size, font color, and manually entered text in the top left of the exported image.
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7.11
Get the Scene EXACTLY as You Want to See on Your Garmin or Downstream Application
Open the Tool (Export Menu > Render Selection Area to GPS)
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cover a portion of the selection area, the entire image tile will be exported. The selection area will not appear in the final export product, nor will the white tiling scheme.
There are several adjustable settings in the interface. They include: Maximum Image Size: This setting is in pixels (not meters or feet). Garmin GPS units have a maximum image size of 1024 x 1024 pixels, regardless of image resolution. Thus, the default value is 1024. While this can be set to any value, setting it above 1024 may cause the exported KMZ image to be unreadable on Garmin and other devices. Pixel Size: This is the "resolution" of the final exported image. Note that QT Modeler will poll the loaded images and suggest a resolution based on the highest resolution product (model or texture) loaded in the scene. Also note that setting a higher resolution (i.e., entering a smaller pixel size) may not result in a higher quality exported KMZ image. Lastly, Garmin devices do not have many pixels on their small screens, so exporting super high resolution imagery to a Garmin device may be counter productive (i.e., image file sizes very large, resulting in slow rendering on GPS, and unable to take advantage of the higher resolution KMZ). Some experimentation may be necessary to arrive at the optimal balance for your application and device. Draw Order: Simple draw order setting that can be read by Garmin and other applications. This decides what images should be on "top" when two images spatially overlap in the same scene. As adjustment are made to Maximum Image Size and Pixel Size, the revised tiling scheme will refresh and be displayed immediately. Also, note the impact on relevant measurement sof the final product: Image Size: In pixels. This is calculated and assigned automatically by QT Modeler. This is precisely the layout of each image within the tiling scheme. Tile width: Based on number of pixels, this is the width (in feet or meters) of the final tile. Tile Height: Based on number of pixels, this is the width (in feet or meters) of the final tile. Number of tiles: The total number of tiles that will be included in the KMZ. Note that Garmin cannot process over 100 tiles in aggregate across all Custom Maps. If this number exceeds 100 and you plan to export to Garmin, reduce the total area, or increase the pixel size to reduce the number of total tiles.
If the selection area does not cover the intended area, change the selection area and click "Recalculate".
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Click "Go" to export the file. If exporting to Garmin, make sure to save the file in the "Custom Maps" folder. When saved, QT Modeler may also open Google Earth and display the image in Google Earth as well.
Custom Map with a Draw Order <50 will draw on top of the land, water, and areas on other maps, but roads, topo lines, and depth contours will draw on top of the Custom Map. Waypoints, tracks, routes, geocaches, POIs, etc will always draw on top of Custom Maps. Custom Maps are drawn with higher DrawOrder maps on top of CustomMaps with a lower draw order." Max Tiles: The maximum number of Custom Map jpegs you can load is 100. This is in aggregate, across all KMZ custom map files. WYSIWYG: You may want to uncheck markers, vectors, and other items in the layer tree prior to exporting. Having big marker labels and unnecessary vectors in the exported KMZ may be distracting on the Garmin's small screen. Remember, what you see is what you get.
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Click the "Select Folder to Index" button. Navigate to the folder or storage drive that requires indexing. Indexing will work on external drives as well as internal storage. If the directory/drive you select is organized into subfolders, check "Recursive Subfolders" to enable indexing down through the various levels of subfolders. There are two basic types of resulting index file: KMZ: Each file will get an entry in the KMZ data tree, a coverage footprint vector in Google Earth, and an information marker showing basic information about the file. See images below. Shapefile/CSV: Creates a similar index, but in shape file (SHP) format. Each tile/file becomes its own feature in the resulting file. The CSV output is simply a tabular format of the index holdings, including the filename, path, and file type. Note: A Search Cache will automatically be created each time you create an index. Search caches enable extremely fast spatial searches.
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7.13
Notes: Google Earth works in Geodetic coordinates, so exporting UTM data will require converting perimeters to latitude/longitude. The resulting conversion may not appear to be perfectly rectangular or north/ south. At this time, KML indexing can only be performed on: QTT and QTC file formats. Models in UTM or Geodetic coordinates. Step 1: Build a Model (e.g., Baltimore):
Step 2: set output parameters in KML Options. Step 3: Export to Google Earth. Image on top shows the tile outline. Image on the bottom shows information marker.
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7.14
(Right) Saving Extents to KML with the Same 3 Models Loaded (note single rectangular outline):
7.15
KML Options
The KML Options window defines the specific products and options that will be exported to KML when the KML Index tool and the Export Outline to KML is used. The options are as follows: Start Google Earth after KML Creation Checking this box will automatically open Google Earth after Exporting Model Outline to KML. Model Outline Extents Outline vs. Tight Outline: The difference between these tow outlines is that the extents outline simply generates a rectangle at the maximum X-Y extents of the model, regardless of the shape of the model. This may be fine if the model is rectangular or if a simple polygon is required. A "Tight Outline" will provide a much more accurate picture of the model extent. For example, LiDAR flight lines will be represented very accurately, showing the irregular boundaries at the edge of a strip. In contrast, the "Extents Outline" would just draw a rectangular box around the XY extents of the flight
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line. Opacity: The opacity setting will determine whether the outline will appear with no fill in the center (0%) or whether it will be a solid, opaque polygon (100%), or somewhere in between. Line Thickness: Line Thickness alters the line width on the exported KML polygon. Model Info in Marker In addition to an exported polygon, a standard KML product is an information marker at the centroid of the exported model outline. Users can choose which of the following attributes to include in the marker information: Model Name Model Path Link: Creates a link to the filename and path. If the user associates the Quick Terrain Reader or Quick Terrain Modeler with the QTT or QTC file types, this link could automatically open the file in Quick Terrain Modeler or Reader. Model Type: Either QTT or QTC (Surface or Point Cloud). Number Points: Total number of points (or vertices for QTT models) contained in the model. Height/Width: Scale: Average XY distance between points File Size: In GB, MB, or kB Density: Average number of points per square unit of area.
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Include Markers Assigned to Routes: Checking this box will cause QT Modeler to export every turn and waypoint along a route separately as a waypoint. This is generally undesirable as duplicating waypoints on the Garmin will result in a very cluttered display on the Garmin/GPS device. GPX Routes: The route itself can be exported as a GPX Route or as a GPX Track. While the same exact path will be exported in both cases, it will be displayed differently on the Garmin. GPX Tracks: As noted above, the QT Modeler route can be exported as either a GPX track or route. Some navigation functionality on the Garmin may not be available when exporting as a track. See images below for display differences on the same route export.
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8
8.1
Menu - Textures
Overlaying Textures: Overview
Draping a 2D image on top of a 3D model can instantly create a very realistic 3D scene. It can dramatically increase situational awareness and deliver an intuitive understanding of terrain and other features. Furthermore, after this process is completed, all of Quick Terrain Modeler's visualization, navigation, analysis, and export tools are still available to the user. As of Version 7.1.5, Quick Terrain Modeler can also open 2D images alone - i.e., it is no longer a requirement to have 3D data loaded first. See more information on "2D Only Mode" here.
DEM/Imagery Fusion
Texture: Texture is QTM's term for an image that is draped on top of a model (point cloud or DEM), but is not actually a part of the model. Because textures do not record their color values on a per-point or pervertex basis, they can be of different resolution than the underlying model. For example, a 4-inch resolution texture (e.g., GeoTIFF image) can be draped on top of a 1 meter DEM and still retain the 4-inch resolution it originally had. The name texture comes from OpenGL graphics programming standard. With respect to overlaying images in QTM, one image = one texture. Maximum texture sizes and maximum number of available textures are specific to an individual graphics card, not to QTM. Texture "Slot": While not technically an OpenGL term, it is useful to think of a video card as having a finite number of "slots" into which textures can be placed and subsequently displayed on top of QTM's 3D models. A typical graphics card will have between 2 and 32 texture "slots", which is the maximum number of active textures that can be simultaneously displayed. When overlaying textures in QTM, please keep this limitation in mind. Your graphics card most likely can not support more than 16 images simultaneously (more likely 4 or 8), so it might be necessary to merge many smaller images into a merged "mosaic" prior to overlaying as a texture in QTM. To find the number of texture "slots"
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supported by your graphics card, go the Help Menu...OpenGL Resources. In addition to the maximum number of textures available, this tool will also display the maximum image size (in pixels) supported by your graphics card. The maximum texture size is likely to be 4k x 4k pixels or 8k x 8k pixels. . Vertex Color: Vertex colors are RGB values that are an integrated part of a point cloud or DEM. For example, intensity values, analysis results, and attribute coloring are color values that are applied and "attached" on a point-by-point (in a point cloud) or vertex-by-vertex (in a DEM) basis. When a QTC or QTT model is saved, vertex colors are saved along with it and will reappear when the model is reloaded. After a texture is draped onto a model, the color values can be permanently sampled into the model vertex colors by using the "Sample Active Textures Into Vertex Colors" tool in the Textures Menu or on the Edit Orthorectified Textures interface. OpenGL: (Open Graphics Library) is a standard that defines a way for applications to produce and render 2D and 3D computer graphics. QTM uses OpenGL extensively during rendering operations and uses OpenGL's texture "slots" to display overlaid images. Graphics Card: A graphics card is the display and rendering engine for a computer. With respect to overlaying textures in QTM, the graphics card uses OpenGL and available texture slots to project images onto a 3D surface (point cloud or DEM). Some critical attributes of the graphics card are the Sampling: Sampling is the concept of reducing the resolution of an image to fit in an available texture slot. If you have a maximum texture size of 8k x 8k pixels an image that is 16k x 16k pixels, it will need to be "downsampled" by 2 to fit in the maximum size texture slot. Sampling happens automatically. Orthorectified Textures: Orthorectified textures are treated as flat maps which directly map onto the terrain model underneath, and are defined in terms of a tie position, scale, and orientation. They are overlaid perpendicular to the Z-direction of the model, and are projected by specifying the UTM or Geodetic coordinates of the corners of the image. When an image is selected, all appropriate scaling, position, and orientation information will be automatically read from the image file. Orthographic Textures: Orthographic textures are treated as photographs taken with an infinite focal length - resulting in a perfectly flat projection. They are defined in terms of LOS angles, tie points, and image plane scaling. Satellite imagery is an example of an orthographic texture. Projective textures: Projective textures are treated as photographs taken from a frame camera, defined in terms of field-of-view, position, and orientation. Users may either specify the camera parameters manually or load a View file corresponding to the camera view that most closely approximates the Pointof-View of the image. Oblique imagery is considered a "projective" texture. Unregistered Images: Images that have no georegistration whatsoever can be manually registered using QT Modeler's Image Registration Tool. As noted above, an image file becomes a texture by loading it into an available texture "slot". Regardless of the image compression algorithm used (e.g., MrSID, ECW, etc.), QTM will need to uncompress the file and assign RGB values on a pixel by pixel basis. What this means is that, even if an image appears relatively small in its original compressed file format, it may still need to be downsampled to fit in the available OpenGL texture slot.
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As of Version 7.1.0, QTM supports most of the 2D image formats in the GDAL libraries (http:// www.gdal.org/formats_list.html) GeoTIFF, ECW, MrSID, BMP, IMG, GIF, BigTIFF, NITF, JPG, JPG2000, PNG, PPM, PGM have been tested and confirmed to work fine. Some of the others on the list are most likely to work, but have not been tested. Any more obscure formats that are not on the list are almost certainly not supported.
8.2
2D Only Mode
As of version 7.1.5 (February 2012), QT Modeler can load 2D imagery without 3D data loaded. This will enable the viewing and interaction with 2D imagery in locations where LiDAR and other 3D data may not be available. Almost all known imagery formats will be supported, including GeoTIFF, MRSID, ECW, NITF, and CIB. While you wont get the benefit of 3D analysis, you will still be able to measure distances, convert locations between UTM/LatLong/MGRS, create routes, synchronize Google Earth, annotate scenes, export directly to PowerPoint, and many more functions. Load: Simply Import Texture rather than Load Model to load a specific image. Search: To search for 2D imagery, go to the Model Search tool (File Menu) and select the Image Search (2D Data) radio button at the top of the window. Note: QT Modeler can search for both 2D imagery (GeoTIFFs, MRSID, NITF, etc.) and 3D data (LAS files, DEMs, etc.), but not at the same time. Tools That Still Work in "2D Only" Mode: o Linear measurements (of course, terrain profiles, slope analysis will be unavailable) o Marker placements, route planning, etc o Google Earth synchronization o "Go To" and coordinate conversion functionality o Position display in status bar o Export Imagery to GPS Tools that will not work without 3D data loaded (as of v7.1.5): o Range Rings o Generate Grid Lines o Generate Outline o Export Vector (Annotation purposes) o Lighting o Cut/Crop o Anything that requires 3D analysis for analysis purposes (terrain profiles, lien of sight, etc.) Related Topics: Model/Image Search, Overlay Orthorectified Texture
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Overlay Orthorectified Texture can be accessed from the Texture...Overlay Texture...Orthorectified menu or from the button overlay Orthorectified Texture Button.
When overlaying an image, Quick Terrain Modeler can convert coordinates on the fly, provided the
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loaded 3D model is in UTM or geodetic (lat/long) coordinates. For example, if your 3D data is in UTM, you can overlay a model in State Plane coordinates. QTM will perform the coordinates conversion on the fly and project the image in the correct location. When working with DEM's or point clouds in UTM and overlaying imagery that is in lat/long, there may be some slight error in converting angular coordinates to a linear framework. Once the selected image is loaded, the "Image Information" section will provide information about the image. Perhaps the most important fact is that the image may have been downsampled to fit in the available video memory and/or Open GL texture slot. This level of downsampling and resultant Width and Height will be reflected in the image information window. The information that is available is as follows: Image format: Typically this will be GeoTIFF, MrSID, IMG, ECW, NITF, or many other popular formats. This section will also list the bit depth and color parameters of the original image (e.g., RGB24 = Red/Green/Blue, 24 bits per pixel). Sampled Width and Height: This is the resultant pixel width/height of the loaded image. Sampling: This displays the sampling level in width and height. Depending on the capabilities of your video card, these numbers need not be the same. A sampling value of 1 indicates that no downsampling occurred and that the image is being displayed at full resolution. A sampling value of 2 means that one pixel was created for every 2 pixels in the original image, a sampling value of 3 means that one pixel was created for every 3 pixels in the original image, etc. Another way to think of the sampling values is that if your original image was 0.5 meter resolution (i.e., 0.5m pixel size) and the resulting imported texture required a sampling value of 2, the resulting image texture resolution would be 1 meter. A sampling value of 4 for the same 0.5m resolution image would result in a 2 meter resolution in QT Modeler.
Smart Contrast Enhance identifies images that have a large percentage of their pixels in "black" or "White", and auto-adjusts the contrast. For example, certain NITF images may require the smart contrast enhance functionality.
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where the "void" between points may not offer the continuous projection screen to display the texture. When overlaying large geodetic (lat/long) images on top of a UTM model, the coordinate conversion from an angular system to a Cartesian system may distort the image slightly. This effect is minimized with a smaller geographic area. Consider "cropping to view" if this is an issue.
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8.6
8.7
To access the GeoTIFF Image Search Tool, first open the Overlay Orthorectified Texture tool, choose a Crop Option (No cropping, Crop to Model Extents, or Crop to Extents of Current View). Click on the "Find Image..." button. Quick Terrain Modeler will identify matching images by examining the image extents in the header of the image and determining if it matches the loaded model or view. If you choose No Cropping or Crop to Model Extents, QTM will locate images that overlap some or all of the loaded models. If you choose Crop to Extents of Current View, QTM will only look for images that overlap all or some of the current view (i.e., images may exist that intersect the current model, but not the current view extents. These images will not be listed in the results list). QTM will examine many image formats, including GeoTIFF, MrSID, ECW, NITF, IMG and a variety of other formats and include them in the results. Image formats can not be specified as a search criteria. Please note the image must be georegistered to be discovered and listed in the results.
Choose "Select Directory", then select a directory to begin the search. Checking "Search Subdirectories" will enable a search in the named directory as well as all subdirectories. If the search is performed in a
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high level directory, you may want to uncheck this box to save unnecessary search time in irrelevant subdirectories. Selecting a Cache will search through a pre-built cache file rather than through hard drives. See more on Caches.
Find Image(s)
When the search is complete, a results list will be displayed. All the listed images will overlap the search area, either entirely or partially. Select an image by clicking on it in the list. Information about the image will appear in the "Selected Image Information" portion of the window. Only one image can be selected at a time.
Once you have selected the image that you wish to load, click the "Load Image" button. QTM will begin the texture overlay process, which may require downsampling. The Image Search window will close and the Overlay Orthorectified Texture window will reappear. Once you have selected the image that you wish to load, click the "Load Image" button. QTM will begin the texture overlay process, which may require downsampling. The Image Search window will close and the Overlay Orthorectified Texture window will reappear.
Load Image
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8.8
8.9
Image Registration
The purpose of the image registration tool is to give users a powerful, interactive tool to register imagery to elevation data. The new interface is accessible from a button on the Overlay Orthorectified Textures interface, which is accessed either from the textures menu or from the Overlay Orthorectified Textures button. The steps are fairly simple:
The image registration process begins with the loading of 3D data. Image registration will work with either point clouds or surface models (DEM's).
Open Overlay Orthorectified Texture (Textures Menu or button) To load an unregistered or poorly registered image, select "Overlay Orthorectified Textures" either from the Textures Menu or from the button on the top button bar. The Image registration tool is also available from the Textures...Overlay Textures...Unregistered menu selection
Select an Image
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If the image is completely unregistered or in a different coordinate system than the loaded model, be sure to choose No Cropping as the crop option, as the units of the image may make no sense at all in the context of the loaded model.
Clicking this button will call up the Image Registration Tool. This is an unnecessary step if you started from the Textures...Overlay Textures...Unregistered menu selection. While looking at both the image preview in the Image Registration Tool and at the model loaded in QTM, place markers in QTM at locations/objects that can be visually correlated between the two scenes (e.g.,. building corners, intersections, and other obvious features). It may be helpful to toggle off you texture in QTM at this time. (Click the Toggle Loaded Textures button top button bar, near the center). You need a minimum of 4 markers/control points, but more is always better. As you place the markers in the scene, they will appear in the image registration window in the list of control points. If control point markers have already been placed prior to opening the image registration window, click Select Control Points in the Image Registration Tool. A window will pop up showing all loaded markers. Highlight the markers that are control points and click Apply. The marker/control point list will populate with the markers you selected. As you place markers in the 3D scene and the marker appears in the control point list, simply move your cursor to the register image window and place the cursor on the same location. It may be helpful to pan/ zoom the preview image to make the yellow crosshair placement more precise. This can be done using the same controls to zoom and pan the 3D image zoom with the mouse wheel or by pressing both left/right mouse buttons and dragging, and panning by holding down the right mouse button and dragging. When the crosshairs are on the precise location where the correlated marker is, left click the mouse. A red crosshair will appear and remain on the image. If you are working from a list of control points rather than one by one, highlight a marker/control point in the list. Click the Place Control Point in Image button. The yellow crosshair will appear under your cursor as you move it in the image. Move to the next marker and perform the same process until all markers are correlated to a position in the image. Right clicking on the control points allows deletion or placement of control points and can also zoom the 3D view to the associated marker.
