ArcObjects 9.3 transfer layers from ArcMap to ArcScene Automatically

Question

I am trying to create a macro in ArcMap that transfers layers in ArcMap to ArcScene.  I am able to launch ArcScene with the commanditem function, but still unsure how to run code in ArcScene from ArcMap without any user intervention.  Also, is it possible to launch ArcScene with a specific document from ArcMap?
Answers in VBA would be preferable, but I'll take anything.

Thanks,

Will McInnes

nazerehnejatbakhsh · Answer

Hello every body
could you solve this issue !?
I am tring to add a Raster Layer (RGB) with 3d properties (base heights) to my ArcScene which I open and get access to it trough C++.
But I get problems with the opened ArcScene through C++ and the layer does not apear properly. Here are my codes ! is that the right way of opening ArcScene and adding layer (raster or feature) to it !?? I use ArcGIS Desktop 10.

IAppROTPtr ipAppROT(CLSID_AppROT);

ISxDocumentPtr ipSxDoc(CLSID_SxDocument);
IDocumentPtr ipDoc(ipSxDoc);

CComPtr<IApplication> ipApl;
ipApl.CoCreateInstance(CLSID_AppRef);

ipDoc->get_Parent(&ipApl);
ipApl->put_Visible(VARIANT_TRUE);

then I try to add my Raster Layer which I have uploaded from my Raster Dataset and add it to my SxDocument like this :

direct way:
ipSxDoc->AddLayer(ipRstLyr);

through ILayer:
ILayerPtr ipLyr(ipRstLyr);
ipSxDoc->AddLayer(ipLyr);

unfortunately neither the direct way works nor the one through ILayer !!!

any idea ??? thank you very much. Nazereh

WilliamMcInnes · Answer

Hey Neil,

The object factory was the key! You win 1000 bonus points. Thanks for the help.

Will McInnes

NeilClemmons_GISinc · Answer

One thing you'll need to be aware of when you do something like this is that ArcMap and ArcScene are running in two separate processes.  Objects from one process should not be used in the other as they are COM objects that are single apartment threaded and will not marshall correctly between processes.  You shouldn't do something like take a layer from ArcMap and add it directly to ArcScene.  If you do so, the layer object is being used in two processes.  The recommended thing to do would be to deep clone the layer object and add the clone to ArcScene.  Most ArcObjects classes can be deep cloned using the IObjectCopy interface.  Do not use the IClone interface as this only performs a shallow clone.  The other thing to be aware of is you shouldn't call New to create new instances of objects that you intend to use in the other process.  You should use IObjectFactory to create these instances.  This will create the object in the correct process space for you.