Elevation Profile Improvement

[CameronWallace]

Would love to be able to produce elevation profiles better... 
- Multi-Surface Display (with options for filling in between surfaces)
- add vertical exaggeration scale and scale definition options
- add to layout as editiable graphics, rather than rasterized image (or, even better, provide option to add as shapefiles within a seperate data frame with XY and Z coordinates "flipped" along the profile line - i.e. X coordinate would be distance along line, Y coordinate would be equivalent to Z, with some sort of option to apply vertical exaggeration while producing)
- provide options to display other 3D features alongside the surface profile (within X distance (i.e. underground utilities, boreholes, etc.)

Ultimately this type of tool would work in ArcMap, allowing display of profiles next to traditional map frames...
 

[NathanShephard]

Hi @Simonez - the tool will only be listed if you have elevation content in the map (or scene).

To add an elevation source (eg: raster DEM or a TIN), expand the 'Add Data' control on the Map ribbon and choose the 'Elevation Source Layer' option. You'll then get a 'Ground' section listed in your Contents pane, and can add more data sources to it (if needed) - eg: multiple DEMs covering your area of interest.

More info is in the "Add a ground surface to a map" section on this page:

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/elevation-surfaces.htm 

Thanks,

-Nathan.

[Simonez]

@NathanShephard - Nathan, I found it and it works, thank you very much!

Simone 

[NathanShephard]

Excellent!  Hope it helps!

-Nathan.

[JosephChampagne]

Just to clarify the current state of the Elevation Profile tool in Pro, I gather it opens up a pane that allows you to configure a chart/graph that you can then export to an image which can be inserted into your layout/document/whatever. Is this correct?

I think what would be vastly more useful would be a new type of interactive 'frame' analogous to the Map Frame, that could be added to a Layout. It would be connected to a Map Frame with surface data loaded and one or more polyline (or Graphics?) "profile path" layers that could be specified as the Extents of the Profile Frame. Ideally the frame would remain interactable in layout similar to a Map Frame, so the user could pan around where they want and set bookmarks and such.

Some ideas for stretch goals for hypothetical features:

• Implement the ability to drive the extent of the Profile Frame when a polyline layer is used to drive a Map Series in the primary Map Frame
• Allow the specification for a horizontal 'buffer' from the profile path to capture and display adjacent 3D data from the Map Frame in the Profile Frame