Click the Register With Control Points button at the bottom of the Import Orthorectified Textures window.
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First decide whether you image registration application requires an exported, registered 2D GeoTIFF. If so, select the "Limited Stretching" radio button. This choice will limit some aspects of the image transformation to enable a GeoTIFF export that is compatible with most software packages. If you do not intend to export a georegistered product, choose "Unlimited Stretching", which will apply a more sophisticated transformation to the image, but may cause local stretching. Click the Register Image button to apply the transformation necessary to move the image to its correct location. Be sure to toggle loaded textures back on. The image should be placed properly. Some image warping (i.e., image may not be a perfect rectangle after the transformation) may occur during the transformation. This is normal. The residual error is a calculation of how well your crosshair placements correlate to the marker placement i.e., are your crosshairs relatively spaced comparable to your control point markers. It is not a measure of the absolute accuracy of the final transformed image. If desired, the edited image can be exported as a GeoTIFF by pressing the Export GeoTIFF button. Simply Apply the transformation and click the Export GeoTIFF button and/or Sample into Vertex Colors.
Register Image
8.10
Remove Texture
Any textures may be removed from the current display by selecting Remove Texture(s) from the Textures menu
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8.11
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resolution will be lost. Sampling a Gridded Raster Product with an Ungridded Point Cloud: When QTM samples an image onto a point cloud, it will simply extract the RGB color value that exists at each X-Y point location. As point clouds are inherently ungridded, the sampling will likely not match up on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Areas that have large point voids (e.g., water areas with no LiDAR returns, "holes" in bare earth point clouds, etc.) will not sample the overlaid texture at all. Thus, any RGB information without a point/vertex "under" it will be lost. Spatial Overlap of Overlaid Texture: The sampling into vertex colors process will sample all active textures. In areas where to or more textures overlap, the resulting RGB value will be a combination of the overlapping values. There is no tool to address this overlap phenomenon. Vertex Colors: "There Can Only be One": When the sampling process occurs, it will delete the RGB value that already existing in the vertex color. For example, if intensity was loaded into the vertex colors already, it will be replaced by the new sampled RGB values.
8.12
The High-Low palette quickly highlights the lowest and highest elevations in a terrain. Red represents the highest and blue represents the lowest elevations in the terrain. Users may refine this further by moving
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the Minimum and Maximum Altitude sliders to refine the bands for highest and lowest elevations. The image below shows the High-Low palette being used to highlight the highest and lowest points in an urban setting.
Custom-Palettes may also be used in place of the default Red-Green-Blue and Earth Tone schemes. The Height Coloration setting window includes a button to load a QTV palette file. QTV palette files (*.qpl) are ASCII text files listing discrete RGB values. The Modeler can then interpolate between the provided values to provide a full-resolution height texture. Palette files must be in the following format. The fourth column is optional, and denotes the relative position of the samples in the spectrum (from 0.0 to 1.0). If the fourth column is not present the colors will be assumed to be ordered from the highest elevation to the lowest. (Any number of lines of arbitrary text header - but lines containing columnated numbers will be assumed to be data lines) List of values in RED/GREEN/BLUE order scaled to 0-255 LINE 4: 220 LINE 5: 187 etc. The height coloration effect is accomplished using OpenGL's texturing mechanisms, and so it will only be possible to have height coloration active simultaneously with overlaid textures on video cards supporting multi-texturing. The total number of possible textures (including the height color texture) will be limited by the video card. 220 188 220 191 0.1 0.5
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9
9.1
Menu - Analysis
About Vertex Colors
Vertex colors differ significantly from overlaid textures. Vertex colors are embedded in the model. Textures are overlaid on top of the model. Embedding vertex colors will only work if their dimensions exactly match those of the model. (Note: This is not true of textures (e.g., overlaid photographs), which do not have to match the model size.) In vertex colors (e.g., an intensity image), if the dimensions do not match 1-1 model vertices vs. image pixels you must use the texturing routines to overlay the image as a texture.
9.2
9.2.1
Instructions:
Load a model. Select "Change Detection Map" from the Analysis...Add Vertex Colors to Model menu. In the Change Detection window Select a model against which to compare. Choose whether to perform a Binary Color or Continuous Color output.
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This example shows the beach at Palm Beach, Florida prior to a hurricane. This data was collected with an Optech SHOALS laser bathymetry system. The user sets a range of changed values from -8 to +5 (feet). The resultant image shows continuous color where the model has changed, gray where there was no overlap. Blue represents areas where the loaded model is higher than the comparison model. Note that the change detection legend is visible in the lower left corner.
A noise threshold of 5 feet (Note: The Palm Beach model is measured in feet, so all change detection values will also be in feet) was selected. The terrain is colored red and blue where it has changed and is green where the two models did not overlap.
9.2.2
HLZ Map
The Helicopter Landing Zone (HLZ) tool is a specialized version of Quick Terrain Modeler's slope analysis tool. The purpose of the HLZ tool is to simplify the process of identifying candidate locations for landing helicopters. This is only one step in a multi-step process. WARNING: This HLZ map tool only considers slope, radius, and obstructions in a gridded surface model and is reliant upon the accuracy of the data provided by the user. Other critical information such as Vertical Obstruction (VO) analysis, terrain categorization, and weather information is not accounted for, so this tool should only be used as a preliminary HLZ location search tool. Also, bodies of water may appear as flat surfaces in DEM's, thus falsely appearing as a desirable HLZ (see screen grab below). Lastly, the LiDAR survey may have been performed during drastically different weather and/or seasonal conditions be alert for lakes/ponds that may have been frozen during the survey, but are now thawed, tall crops at harvest time that were flat fields early in the season, and seasonal foliage changes. To use the HLZ Map tool: 1. Load a gridded surface model (GeOTIFF DEM, .QTT file, etc.). The HLZ Map tool will not work on a point cloud (LAS file or.QTC file) 2. Set the following variables:
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Maximum Tolerable Slope: set the slope (in degrees or percent) of the maximum tolerable slope. Minimum Necessary Radius: Set the minimum required radius of tolerable slope in units of the model. UTM models will have units in meters. Delta Z Tolerance: The Delta Z Tolerance is the height of terrain and surface obstructions that you wish to ignore during the analysis. When working with high resolution DEM's, local slope calculations could unnecessarily trigger a "failure" of the HLZ search criteria. For example, if a DEM of 30cm resolution had two adjacent vertices or "pixels" that differed in elevation by only 10cm, the local slope between the two pixels would be roughly 18 degrees, thus triggering a failure of the HLZ search. It is likely, though, that a 10cm obstruction is tolerable in the HLZ. Thus, use the Delta Z tolerance for two reasons: First, when working with very high resolution DEM's, use it to make sure the local slope does not trigger unnecessary failures. Second, if there truly is a higher tolerance for obstructions, set the Delta Z Tolerance to the height of the tolerable obstruction. It may also be helpful to think of the Delta Z tolerance as the ground clearance under the helicopter. 3. Set a Pass, Fail, and Blockage color. Terrain will be colored the "Pass" color when the slope and minimum radius conditions are met, and the fail color when they are not met. The Blockage color is also technically a "Fail" area, but it highlights the terrain features that triggered the "Failure". Note that a location colored as the "pass" color meets the criteria of slope and radius (i.e., the user does not need to add a "buffer area" to a "Pass" area) and may be displayed as just a few pixels. 4. Optional: Set the HLZ "Fringe" Color. The purpose of adding "fringe" pixels back into the display is to assist in making "pass" areas more obvious and perhaps to string together multiple small HLZ's into a coherent larger area. Please note that, technically, "fringe" pixels are not "Pass" pixels. They have failed one of the criteria- either they are too close to an obstruction or too close to areas of high slope, but they are likely to have met the maximum tolerable slope criteria. 5. Click "Apply". The terrain will be entirely colored in the "pass", "fail", and "blockage" colors (and optional "fringe" color). These results can be exported as a GeoTIFF raster with a KML file for use in Google Earth and other applications. 6. Results can be exported as a raster. Go to the Export Menu...Export Model Image and select the 24-Bit RGB Overlay. At this time, there is no direct raster to vector conversion in Quick Terrain Modeler. 7. Note: Measurement lines can be saved as vector models to document more than one HLZ at a time. Converting mensuration lines to vector models will enable the "crosshair" to be palced on an HLZ.
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Without the Display of Fringe, Some "Pass" Results can Appear as Just a Few Pixels
Fringe Display Does Not Alter Results Just Makes "Pass" Areas Obvious
HLZ Annotation Tools - Measurement Line Showing Azimuth, Slope, and Distance and MGRS Marker
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9.2.3
9.2.4
Instructions:
Open a .qtt (or other) surface model. This tool only works on surface models. From the "Analysis... Add Vertex Colors to Model" menu select "Slope Map" The "Slope Analysis" Window will appear. Select slope break points by typing the slope (in degrees) into the break point window and clicking the "Add Break Point" button. For example, if break points are desired every 10 degrees, type "10" and click the button, type "20" and click the button, etc. until the maximum slope of 90 is reached.
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To remove a break point, click the "Remove Break Point" button, then click on the break point that needs to be removed. The break point will disappear. Select a color for each band by clicking the "Set Color" button, clicking on the gray area in a slope band, and choosing a color. After choosing the color in the color palette, it will appear in the associated slop band. If desired, save a slope palette by clicking the "Save Palette" button, selecting a name and location for the palette file, and clicking the "Save" button. To reload a saved palette, click the "Load Palette" button, locate the palette file, and click "Open".
Area Filtering:
To filter slope maps by area, check the appropriate box for minimum area and/or maximum area. Enter an area value in the units of the loaded model (e.g., UTM models in square meters). Click "Apply. Areas that meet the slope criteria but not the area criteria will be colored in gray. The contiguous areas that meet both the slope and the area criteria will be colored in the appropriate color. In the image below, the user is seeking areas of 10,000 square meters in which the slope is 5 degrees or less.
To achieve an unbanded, continuous slope coloration, choose the default palette called "Continuous Blue to Red" in the pull down menu. Click Apply. The image below shows the same model as shown in the images above, but colored with the continuous slope palette.
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select a file, you will also be presented with a window where you may enter X and Y offsets vs. the Model (if any) and choose whether or not to flip the image (in X and Y) before applying it to the Model. Images may be removed from model(s) by selecting Remove Vertex Colors from Model(s) from the Analysis menu. Images generated by the Modeler through means such as Shadow Maps and Line-of-Sight Maps may also be saved to Raw RGB or GeoTIFF using Save Vertex Colors from the Analysis menu. Notes: Unsigned Char (USC) images are organized exactly like FLT data files - except that instead of consisting of floating point altitudes they consist of Unsigned Char intensities. RGB files are similar - except that three unsigned chars representing the RGB values are used for each vertex. RGBA (RGB + alpha) files are also supported. When importing vertex colors that have been created by QT Modeler in the Raw RGB (24-bit Binary RGB) format, the image needs to be flipped (check the "Flip Image" Check box) when re-importing.
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9.2.9
9.3
9.3.1
Load a QTA/QTC point cloud model. A QTC point cloud model without QTA attributes will not respond to Quick Color Maps, as there are no attributes to evaluate. A QTC/QTA model can be loaded either by importing from an LAS, ASCII, or BPF data set, or from loading an already existing QTA file.
Click on the QTA Quick Color Button or go to the Analysis...QTA Attribute Analysis...Quick Color Maps menu
Simply Select one of the available coloration schemes. Depending on what attributes are available in the QTA index, some or all of the following coloration schemes will appear: Classification: Color by LAS classification. QTM will choose a separate color for all existing classifications. First/Last/IM: Color by the following categories: First = First of Many = For an outbound LiDAR pulse that received multiple returns, this point was the first return (e.g., return 1 of 3). Commonly correlated to the tops of vegetation canopy and other non-massive objects (e.g., powerlines, treetops, fences, etc.) Intermediate = Middle Returns = A return that was neither the first or the last from a single out bound LiDAR pulse that received (e.g., return 2 of 3). Commonly correlated to intermediate vegetation coverage. Last = Last of Many = For an outbound LiDAR pulse that received multiple returns, this point was the last return (e.g., return 3 of 3) Usually correlated to the ground or other solid object
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underneath vegetation/canopy coverage. Only = First and Only = This return was the only return for a given outbound LiDAR pulse. Commonly correlated to the ground in non-vegetated environments (e.g., roads, parking lots, open fields) and to other massive objects (e.g., buildings, vehicles) that are not obscured by vegetation and other canopy cover. Number of Returns: The total number of returns associated with a given point. E.g., for return number 1 of 3, number of returns = 3. Return Number: The return number associated with a given point. E.g., for return number 1 of 3, return number = 1. AGL: Height Above Ground Level of a point. This will only be available if AGL Analysis has been performed. Point Source ID: Displays the Point Source ID associated with each point. Typically, point source ID is associated with a specific flight line in a multi-flight line LiDAR survey. This can be very useful in quickly showing the flight line composition and flight line overlap of a given survey. Intensity: This displays the intensity value in a grayscale representation. Clear Colors: Removes all vertex colors from the model.
Examples
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For Discrete Attributes: 1. Select a discrete attribute in the upper right pull-down menu. QT Modeler will automatically populate the minimum and maximum values as well as the number of discrete values. 2. Click the "Autosetup" button. Quick Terrain Modeler will set the range, divide the palette into the appropriate number of divisions, and choose colors. The histogram of point distribution will appear as red spikes at the bottom of the color ramp values. 3. To change the colors, right click in the appropriate color band and "Set Color" to the desired color value. 4. Click "Apply" to apply the color scheme to the points. Make sure the vertex colors are active. The example below shows color values assigned based on the return number value. 5. If desired, save the palette for use later.
For Continuous Attributes: 1. Select a continuous attribute in the upper right pull-down menu. QT Modeler will automatically populate the minimum and maximum values of the attribute. 2. Click the "Autosetup" button. Quick Terrain Modeler will set the range and assign a continuous blue to red palette. The histogram of point distribution will appear as red spikes at the bottom of the color ramp values. The example below shows scan angle rank as the attribute for which the color palette is defined. 3. (Optional) To reconfigure color palettes, use the tools such as setting the range manually, choosing a color palette, or creating a color palette from a blank palette. The section on Grid Statistics - Visualization Options provides more detailed instrutions on configuring the palette. 4. Click "Apply" to apply the color scheme to the points. Make sure the vertex colors are active. The example below shows color values assigned based on the return number value. 5. If desired, save the palette for use later.
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QTA continuous analysis enables the selective viewing and coloration of points based on a given attribute's value. This tool is customized for continuous attributes but can also be used with discrete attributes. Example uses of continuous LAS attributes (i.e., values in the LAS point data record) are intensity and scan angle rank. Examples of Quick Terrain Modelers calculated and appended continuous attributes are AGL and Grid Statistics results. NOTE: the coloration is packed into the FILTER CHANNEL and not the VERTEX CHANNEL. This coloration can be toggled on and off by expanding the SPECIAL OVERLAYS section of the layer tree and by adjusting overall transparency by going to Display > Layer Transparency. TO USE QTA ATTRIBUTE ANALYSIS: From the Analysis Menu > QTA Attribute Analysis > QTA Continuous Analysis 1. From the pull-down menus, select the model name you wish to filter and the attribute on which to apply the filter (e.g., intensity). Click Pack Attribute into Filter Channel and the Minimum and Maximum text boxes will populate with the min/max values of the selected attribute. 2. If necessary, reset the Minimum and Maximum to better reflect where the bulk of the points are distributed using the histogram. Click Set Manually to reset the histogram. Additionally, reset the Min/Max values by adjusting the vertical slider bars to the left and right of the histogram. 3. OPTIONAL, a continuous attribute such as Intensity can be grouped together into bands for filtering or coloring. Click the Configure Bands to define how to bin these points together into discrete bands. 4. Select the Default Palette of choice. A color ramp such as Blue to Red or Earthtones is good for coloration while a filter palette such as Hide Above or Hide Below are appropriate for filtering (Hide/Show). The breakline can also be moved by left clicking and dragging the line left and right. 5. The palette and histogram can be right clicked for added customization. Right click to add or remove additional breaklines to create more filter classes. This context menu will also allow you to show/hide (e.g., filter) and/or color the right clicked band. NOTE: the hatched pattern means the band is hidden (filtered). 6. OPTIONAL, the Opacity slider bar allows the user to control how much underlying colors can show through. 7. OPTIONAL, the histogram can be export by clicking the Export Histogram Button 8. OPTIONAL, the Crop Model button can be pushed to permanently remove the filtered points. NOTE: the original source data will remain unchanged. The crop is only permanent within the current Quick Terrain Modeler session. If needed, the original source data can be saved or exported over, but this is generally NOT RECOMMENDED. Figure 1. QTA Continuous Analyst window is set to color Intensity by a graduated blue to red color ramp with 100% Opacity. The Intensity values of the dataset range from 0 to 5100 however the ramp was adjusted to reflect the majority of points by changing the Maximum to 117.3.
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Figure 2. Configure QTA Bands window is opened by clicking the Configure Bands button in the Continuous Analyst window. Here, a continuous attribute can be segmented into user controlled bands for coloration and filtering.
9.3.4
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QTA
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Figure 2. Configure QTA Bands window is opened by clicking the Configure Bands button in the Discrete Analyst window. Here, a continuous attribute can be segmented into user controlled bands for coloration and filtering:
9.3.6
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Using Discrete Attribute Filtering with Continuous Attributes: It is sometimes useful to divide a "Continuous" attribute (e.g., intensity, scan angle) into discrete brackets, then filter on these brackets. 1. From the Analysis Menu...QTA Attribute Analysis, select "QTA Discrete Attribute Filtering. 2. From the pull-down menu, select a continuous attribute on which to apply the filter (e.g., intensity). Once the attribute is selected, Quick Terrain Modeler will divide the range of the attribute values into 10 brackets and display of points associated with that attribute value bracket. 3. Select an attribute value bracket (or values using "shift" and/or "control" and left clicking). The value(s) will be highlighted. 4. Click the "Apply" button. All attribute value brackets not selected will be removed from the view. 5. If desired, select other attribute value bracket and click "Apply" to isolate that range(s). 6. Clicking "Crop Models" will permanently eliminate all but the visible points.
