Orbit 3DM Plugins

Orbit offers a proof of concept plugins that are created using the free 3DM Viewer SDK.

The plugins embed the Orbit 3DM Viewer. Generic requirements are documented here:

• Requirements for Orbit 3D Mapping Viewer and Plugins.

Specific requirements related to the host application can be reviewed here:

• Orbit 3DM Plugin for QGIS
• Orbit 3DM Plugin for ArcGIS
• Orbit 3DM Plugin for ArcGIS Pro
• Orbit 3DM Plugin for AutoCAD Map
• Microstation
• ESRI WebAppBuilder

All plugins have their specific installation, related to their host application. But the Orbit 3D Mapping Toolbar is the same for all the host applications. Underneath the different tools are described.


Open the 3D Mapping Viewer
When launching the Orbit 3D Mapping Viewer from the toolbar, a new tab will be opened in the default browser of the user. If there is no window active yet in that browser, then a new window will be launched. The new window shows the 3D Mapping Viewer Welcome page.

On opening a publication or viewer, the Footprints of the opened resources and Field of Views are made visible in the host application and are updated when they are changed in the 3D Mapping Viewer.

Show or hide the footprints
Option to disable the visibility of Orbit layers (Footprints, Field of Views and Measurements) in the host application.

Pick a location in the map canvas to open the viewer
Pick a location on the map canvas in the host application to refocus all opened Views and the Reference View in the Orbit 3D Mapping Viewer to the chosen location.

Add the selected objects as overlays to the viewer
This option gives the possibility to visualize features from an external layer on the 3D Mapping Viewer. The features are visualized in the 3D Mapping Viewer using standard formatting. And a new resource is added to the Resources Sidebar.

Steps to be followed:

• Select one or more features in the host from which the overlay should be made.
• Click the button to visualize the selected features as an overlay on the Orbit 3D Mapping Viewer.
  
• Add new features to the existing overlay: Make a new selection in the host (from the same layer or another) and visualize them on the 3D Mapping Viewer. A combination of different layer types is possible.
  
• Clear the complete overlay: Click on the button in the toolbar without selecting any features in the host.

Add the measurements to the active layer
This option gives the possibility to save measurements from the Orbit 3D Mapping Viewer in an existing layer in the host.

Steps to be followed:

• Indicate the layer you wish to save features in:
  • QGIS: Add a layer to QGIS. Make the layer editable and make sure it's selected as the active layer.
  • ArcGIS: Add a layer to ArcGIS or use layer 0. Make sure the layer is selected as the active layer.
  • ArcGIS Pro: Add a layer to ArcGIS Pro. Make sure the layer is selected as the active layer.
• Execute a measurement in the Orbit 3D Mapping Viewer. While measuring, the measurement object is visualized in the host as part of the active layer.
• Click the button in Plugin to add the measurement object to the active layer in the host. Note that this is only possible if the layer type (Point, Line, Polygon) is the same as the measurement object.

Open the help pages
Orbit Knowledge Base is opened.

All plugins have their specifics, related to their host application. But launching the Viewer from the host application is the same for all cases. At the start-up, a new tab in the standard browser is opened. If there is no browser opened yet on the computer than a new browser window will be launched.

The welcome page lets the user choose between three options:

• Sign in to 3D Mapping Cloud: After sign-in, the Orbit 3DM Viewer from this user's account is opened.
  
• Sign in to 3DM Publisher: First, log in to a server location with URL and login credentials, then choose a publication from the drop-down menu.
• I have a token or URL: Open a publication from the 3D Mapping Cloud using its token or URL. The publication is only accessible if the publication is shared with guest users and the number of guest users is not yet succeeded.

After opening the viewer, clicking on the Account button in the bottom left corner will return to the 3D Mapping Viewer Welcoming Page.

In every option, you can toggle on the 'remember me' checkbox to automatically log in with the filled-in credentials. After restarting the host application, the new setting will be used.

The plugin can be configured to connect to a local 3DM Publisher. E.g. to be loaded offline, without connecting to the online CDN or to avoid Https-Http mixed content issues when connecting secure Https to the CDN and insecure Http to the local Publisher.

A plugin configuration file needs to be added to point the plugin to the local Publisher.

Underneath is the configuration file for every available offline plugin:

• QGIS: plugin_qgis.zip
• ArcGIS: plugin_arcmap.zip
• ArcGIS Pro: plugin_arcpro.zip

This ini-file has to be copied to the folder C:\plugins on the machine where the host application is installed. The localhost and port in the publisherURL can be modified to the specs of the installed 3DM Publisher.

An extra line default.attribute.value.MyAttribute=MyValue can be added to this configuration file to set a default value for an attribute. In the example underneath, the default value for the attribute 'type' will be 'cable' when saving a measurement from the 3D Mapping Viewer to a layer.

publisherURL=http://localhost:1111/viewer_sdk/?mode=websocket&protocol=ws&hostname=localhost&port=7200&endpoint=/endpoint
default.attribute.value.type=cable