Working with Terrain Image Layers

Last update: 2022-10-04
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IMPORTANT

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In data workbench, a terrain image layer displays terrain imagery of the Earth.

Terrain image layers are stored in the Geography profile, in a custom format. These image layers can be generated by Adobe, or data workbench server can transform your user-supplied terrain imagery into terrain layers suitable for use on the globe visualization.

NOTE

To work with terrain image layers, you must install the Terrain Images.cfg file provided by Adobe. For installation instructions, see Installing Data Workbench Geography.

To define a terrain image layer, you must have the following:

  • One or more terrain image files containing the images to be displayed on the globe.
  • A Terrain Images.cfg file that specifies the terrain image file(s) to be used for the layer(s). The Terrain Images.cfg file enables you to add one or more sources to create a terrain image layer. The format of your terrain image file determines the type of source that you should add. The following table provides descriptions of the available terrain image layer sources, including the supported terrain image file formats:
Type Description
Raw unprojected bitmap

Creates terrain image layers from 24-bit headerless RGB files that are latitude-longitude aligned (unprojected), where north is the top of the image, and east is the right.

Supported image format(s): RAW

Note: This source requires projection information. For information about projection formats, see Specifying Projection Information for Terrain Images.

General image, unprojected

Creates terrain image layers from 24-bit, latitude-longitude aligned (unprojected) image formats, where north is the top of the image, and east is the right.

Supported image format(s): BMP, JPG, PNG, TIFF

Note: This source requires projection information. For information about projection formats, see Specifying Projection Information for Terrain Images.

Image with embedded projection

Creates terrain image layers from image formats that embed geodetic data in the image file. The projection information is extracted from the image.

Supported image format(s): Erdas (IMG), GeoTIFF

Note: This source usually does not require projection information but supports the addition of such information if needed. For information about projection formats, see Specifying Projection Information for Terrain Images.

To define a terrain image layer

  1. In data workbench, on the Admin > Dataset and Profile tab, click the Servers Manager thumbnail to open the Servers Manager workspace.

  2. Within the Servers Manager window, right-click the icon of the desired data workbench server and click Server Files.

  3. In the Server Files Manager, click Components to view its contents. The Terrain Images.cfg file is located within this directory.

  4. Right-click the check mark in the server name column for Terrain Images.cfg, then click Make Local. A check mark appears in the Temp column for Terrain Images.cfg.

  5. Right-click the newly created check mark in the Temp column and click Open > from the workbench. The Terrain Images.cfgwindow appears.

  6. In the Terrain Images window, click component to view its contents.

  7. Right-click Sources > Add new and choose one of the following source types:

    • Raw unprojected bitmap. (Once added, this source type is labeled RawTerrainSource in the Terrain Images window.)

    • General image, unprojected. (Once added, this source type is labeled GDALTerrainSource in the Terrain Images window.)

    • Image with embedded projection. (Once added, this source type is labeled GDALTerrainSource in the Terrain Images window.)

  8. Edit the parameters for the source as necessary using the following sample file and table of parameters as guides.

Parameter Description
Gamma Optional for all sources. Specifies gamma correction to be applied to the source image. This may be desirable due to the fact that data workbench normally runs with a high gamma setting. The default value is 1.
Height Required for raw unprojected bitmap images. The height of the source image in pixels.
Projection Info

Required for raw unprojected bitmap images and general images, unprojected, but supported for images with embedded projection. Data workbench Geography supports latitude-longitude projections and Transverse Mercator (TM) projections for terrain image layers. The default projection format is the latitude-longitude projection (LatLonProjection).

For information about projection formats, see Specifying Projection Information for Terrain Images.

Source Image Required for all sources. The name of the source image file. This may be a file name or a wildcard pattern. Using a pattern may be useful if, for instance, images for the same region at different dates are uploaded, with no change in the associated metadata. Therefore a pattern like “ Tysons Corner *.raw” would create layers from Tysons Corner 050211.raw, Tysons Corner 050218.raw, and so on as new images are added, with no additional configuration necessary if the parameters for the files are otherwise identical.
Tile Compression Quality

Optional for all sources. For JPEG compression, an integer from 0 to 100 specifying how to balance image size and quality. (The default value is zero.) A higher number results in better image quality, but produces larger images and longer download times for data workbench users.

Compressing images below 70 may result in image degradation.

Tile Compressor Optional for all sources. Specifies what compression method is used to write output files. The only currently supported methods are RAWRGB (the default, resulting in no compression) and JPEG. Use JPEG compression to reduce the size of layers that are transmitted during profile synchronization.
Width Required for raw unprojected bitmap images. The width of the source image in pixels.

  1. Edit the Source Image Location, Temp Image Storage, and Write Layers To parameters using the following table as a guide. These parameters apply to all of the terrain image sources that you define in the Sources section of this file.

    Parameter Description
    Source Image Location Required. The directory that is scanned for images to translate into terrain layers. If it is not an absolute path, it is interpreted relative to the data workbench server installation directory.
    Temp Image Storage Optional. The name of a directory that is used for storage of temporary files used in the translation of source images to terrain layers. If it is not an absolute path, it is interpreted relative to the data workbench server installation directory. The default location is the Temp directory.
    Write Layers To Required. The directory to which terrain layers are output. Ordinarily, this is the Maps subdirectory of a profile directory, so that the Globe visualization can find the layers.

  2. Save the file by right-clicking (modified) at the top of the window and clicking Save.

  3. To save updated file to the data workbench server machine, in the Server Files Manager, right-click the check mark for Terrain Images.cfg in the Temp column, then click Save to > < server name>.

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