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Value" input box. b) Alternatively, you may select another attribute to compare the subject attribute to. 6) Click the "Add Filter" button. The filter will appear as a single line in the filter window. The line will reflect the filtering criteria (e.g., Intensity > 20.00) 7) Proceed with steps 3 - 6 for the second filtering criteria. 8) When filtering criteria are all defined and added, select conditions under which points will "Pass" the filter: a) Pass if ALL comparisons are true (i.e., logical AND function). b) Pass if ANY comparisons are true (i.e, logical OR function). c) Pass if NO comparisons are true (i.e, logical NAND function) 9) Select an action to perform on the points that pass through the filter in the "Then Do This" pull down menu. Available actions are: a) Color Points: Colors points based on the user defined color. b) Cut Points: Permanently removes the points from the model. c) Hide Points: Temporarily hides points from view. d) Export Points to XYZ: Exports an XYZ file of the points which have passed through the filter. e) Export Points to LAS: Exports an LAS file of the points which have passed through the filter. 10)Click "Apply" 11)(Optional) Clear Colors: Clear colors will remove any vertex colors from the model (including intensity). If multiple analyses are performed incrementally, it may be beneficial to start with no existing coloration on the points. In other cases, it may be more useful to let the colors "build" on themselves.
9.3.8
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9.3.9
9.4
9.4.1
Visibility Analysis
Line of Sight Map
Note: Due to export restrictions, this feature is only available in the USA version. Background: The Line of Sight Analysis function provides a wide array of functionality. Once markers are placed in a terrain, the user can perform line of sight (LOS) analysis to determine what the user can see from that location. Conversely, LOS will show what can see the observer. It is a very useful and powerful tool for tactical situational awareness, microwave tower placement analysis, analyzing placement of street signs, and many other functions. Quick Terrain Modeler's LOS analysis can be broken down into four basic groups: 1. Omnidirectional Line of Sight Analysis: This type of analysis establishes what parts of the terrain can be seen from a specific location and vice versa. Quick Terrain Modeler will evaluate whether there is visibility to the terrain in all directions. 2. Directional Line of Sight Analysis (Sensor at or near ground level): Directional viewshed analysis will simulate the visibility of s specific sensor or camera which exists at or near ground level. This type of sensor's position and orientation can be defined by placing a marker in the terrain and establishing an orientation and field of view. Some examples of this application may be surveillance camera
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simulation or the coverage of a directional antenna such as a microwave antenna. 3. Sensor Line of Sight Analysis (Sensor far above ground): This type of analysis defines the observer relative to a marker in the terrain, but the observer is generally far from the terrain. Examples of this type of sensor may be an airborne camera, LiDAR sensor, or satellite. 4. Vector Line of Sight Analysis: Vector LOS analysis establishes a vector to/from all markers (i.e., specific positions) in the terrain from any position on the surface of the model. This type of analysis can also simulate a "motorcade" route along which LOS vectors and ground distances are calculated in real time as the observer progresses along the route. Omnidirectional Line of Sight from the "Serpent Head" Marker:
Directional Line of Sight from the "Serpent Head" Marker, Orientation Due South (180 Degrees), Horizontal and Vertical field of view = 45 degrees.
Sensor Line of Sight Analysis. Sensor is "placed" 10km from "Serpent Head" marker, facing south, 15 degree grazing angle, 2 degree horizontal and vertical field of view:
(Left) Vector Line of Sight Analysis - Travel Route. This analysis shows LOS exists (green vector) to three markers and does not exist (red vector) to one marker. (Right) Vector Line of Sight Analysis - Random Point. This analysis shows that, from a random point on the surface of the model, LOS exists (green vector) to three markers and does not exist (red vector) to one marker.
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9.4.1.1
Omnidirectional LOS Omnidirectional Line of Sight Analysis analyzes the visibility in all directions in a terrain. There are only two basic requirements to perform this analysis: 1. Omnidirectional LOS can only be performed on a surface model (.QTT, GeoTIFF DEM, DTED, etc.) 2. LOS analysis is performed around a marker or group of markers, so at least one marker must be placed in the terrain. 3.
There are three display modes for line of sight. They are as follows: Basic Coloration: Basic coloration performs LOS analysis and applies a color to the model based on one of four conditions: All Can See: All selected markers have visibility to this point in the model, based on observer/target height settings, limitations to line of sight distance (if any), and marker specific limitations to field of view (see sensor view LOS). The default coloration for this condition is red. Some Can See: If N markers are loaded, the "some can see" condition is achieved when between 1 and N-1 observers (i.e., markers) have visibility to that point, based on viewing constraints noted above. The default coloration for this condition is yellow. None Can See: This condition is achieved if none of the loaded markers have visibility to a given point in the terrain, based on viewing constraints noted above. The default coloration for this condition is light gray. Not Evaluated: This condition is achieved if a user limits the line of sight distance and the extents of the terrain are greater than the limitation. For example, if a user sets a LOS distance limitation at 300 meters and the model is 5 km x 5km, there will be areas that are simply "not evaluated" because the user has chosen to limit the analysis in distance. This is a distinctively different condition than "None Can See", as no analysis has been performed. The default coloration for this condition is dark gray. Interactivity: In this type of coloration, Quick Terrain Modeler will color the terrain with respective colors of the markers selected. For example, if there are a red and a green marker loaded, the areas of the terrain visible to the red marker alone will be colored red. Those areas visible to the green marker will be green. The overlap (i.e., "Interactivity") will be yellow. The utility of this type of coloration
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decreases sharply if there are many markers loaded and complex interaction between them. Cumulative Coloration: This coloration uses a blue to red palette that represents the number of markers that have visibility to a given location. Blue represents "Low" and red represents "High". For example, if ten markers were used for the analysis, a color of blue would represent a location that had visibility to one markers, aqua would represent a location that had visibility to two markers, and so on up the color wheel until red represents an area that has visibility to all 10 markers. The number of discrete colors are proportional to the number of markers used in the analysis (i.e., many markers = many colors, but still in the blue=visibility to few markers, red=visibility to many markers continuum). A condition of no visibility is still represented by light gray and "not evaluated" by dark gray. At least one marker must be placed in the terrain prior to performing LOS analysis. Either manually place a marker in the terrain or import markers from text file, shape file, or KML. Pull down the Analysis menu...Add Vertex Colors to Model, select Line of Sight Map (Or press the Line of Sight Button ). The Create Line-of-Sight Map window will pop up. There are three sections to the Line of Sight Interface: Select Observer This sections displays what markers are available in the model. The first step is to select a marker or markers upon which the LOS analysis will be performed. Users also have the ability to edit the markers if necessary by clicking the "Edit Markers" button. Viewing Parameters This section requires the user to set the observer and target heights. Note: The marker is the observer for purposes of the LOS calculations. These heights will be in the units of the model (i.e., if model is in feet, heights will be in feet). Optionally, the user can limit the line of sight to a certain distance. To limit line of sight distance, check the box and enter the desired distance in the window. This distance will also be in the units of the model. Image Generation Options There are several image generation options. They are as follows: Merge with Existing Map: Check this box to add an LOS map to the current image (e.g., another LOS map, HLZ Map,or to an intensity image). Leave this box unchecked to clear the existing image and replace with the LOS map. Force Binary Result: Checking this box disables Quick Terrain Modeler's function which creates color shading around the edges of an LOS map to indicate differing levels of confidence/probability that an area is in the LOS. Forcing a binary result is particularly useful if the user intends to export 8-bit TIFF's to applications such as ESRI GIS. Quantized 8-bit Image: Checking this box forces compound LOS analysis results into discrete 8-bit (i.e., grayscale) values. This is particularly helpful if the user is performing compound (i.e., multiple observer) LOS analysis and intends to export to 8-bit TIFF format (e.g., for import into ESRI) Coloration choices (See descriptions above): All Can See: The default coloration for this condition is red. Click the button and select a new color to change the coloration. Some Can See: The default coloration for this condition is yellow. None Can See: The default coloration for this condition is light gray. Not Evaluated: The default coloration for this condition is dark gray. Instructions:
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Place marker(s) in terrain. Select the marker(s) for which you want to perform LOS analysis by clicking on them in the "Select Observers" window. LOS analysis will be performed on all selected markers. In "Viewing Parameters", choose your observer height (the marker is the observer, the rest of the terrain is the "target"). The default is set to 1.8m, roughly the eye-level height of a human being. If you want to evaluate line of sight for a microwave communications tower, set the height to your precise tower height (e.g., 10m). If you want to evaluate your view from a planned vacation home, set it to the height of your windows, etc. In "Viewing Parameters", choose your target height. The default is set to 1.8m, roughly the eye-level height of a human being. If you are evaluating whether you can see the next microwave tower, set its height as above. Optionally, check the "Limit Line of Sight Distance" checkbox if you are only interested in a specific distance from the observer (e.g., limit LOS analysis to 500 meters). After checking the box, you must specify a distance (in the units of the model) in the text box. Check "Merge with Existing Map" if you want to preserve intensity values and/or supplement another analysis result (e.g., HLZ analysis). Otherwise, leave it unchecked. Choose appropriate Image Generation Options as described above. Click OK. Helpful Hints: Make sure your markers are very precisely placed. If on a rooftop, make sure the marker is at the very edge of the building (if this is where the observer will be). Sometimes small adjustments in the placement of the observer make a vast difference in the results of the line of sight analysis. If available, import markers from a text file to establish observer or target positions. Place markers along a known travel route and use "Cumulative Coloration" to evaluate areas of high visibility to your route. Use in conjunction with vector LOS analysis to help pinpoint exactly which markers have visibility. Example of Compound Line of Sight Analysis with Interactivity Coloration: The first figure shows simple line of sight analysis around Marker 1. The second figure shows compound line of sight analysis for both Marker 1 and Marker 2. The areas in yellow represent the overlap of the two viewsheds.
Example Line of Sight Analysis Using Limited Distance: The first figure shows four markers in the terrain. The second figure shows line of sight analysis limited to 50 meters around each of the markers. This analysis was performed on all markers simultaneously using "Interactivity" coloration.
Example Line of Sight Analysis Cumulative Coloration: The analysis shows 16 markers placed along a road.
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Areas with visibility to many markers have coloration on the red end of the spectrum. Areas with visibility to few markers are on the blue end of the spectrum. Areas with no visibility to the markers appear gray.
Example Line of Sight Analysis Basic Coloration: The analysis shows the same 16 markers as above. Areas with visibility to all markers are red. Areas with visibility to one through 15 markers are yellow. Areas with no visibility to the markers appear gray.
Vector LOS can be used in a very complementary fashion to other omnidirectional LOS analysis results.
9.4.1.2
Directional LOS Directional Line of Sight (LOS) is very similar to omnidirectional LOS, with the difference being that a sensor orientation, position, and field of view must be defined. Essentially, this simulates a camera being mounted and pointed in a specific direction or a directional antenna being pointed in a specific direction. It may be helpful to think of this analysis as mounting a camera on the marker (note, a marker only has one Z position, so it is important to either set the observer height to an appropriate value or to set the marker position above the terrain). To perform directional LOS, follow all the instructions for directional LOS, but define a sensor attached to each marker as follows:
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In the "Select" Observer(s) section of the interface, click the "Edit Markers" button. Using the Marker pull down menu, select the marker upon which to attach a sensor. Check the "Sensor Attached" box and press the "Edit Sensor" button. Input the following parameters: Azimuth in degrees clockwise from north relative to the sensor (camera) Elevation in degrees up from the horizon. Negative values are required for situations in which the sensor is "looking down" (i.e., pointing below the horizon relative to the sensor). Roll in degrees clockwise looking down the "boresight" (i.e., the centerline of the sensor's orientation) Horizontal Field of View (FOV) in degrees. Vertical Field of View (FOV) in degrees Range should be set to zero for cameras or sensors at the location of the marker. Click "OK" and "OK" in the open windows. Perform LOS analysis exactly as in Omnidirectional LOS. All "Image Generation Options" will be available. Input interfaces for defining sensors attached to markers.
Note that, when a sensor is attached to a marker, it will have a pyramid instead of a sphere on top. Directional LOS analysis will look different than omnidirectional LOS. The horizontal field of view may be apparent in the results (right).
9.4.1.3
Sensor View LOS Sensor View LOS is very similar to Directional LOS, but the sensor is not "attached" to the marker. Instead, it is defined relative to the marker. For example, a sensor mounted on an airborne platform will be defined by angles and distances relative to a marker. To perform directional LOS, follow all the instructions for directional LOS, but define a sensor attached to each marker as follows: Important: Boresight angles are defined relative to the sensor, not the marker. Therefore, most elevation angles are likely to be negative. To convert a "Grazing Angle" to a Quick Terrain Modeler elevation angle, simply place a negative sign in front of the angle (e.g., 20 degree grazing angle becomes -20 degree elevation
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angle from the sensor perspective). To convert a ground perspective Azimuth angle to a sensor-view azimuth angle, simply add 180 (e.g., 45 degree azimuth angle from ground perspective becomes 225 degree azimuth angle from the sensor perspective. In the "Select" Observer(s) section of the interface, click the "Edit Markers" button. Using the Marker pull down menu, select the marker upon which to attach a sensor. Check the "Sensor Attached" box and press the "Edit Sensor" button. Input the following parameters: Azimuth in degrees clockwise from north relative to the sensor (camera) Elevation in degrees up from the horizon. Negative values are required for situations in which the sensor is "looking down" (i.e., pointing below the horizon relative to the sensor). Roll in degrees clockwise looking down the "boresight" (i.e., the centerline of the sensor's orientation) Horizontal Field of View (FOV) in degrees. Vertical Field of View (FOV) in degrees. Range should be set to zero for cameras or sensors at the location of the marker. Click "OK" and "OK" in the open windows. Perform LOS analysis exactly as in Omnidirectional LOS. All "Image Generation Options" will be available. Sample settings for Sensor View LOS:
(Left) LOS map based on a sensor pointing at Marker 2. The sensor is 10,000 meters away with an azimuth of 180 (looking directly south), an elevation of -20 (i.e., a "grazing angle" of 20 degrees) and a Horizontal and Vertical Field of View of 2 degrees. (Right) Checking the "Make "No" Solid Black" option will starkly highlight shadow areas. These are areas in which the sensor has no visibility.
9.4.1.4
Vector LOS In contrast to all of Quick Terrain Modeler's other LOS analyses, Vector Line of Sight (VLOS) does not generate a broad "viewshed" coloration of the terrain. Instead, it calculates whether there are lines of sight
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to specific locations in the model. These locations are represented by markers. Random Point Vector LOS: 1. Place Markers. Markers become the "observers" in Quick Terrain Modeler terminology. 2. Place cursor on any desired location in the model. Left click to establish this as the position for which vector LOS is desired. 3. Type "L" on the keyboard. 4. Observe red/green LOS vectors to all markers. 5. Set Observer/Traveler Height: As above, observer heights are set by editing or importing markers. Traveler height is the last setting used in Step 4 above. 6. Type "L" again to remove LOS vector. 7. Optional: Hold down the "L" key, move cursor around scene to dynamically change the LOS vectors. Type "L" to remove the LOS vectors. Below: Random Point Vector LOS showing LOS to three observers and no LOS to one observer. Typing "L" on the keyboard will remove the vectors from the display.
9.4.2
There are multiple ways to place a marker: Use the marker button Hold down the "M" key and left click to place multiple markers. Import Markers from ASCII, SHP, or KML files (See Topic Import Markers)
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Load saved QT Markers from a file. Open the "Go To" interface, input a coordinate, and click "create marker". Very useful if you have an MGRS coordinate.
Upon initiating VLOS around a marker and upon changing which marker the VLOS is attached to, a Virtual Line of Sight Options window will appear. The settings are as follows: Observer: This pull down menu enables changing which observer (i.e., which marker) the LOS results are attached to. Observer Height: Height above the surface of the observer (i.e., the marker). Note that if the marker is on a rooftop or other object that is not technically the "ground", QT Modeler will simply add the observer height to the elevation of that object. I.e., QT Modeler has no way of knowing if the marker is on the ground or on a building, tree, or other tall object. Changing the observer/target height will cause two icons to appear next to the marker. The two icons represent the relative heights of the observer (eyeball icon) and the target (person icon). Changing observer/target heights raises and lowers these icons along the marker pin in scale with the terrain. Target Height: Similar to observer height, but for the rest of the scene. I.e., there is one observer, and every other location in the scene is evaluated as a "target". Limit Range?: Check the box to limit the distance of the LOS analysis. Units will be in the current display units of the model. Color Setting: Choose the color of the analysis results. Checking "Use Marker Color?" selects the marker pinhead color as the LOS results display color. Using marker color can be very helpful in distinguishing between different observers LOS results. Virtual Map Size: If VLOS results are slow, it may be useful to decrease the Virtual Map Size. Virtual Map Size is the number of pixels used by OpenGL and the graphics card to display the VLOS results. Reducing the size accelerates the VLOS display, but reduces the resolution. See also OpenGL Configuration.
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Virtual Line of Sight can be very useful when using a directional "sensor" marker. This analysis can be very useful for optimal placement of sensors, communications devices, video cameras, and other devices with a directional/field of view component. To perform this analysis, you need to turn the marker into a directional (as apposed to omnidirectional) observer. The steps are as follows: Left Click on the marker in the layer tree (or right click and select "Edit"). Check the "Sensor Attached" check box. Click the "Edit Sensor" button. Interactively set sensor orientation and field of view using arrows or type values into fields.
Since Virtual LOS results are "virtual", they exist only on the graphics card (i.e., they are not a file). If you would like to export Virtual LOS results as an image, right click on Special Overlays > Virtual LOS Map, and "Create LOS Map texture". A new texture will appear in the textures folder. Once the virtual texture has become "real" (i.e., it is now a file), it can be exported, saved, etc. just like any texture.
In order for Virtual LOS to work, your video card must support OpenGL version 3.0 or higher. Discrete graphics cards (e.g., NVIDIA, ATI) will likely support this, but may need the driver upgraded. This is usually a fairly straightforward process of downloading an upgraded driver from the manufacturer's website and
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installing it. Integrated graphics chipsets (e.g., Intel) will have a more difficult time supporting advanced graphics capabilities.
