KML/KMZ is a common format for sharing geopositioned 3D models. My office publishes a large amount of this content. Some of it we create; some we receive from partners - so simply removing KML/KMZ from the business process is not a possibility.
The problem is that importing and publishing KML/KMZ 3D models is tedious, but I know it could be made much easier with only a few simple changes on Esri's part!
Currently, when a KMZ model is loaded into a 3D scene in ArcGIS Pro (imported into a 3D multipatch), the analyst must go through a process of determining the objective elevation of the multipatch, and then perform a manual move by editing the Z-value. If this is not done prior to publication as a 3D web scene in Portal, the service will render the model at a 0/MSL altitude, causing it to draw "under" the elevation source in the web scene.
So the current, bad workflow is:
- Analyst imports 3D KMZ model into ArcGIS Pro local/global 3D scene as multipatch.
- Analyst asks, huh, where's my model?
- Analyst turns off the elevation source and sees, there's my model.
- Analyst gets center coord of model.
- Analyst turns back on the elevation layer.
- Analyst selects a location to gather the elevation measurement.
- Analyst edits the multipatch.
- Analyst moves the multipatch to an absolute z-value.
- Analyst types in the value gathered 3 steps previously.
- Analyst saves the multipatch.
- Analyst sees, now the model correctly renders on the loaded elevation source.
- Analyst shares content as a web scene.
This process could be made so much better. I would like to see the following functionality: if a model is loaded in Pro and its elevation setting is set to "on the Ground"; then publishing that model as a web scene should cause the multipatch to inherit whatever that elevation value is.
So the better workflow, broken down, would look like this:
- Analyst imports 3D KMZ model into ArcGIS Pro local/global 3D scene as a multipatch. (currently works)
- Analyst sets properties of multipatch to clamp to loaded elevation source (Ground). (currently works, tho it needs a refresh)
- Analyst shares workspace as 3D web scene, which automatically sets the model's elevation value upon publication. (currently not available).
