Is there any way to obtain the shadow range (Polygon Feature layer) of a Multipatch object on the ground?

[YinglongDeng]

Hello everyone, I'm currently using the ArcGIS Pro SDK for related 3D secondary development. I'm using C# and I'm encountering a problem now. I want to know if there is any way to obtain the shadow on the ground of the 3D object. I want to convert this shadow on the ground into a surface file (SHP or Polygon). I wonder if there is a way to achieve it. I only want the range of the shadow part on the ground and convert it into a surface feature file(Polygon Feature layer).Thank you all!

[VenkataKondepati]

Right now, the Pro SDK does not expose the “rendered shadow” geometry (the display/scene shadow you see on the ground) as a feature you can grab and convert to polygons. Shadows in a Scene are a visual effect, not stored GIS geometry.

What is supported (and is the practical path) is to generate shadow geometry using 3D Analyst geoprocessing, then convert it to a polygon footprint:

Sun Shadow Volume (3D Analyst)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

Use Sun Shadow Volume (3D Analyst) to create a 3D shadow volume from your multipatch for a given date/time and sun settings.

Intersect/clip that volume with the ground surface/plane to get the shadow-on-ground outline (the footprint). This is the part you can store as a polygon feature class (and export to SHP).

So, the answer is: not directly from the SDK’s scene shadow, but yes via GP analysis (Sun Shadow Volume → derive ground intersection/footprint), assuming you have a 3D Analyst license

[YinglongDeng]

I have already generated the shadow object using the method you mentioned (Use Sun Shadow Volume (3D Analyst) to create a 3D shadow volume) , but I still can't obtain the shadow surface that intersects with the ground by using the Intersect/clip you mentioned. Could you explain it in more detail?Thank you very much.