9.4.3
There are multiple ways to place a measurement line: Use the measurement line button Place cursor anywhere, type "S" on the keyboard, left click to add nodes, right click to end the line. Import mensuration from SHP or KML files from the Menu Analysis > Import Mensuration... Convert vectors in the layer tree to mensuration line by right clicking the vector and choosing "Show as Mensuration".
Choose Travel Route Line of Sight from Context Menu Adjust Virtual Line of Sight Settings
Upon initiating VLOS down a line (aka, Travel Route LOS), the following will happen: i. A user interface will appear. A graph will depict the cross section of the terrain along the line. Above the graph are a number of settings. Below the graph is a slider bar which is used to change the position of the traveler along the line. ii. In the workspace, a marker will appear in the center of the mensuration line. This marker represents the traveler's position. This marker will move in the scene as you adjust the slider bar under the terrain profile. You can change the following settings related to VLOS: Above Ground/Above Vector: Choose whether the traveler's route is hugging the ground (e.g., a walking/driving route), or whether the route is a straight line above the straight line vectors that connect the nodes of the mensuration line (e.g., a helicopter or airplane route). Show Virtual LOS: Will show a line of sight coverage map of the line of sight from the perspective of the traveler. Show LOS Vectors: Connects a red/green vector between the traveler and all existing markers in the terrain. This is the same Travel Route Line of Sight that has always been in QT Modeler. See Travel Route LOS topic for more details. These vectors can be useful in visualizing the exact line of sight
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between the traveler and specific positions in the terrain that are represented by markers. However, if there are many markers in the terrain, the display can become very busy and therefore distracting, thus making it desirable to uncheck this box and turn the vectors off. An alternative to turning vectors off entirely is to simply uncheck some of the markers in the layer tree. Traveler Height: The traveler is the marker along the path. Use the slider or the input box to set the eye-level height of the traveler - either above ground or above the vector as noted above. Changing the traveler/observer height will cause two icons to appear next to the traveler marker. The two icons represent the relative heights of the traveler (eyeball icon) and the observer (person icon). Changing traveler/observer heights raises and lowers these icons along the marker pin in scale with the terrain. Observer Height: Height above the ground of the observer (i.e., everywhere in the scene except the traveler marker). Note that QT Modeler will simply add the observer height to the elevation of every location in the scene. I.e., QT Modeler has no way of knowing if a location is on the ground or on a building, tree, or other tall object. Limit Range?: Check the box to limit the distance of the LOS analysis. Use the slider or the input box to set the range from the traveler. Units will be in the current display units of the model.
Since Virtual LOS results are "virtual", they exist only on the graphics card (i.e., they are not a file). If you would like to export Virtual LOS results as an image, right click on Special Overlays > Virtual LOS Map, and "Create LOS Map texture". A new texture will appear in the textures folder. Once the virtual texture has become "real" (i.e., it is now a file), it can be exported, saved, etc. just like any texture.
In order for Virtual LOS to work, your video card must support OpenGL version 3.0 or higher. Discrete graphics cards (e.g., NVIDIA, ATI) will likely support this, but may need the driver upgraded. This is usually a fairly straightforward process of downloading an upgraded driver from the manufacturer's website and installing it. Integrated graphics chipsets (e.g., Intel) will have a more difficult time supporting advanced graphics capabilities.
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9.4.4
Travel Route Line of Sight Analysis analyzes the visibility in all directions in a terrain along a predefined route at user defined intervals. There are only two basic requirements to perform this analysis: 1. Travel Route LOS can only be performed on a surface model (.QTT, GeoTIFF DEM, DTED, etc.) 2. LOS analysis is performed along a predefined route so a Mensuration Line must be present.
Cumulative Coloration
Basic Coloration
There are two analysis types for line of sight. They are as follows: Basic Coloration: Basic coloration performs LOS analysis and applies a color to the model based on one of four conditions: o Above Threshold If the number of observations (samples) along the line is greater than the defined Sample Cutoff on a pixel by pixel basis. o Below Threshold If the number of observations (samples) along the line is less than the defined
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Sample Cutoff on a pixel by pixel basis. o Never If the number of observations (samples) along the line is 0 per pixel o Not Evaluated: This condition is achieved if a user limits the line of sight distance and the extents of the terrain are greater than the limitation. For example, if a user sets a LOS distance limitation at 300 meters and the model is 5 km x 5km, there will be areas that are simply "not evaluated" because the user has chosen to limit the analysis in distance. This is a distinctively different condition than "None Can See", as no analysis has been performed. The default coloration for this condition is dark gray. Cumulative Coloration: This coloration uses a blue to red palette that represents the percentage of samples that have visibility to each cell. Blue represents "1%" and red represents "100%". For example, if 100 samples along the line were used for the analysis, a color of blue would represent a location that had visibility to one sample, aqua would represent a location that had visibility to 20 samples, and so on up the color wheel until red represents an area that has visibility to all 100 samples. A condition of no visibility is still represented by light gray and "not evaluated" by dark gray. There are several sections to the Line of Sight Interface: Analysis Type: This section allows you to choose Basic Coloration or Cumulative Coloration analysis as discussed above. Sampling Parameters o Sample Distance in data units along the line where an LOS calculation will be performed. For example, if your data is in meters, you should enter a 5 if you want an LOS calculation to be performed every 5 meters along the defined route (mensuration line). Note, the window will also display the corresponding Number of Samples that the defined Sample Distance will create. o Sample Cutoff as a minimum number of samples seen by a given pixel to be included. For example, if you wish to ignore pixels that are only visible to 5 samples along a route, then enter 5 in the Sample Cutoff. This is designed to limit the effect of small glimpses along a long route on the resulting color ramp. Viewing Parameters: This section requires the user to set the observer and target heights. Note: The samples along the line are the observers for purposes of the LOS calculations. These heights will be in the units of the model (i.e., if model is in feet, heights will be in feet). Optionally, the user can limit the line of sight to a certain distance. To limit line of sight distance, check the box and enter the desired distance in the window. This distance will also be in the units of the model. Image Generation Options: o Force Binary Result: Checking this box disables Quick Terrain Modeler's function which creates color shading around the edges of an LOS map to indicate differing levels of confidence/probability that an area is in the LOS. Forcing a binary result is particularly useful if the user intends to export 8-bit TIFF's to applications such as ESRI GIS. o Quantized 8-bit Image: Checking this box forces compound LOS analysis results into discrete 8-bit (i.e., grayscale) values. This is particularly helpful if the user is performing compound (i.e., multiple observer) LOS analysis and intends to export to 8-bit TIFF format (e.g., for import into ESRI) o Autoscale Results: Works only with cumulative coloration. Instructions: 1. Place mensuration line in terrain. 2. Choose Basic or Cumulative Coloration as your analysis type 3. In Sampling Parameters, choose the distance between samples desired along the mensuration line as well as a minimum number of samples you want included in a given pixel across the model. 4. In "Viewing Parameters", choose your observer height (the samples along the route are the observers, the rest of the terrain is the "target"). The default is set to 1.8m, roughly the eye-level height of a human being. If you want to evaluate line of sight for a vehicle window, then the number should be changed to
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seated/standing position height in the vehicle. 5. In "Viewing Parameters", choose your target height. The default is set to 1.8m, roughly the eye-level height of a human being. If you are evaluating whether you can see a tower, set its height as above. 6. Optionally, check the "Limit Line of Sight Distance" checkbox if you are only interested in a specific distance from the observer (e.g., limit LOS analysis to 500 meters). After checking the box, you must specify a distance (in the units of the model) in the text box. 7. Choose appropriate Image Generation Options as described above. 8. Click OK. Helpful Hints: Watch the "Number of Samples". The time required to perform the entire calculation is directly proportional to the number of samples. If this number gets large (i.e., hundreds of samples), calculation could take a very long time. Consider spacing the samples further apart (e.g., every 5 meters instead of every 1 meter) to dramatically reduce calcualtion time. Make sure your mensuration line is very precisely placed. Obstructions along the route such as signage, vegetation, etc will make a vast difference in the results of the line of sight analysis depending on the line placement. Consider saving the mensuration line for future reference by right clicking in the layer tree or choose Analysis > Export Mensuration Use "Cumulative Coloration" to evaluate areas of high visibility to your route. Make sure the Vertex Colors toggle is toggled to the "On" position. If you do not see results immediately after the calculation is complete, this is usually the reason. The vertex color toggle looks like this: Example:
Example Above: Settings for Cumulative Coloration map for samples every 2 meters along the mensuration line. Each sample is taken at 1.8 meters above the ground and a the target height of 1.8 meters above each cell. A minimum of 2 samples must have LOS to be included in the results (Sample Cutoff). Click images to expand them.
9.4.5
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9.4.6
Terrain Mask
Quick Terrain Modeler's Terrain Mask tool provides the user with a tool to quickly evaluate visibility from an airborne sensor or in given lighting conditions. To perform the analysis, go to the Analysis Menu...Add Vertex Colors to Model...Terrain Mask. Simply enter a grazing angle and azimuth angle, either by entering the number from the keyboard, or using a slider bar. Check "Solid Black" if the desire is to have areas in "shadow" represented as a solid black value. Once the choices are made, click "Apply. Quick Terrain Modeler will calculate the obscured area, render it, and determine the percent of the area that is obscured. If the user needs a specific area calculated, simply use a selection area to delineate the area of interest, then click "Apply" again. The percent obscuration will be calculated only in the selection area, and all areas outside the selection area will be colored black. The "Export" button exports the result as a GeoTIFF.
9.5
Grid Statistics
Grid statistics is a powerful, fast, flexible, and visual tool that provides Quick Terrain Modeler users a way to statistically sort through their LiDAR or 3D data in almost any way imaginable. The user simply loads data, whether point cloud or gridded surface model, sets a grid size, selects a variable to investigate, a statistic to calculate, a way to display it, and (optionally) an action to perform on it. (Analysis Menu) If multiple models are loaded, statistical calculations will be performed on all visible models. Variables Supported: Z (Height), Intensity, Number of Points, Point Density, Alpha Statistics calculated for each grid cell: Minimum, Maximum, Mean, Range , Deviation, Slope, Aspect Statistical Display Options: Continuous Color Band (Blue to Red), Earth Tones (13 segments no ramp), Color Wheel, User customizable Actions : Export, cut, or decimate by statistical bands. Save GeoTIFFs of either statistical values or color values. Save/load statistical profiles. Grid Statistics User Interface:
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The use of Grid Statistics breaks down into a few basic operations: Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Step 6: Define a reference grid. Select a variable and a statistic to calculate. Calculate Define and/or select a visualization scheme for the statistical results. Act upon the results by exporting, cutting, cropping, or decimating based on the statistical results Retain configuration settings if desired.
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The variables/statistics combinations currently available are as follows: Variable Statistics Available for Calculation Alpha Aspect, Minimum, Maximum, Mean, Range, Slope, Deviation Density Density (measured in points per square unit of the model) for each grid cell Intensity Aspect, Minimum, Maximum, Mean, Range, Slope, Deviation Number of Points Number of points per user-defined grid cell
Z (Height) Aspect, Minimum, Maximum, Mean, Range, Slope, Deviation
Notes Alpha is a user set 8 bit value. Units are the same as the model.
Simple point count. Cells with zero points are included in the calculation.
The available statistics are defined as follows: Statistic Definition Aspect Aspect is a weighted average orientation of each grid cell represented in degrees clockwise from North. To calculate the aspect orientation, QTM first calculates a mean value of the variable (e.g., Z) in each cell. It then establishes a perpendicular normal vector to each of the 8 "neighbor" cells and creates a weighted average normal vector for each cell. Aspect is the horizontal orientation of this weighted average normal vector. Minimum The minimum value of that variable in a given grid cell. Maximum The maximum value of that variable in a given grid cell. Mean The sum of the variable values in a grid cell divided by the number of points in that grid cell. Range The difference between the highest and lowest values of a given variable in each grid cell. Slope Slope is a weighted average orientation represented in degrees up from horizontal. To calculate the slope angle, QTM first calculates a mean value of the variable (e.g., Z) in each cell. It then establishes a normal vector to each of the 8 "neighbor" cells and creates a weighted average normal vector for each cell. Slope is the vertical angle component of this weighted average normal vector. Deviation is calculated for each grid cell by the following formula: SQRT((?(xi -m)2)/N) Deviation (where xi is a variable sample, m is the sample mean for that grid cell, and N is the number of samples. The summation is from i = 1 to i = N) Choosing variables and statistics in the "Calculate Statistics" portion of the window:
9.5.3
Grid Stats-Calculate
Once the appropriate grid spacing, variable, and statistic has been selected, click the "Calculate Metrics" button to perform the calculation. The status bar will progress to the right and stop when completed. The
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status bar will remain visible even when the calculation is complete. The "Minimum" and "Maximum" windows will be populated with the minimum and maximum values for the specified calculation. Pressing the "Calculate Metrics" button to perform specified calculation:
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9.5.6
Interface showing right clicking in the color palette to act upon a statistical band of data:
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9.5.7
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tool enables the creation of custom, interactive, 3D Grid References Graphics (GRG's), that, in conjunction with QT Modeler's Imagery Overlay tools, Marker Tagging, Analysis Tools (e.g., Line of Sight, HLZ, Slope/ Mobility), Google Earth Synchronization, and flexible export tools (e.g., PowerPoint, GeoTIFF, KML, SHP etc.) create opportunities to create and interact with GRG's, both in 3D and 2D. Instructions:
Before creating custom grid lines, it is worth considering a few things regarding your desired final product, the amount of time available, and the models currently loaded. Some things to consider: The grid will always be oriented North up with no rotation. The grid will always begin in the nearest spacing increment in the user's coordinate system. For example, if the user specifies a 1000 meter grid, Quick Terrain Modeler will start the grid on X and Y coordinates that are an even multiple of 1000 meters. Very dense grids (e.g., 25m) are only useful when zoomed in. Therefore, if a dense grid is required, consider zooming in to the area of interest and checking the "Crop to Visible Area" check box to limit grid creation. This will also make grid creation faster. Generating a grid on point clouds will take longer than on a surface model. Choose a grid color by clicking the "Select Color" button, then choosing a color from the "Color" window. There are four reference frames to choose from: Geodetic: This will result in a Latitude/Longitude coordinate being displayed at the bottom right and the grid being labeled in angular (i.e., degrees, minutes, seconds) increments. UTM: This will result in a UTM grid labeled in increments of meters in Easting and Northing. MGRS: This will result in an MGRS grid with labeling in MGRS grid coordinates. Native: If data is in any other coordinate system (e.g., State Plane), QT Modeler will work with the native coordinates and framework of that particular coordinate system. Generic: Generic grid lines will generate north oriented grid lines of a user set spacing. Generic grid lines will be labeled with an MGRS coordinate at the lower left (i.e., southwest) corner and a grid line every N meters, where N is the user-defined grid spacing. Generic grid "cells" will be labeled A - Z on the vertical axis and 1 -N on the horizontal axis.
Things to Consider Before you Start (Size and Spacing of Grid, Intended Purpose)
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Once the reference frame is selected, choose the spacing and units of the grid lines. Grid lines can be generated in linear units of meters, kilometers, or nautical miles, or angular units of degrees, minutes, and seconds. Choose to display major, minor, and/or interior tick marks. If a very dense grid is required, it may be useful to zoom to a relatively small area of interest, check the "Crop to Visible Area" check box, and create a small, dense grid over an area of interest. For example, when creating a GRG, it may be more useful to grid a relatively small area, and not clutter the surrounding area with unnecessary grid lines. Furthermore, dense grids could take considerably more time to generate and obscure terrain features when zoomed out. Some experimentation may be required, as this could be a very subjective choice. The last step in generating grid lines is to check the "Show Grid" check box and click "Generate". Please note that grid lines can be removed by unchecking "Show Grid" and clicking "Generate" again. Grid Lines can be exported as DXF, KML, or shapefile. Choose Export Model from the Export Menu. Select the GridLines model and export either as "AutoCAD ASCII DXF", "KML", or as "ESRI Shape File". When exported as a shape file, each horizontal and vertical grid line will be exported as a separate, sampled, 3D line feature. Creating GRG's may also require or be complemented by QT Modeler's Imagery Overlay tools, Marker Tagging, Analysis Tools (e.g., Line of Sight, HLZ, Slope/Mobility), Google Earth Synchronization, and flexible export tools (e.g., PowerPoint, GeoTIFF, KML, SHP etc.).
Tick Marks
Creating the Grid: Check "Show Grid" and Click the "Generate" Button
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Grid lines can be turned on and off by selecting Show/Hide from the Display menu. Select Show/Hide Models. Unselect the model called GridLines. Grid lines can be permanently removed by selecting Remove Models from the File menu. Select the GridLines model and click OK.
9.7
The purpose of real time contour lines is to enable the display of contour lines immediately and to be able to reconfigure them on the fly - without waiting for extensive vector generation processes to run. This visualization is particularly useful for those users that are used to reading topographic maps and contour lines - rather than viewing interactively in 3D. To use real time contour lines: 1. Click the real time contour line button. 2. If contour lines do not immediately appear, right click on the real time contour lines button or go to the Analysis Menu...Generate Contour Lines. 3. Adjust spacing to make the contour lines closer or further apart. Either use the slider or the input window. The Spacing value is the vertical (Z) space between each contour line. The units for spacing will be in the units of the model. E.g., in UTM models, vertical spacing will likely be in meters. 4. Adjust the color by clicking the "Select Color" button and choosing a new color. 5. Note: Real time contours are for display only and can not be exported. To export contour lines as a vector file, you must first generate vector contour lines.
The bottom portion of the contour line interface enables vector generation. In addition, the contour lines become a separate vector model, rather than simply being a rendering tool. You must specify a line spacing, minimum and maximum contour levels, and a sampling level. The spacing (defined in the Real Time contour portion), minimum, and maximum determine the altitudes for which contour lines are generated. The sampling determines the resolution of the contour lines, and is defined in the units of the model. Thus a sampling of "1.0" will generate contour lines at 1 meter resolution in a UTM model, or 1 foot in a US State Plane model. Contour lines will take longer to generate and will require more
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memory as the sampling gets smaller, but will also more closely match smaller model features. It takes much longer to generate contour lines for ungridded QTC point clouds than it does for QTT or DTED models. Contour Lines will be generated as a vector model named "contour", which can then be saved, loaded, or removed as normal for any other QT model. If you intend to export the contour lines as DXF or shapefiles, it is helpful to check the "Consolidate Contour" checkbox. This function minimizes the number of individual line segments in the resulting file. Without checking this box, Quick Terrain Modeler will generate contour lines in the fastest manner possible, but exports may result in an excessive number of lines segments. Contour lines can be turned on and off by selecting Show/Hide from the Display menu. Select Show/Hide Models. Unselect the model called Contour. Contour lines can be permanently removed by selecting Remove Models from the File menu. Select the "Contour" model and click OK. Contour Line repeatability: In order to precisely repeat contour lines on multiple models that may have been created from multiple overlapping data sets, please ensure the following: 1. Build models without rotation. Make sure the "Allow Rotated Grid" box is unchecked on the Import window. 2. Use the same grid sampling for each model. 3. Use the same contour sampling for each model. If these steps are not taken, there may be a slight X-Y variance in the contour lines proportional to the grid sampling and/or the contour sampling. Contour lines can be exported as DXF, KML, or shapefile. Choose Export Model from the Export Menu. Select the "Contour" model and export either as "AutoCAD ASCII DXF" or as "ESRI Shape File". The Generate Contour Lines Window and Example Contour Line Generation.
