Using the 3D Options Window

The 3D Options window consists of a series of “pages” which are accessed using the tabs at the top of the window.

The 3D Map Page

The 3D Map page is where most of the standard map related overlays are configured. City polygons and road lines can be turned on and off using the check boxes and there colors specified by clicking in the color boxes). The number of city names displayed can be selected using the slider labeled “City Names”. Terrain-3D places the city names associated with the largest population first. If there is a particular city or location that you would like to add to the map, use the “Add Names” button to add a name marker (you can either enter the lat/lng coordinates of the location by hand or load one out of a comprehensive city name database). The two switches at the bottom of this page control whether or not the reference axes are shown.

The Features Page

The features page has some of the more advanced 3D mapping features. The earth’s curvature can be applied to the 3D map using a user defined earth curvature or K constant. After changing the K constant or clicking the apply button, the user must click the “Render” button for the changes to take effect.

FCC Towers can be drawn on the 3D map. Use the drop down list box labeled “Scale” to set the tower scaling factor. The color and line width of the towers can be set. A text report of the towers locations and heights can be generated by pressing the “Report” button. The “Show Tower Labels” check box controls whether or not the tower number (corresponding to the tower number on the text report) is displayed with the towers.

3D Markers are user defined configurable markers which are placed on the 3D map.

The marker list edit window contains a list of the 3d markers which have been added to the 3D map. The markers denoted by “(Transmitter)” are ones that were automatically added when a color buffer was calculated. (Note: The “Show Markers” check box must be checked to display the call sign of a station’s plotted signal.)

The View Settings Page

The “View Settings” page contains many of the general 3D viewing options. The azimuthal rotation is the rotation around the center of the 3D map. The horizontal rotation is the rotation around the horizon (rotating around the horizon is the tipping the back and forth of the 3D map). The render style indicates how the 3D map is drawn. When in “Solid” render mode, the terrain polygons are gradient filled. In “Wireframe” mode, the polygons are drawn as a set of lines. The amplitude slider controls the amount of exaggeration to which the displayed elevations are subject. The lower the amplitude, the more “flat” the earth will appear. The “Render” button must be pressed after adjusting the amplitude slider in order for the changes to take effect. The scale slider adjust the size of the rendered area (it is basically a zoom factor).

The bottom half of the “View Settings” page is for setting up the elevation coloring. There are two ways which the terrain coloration can be set. The first is by specifying the color associated with a set of specific elevations, click the “Elevation Colors” button to set the elevation colors this way. The second way is by specifying “Autoset” colors. The Autoset values are a series of percentages which relate to the elevation. 0% would correspond to the minimum elevation on the map, and 100% would correspond with the maximum elevation. Colors can be defined for the various percentages which give a “location independent” way specifying a color scheme.

The Data Page

The Data page shows the boundaries and the grid resolution of the current 3D map. The minimum and maximum elevations are shown at the top of the page. The “Boundaries” section shows the current latitude/longitude boundaries. These boundaries can be changed and reloaded using the “Set Boundaries” button. The “Resolution” section displays the current grid size. The grid size is the number of terrain samples along each edge of the 3D map. The larger the grid size, the more detail will be shown (however a the program will run slower with as the grid size increases). Items on the Data page can not be changed when 3D animation is enabled.

The Buffer Page

The buffer page is where an overlay buffer is calculated and configured. There are switches for whether or not the current color buffer should be applied to the map and whether the cutoffs for the buffer are shown on the map. The extended color buffer information button will open the color buffer information editor where the properties for the color buffer can be viewed / edited. See the “Using Buffers ” section for more information on color buffers.

The Anim Page

The Anim page is where Terrain-3D’s animation controls are located. The switch at the top turns Terrain-3D’s automatic animation on and off. When animation is enabled some functions (specifically ones that have a “Render” button or are located on the “Data” page) will be disabled. There is a slider here which controls the speed of the animation. Animation selections can be set for both azimuthal and horizontal rotation, however animation must be enabled for these rotations to occur.

The Contour / Route Page

The Contour / Route page is used for enable / disabling contour and route plotting. Contours are drawn on the 3D map as slightly “floating” over the 3D terrain, the contour height setting on this page controls how far above the terrain the contours are displayed. Also route and contour specifics can be accessed by clicking on their respective buttons.