Import DEM (heightmap) to CityEngine

[GarySchells]

Hello,
Can someone explain how to get my DEM into CityEngine?  I've exported it in ArcGIS to my "maps" folder in my CE project file but I    don't see it to bring in.  It is a raster data set inside a geodatabase.  I get an error message when I try to drag the geodatabase into the CE project window.  Thanks for the feedback.

[MatthiasBuehler1]

Hi,

DEMs within GDB are not supported (yet). You need to import as separate files ( .tif, .world, .prj ).

Ok ?

Please read on here :
http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/54072-textures-raster-files-concepts-in-CityEngine-ArcGIS


Cheers !

Matt

[GarySchells]

Thank you for the reply Matt.  I wa able to export and clip my DEM and bring it in.  I hope you can help me with another issue.  My CE project is located on a shared network drive.  I have two machines in two different locations with CE.  I created the project on one machine yesterday.  Today, I can open that project on the other machine but none of the files show up in the "maps" subfolder of the project.  When I look in there in Windows Explorer they are there, but not in the Navigator window.

So I created a new CE project folder and imported the file into that map folder and it shows up OK in the navigator window.  But when I try to drag it into the viewport, I'm prompted to create a new CE project.  I already have a new one created because the file is residing in it.  I simply want it to appear in the viewport.  Can you tell me if there is something I'm missing?  If you need any additional information I'll supply it as best I can.

Thank you

[MatthiasBuehler1]

Hi,

CityEngine basically works only with files within the workspace, so I'd not recommend to drag-n-drop files from the windows navigator into the viewport directly. just use copy-paste to put the data first into the maps or data folder, then from there into the viewport.

You may notice that if you copy the files in those folders in the windows explorer, that they don't show up directly in CE ( Navigator). Use File > Refresh Workspace or select the folder in the Navigator and press F5 to refresh that dir.

Ok ?

Lemme know !

m.

[GarySchells]

Thank you for the reply Matt.  I'm quite confused by this.  I thought my project folder was in my workspace.   I don't seem to be able to copy and paste my file from the map folder to the viewport.  Right clicking in the view port doesn't show a "paste" option and  control<P> doesn't do anything.

I followed the directions in the manual for creating a CE project folder and importing the files into it.

Thanks for your continued support.

[MatthiasBuehler1]

hi !

The workspace is the folder, where your CE projects sit. The default WS is 'C:/users/username/CityEngine'.

Note there's a hidden folder called '.metadata' and a project called 'ce.lib' (a special helper project which is hidden in CE by default) in there. So CityEngine starts with this project folder. Now, the projects within that workspace may or may not be linked in CityEngine. This means even though they sit in the workspace folder, they may or may not be visible in the Navigator.

You can LINK projects into CityEngine with 'import CityEngine project'. ( deleting the project folder in the Navigator deletes the link. IMPORTANT: note the 'delete contents on disk' option. do not check this unless you're certain to kill the project.)

So if you have a project on which you work, e.g. 'C:/users/username/CityEngine/myProject', which is linked in CE, so you see it as 'myProject' in the Navigator. If you want to use a certain file (let's say a GDB) in your scene, you can either:

1] In windows explorer : copy the file to C:/users/username/CityEngine/myProject/data/. If you do this with copy paste, then you won't see the GDB directly in CE. You need to refresh the workspace in CE (File> refresh WS) to see the GDB in the Navigator.
2] Copy the file directly in CityEngine's navigator to the 'data' folder ( select the folder > paste ).


Now comes something important :
- Importing a project in CityEngine into the Navigator just makes the project available for work.
- Importing files into an actual CityEngine scene, e.g. that GDB, for this you can use drag-n-drop into the viewport or right-mouse-clicky>import> .. > until it is added in the 3d scene.



I know, the workspace concept is a bit special - I've had some time to adapt to it - but there's positive sides to this too. You even can have multiple workspaces and link projects into different workspaces.

Play a bit with this knowledge & let me know if it works. 🙂

good luck !

matt