9.8
Generate Outline
The Generate Outline tool saves and exports the perimeters of surveys as shape files. This tool serves as the basis for evaluating survey coverage. Quick Terrain Modeler will create and save a shape file that represents the total survey coverage. This can be imported into ESRI GIS and other software to compare survey coverage against target survey extents (e.g., county boundary) as well as existing geospatial information. Instructions: Load a model. Choose "Generate Outline" from the Analysis menu. You will see the perimeter outline appear. Choose "Export Model" from the Export menu. Select the model called "Outline" and choose "ESRI Shape File" as the export format. Click "Export". Choose a directory and file name for the exported shape file.
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Instructions:
The Range Ring tool can be accessed in two ways: Go to the Analysis Menu...Generate Range Rings Left Click anywhere in the model to select a center position, the type "R" on the keyboard. The range ring interface will appear and will already have the center position loaded (i.e., the position that you just left clicked on). The center position can be selected in several ways: Using the left click and "R" hot key noted above: Simply left click anywhere in the model and type "R" to call up the range ring interface with the coordinate loaded. From a marker: After placing a marker in the 3D scene, click the "Select Center Position" button. The Coordinate Converter interface will appear. From the "Marker" pull down menu, select the marker that you would like to be the center of the range rings. The coordinates will change to reflect the marker's position. Click "Close". The marker's position will be reflected in the display. From any coordinate: Click the "Select Center Position" button. The Coordinate Converter interface will appear. Either type a coordinate into the appropriate input window, cut and paste, or move your cursor in the scene and type "P". Click Close. Checking "Add Crosshairs at Center" will place a small crosshair of the same color as the vector model at the center of the model.
There are two ways to display range rings: Z sampled from Model: Choosing this option will create "Terrain Hugging" range rings. The range rings
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will sample the elevations of the model and create true 3D sampled vectors. Flat Z: Choosing Flat Z creates range rings by averaging the elevation values of each ring and assigning the ring that elevation. If you create multiple concentric rings, each ring gets its own average elevation value assigned.
Export Options
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demonstrate survey quality metrics to customers (e.g., FEMA LiDAR Specifications for Flood Hazard Mapping). The point query utility examines a list of points (this list must be in ASCII text format), compares the elevation of the points to elevations in a loaded model, and exports a custom report of the results. The steps to perform this analysis are as follows: 1. Load or create a model against which you wish to compare the ground truth (or other) points. The Point Query Utility works on gridded surface models (QTT) as well as ungridded point clouds (QTC). Note: If the Point Query Utility is used on a .QTT gridded surface model, the query result is simply the elevation value at each X-Y point in the surface model. If the Point Query Utility is used on a .QTC point cloud, Quick Terrain Modeler will locally TIN (Triangular Irregular Network) the surface to establish a surface value against which to query for an elevation value (since it is highly unlikely for the X-Y value in the point query to coincide with an actual point). Quick Terrain Modeler will not render the local TIN, it will only calculate the TIN values mathematically. Thus, the elevation value returned by sampling the .QTC model is the result of sampling the specific TIN triangle associated with the X-Y value. This TINing methodology is in compliance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards for establishing RMSE and quality control of LiDAR surveys. 2. Go to the Analysis menu, select "Point Query Utility..." from the menu. The ASCII Point Query window will appear. 3. Select the model to query in the top pulldown menu. The user may specify a specific individual model, or if multiple models are loaded, users can select "All Models". Selecting "All Models" will perform the query on all loaded models. In areas where multiple models overlap and the user has chosen "All Models", the Point Query Utility will return the highest elevation value in that specific XY location. 4. Select the Input File. The input file can either be a user-created list of ground truthing points, XYZ values from another model, or any other ASCII data. At a minimum, the input file must be in an ASCII columnar format and contain a column for XY locations (in the same coordinate system as the model being queried) which need to be queried. The Point Query Utility can adapt to a variety of formats. Once selected, a sample of the input file text can be previewed in the "Sample Text from File" window. 5. Configure the format for the input file. Specify the appropriate coordinate system. If the data is not in UTM or Lat/Long, choose Cartesian. Specify the number of header rows (if any). Specify the column numbers for Point ID, X (Easting), Y (Northing), Z (Altitude). Specify a delimiter (e.g., comma) if necessary. 6. Select Options: Users can create markers at the location of the input points to visually inspect where the ground truth points are in the model. Users can also choose to open a text editor upon report completion. 7. Configure the format for the output file. The output file will be an ASCII formatted text file with a customized column structure. Users must specify whether to use (by checking the checkbox) and if so, specify a desired column for exporting the following parameters: X - The X (Easting) position of the queried point. Y - The Y (Northing) position of the queried point. Z1 (Input) - The source elevation value of the input data set. Z2 (Output) - The measured elevation value of the queried model. Delta Z - The difference in elevation of input and output (Delta Z = Z2 - Z1). Point ID - The name associated with each point. If the Point ID is specified in the input file, the Point Query Utility will reuse the same Point ID's. If the Point ID is not specified in the input file, but the user would like Point ID's to be created in the output file, simply check the box and specify a column. QT Modeler will create Point ID's as follows: Sample 1, Sample 2, Sample 3, etc.
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Include Statistics - Includes Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Z Bias. These will be calculated for the entire data set and written as header lines in the output file. Retain Unused Input Columns - Checking this box will append all unused columns to the end of each point record row. The ASCII Point Query Window:
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AGL Analyst
Because many users would rather work with relative, Above Ground Level (AGL) heights rather than absolute elevations, Quick Terrain Modeler has a powerful tool called AGL (Above Ground Level) Analyst. Some of the most common reasons for wanting to work in AGL space are to measure tree and roof heights, to measure the height of potential vertical obstructions (VOs), and to selectively remove vegetation and canopy from a point cloud, thus enabling the user to see and identify objects under foliage or other obstructions. This tool calculates and assigns an AGL elevation value, in addition to an absolute elevation value, to every point in a point cloud or every vertex in a surface model. The simple steps of AGL Analyst are as follows: 1. Calculate AGL heights of every point either by comparing to a bare earth model (if available) or by quickly estimating a ground surface. Go to AGL - Ground Estimate 2. Once AGL Values are calculated, apply a color scheme based on AGL heights, rather than absolute heights. Go to AGL - Visualization 3. Exploit the AGL model by querying points for their AGL heights, clipping data based on height AGL (i.e., temporarily removing points based on their heights above ground), and swapping the AGL elevation values with the absolute elevation values, and displaying an AGL height legend. Go to AGL Exploitation 4. Export products such as the 3D ground estimate, an ASCII file of the AGL points, and point clouds edited by AGL values. Go to AGL - Export Products
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Custom Color Palette for AGL Results Display: If a user desires custom coloration to isolate bands of AGL values (e.g., find all points above 5 meters AGL), a custom palette is required. 1) Choose "Blank Palette" from the Custom Palette pull down menu. 2) Set range of interest to capture the appropriate range of AGL values. 3) Add break points at specific AGL values. 4) Set colors in the AGL bands by right clicking in the band and choosing "Set Color". 5) Apply Vertex Colors. 6) If desired, save the custom palette settings and return to them later by clicking the "Save Palette" and "Load Palette" buttons.
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Related Topics: AGL Analyst Overview, AGL Visualization, AGL Exploitation, AGL Export Products, Alpha Filtering
Exploitation Examples: The figure on the left shows buildings that are visible once the tree canopy was removed by AGL height. The figure on the right shows the AGL height of a radio tower (14.1 m) during a point interrogation.
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Related Topics: AGL Analyst Overview, AGL Visualization, AGL Exploitation, AGL Export Products, Alpha Filtering
Example showing the export of points having an AGL value of 3.5m or greater. Note that only the roof tops and tree points (blue) will be exported:
Related Topics: AGL Analyst Overview, AGL Visualization, AGL Exploitation, AGL Export Products, Alpha Filtering
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9.16
Area Statistics
Very Similar to the view model statistics function. The difference is that the Quick Terrain Modeler will generate statistics about a defined area. The user must first define an area with either the Select or Select Polygon tool. Once the area is defined, the user simply selects this item from the menu and receives detailed information about the selected area. The histogram pulldown menu allows the user to select among the various point level parameters for its associated histogram (primarily for QTA data). Two valuable statistics for point cloud areas are as follows: Scale: Scale is the average spacing between points in the point cloud. A scale value of 1.2 in a point cloud measured in meters would indicate an average spacing between points of 1.2 meters. This is also referred to as "posting". Density: Density is the number of points per square unit. If the model is measured in meters, a value of 1.8 would indicate that, on average, there were 1.8 points per square meter. Please note a QTA point cloud model will have a pulldown menu to select between different histograms. An area selection and the associated Area Information window:
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9.18
Model Manager
Model Manager is a tool that displays all loaded models, the model type, the number of points, the scale (i.e., average horizontal point spacing for point clouds, DEM resolution for surface models.DEM's) It is found in the Analysis menu. Highlighting models in the list will perform the same function as show/hide models. Models can be sorted by model names or by point count.
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9.19
Model Statistics
Users can obtain information and statistics on the currently loaded models by selecting Model Statistics from the Analysis menu or by clicking on the View Model Statistics button. This will open a window listing the total number of points, model extents in X, Y, and Z, the model origin in Geodetic/UTM space, the model size and type, and a histogram of all the Z values and/or point attributes in the model. The top of the window will contain a drop-down list allowing you to select for which model to display statistics. If multiple models are loaded one scale will be selected for all model histograms to make comparisons direct. Some valuable statistics for point clouds are as follows: Scale: Scale is the average spacing between points in the point cloud. A scale value of 1.2 in a point cloud measured in meters would indicate an average spacing between points of 1.2 meters. This is also referred to as "posting" Density: Density is the number of points per square unit. If the model is measured in meters, a value of 1.8 would indicate that, on average, there were 1.8 points per square meter. Maximum Model Quantization Error: As Quick Terrain Modeler samples and stores values, there may be some loss to model precision. Maximum Model Quantization Error is the maximum possible impact to model precision that has been introduced by digitizing X, Y, and Z values. This quantization error will be proportional to the range of values in the X, Y, and Z axes. Larger ranges will have larger quantization errors. Compressing QTC models will increase the quantization error. Important Note: Maximum Model Quantization Error is not the accuracy of the model data. Model accuracy is dependent solely upon the accuracy of original survey data, and will be minimally impacted by compressing model data. Do not use "Maximum Model Quantization Error" as an accuracy basis for making critical spatial decisions (e.g., targeting, flight planning, etc.). When working with QTA Models, the a histogram for all point attributes can be displayed by selecting the specific attribute from the "Histogram" pull-down menu.
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9.20
Volume Calculations
The volume calculation tool enables the user to perform very accurate and fast calculations regarding the volume of objects or terrain in the model. It can also be used in conjunction with other models to calculate the difference in volume between the same areas of two different models (i.e., volume change analysis). In order to use the tool, the user must: First define a subset of the model for which the volume calculation is needed. This selection can be performed with either the Select or Select Polygon tool. Once the area has been defined, the user must decide what to compare the volume to in the Model 2 field. The choices are: 1. Compare to a reference plane. This would be useful of excavation is required to a known level plane (e.g., a new roadbed). The user can select this as "Model 2" in the Volume Calculation window. If the user selects a reference plane, the height (altitude) of the plane must be input into the "Reference" window. In the example below, the input Reference was simply the altitude of the surface of the water, 172 meters. 2. Compare to another model. This model must be loaded into the Quick Terrain Modeler prior to performing the calculation. It may be useful to compare to other models for mining, forestry and geology applications. Once the comparison has been defined as above, the user must then choose how to measure the comparison. The choices are as follows: 1. Signed Delta Volume: Calculates the net change in volume in the defined area. For example, if 100 cubic meters was removed in one place and 100 cubic meters was added in another place, the signed delta volume would be zero. 2. Unsigned Delta Volume: Calculates the absolute values of the change in volume in the defined area. For example, if 100 cubic meters was removed in one place and 100 cubic meters was added in another place, the signed delta volume would be 200 cubic meters. 3. Volume of 1 Above 2: Simply the amount of volume of Model 1 above Model 2 (or Reference Plane). 4. Volume of 2 Above 1: Simply the amount of volume of Model 2 above Model 1 (or Reference Plane). The resulting volume calculation will be in the model's units. For example, if the model is built in feet, the result will be in cubic feet. If the model is built in meters, the result will be in cubic meters. Example: Volume Calculation of hill based on comparison to a flat plane at an elevation of 172 meters.
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Filtering
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To display all points, uncheck all the clipping boxes. Clipping is a temporary operation until the "Crop Model" button is pressed. "Crop Model" permanently deletes all points/vertices that have been visually clipped from the display. Caution: There is no "Undo" function, so use "Crop Model" with care. Set Clipping Plane Window:
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clicking the Set Value 1 button. The breakline can also be moved by left clicking and dragging the line left and right. 5. The palette and histogram can be right clicked for added customization. Right click to add or remove additional breaklines to create more filter classes. This context menu will also allow you to show/hide (e.g., filter) and/or color the right clicked band. NOTE: the hatched pattern means the band is hidden (filtered). 6. OPTIONAL, the histogram can be export by clicking the Export Histogram Button 7. OPTIONAL, the Crop Model button can be pushed to permanently remove the filtered points. NOTE: the original source data will remain unchanged. The crop is only permanent within the current Quick Terrain Modeler session. If needed, the original source data can be saved or exported over, but this is generally NOT RECOMMENDED.
Figure 1. QTA Continuous Filtering window is set to color every point with an intensity value (from LAS) less than 30 as red, and filter out all points with an intensity value greater than 30.
Figure 2. QTA Continuous Filtering window is set to filter the points outside a defined band of AGL (Above Ground Level) values, calculated by the AGL Analyst Tool. In this example, points with an AGL of between 5 and 10 meters above the ground are green, while points below 5 and above 10 are filtered out.
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Instructions: Open a model. From the "Analysis" menu, select "Set Water Level". The "Set Water Properties" Window will appear. Select your desired water level by using the Water Level slider. Select your desired water opacity by using the Water Opacity slider or by entering a numeric value. Decide whether to clip the resultant model (i.e., eliminate areas above or below a certain threshold.) The water level will rise and fall in real time as you move the slider. Click "OK" The terrain will show the simulated rise in water level Once the desired water level is achieved, the user may draw a contour line representing everywhere the "water" hits the model. To do this, simply click the contour button. The contour line will be drawn. Once drawn, the contour line can be exported to an Auto CAD .dxf file. using the export tool. Example: The user needs to know what impact a flood stage at 173 meters has on the Serpent Mound Model. The "Set Water Properties" Tool shows the user-input water elevation of 173 meters and the resulting impact on the terrain. The user can now press the "Contour" button to draw a contour around the flooded area:
In addition, the user can perform a volume and/or area calculation on impacted regions by selecting an area with either the Select Polygon or the Select Rectangle tool, then clicking the volume and/or area calculation button. The volume calculation represents the volume of "water" above the surface of the model, below the surface of the "water", and bounded in X and Y by the selection rectangle or polygon. The area calculation represents the X-Y area occupied by "water" in the simulated flood. Both results will be in the units of the model (e.g., for a model in meters, volume results will be in cubic meters and area results will be in square meters). Note that water level will appear on the profile window (bottom).
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10
10.1
Menu - Display
Display - Show/Hide
Show/Hide offers the user many options for turning specific display items on and off.
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10.2
Display - Options
The Display Options menu provides access to useful option settings.
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Attach the 3D stereo display to the computer. Restart QT Modeler. In Display > Options, the selection for "Use 3D Stereo Display" should no longer be grayed out.
There are two adjustments possible to optimize the 3D Stereo output: Separation: Establishes a multiplier for the distance that separates the left and right eye viewing positions. The baseline eye separation is 1. Use the slider to increase eye separation by multiplying by a factor greater than 1 (maximum = 2) or decrease separation by adjusting to a separation multiplier less than 1 (smallest multiplier = 0.1). See diagram below. Parallax: Changes the parallax angle by multiplying the baseline parallax angle by the multiplier represented in the slider bar. It can be helpful also to think of this as moving the focus nearer/farther to the observer, thus impacting the parallax angle of the two "eyes" shown in the diagram below. Maximum = 2, minimum = -2.
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while the red arrows represent the direction from the camera to the model center. Thus, aligning the green arrows with the red will point the camera at the model center. Once set, this option will persist even after you close and restart the Quick Terrain Modeler.
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10.3
Display - Settings
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10.3.2 DisplaySettingsMensurationOptions
Display > Settings > Mensuration Settings (Also accessed by pressing the "Options" button in the mensuration data window after a line has been placed The appearance of the mensuration line can be changed significantly as desired. The items that can be changed on the mensuration line are: 1. Real Time Display (Readout): The real time readout on the end of the line can display one of the following: 3D: displays the distance in 3 dimensions (XYZ distance), taking elevation change into account when calculating the distance 2D: calculates and displays the distance in 2 dimensions (XY distance only). Z: calculates and displays only the change in elevation from the beginning of the line to the cursor position. Slope: The slope between the two end points of the line. This is not an average slope calculation. It is simply point to point. Az: Displays the azimuth (heading) in degrees of the line from start to end. Combo: Displays 3D distance, slope, and azimuth together. Good for documenting Helicopter Landing Zones (HLZ). None - no display. 2. Real Time Display (Calculation Methodology): From Start - calculates the distance/Z/Slope/Azimuth chosen above from the start to the end of a multi-segmented line, disregarding any interim vertices/nodes in the line. Literally from the start point to the end point. Cumulative: calculates the distance/Z/Slope/Azimuth chosen above from the start to the end of a multi segmented line - following the track of any interim vertices/nodes in the line. Useful to think of this as the "walking route" along the entire measurement line. From Last Point - calculates either the 3D, 2D, or Z change only from the last vertex/node of a
multi segmented line.
