3D tiles layers reference cached content. To avoid copying 3D data and building caches on the ArcGIS Data Store machines, you can create a 3D tiles dataset, place it in a user-maintained cloud storage or folder data store, and publish a 3D tiles layer that references the dataset.
Prepare the 3D content
To publish a 3D tiles layer that reference precreated content, you must create a 3D tiles dataset.
You can create a 3D tiles dataset using ArcGIS Reality Studio, ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro, or ArcGIS Drone2Map.
A 3D tiles dataset is composed of a folder containing a JSON file named tileset.json at the root level of the folder and subfolders that contain the 3D caches. The 3D tiles dataset name corresponds to the name of the top-level folder.
Tip:
The tileset.json file and the folders containing the 3D content must be in the same folder in the file share or cloud storage location. In other words, the JSON file and the 3D content folders cannot be nested in different subfolders.
Follow these steps to prepare the content to reference:
- Create a 3D tiles dataset using one of the following:
- Copy the 3D tiles dataset (the top-level folder and its contents) and place it in a cloud storage location or file share.
- Register the storage location where you placed the 3D tiles dataset as a data store with the appropriate federated ArcGIS Server site, using one of the following options:
- Add a cloud storage data store in the portal.
- Add a folder data store in the portal.
- Register a folder or cloud data store in ArcGIS Pro.
- If you are preparing the data for others to use, share the data store item with the appropriate group or the organization.
Publish a 3D tiles layer
Now that the 3D tiles dataset is in a registered data store, you can publish a 3D tiles layer that reference the dataset. You can publish in the portal, as described below, or publish from ArcGIS Pro, as described in the ArcGIS Pro help.
Follow these steps to publish a 3D tiles layer in the portal from the 3D content you placed in a data store:
- Sign in to the portal.
You must be a member of the default publisher or administrator role or a member of a custom role with privileges to publish server-based layers and create, update, and delete content.
- On the My content tab of the content page, click New item.
- Choose Tile layer.
- Choose 3D tiles layer, choose Select a dataset in a data store, and click Next.
- Choose the data store that contains the 3D tiles dataset and click Next.
- Choose the 3D tiles dataset and click Next.
- Choose a type from the Layer type drop-down list.
This information will be stored with the 3D tiles layer item to indicate how it can be used.
- Integrated mesh—Use for textured continuous meshes that capture realistic features that contain all information in one layer such as buildings, vegetation, and terrain. These types of layers can be used in Scene Viewer or ArcGIS Pro 3.2 or later.
- 3D objects—Use for discrete objects modeled in three dimensions such as buildings. 3D objects can be textured or untextured and often contain attribute information. These types of layers can be used in ArcGIS Pro 3.2 and later.
- Click Next.
- Type a title.
- Choose a folder in My content where you want to save the item.
- If your organization administrator configured content categories, click Assign categories and select up to 20 categories to help people find the item.
You can also start typing a category name to narrow the list of categories.
- Optionally, type tag terms separated by commas.
Tags are words or short phrases that describe your item and help people find your item when searching. Federal land is considered one tag, while Federal,land is considered two tags.
- Optionally, type a summary that describes the data.
- Click Save.
The 3D tiles layer is created as an item on your My content page. To make it available to others, share it.