Navigation basics

About navigating

The TerraExplorer 3D World offers a wide array of navigation options, offering the flexibility to navigate in the way that is most intuitive and best suited to your specific navigation needs. The most commonly used navigation tools are the mouse and on-screen navigation controls for navigating freely in the 3D World, the navigate to selected location mode for direct travel to specified places, and Underground Navigation for subsurface exploration. Beyond these primary methods, additional tools and modes expand your navigational abilities:

§  In the 3D Window, use the keyboard, ribbon commands, and joystick to navigate freely in the 3D World.

§  Use the Project Tree to fly to predefined locations or objects, or to play a presentation.

§  The Navigation Map provides quick and easy navigation through the entire terrain.

§  First-Person Navigation Mode offers ground-level exploration.

§  The Look Around tool allows you to easily adjust your direction and tilt and zoom in and out.

§  The Target tool facilitates continuous tracking of distance and direction to a specific target.

Viewing/navigation modes

TerraExplorer offers both 2D and 3D viewing modes. In the 3D mode, the map can be explored from any perspective, offering the freedom to navigate through the world as if flying and enabling the visualization of content that is vertically layered, enhancing depth and context understanding. The 2D and 2D North options feature a top-down view, presenting the terrain as a flat, orthographic projection, which can often provide a clearer measure of distance between objects such as buildings and their relative sizes.

To set the viewing mode:

§  On the Navigation tab, in the 3D Mode group, click one of the following commands: 3D, 2D, or 2D North.

Viewpoint control

When navigating freely in the 3D World, you have full control over both the position (x, y and altitude) and angle (direction, tilt and roll) of your viewpoint. You also have the option to set the viewpoint for project elements. This enables you to automatically adjust to a predetermined position and angle whenever you fly or jump to the particular element.