3. Line Height: Only applicable to "floating" line. Sets the height above the terrain/point cloud that the measurement line will be displayed. 4. Line Color: Click the line color button to change the color of the measurement line. 5. Line Display: Floating: Mensuration line connects line nodes with a single, straight line. Terrain Hugging: Mensuration line is sampled at roughly the data resolution, thus creating a line that hugs the terrain. Both: Display both floating and terrain hugging at the same time.
Images show the Mensuration Options Interface and terrain hugging/floating mensuration lines.
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10.5
10.6
Note that when the coordinates displayed in the status bar are no longer the native coordinates of the model, the status bar will be colored yellow. In the example below, the range to the model at the point under the cursor is 177.87 meters.
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Toggle Clouds/Surface
Toggles between point cloud and surface models. This function can toggle a gridded surface model to a point cloud, but not vice versa.
10.8
Autocolor Model
Autocolor Model allows the user to assign a unique base model color to every loaded model. This is a useful tool if many models are loaded and the user needs to distinguish between them. This can be particularly useful when evaluating multiple overlapping point clouds. Autocoloration can be quickly removed by the menu selection "Remove Model Colors" Note that model colors will be reflected in the terrain profile window (i.e, each profile will take the color of the respective model). Example: Four adjacent tiles of point cloud data with no model coloration:
Example: The same four adjacent tiles of point cloud data with model autocoloration and Show Model Names/Outlines Activated:
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3. Set Line Style: Current choices are solid, dashed, dotted, dash-dot, and mensuration. 4. Set Line Color: Click the Set Color button and choose a color from the palette. 5. Choose an end style: Currently there is only a choice to apply arrows to either end. 6. Choose a Line Size: Alters the thickness of the vector line. 7. Add a caption by checking the "Display Caption" box, editing caption text, and choosing how/where the caption should be displayed. 8. Set Defaults: Applied current choices to all future vectors placed in the model. 9. Sample Z from Models will sample a Z value from the loaded model at each vertex of a vector. These sampled vectors can subsequently be exported as a 3D shapefile.
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3. NOTE: there must be an attribute or data loaded for the slider bars to change opacity. For example, if the vertex channel of the model is empty, the vertex color slider bar will have no effect on the coloration. 4. NOTE: most of these variables are additive so that, in some combinations, the display of an individual point may appear black. If this occurs, change the color band of the original attribute in a place such as Analysis > QTA Attribute Analysis > Color By QTA Attribute
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11.1
Menu - Control
Edit Camera Settings
The camera configuration - including position, orientation, and Field of View (FOV) may be altered directly by selecting Edit Camera Settings from the Control menu. This allows the user to enter values numerically or with sliders rather than by graphically moving about the model.
11.2
Face Center
This command forces the display to face the center of the model, regardless of its current orientation. It is helpful to quickly reorient towards the center.
11.3
Go to Point
The "Go to Point" function performs the same function as the coordinate conversion utility which is as follows: Provides a simple way to convert a single point between five coordinate systems - UTM, Geodetic (decimal degrees), Geodetic (Degrees/minutes), Geodetic (degrees/minutes/seconds), and Military Grid Reference System (MGRS). Allows the user to quickly zoom to the location specified in the interface or to pre-placed markers. Create markers in specific locations. Convert existing marker positions between the five coordinate systems mentioned above. Determine elevation values for specific X-Y positions. Converting Point Coordinates To convert the coordinates of a single position, there are three ways to populate the coordinate converter interface: Manually: To manually go to a specific location, simply type in the coordinates in one of the five available coordinate system input fields. Regardless of which coordinate system is entered, all five will be immediately updated to the new position. From a Marker: If markers are loaded, the user can select a marker from the "Marker" pull down menu. Once a marker is selected, the position of the marker will be populated in the five coordinate systems. From a Position in the model: To convert the coordinates of any position in the model, simply point the cursor to that position, left click the mouse, and type "P" on the keyboard. The position under
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the cursor will be populated in all five coordinate systems. Entering Altitude The default position of the "Altitude" field is set to AGL (Above Ground Level) with a value of zero. This means that the position is resting on the surface of the model. To set a specific altitude, either set the AGL value to a nonzero number (e.g., to simulate a planned observation tower), or set an absolute elevation value. Creating Markers Once a position has been entered either manually (by typing the position into one of the input fields) or from a position in the model (by left clicking on a model position and typing "P"), the user can create a marker in that position. The user must manually type a marker name in the marker name field (to the right of the "Create Marker Named..." button). A marker will appear. Markers can be edited, saved, and exported. Furthermore, markers of locations can be sent to users of the Quick Terrain Modeler or the free Quick Terrain Reader to share positional information. Please note that markers also form the basis of line of sight analysis. Zooming to a Point or Marker Once a position has been entered in the steps above, a user can zoom to that location in one of two ways: "Look Here": This function brings the location (or marker) to the center of the screen, but using the current camera position. This operation is equivalent to rotating one's head to put an object in the center of the field of view. The head (camera) is rotated (camera heading) and/or tilted (camera pitch), but the head (camera) stays in the same position. For this reason, Zoom level is irrelevant with respect to "Look Here". To "Look" at a point, simply enter the position manually or by typing "P", then click "Look Here". To "Look" at a marker, simply select the appropriate marker from the pull down menu and click "Look Here" "Go Here": This function reorients the model so the user is looking straight down (nadir view) on the position or marker. In contrast to the "Look Here" function, the "Go Here" function moves the camera position, points it straight down at the marker, and orients the model north-up. The Zoom Level is important when using the "Go Here" function, as it will determine how closely the user is zoomed in when the "Go Here" button is pressed "Zoom Level": Zoom Level determines how closely the user will be zoomed in when using the "Go Here" function. The zoom level is irrelevant when using the "Look Here" function. Using Coordinate Conversion Utility with "Cartesian" Coordinates At this time, the Quick Terrain Modeler can not convert between Cartesian coordinates and the five coordinate systems noted above. The functionality of "Look Here", "Go Here", and marker creation still apply.
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11.4
Open Point Viewing from the Control Menu or Analysis > Visibility Analysis Menu Select a marker to "Go To" and "Look At".
The "Go To" marker is the marker from which the viewer's perspective will originate (i.e., the start point). The "Look At" marker is the marker to which the view will be directed (i.e., the end point).
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The viewing perspective will change to being "on top of" the marker and looking at the "Look At" marker. As long as the "Point to Point Viewing" interface is open, the control mode will be Flight Mode. Therefore, to rotate around the "start" marker, simply left click and drag the mouse. To move forward, hold down the right mouse button. It may be useful to adjust heights of both the observer and target in the scene. Simply slide the sliders or type in a new height value in the text input window. You will need to click "Show Me" again to reset the view. changing the target height will not impact the view, but changing the observer height will.
The Vector Info section will display the distance (both air and ground), change in elevation, inclination, and azimuth between the observer and the target.
Use the radio buttons to show the Line of Sight (LOS) vectors between the observer and the target ("selected") or between the observer and every other marker in the scene ("All"). Note that these vectors may not be visible from the original perspective after clicking "Show Me". Click "View Profile" to call up the terrain profile analysis window and "refresh list" to update list of available markers (if new markers were placed after opening the Point to Point LOS window).
11.5
Reset Viewer
Reset viewer is a helpful command if you get disoriented when navigating through a large model and just need to start over. Disorientation can occur if significant changes are made to lighting, clipping planes, model positions, alpha filtering, and/or height scales. The reset viewer function performs the following functions: Zooms the display to the full extents of the loaded model(s). Resets Lighting intensity (both ambient and direct) and lighting direction to the default settings. Resets height scale to 1. Resets elevation clipping planes. Resets alpha filtering. Turns all loaded models back on, even if they have been turned off in the show/hide models function.
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Note, simply zooming to the extents of the model without resetting the parameters above can be achieved by pressing the reset display button.
11.6
Control Mode
The Quick Terrain Modeler provides six modes in which you can interact with your models: Independent Rotation, Model mode, Flight mode, Terrain Following mode, Constant Altitude mode, and Targeted Point mode. The default mode is Model mode, but you may change the mode at any time using the Control menu. The last-used mode will be remembered even after you close and restart the Quick Terrain Modeler. While you manipulate the Modeler in any mode, it will adjust the refinement level at which it displays the model to maintain the current target frame rate - which defaults to 8 frames per second. This value may be altered by selecting Set Frame rate from the Control...Options menu. In all modes except Model Mode collision detection will be enforced unless you disable it in the Options menu. Pressing the "Space bar" will always rotate the camera to face the center of the model, while selecting Reset Viewer from the Commands menu will return the camera to its initial position and orientation. Pressing "T" (for Transport) will automatically move the camera to the position on the surface of the model indicated by the current mouse position. In all modes you may change the lighting angle by holding down the "Ctrl" key and the Right mouse button and dragging the mouse. If you have selected Show Light from the Options menu, you will be provided with a graphical indication of the light direction while you change the lighting angle.
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Holding down the left mouse button and dragging the mouse will rotate the model in space (the same may be accomplished using the arrow keys). Holding down the right button and dragging will translate the model's position in space. Holding down both buttons and dragging will zoom in and out (the same may be accomplished using "Home" and "End" on the keyboard, or using the mouse-wheel on wheel-mice).
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11.7
Display Mode
Quick Terrain Modeler users can select a 2-D display mode as well as the normal 3-D display mode. Some useful notes are as follows: In 2-D mode, the model will always stay oriented North-South. In 2-D mode, the user can zoom and pan, but can not rotate or tilt. Display of shape files is sometimes more effective in 2-D mode. If shape files extend beyond the 3-D model surface, they may not be visible when in 3-D mode (e.g., they may "fall off" the edges of a model since 2-D shape files have no inherent elevation values). In 2-D mode, Quick Terrain Modeler will "push" vectors to the top of the display. 2-D shape files are difficult to project into 3-D space, thus they may weave in and out of the 3-D surface, limiting visibility in 3-D mode. After loading 2D vectors into a 3D model, toggling to 2D mode may be the best way to visualize the entire shape files.
11.8
Control - Options
There are two Control options - Set Framerate and Set Moving Speed.
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11.9
Load View/Position
Loads Presaved position files (.qtv files previously saved by user).
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12.1
Menu - Markers
Place Marker
Provides the same functionality as the Place Marker Pin button . The user can add custom labeled and colored markers to indicate positions of important features and to create Line-of-Sight maps. To place a marker, the user can click on the "Place Marker Pin" button in the toolbar, left-clicking and dragging the mouse on the model to the desired position. The user can then edit markers positions, names, sizes and colors by selecting Edit Marker, Set Marker Size and Show Labels from the Markers menu. Markers can also be placed by holding down "M" on the keyboard and left clicking on the location where a marker needs to be placed. NOTE: Markers will NOT be automatically saved when saving a model. Markers must be saved separately in the Markers pull-down menu and loaded as a Tile Set later.
12.2
Create Marker
Similar to the place marker functionality, but the user selects all parameters about the marker prior to placing it in the model. This tool is useful if the user knows precisely where markers need to be placed.
12.3
Create at Point
The "Create at Point" function performs the same function as the coordinate conversion utility which is as follows: Provides a simple way to convert a single point between five coordinate systems - UTM, Geodetic (decimal degrees), Geodetic (Degrees/minutes), Geodetic (degrees/minutes/seconds), and Military Grid Reference System (MGRS). Allows the user to quickly zoom to the location specified in the interface or to pre-placed markers. Create markers in specific locations. Convert existing marker positions between the five coordinate systems mentioned above. Determine elevation values for specific X-Y positions. Converting Point Coordinates To convert the coordinates of a single position, there are three ways to populate the coordinate converter interface:
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Manually: To manually go to a specific location, simply type in the coordinates in one of the five available coordinate system input fields. Regardless of which coordinate system is entered, all five will be immediately updated to the new position. From a Marker: If markers are loaded, the user can select a marker from the "Marker" pull down menu. Once a marker is selected, the position of the marker will be populated in the five coordinate systems. From a Position in the model: To convert the coordinates of any position in the model, simply point the cursor to that position, left click the mouse, and type "P" on the keyboard. The position under the cursor will be populated in all five coordinate systems. Entering Altitude The default position of the "Altitude" field is set to AGL (Above Ground Level) with a value of zero. This means that the position is resting on the surface of the model. To set a specific altitude, either set the AGL value to a nonzero number (e.g., to simulate a planned observation tower), or set an absolute elevation value. Creating Markers Once a position has been entered either manually (by typing the position into one of the input fields) or from a position in the model (by left clicking on a model position and typing "P"), the user can create a marker in that position. The user must manually type a marker name in the marker name field (to the right of the "Create Marker Named..." button). A marker will appear. Markers can be edited, saved, and exported. Furthermore, markers of locations can be sent to users of the Quick Terrain Modeler or the free Quick Terrain Reader to share positional information. Please note that markers also form the basis of line of sight analysis. Zooming to a Point or Marker Once a position has been entered in the steps above, a user can zoom to that location in one of two ways: "Look Here": This function brings the location (or marker) to the center of the screen, but using the current camera position. This operation is equivalent to rotating one's head to put an object in the center of the field of view. The head (camera) is rotated (camera heading) and/or tilted (camera pitch), but the head (camera) stays in the same position. For this reason, Zoom level is irrelevant with respect to "Look Here". To "Look" at a point, simply enter the position manually or by typing "P", then click "Look Here". To "Look" at a marker, simply select the appropriate marker from the pull down menu and click "Look Here" "Go Here": This function reorients the model so the user is looking straight down (nadir view) on the position or marker. In contrast to the "Look Here" function, the "Go Here" function moves the camera position, points it straight down at the marker, and orients the model north-up. The Zoom Level is important when using the "Go Here" function, as it will determine how closely the user is zoomed in when the "Go Here" button is pressed "Zoom Level": Zoom Level determines how closely the user will be zoomed in when using the "Go Here" function. The zoom level is irrelevant when using the "Look Here" function. Using Coordinate Conversion Utility with "Cartesian" Coordinates At this time, the Quick Terrain Modeler can not convert between Cartesian coordinates and the five coordinate systems noted above. The functionality of "Look Here", "Go Here", and marker creation still apply.
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12.4
Edit Marker
Allows the user to change any attribute about a marker, including its name, color and position. In addition, the user can attach a sensor model to the marker or attach additional information to a marker through importing from a CSV file. Attaching a sensor model enables a variety of Line of Sight Analyses that may involve sensors at or near the terrain, or may involve sensors very far from the terrain. If a user enters an altitude Above Ground Level (AGL), Quick Terrain Modeler will query the model and reset the altitude value to that distance above the model.
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is defined relative to the sensor, most airborne sensors will have a negative value for elevation. If the user wishes to convert a "grazing angle" to sensor elevation angle, simply insert a negative sign in front of the elevation angle (e.g., 30 degree grazing angle becomes -35 degree sensor elevation angle). Sensor Roll: Roll is defined as degrees clockwise relative to the boresight that starts at the sensor and ends at the marker. Field of View: Horizontal Field of View (FOV): This is defined in degrees of total field horizontal of view centered along the sensor boresight. Vertical Field of View (FOV): This is defined in degrees of total field vertical of view centered along the sensor boresight. Range: Range: Range is defined as the distance from the sensor to the marker along the boresight. The setting of range will likely fall into one of two categories: a.) Sensors which are intended to be mounted on top of the marker (e.g., video surveillance camera, microwave communications antenna): These sensors should have their range set to zero. b.) Sensors that will be relatively far from the markers (e.g., airborne camera, LiDAR sensor, etc.) should have their range set to the distance between the sensor and the marker. Save/Load Sensor Profile: Marker profiles can be saved and reloaded later by simply clicking the "Save" button, naming the file, and "Loading" later. Two potential scenarios: The first (left) shows a potential setup for a surveillance camera that is intended to be mounted "on top of" the marker. The second (right) illustrated a hypothetical airborne sensor that is 10 km from the marker and has a 2 degree field of view. Note the negative elevation value.
12.6
Import Markers
Load Marker Import Markers from ASCII File Import Markers from CSV File Import Markers from KML Import Markers from Shape File
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The examples below show three possible configurations for importing markers. The first shows a configuration that will place the markers at a specific elevation in the terrain. The second configuration interpolated the marker elevation value from the model. The third interprets the elevation value as height Above Ground Level (AGL), used primarily for Line of Sight Analysis.
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12.7
Export Markers
Export Markers to KML Save Markers
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12.8
Remove Markers
Allows the user to remove one or all markers from the display. Simply highlight the markers you wish to eliminate and click "OK". Each marker name will be preceded by the marker ID in order to differentiate identically named markers from each other.
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12.9
Instructions:
For the Inspect Markers capability to work, there must be markers in the scene. Markers can be placed in the scene either by placing markers, creating markers, or importing markers. Some Notes relative to markers: Place Markers by using the marker button or by holding down "M" and left clicking. Markers can also be created from point interrogation (hold down "SHIFT", then left click) or the Go To window. Import markers from ASCII, KML, or shape file (SHP). Markers with attributes can be imported from an ASCII CSV file. Go to the Markers menu and select "Inspect Markers". A spreadsheet-like table will appear.
There are several choices to make regarding visualization of the inspected markers: Look at vs. Go TO: As the user progresses through the list of markers, the view will shift to the next marker. The two choices for the visualization are: Look At: Rotates the model at the current camera position to bring the marker to the center of the view. Go To: Moves the view to directly above the marker (nadir view, i.e., straight down). Sync Google Earth: Google Earth can be a valuable context tool when performing the marker inspection. It can give additional clues for objects like vertical obstructions, presence of water, or other contextual information. Check this box to ensure Google Earth "follows" each marker. NOTE: Google Earth synchronization only works in 32-bit mode. Display only Target: Only displays the marker being inspected. Prevents display of huge numbers of
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loaded markers. Click a column header to sort markers based on a specific attribute. During the inspection process, it may be very beneficial to sort based on a specific attribute (e.g., vertical obstruction height, data density, etc.) to begin the marker inspection process. Since the marker inspection process is a one-by-one procedure, select the first marker to begin the process. Entering the inspector's initials is mandatory. This will serve not only to preserve the identity of the person inspecting the markers, but also the status of marker inspection (i.e., has the marker been inspected or not). Use the "List Local" button to display only markers that overlap the spatial extents of the loaded models. Markers may have been imported from a text file that contains markers for a large area, but only a subset of that area is currently loaded. Advancing to the next uninspected marker advances the marker selection to the next marker in the list that has not been inspected yet. It will skip any markers that have already been inspected. Edit marker values and attributes by clicking in a table "cell" and manually entering the new value. Right clicking on a selected marker or markers will display a context menu offering the following functions: Export: Select KML, SHP, or ASCII Set Color: Change the color of a marker(s) Remove: Delete the marker permanently Find Models: Activates the Find Model/Model Search window and populates the coordinates with the coordinates of the marker. Look At: Rotates the model at the current camera position to bring the marker to the center of the view. Go To: Moves the view to directly above the marker (nadir view, i.e., straight down).
List All vs. List Local: Showing Only the Markers that Correspond to the Loaded Models
Edit Markers
Right Click on a Marker to Report, Remove, Edit, Find Models. Look At, or Go To
The "Inspect Markers" tool, in general, is a tool that treats all markers as part of a single, coherent project. Therefore, the Export and Save functions will save all markers in the list. The "Save
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QT Modeler also contains a similar tool called "Show/Hide Markers". While many functions are similar, the intent of "Inspect Markers" is to progress through the markers one-by-one and determine of the marker is valid, or needs to be edited/removed. The intent of Show/Hide markers is to offer a very flexible tool to display, sort, and edit markers.
Instructions:
For the Show/Hide Markers capability to work, there must be markers in the scene. Markers can be placed in the scene either by placing markers, creating markers, or importing markers. Some Notes relative to markers: Place Markers by using the marker button or by holding down "M" and left clicking. Markers can also be created from point interrogation (hold down "SHIFT", then left click) or the Go To window. Import markers from ASCII, KML, or shape file (SHP). Markers with attributes can be imported from an ASCII CSV file. Go to the Markers menu and select "Show/Hide Markers". A spreadsheet-like table will appear. To show or hide specific markers, simply highlight them in the table. Use "SHIFT" and "CONTROL" as you would normally in Windows to select multiple files. Use the "List Local" button to display only markers that overlap the spatial extents of the loaded models. Markers may have been imported from a text file that contains markers for a large area, but only a subset of that area is currently loaded. Click a column header to sort markers based on a specific attribute. Markers created in QT Modeler will only have the attributes of Marker Name, X, Y, and Z. Markers imported from CSV files may have considerably more attributes.
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Edit marker values and attributes by clicking in a table "cell" and manually entering the new value. Right clicking on a selected marker or markers will display a context menu offering the following functions: Export: Select KML, SHP, or ASCII Set Color: Change the color of a marker(s) Remove: Delete the marker permanently Find Models: Activates the Find Model/Model Search window and populates the coordinates with the coordinates of the marker. Look At: Rotates the model at the current camera position to bring the marker to the center of the view. Go To: Moves the view to directly above the marker (nadir view, i.e., straight down).
Right Click on a Marker to Report, Remove, Edit, Find Models. Look At, or Go To
The show/Hide Markers window contains several useful buttons: Show All: Displays all loaded markers Invert All: Inverts the selected markers with the non-selected markers. Hide All: Hides all markers Advance All: if one marker is selected, advances the visible marker to the next one in the list. If multiple markers are selected, advances each selected marker, thus keeping the number of visible markers constant. QT Modeler also contains a similar tool called "Inspect Markers". While many functions are similar, the intent of "Inspect Markers" is to progress through the markers one-by-one and determine of the marker is valid, or needs to be edited/removed.
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terminology) 3. Multiple Routes become a Mission. 4. Markers, Routes, and Missions can be saved in QTM-specific formats and reloaded and/or shared with others. 5. Markers, Routes, and Missions can be exported in a variety of vector formats (KML, SHP, GPX) either as individual markers, individual routes, or entire missions.
Ultimately, the markers placed in the terrain will either become components of a sequential route (or of multiple routes), or will remain a "standalone" waypoint. Markers can be placed in a variety of ways: Manually one at a time from the marker button. Rapidly by holding down the "M" key and clicking the locations where the markers need to be (this is the easiest and fastest way). Importing from a text file or vector. See Import Markers Helpful hints when placing markers: Use the Marker Options tool to set a naming and numbering scheme. It may be useful to call the markers something more intuitive such as "WP_1" for waypoints. Use the Edit Marker tool to edit names, colors, and other attributes of individual markers. To move a marker, click on the marker button, then place the cursor crosshairs over the marker, then left click and drag to the new location.
Once all the necessary markers are placed, they need to be organized into sequential routes. The steps to do this are as follows: Go to the Markers Menu and select "Define Mission Route" In the Edit Route Interface, the list of available markers will appear in the left column. Click the "Create Route" button. If desired, change the name of the route and the color that the route will be displayed. To move a marker to the "Route List", either double click on it or click "Add All Markers to Route" to move all markers at once. Note that markers will not be removed from the marker list, as they may be needed for other routes or could be used twice in the same route. Ultimately, the route may be exported to a GPS device. Please remember that the route sequence in the GPS and all exported vector products will go from the top of the list to the bottom of the list. Use the "Move Up" and "Move Down" buttons to change the order of the markers and "Remove" to remove a marker from the route altogether.
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Use the "Reverse Order" and "Rename" functions to reset the naming/numbering scheme. If the goal is to use a naming scheme (e.g., "CP" for check point) that counts down to the target location, type "CP" Any unused markers will be exported as a "waypoint" when exporting to GPX. If multiple routes are desired, simply "Create Route" and begin assembling the new route from the same list of markers. Note: Markers can be used in more than one route (e.g., in alternate or ingress/egress routes) As markers are being placed into routes, colored lines will appear to indicate the route and the relationship of the markers in the sequence. Use the "Show/Hide Markers" tool to select which markers will be visible in QT Modeler, as well as which one will be visible when you export to GPS. Note that any markers associated with a route will be exported as part of the route. However, any markers that are not visible will not be exported as a labeled route point. Single Route - resetting numbering/sequence to count down to destination:
Multiple Routes:
To view information about the route, click "View As Mensuration". The initial screen will give information about route distances and changes in elevation, etc. Clicking on "Examine Height Profile" will give a terrain profile along the planned route.
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Selecting "Save Mission" from the Markers menu will save all markers, routes, and waypoints in a single QMZ file. This file can be shared and/or reloaded using the "Load Mission" command in the Marker Menu. Please note that users of the free Quick Terrain Reader will be able to load missions if they are saved in QT Modeler's format. Users can download the free reader from here: Quick Terrain Reader Download Missions (collections of markers, routes, and waypoints) can also be saved as vector files in four popular formats: GPX (GPS Devices), KML (Google Earth) and SHP (Shapefile for GIS-related applications). Simply choose "Export Mission" from the Markers menu, choose a format, and save the file.
To save the mission (Routes and Waypoints" directly onto a handheld GPS device, first plug your GPS device into the USB port on your computer. Choose "Export Mission" from the Markers menu, choose "GPX" as the format. When the file save dialog appears, go to "My Computer" and find the GPS device which will appear as an external storage device (if Garmin, the folder "GARMIN" will appear). Navigate to the GPS folder, find the folder labeled "GPX" and save the mission file in the GPX folder. When the GPS is turned back on, all routes and waypoints should be available on the device.
Save GPX files directly onto handheld GPS devices (e.g., Garmin Colorado, Garmin Foretrex 401, etc.)
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1) Default Name: This is the base name, which will be followed by a number. For example, setting the default name as "Building" will name all subsequent markers Building followed by the base number. Note that the marker name will be saved as a marker attribute in the marker file. 2) Base Number: This is the starting number for the sequence of markers being placed in the model. Each successive marker name is incremented by 1. 3) Default Color: Users can make all markers the same color by selecting "Custom Color" and choosing a color, or users can "autocolor" markers to have a different color for each marker. 4) Default Style: Styles can be created in the Individual Marker Customization interface, then used to define all future markers placed.
Label Defaults:
1) Font: Changes the font style and size displayed in the marker label, billboard, and ID display. 2) Show/Hide: Chose to show the following in the marker display: a) Name: This is the user-defined name of the marker. b) ID's: ID's are the internal index number of the marker. Each marker has a unique ID. c) Coordinate: Choose to display the marker coordinate. Use the radio buttons to define coordinate system to use. d) Z: Choose to show the elevation of the marker. e) Info Text: Choose to show user-defined information associated with the marker. f) Billboards: Billboards display marker information with a white background. In addition, marker billboards can have considerably more text attached than a standard marker label. g) Mouseover Text: Will only display billboards if the user moves mouse over the marker. Otherwise, billboards will be hidden. h) Always on Top: Choose whether the marker billboards will always pop to the top of the display (e.g., will it show up when rotated "behind" a mountain, or will it disappear?)
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Object Size:
Fixed (meters): Define an absolute marker size in meters (or the units of the model if different than meters). This will achieve a sense of scale with other objects in the scene. Setting markers to 2m high could be useful in understanding the scale of a human being relative to buildings or other 3D features. Fixed (Pixels): Define markers in absolute pixel size so the markers are always the same size, regardless of zoom level or perspective. Autosize (Meters): Choose to autosize markers based on zoom level.
Marker Coordinates:
The horizontal coordinates of each marker can be displayed along with the name, ID, and billboard. Choose a coordinate system to display by selecting the radio button. If a model is in Cartesian coordinates, the user will not be able to convert between the various coordinate systems. Checking the "Z" box will display the elevation of the terrain at the point the marker is placed.
Shortcuts:
M: Hold down "M", left click to quickly place markers in a model. K: Hold down K, move cursor to the vicinity of an existing marker, then left click and drag to move the marker. Exporting Markers: Markers can be exported to shapefiles, text or KML.
USER HINT: For GRG creation, it may be most useful to use the marker settings below. It will create a simple numeric tag on a white background with no marker pin.
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5. Type informational text in the "Edit Marker Text" window. 6. Click "Apply" and "OK" 7. Go to the Marker...Marker Options window. Check the "Show Billboards" check box. Markers will now display all information attached as a"Billboard".
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The Quick Terrain Modeler provides several mensuration functions to provide information about points on the models. Pressing "S" will set the Start position of a mensuration line at the current position of the mouse over the model. You may then drag the other end of the line about the model until you press "E" to set the End position. When this is done, a dialog window will appear listing the endpoint coordinates and the distance and bearing between them. You may manipulate the model as normal while the line is visible to see it from different geometries and orientations. Pressing "L" will create a mensuration line from the camera position to the point on the terrain corresponding to the current mouse position. Pressing "C" will erase the current mensuration line. You may also view profiles of the models along the selected mensuration line. Use "S" and "E" to set a mensuration line as above. You will notice that when the mensuration data box contains a button labeled "Examine Height Profile". Pressing this button will summon another window allowing you to graphically examine the profiles of all loaded models over the selected line. This window will also show the heights at the point(s) where the profile(s) intersect the position line, as well as the delta between two selected models. You may move the position line using the slider at the bottom of the window. You may select different models to compare using the provided list boxes. "Examine Intensity Profile" and "Examine Alpha Profile" function similarly.
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There are several hot key combinations that establish a measurement line without clicking the measurement line button: S/E: Type "S" on the keyboard to begin the measurement line. The start point of the line will be under the cursor. If necessary, use the mouse left click to establish intermediate nodes. Type "E" to end the line. The profile tool will immediately open. V/V: Type "V" on the keyboard. The start point of the line will be under the cursor. If necessary, use the mouse left click to establish intermediate nodes. Type "V" to end the line. A sampled (i.e., "terrain hugging") vector will appear in the Layer Tree Vector folder. SHIFT-V/SHIFT-V: Type "SHIFT-V" on the keyboard. The start point of the line will be under the cursor. If necessary, use the mouse left click to establish intermediate nodes. Type "SHIFT-V" to end the line. An unsampled (i.e., "straight line" or "floating") vector will appear in the Layer Tree Vector folder. If a linear vector already exists in the Vector folder in the layer tree, simply right click on it and select "Show as Mensuration" to make the vector the "Active" measurement line. A linear vector can be imported from a file (e.g., KML, SHP) and immediately be turned into the active measurement line. Go to the Analysis Menu > Import Mensuration. Choose the vector file and it should immediately appear as the "Active Mensuration" line in the Vector folder of the layer tree.
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2. Get into "Edit" Mode: Double click on measurement line. The nodes will become visible as circles, thus indicating that the line is now in Edit Mode. 3. Move Nodes: Left click on a node and drag it to a new location. 4. Delete Nodes: Right click on a node and select "Remove Node" 5. Add Nodes: Right click anywhere along the line and choose "Insert New Node" from the context menu. This node can immediately be dragged around as in step 3 above.
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3. Line Height: Only applicable to "floating" line. Sets the height above the terrain/point cloud that
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the measurement line will be displayed. 4. Line Color: Click the line color button to change the color of the measurement line. 5. Line Display: Floating: Mensuration line connects line nodes with a single, straight line. Terrain Hugging: Mensuration line is sampled at roughly the data resolution, thus creating a line that hugs the terrain. Both: Display both floating and terrain hugging at the same time.
Images show the Mensuration Options Interface and terrain hugging/floating mensuration lines.
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The Profile Analysis Tool can be broken down into several basic sections:
The profile area itself is a 2D representation of the points/lines created when the 3D model was "sliced" by the measurement line. This area can be zoomed/panned with mouse controls (mouse wheel for zoom, right click/drag for pan). There are also several buttons to assist in zooming to a specific box and/or returning to the previous zoom level. More info in Profile Zooming Tools.
When working with point clouds, it is necessary to define a width of the original measurement line in order to determine which points should be included in the profile display. In QT Modeler, these points are called the "Buffer Points". Setting the width of the buffer can dramatically impact the appearance of the profile, as different points will be included. Using the "Offset" tool will move the position of the buffer area, thus permitting a methodical "stepping" through a point cloud. More info in Profile Buffer Settings. The most common and intuitive way to display profiles is to have distance along the line represented in the X Axis of the profile (i.e., along the horizontal axis), and elevation be represented on the Y Axis of the profile. Given that LAS files contain multiple attributes per point, it can be very useful for another attribute (e.g., intensity) to be represented on the Y axis. Furthermore, points can easily be selected in Edit Mode, then toggled to another attribute to help correlate multiple attributes (e.g., intensity and elevation). More info in Profile Y Axis Attribute Selection. The position of the cursor in the profile display is continually displayed in the upper right corner. It is a helpful way to determine elevations and distances along a line/route. When the measurement tool is used, this display is converted to length, height, and slope of the measurement triangle. More info in Profile Cursor Position Display and Profile Measurement Tool. The Profile Analysis Tool contains a button bar that provides easy access to frequently used visualization tools, zoom tools, and configuration tools. These tools impact not only the profile window, but the entire 3D display as well. These tools outline the buffer area in the 3D window, crop to only the points being displayed in the profile window, establish a red arrow along the measurement line in the 3D window, define the grid lines in the profile display, export to PowerPoint, and many other useful capabilities. Refer to the individual sections in the help file.
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Buffer Settings: Choose the "Thickness" of the Profile Line and "Slice and Step" Through the Scene
Measurements and Cursor Position Display: The Dynamic Readouts in the Upper Right
Basic Visualization, Display, and Measurement Buttons: Quick Ways to Evaluate Your Data
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Profiles can be displayed as points, lines or both. In general, point clouds should be displayed as points and DEM's or surface models as lines. There is sometimes value in seeing point cloud profiles displayed as lines, but there is rarely a good reason to visualize DEM's or surface models as points. See more info in Profile - Display Points vs. Lines The points in a profile display can be colored by model, LAS attribute, or vertex color. See more information in Profile Color Scheme. If multiple 3D models are loaded simultaneously, there is a good chance that more than one model will contribute points or lines to the profile display. The model list behaves like a table of contents or layer tree similar to the primary QT Modeler window, although with much more limited functionality. See more in Profile Model List. In Edit Mode, the Profile Analysis Tool becomes a powerful tool to isolate, cut, export, change classification, and other editing functions. See more info in Profile Editing Tools.
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displayed as points, surface models (e.g., DEM's, DSM's, DTM's) are best displayed as lines. The choices in the pull-down menu are: 1. Default: Displays all profiles derived from point clouds as points and all profiles derived from surface models as lines. If both point clouds and surface models are loaded together, the profile display will be a mixture of points and lines. 2. All Lines: Displays all profiles as lines, regardless of whether the underlying model was a point cloud or surface model. 3. All Points: Displays all profiles as points, regardless of whether the underlying model was a point cloud or surface model. 4. All Both: Displays both a point and a line profile for each model in the model list.
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The profile zooming buttons establish quick ways to zoom out to the full extents, zoom to a box, or return to the previous zoom level.
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Once the profile window is in Editing Mode, the key functions are as follows (see individual topics for more detail): 1. Use the Select Area Tool to identify points 2. Select Points and/or Unselect points using the selection buttons 3. Change how points are displayed in 3D by Hiding Selected Points ( ). 4. If desired, Operate on the selected points ( classification, and/or exporting them. ) by cutting, permanently coloring in 3D, setting
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There are two "Select Points" buttons. The first one (represented by a selection rectangle and a small green plus sign) selects just the points contained in the rectangular selection area. The other one (represented by a large green plus sign) "Selects All" points in the profile window. Once points are selected, they will turn from gray to their original color in the profile window (i.e., the color the point was prior to entering edit mode).
There are two "Unselect Points" buttons. The first one (represented by a selection rectangle and a small red minus sign) selects just the points contained in the rectangular selection area. The other one (represented by a large red minus sign) "Unselects All" points in the profile window. Once points are unselected, they will turn gray.
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The Travel Route Analysis Tool can be broken down into several basic sections:
The profile area itself is a 2D representation of the line created when the 3D model was "sliced" by the measurement/route line. This area can be zoomed/panned with mouse controls (mouse wheel for zoom, right click/drag for pan). There are also several buttons to assist in zooming to a specific box and/or returning to the previous zoom level:
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From Left to right: Zoom to Extents: Zooms the profile display to the full extents of the travel route. Zoom Tool: Enables the establishment of a zoom rectangle. Click the zoom tool button, then left click/ drag to establish the area which is to be zoomed to. Return to Previous Zoom: Returns the zoom in the profile area to the previously established zoom area. It is frequently useful to define a buffer area around a travel route. The key aspects of the buffer tool are:
Defining the Buffer: The buffer width setting is the distance on either side and the ends of the line that is of interest to the user. Simply type in the buffer value into the input window. Displaying the Buffer Area in the 3D Display: The buffer area can be displayed in the 3D scene by clicking the "Outline Area in 3D" button.
Cropping the 3D Display to the buffer area: Masking to the buffer area in 3D will isolate the buffer area in 3D. Note that the blue route line will no longer be visible.
Using the Buffer Area: Selection Area and Export: Creating a selection area around the buffer area will enable the export of imagery along the route. In addition, once the buffer area is a QT Modeler selection area, it can be saved and exported as various vector file formats. To explore possibilities, hold down CTRL and right click on the selection area once it is established. A context menu will appear with multiple analysis and export functions. See also Render Selection Area to GPS.
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When performing Line of Sight (LOS) analysis along the travel route, it is mandatory to define the eye level height of the traveler - and whether this eye level height should be above the ground (i.e., "terrain hugging") or above the straight line vector connecting the nodes of the route (i.e., "floating"). Use either the input box or the slider to define the height of the traveler. Choose whether the traveler's route is hugging the ground (e.g., a walking/driving route), or whether the route is a straight line above the straight line vectors that connect the nodes of the mensuration line (e.g., a helicopter or airplane route). When using the "Above vector" setting, the traveler marker may appear at varying heights above the ground and may "float" very high above the terrain. As part of the Travel Route Analysis, it may be useful to visualize the line of sight from the route to the entire terrain (Virtual LOS) or to specific known locations marked by markers (LOS Vectors). Use the two check boxes in this section to enable either or both of these functions. Terminology Clarification: In the Travel Route Analysis terminology, there are only two types of locations: The traveler and the observer. The traveler is a single location marked by where the slider intersects the profile and represented by a marker labeled "LOS" in the 3D scene. Everything else - whether every pixel in the 3D scene or existing markers in the scene - are "observers". It may be helpful to think of every pixel attempting to "look at" the traveler as it moves down the route. Useful settings include: Observer Height: Height above the ground of the observer (i.e., everywhere in the scene except the traveler marker). Note that QT Modeler will simply add the observer height to the elevation of every location in the scene. I.e., QT Modeler has no way of knowing if a location is on the ground or on a building, tree, or other tall object. Limit Range?: Check the box to limit the distance of the LOS analysis. Use the slider or the input box to set the range from the traveler. Units will be in the current display units of the model. Show Virtual LOS: Will show a line of sight coverage map of the line of sight from the perspective of the traveler. Show LOS Vectors: Connects a red/green vector between the traveler and all existing markers in the terrain. These vectors can be useful in visualizing the exact line of sight between the traveler and specific positions in the terrain that are represented by markers. However, if there are many markers in the terrain, the display can become very busy and therefore distracting, thus making it desirable to uncheck this box and turn the vectors off. An alternative to turning vectors off entirely is to simply uncheck some of the markers in the layer tree.
Traveler Definition: How Tall is the Traveler?...Above the Ground or the Vector?
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If desired, the Travel Route Analysis Tool profile can be colored by slope - both Cross Track and Down Track. To perform slope analysis: Check the "Color Code by Slope Limits" check box. Choose whether to color code by Cross Track or Down Track slope limits by checking the appropriate check box. Define a width for which the analysis should be performed. o Cross Track Width - Think in terms of the width of a vehicle or road. QT Modeler will center this width on the travel route line and calculate the slope perpendicular to the route. o Down Track - Think in terms of the length of a vehicle. QT Modeler will take successive slope measurements based on a straight line the length of the down track "width" setting. Define a limit in degrees for both cross track and down track slope limits. The profile will turn from blue to a red and/or green line. Red indicates slope limits have been exceeded (i.e., "Fail") and green indicates that the limit has not been exceeded (i.e., "Pass"). Note that the original travel route line in the 3D display will remain blue. The "Current" slope information box displays the slope at the point where the slider meets the profile line.
Slope Analysis: Detailed Analysis of Cross Track and Down Track Slope
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To move the traveler down the route, simply move the slider at the bottom of the profile display. The "LOS" marker will move down the path in the 3D display. The slider position information will display the position of the slider in terms of a coordinate and the distance from the start and end of the travel route.
Since Virtual LOS results are "virtual", they exist only on the graphics card (i.e., they are not a file). If you would like to export Virtual LOS results as an image, right click on Special Overlays > Virtual LOS Map, and "Create LOS Map texture". A new texture will appear in the textures folder. Once the virtual texture has become "real" (i.e., it is now a file), it can be exported, saved, etc. just like any texture.
In order for Virtual LOS to work, your video card must support OpenGL version 3.0 or higher. Discrete graphics cards (e.g., NVIDIA, ATI) will likely support this, but may need the driver upgraded. This is usually a fairly straightforward process of downloading an upgraded driver from the manufacturer's website and installing it. Integrated graphics chipsets (e.g., Intel) will have a more difficult time supporting advanced graphics capabilities.
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13.8
The Cross Sections and Parallel Profiles can be broken down into several basic sections:
Cross Sections
Mode Choose a method for Cross Section generation o None No Cross Sections will be rendered o Centered On Line The center of the Cross Section will be directly over the active mensuration line o Left From Line The Cross Sections will be wholly to the left of the active mensuration line o Right From Line The Cross Sections will be wholly to the right of the active mensuration line Width Define the desired Cross Section width Spacing Define the distance between desired Cross Sections in data units
Parallel Profiles
Mode Choose a method for Parallel Profile generation o None No Parallel Profiles will be rendered o Centered On Line Parallel Profiles will be drawn on both sides of the active mensuration line equally o Left From Line The Parallel Profiles will be wholly to the left of the active mensuration line o Right From Line The Parallel Profiles will be wholly to the right of the active mensuration line Profiles Define the number of desired profiles Spacing Define the distance between desired Parallel Profiles in data units
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Global settings for how the linework should be drawn. Choosing Floating will render the linework at a defined height above the terrain. Terrain Hugging will render the linework at the surface height, but may not render properly on point clouds. Both will render using both methods. Since these use global settings, the same settings will be applied in Mensuration Options and Travel Route Line of Sight.
Appearance
Sampling
Sample Models individually? This option allows the sampling of multiple models simultaneously. For example, if a Bare Earth DEM and a First Return DSM were loaded together and 5 cross sections were made, then an export with Sample Models Individually selected would yield 10 cross sections (5 from the DEM and 5 from the DSM). If this option is unchecked, then the highest dataset would be used. Sample Spacing This is to define the distance between samples along the Cross Section or Parallel Profiles.
Example
Based on the settings above, the image below shows the active mensuration line along the stream centerline. Cross sections are centered on this line, with a width of 100 meters across (50 meters out from the stream centerline in both directions) and 10 meters between cross sections. The results are displayed as terrain hugging. If one would export based on these settings, only the DEM that is displayed is being used for sampling and those samples are taken every 1 meter.
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Once the mensuration line is placed and the mensuration window pops up, choose the type of vector from the n"Export Vector" pulldown menu. The choices for annotation vector are: QT Vector - Straight: Creates a point to point vector that does not sample the underlying terrain or point cloud. Very useful for point clouds. QT Vector Sampled: Creates a sampled (i.e., "terrain hugging") vector. Very useful for DEM's and surface models. Can create very "noisy" lines in point clouds. QT Vector Mensuration: Creates a permanent "Mensuration" vector that annotates distances, slopes, or whatever is displayed in the mensuration options of the mensuration line. Very useful for annotating distances, road widths, building heights, and HLZ's.
Each vector becomes its own model, so vectors must be saved as a model. Be careful to rename vectors something other than the default value of "Mensuration". To Configure the line types, colors, arrowheads, etc., go to the Configure Vector Display in the Display menu.
Save Vector
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Vectors can be exported as SHP, KML, and a variety of other vector file types. Go to the export menu and choose Export Model.
Related Topics: Configure Vector Display Options, HLZ Analysis, Measurement Lines
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QTA Data: When working with QTA models (i.e., QTC point cloud with a QTA attribute table), all of the point attributes will be visible in the Point Query window. See example below:
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support@appliedimagery.com info@appliedimagery.com www.appliedimagery.com 301 589 4446 301 589 4005 Applied Imagery 8070 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA
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Index
-..qsc 40
ASCII Selection 52 ASCII ZGrid 92 Aspect Ratio 22 Attribute 139 AutoCAD 92 auto-scale 84, 85 Autosize 194 avi 97, 98 Axes 190 azimuth 215
-Bbackground color 196 Bare Earth 175 Batch Import 70 Batch Scripting 40 Bathymetry 127 Beta 40 Blank Palette 163 Bookmark 22 boresight 215 Break Point 176 Buffer 239, 248 building models 69 Button Bar 24 Buttons 24
-AAdd Break Point 163 Add Image to Model 127 Add Model 34 Add Models with Offset 34 Add Normals 64 Add Vertex Colors from File 132 AGL 61, 174, 215, 217 AGL Analyst 174 AGL Calculation 175 AGL Clipping 174, 177 AGL Conversion 174 AGL Export 177 AGL Export Products 178 AGL Palette 176 Allow Rotated Grid 74 Alpha 83, 85, 174 alpha filtering 182 altitude legend 191 Always Copy QTA 43 Annotation 22 Annotation Tools 255 Applied Imagery 260 area 184 Area Statistics 179 ASCII 83, 92, 220 ASCII Export Setup 94
-CCache 39 Calculate Metrics 161 camera settings 204 Change detection 127, 182 change detection legend 191 Change Temp File Location 47 Chipping 103 Clear All Models 40 Clipping 177 clipping plane 182 Cloud Point Settings 194 color 72, 84 Color by Density 72 Color by LAS Attribute 134 color selection area 257 colorized DEM 123 colorized point cloud 123 Command Line 35
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Quick Terrain Modeler User's Manual Editing 50 elevation 215 elevation legend 191 enforce collisions 209 ESRI 90, 93, 94 Exit 48 Export 90, 92, 93 Export GeoTIFF 93 Export Image Search to KML Export LAS 91 Export Marker to KML 219 Export Markers 221, 223 Export Model Image 93 Export Outline to KML 107 Export to PowerPoint 99 Extents Outline 108 External Call 35
compass 190 compress models 69 compressed normals 189 Compression 44 Configure Vector Models 200 Consolidate Contour 168 constant altitude 208 contact information 260 Contour Lines 168 control mode 208 controls 11 Convert Meters to Feet 193 Convert Models 57 Coordinate Conversion 35, 57 Coordinate System 81, 95 create marker 213, 257 Crop 54, 56, 74 crosshairs 191 CSV File 218 Cut 54, 56
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-Fface center 204 Feet to Meters Conversion FEMA 172 file extension 40, 90 File Menu 32 Filter 139 Filtering 181, 182 filtering options 75 Flicker 188 flight mode 208 flood 184 FLT 90 Force Colors 162 frame rate 210 46
-DData Preview 32 datum 81 Decimation 50, 53, 74, 164 Decimation Level 73 Decimation/Crop Options 73 default Georegistration 85 Define Grid 160 Density 72 Directional Line of Sight 151 Directional LOS 143, 148 Display 189 Display Mode 210 Display Units 46 dongle 6 downsampling 88 Dropping a Coordinate 37 DTED 34, 43, 67 DXF 90, 92, 165, 168
-GGarmin 102, 224 Garmin Custom Map 100, 102 GeoKeys 95 Georegister 62 Georegistration 62, 81, 95 GeoTIFF 93, 94, 133 GeoTIFF DEM 67, 88, 92 GeoTIFF export 94 GeoTIFF Image Search 118 getting started 6 go fullscreen 44
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-Eedit 50 edit marker 215 Edit Measurement Line Edit Sensor 215 235
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Go Here 35 Google Earth 93, 108, 210 Google Earth Export 107 Google Earth Keyboard Sync 210 Google Earth Preview 32 Google Earth Style Zoom 209 GPS 102, 103, 224 GPS - Imagery Export 100 Graze Angle 159 grazing angle 215 GRG 165 Grid 74, 160 Grid Lines 165 Grid Referenced Graphic 165 Grid Sampling 73 Grid Statistics 159 Grid Stats - Actions 159, 164 Grid Stats - Calculate 159, 161 Grid Stats - Configuration Options 159, 165 Grid Stats - Define Grid 159, 160 Grid Stats - Select Variable 159, 160 Grid Stats - Visualization 159, 162 Gridding Options 73 Ground Estimate 175 Ground truthing 172
Image Tiling 103 imagery overlay 114 Images 127 Import 69, 73, 75, 83, 86 import LAS 85 Import Marker from CSV File 218 Import Marker from KML 219 Import Marker from SHP 219 Import Markers 221, 223 Import Markers from ASCII 217 Import Mensuration from KML 171 Import Merged GeoTIFF DEM's 88 import vector data 87 In Range Color 131 independent rotation 209 individual marker options 230 INI File 46 Inspect Markers 221 Intensity 83, 84 Interpolation 75 IP Address 6
-Kkeyboard controls 11 keys 6 KML 93, 105, 107, 108, 171, 172, 219 KML Index 105 KML Marker 219 KML Options 108
-Hhaze 191, 196 header lines 83 Header Preview 32 height coloration 124, 189 height scale 196 Helicopter Landing Zone 128 hide marker 189 Hide Markers 221 High-Low Palette 124 Histogram 162 HLZ 128 Hole Fill 75 Hot Keys 29
-LLAS 85, 91 LAS 1.2 123 LAS Attribute 134 LAS Preview 32 LAS Quick Open 86 LAS RGB Values 123 Launching QT from External Applications 35 legend 191 light 191 lighting 197 Line of Sight 143, 145, 148, 149, 150, 151, 154, 156 Line Size/Width Setting 197 load marker 217 Local Workspace 18
-IImage Chipping 103 Image Formats 112 Image Registration 118 Image Search 118
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Log File 42 Log Files 46 Look Here 35 LOS 143, 145, 148, 149, 150
-Mmarker 215, 230 Marker Attribute 228 marker export 220 Marker Import 218 Marker Import - SHP 219 marker name 217 Marker Options 228 Marker Quick Tagging 228 Marker Sensor Model 215 Marker Sort 221, 223 markers 213 match altitude 58 match report 58 max sample excursion 75 Maximum Model Quantization Error 180 measurement 233 Measurement Line Editing 235 Measurement Line Options 236 Measurement Line Placement 234 Measurement Options 195 Memory Management Options 44 Menu 32 Menus 14 Merge Models 59 Meters to Feet Conversion 46 minimap 192 Model 34, 67 Model Comparison 165 Model List 242 Model Manager 179 model mode 208 Model Overview 67 Model Search 37 Model Statistics 180 Model Subtraction 61 Model Types 34 mouse controls 11 movie 96, 97, 98 Moving Markers 231 moving speed 211 multiple models 71
-OObstructions 128 Omnidirectional LOS 143, 145 Open 34 Open New Model 34 OpenGL 17, 112, 151, 154 Orbit Mode. 209 Orthographic 117 Orthorectification 93 Orthorectified 114, 120 Out of Range Color 131 Overlay 22 Overview 67
-PPalette 124 place marker 213 play movie 97 Point Cloud 73 point interrogation 50, 257 Point Query Utility 172 point to point viewing 206 Portable Workspace 18 position 211 Posting 73 PowerPoint 99 Preview - GeoTIFF 32 Preview - Google Earth 32 Preview - LAS 32 Primary Button Bar 24 processing options 71 Profile Analysis Tool 237 Profile Appearance 244 Profile Buffer 239 Profile Cursor Position Display Profile Points vs. Lines 240 Profile Y Axis Attribute 240 progress bar 44
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-SSample 123 sample excursion 75 sample model 11 Sample Textures into vertex colors 123 Sampled Vector 255 sampling 112, 114 Sampling Shapefiles 200 Save 40 Save Image 133 save marker 220 Save Mensuration Line as KML 172 Save Selection to ASCII 52 Save Values 161 Screen 14 screen size 45 Script File 43 Script Log File 42 Scripting 40 Scripts - Add Action 41 Scripts - Editing Actions 42 Scripts - Running Scripts 42 Search 118 Search Cache 39 select 50 select area 51 Selection Area 50 Selection Area Editing Tools 53 Selection Area Export 52 Selection Area Import 52 Sensor 213, 215 Sensor Model 213, 215 Sensor View LOS 143, 149 Sentinel 6 Set Base Model Color 199 Set Display Units 193 Set Model Position 64 Set Vector Line Size 197 set water level 184 Shadow Map 131 Shadows 17 shape file 74, 90, 93, 219, 220 shapefile 87, 165, 168 shiny terrain 189 Shortcuts 29 Show/Hide Markers 221, 223 Show/Hide Models 188
-QQA/QC 72, 172 QDT 34 QT Files Directory 46 QT Modeler Screen 14 QTA 43, 134, 139 QTA Discrete Attribute Filter 139 QTA Quick Color 134 QTC 34, 67 QTT 34, 67 qtvlog.txt 42 Quad Buffered Stereo 189 Quality 72 Quality Control 172 Quantization 180
-RRange Rings 170 Real TIme Contour Lines 168 record movie 96 Recover Measurement Line 236 Registration points 62 Re-Import Model 86 Remove Alpha 134 Remove Image 133 remove marker 220 Remove Model 40 Remove Surface Normals 64 Rename Models 62 Rename QTA Attribute 143 Render Screen to GeoRegistered Image Reneder Selection Area to GPS 103 Reset View 43 reset viewer 207 Restart Sentinel Driver 6 RGB 83, 84, 92 Rotated Grid 74 roughness 75 Route 224
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sky 193 Slope 128 Slope Analysis 131 Slope Analysis - Travel Route 248 Slope Area Filtering 131 Slope Image 131 smooth normals 189 smoothing 75 Sort Markers 221, 223 Spike Filter 75 Spike/Well Filter 75 state plane 81 Statistical Model Comparison 165 statistics 160, 179, 180 Stereo Display Output 189 Subtract Models 61 Suppport 46 Surface Model 73 Surface Normals 44, 64 Synchronize Google Earth 210
-VVariable 160 Variable Length Record 32 Variance 159 Vector 87, 200 Vector Annotation 255 Vector LOS 143, 150 Vector Models 170 Vertex Colors 112, 127, 132, 133, 134 View 43 Viewshed 143 Virtual Line of Sight 151, 154 Virtual Shadow Map 17 visualizing 11 VLR 32 volume 184 Volume Calculations 181 Volume Change Detection 181 Voxel 194
-Ttargeted point 209 Temp 47 Temp File 46, 47 terrain following 209 Terrain Hugging 195 Terrain Mask 159 texture 123, 188 texture slot 112 Textures 112, 114, 117, 120, 122 tfw 94, 114 TIFF 101 Tiling Images 103 tiling setting 75 TIN 172 Toggle Clouds/Surface 200 toolbar 44 traditional LOS calculations 151, 156 Travel Route Analysis Tool 248 Travel Route Line of Sight 156 Travel Route LOS 150 triangulation 75 Troubleshooting 46
-WWaypoint 224 What's New 2 Window Select 51 wireframe 189 Workspace 18 world file 94, 114
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Zoom Level
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