"},{"ID":8292,"user_firstname":"Jasmine","user_lastname":"Du","nickname":"Jasmine Du","user_nicename":"jdu","display_name":"Jasmine Du","user_email":"JDu@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-08-16 01:40:55","user_description":"Jasmine Du is the Product Manager of Scene Viewer. She frequently speaks about 3D GIS and Digital Twin workflows. Trained as a GIS professional, Jasmine has more than 12 years of experience in the geospatial industry. She is focused on empowering industries through Esri's latest 3D capabilities.","user_avatar":"
"}],"show_article_image":false,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled-July-10-2026-at-16.08.17.png","wide_image":false,"short_description":"From visualization to analysis, discover how Scene Viewer helps you get more from your GIS data in a web-based 3D environment.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"2D maps are where many GIS workflows begin. They help teams understand places, manage assets, reveal patterns, and work with the data they use every day.<\/p>\n
3D adds context that helps teams turn understanding into action. Planning and engineering teams see how a proposed building fits into its surroundings, utility teams understand the relationship between underground networks and surface activity, and emergency responders evaluate how terrain, access, and visibility shape real-world response.<\/p>\n
Scene Viewer<\/a> makes it easy to explore and analyze scenarios like these in 3D, helping teams add context to their geospatial data and make more informed decisions. Whether you\u2019re working with web maps, operational layers, imagery, building models, or reality capture, you can explore familiar GIS information in an interactive 3D environment, directly in the browser.<\/p>\n This post highlights how to bring your 2D data into 3D and create web scenes that add context, support decisions, and make your work easier to share.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Every web scene starts with a foundation: Choose the scene type that fits your project, add the data you want to visualize, and use basemaps and terrain to provide geographic context. From there, you’re ready to begin styling and refining your scene.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_34isp79t","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Get started with 3D right away by adding realistic cityscapes with Google’s Photorealistic 3D Basemap (preview)<\/a>, no specialized 3D data required.<\/em><\/p>\n \n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To access Scene Viewer<\/a>, sign in with an ArcGIS Online<\/a> or ArcGIS Enterprise<\/a> account (you’ll need a Creator user type<\/a> or higher to create and save scenes). From there:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t have 3D data yet? <\/strong>Instantly add realistic 3D context with the Google Photorealistic 3D basemap (preview)<\/a> to your scenes with streaming access to more than 2,500 cities across 49 countries.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Good 2D maps already communicate a lot through color, size, and symbology. Scene Viewer builds on these cartographic tools with 3D styling that adds depth and emphasis. Whether using animation, glow, or realistic symbols, these styling options make trends, hotspots, and relationships easier to see in complex data.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_91shd55w","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Symbolize snowplow routes and simulate weather conditions in a realistic 3D environment to support informed decisions during winter operations.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To style your 3D web scenes, consider adding:<\/strong><\/p>\n Sunlight shifts throughout the day, weather changes, and natural forces such as wind and water are constantly in motion. Scene Viewer helps you understand how these conditions shape a place by bringing environmental context directly into your web scene.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_nt7g7jpg","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" See how sunlight and shadows change throughout the day and year with the Daylight tool.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" If you’re interested in visualizing environmental conditions, try:<\/p>\n Many spatial questions depend on perspective. By viewing a web scene from different angles, you can evaluate visibility, understand obstructions, and uncover relationships that might otherwise be overlooked.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_d46vecvg","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Click anywhere in your web scene to reveal coordinates, elevation, nearby address information, and oriented imagery with the Location tool.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Scene Viewer goes beyond visualization with analysis tools that help you answer real-world questions directly in the browser. Whether you’re estimating volumes, understanding accessibility and travel times, or measuring features in 3D, you can analyze your data without leaving the web scene.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_7d5avxw8","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Calculate cut, fill, and net volume for faster site assessment with the Measure volume tool (beta).<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" If you’re interested in analyzing data in 3D, try:<\/strong><\/p>\n Explore more analysis tools<\/strong> \u2014 Discover additional browser-based analysis capabilities and see real-world examples in the Perform analysis in Scene Viewer<\/a> documentation and Introducing Analysis Tools in Scene Viewer<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" 3D gives teams a clearer way to understand the built environment, from planning and design to construction, facilities, and public safety. In Scene Viewer, buildings, basemaps, reality capture, and other layers can come together to show current conditions, proposed changes, and the context around them.<\/p>\n For organizations working toward a digital twin, this can be an important step in the journey. Scene Viewer helps teams start with a descriptive view of physical assets and the surrounding environment, then share that context with others as more data, systems, and information are added over time.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_b67ujzxb","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Add custom 3D models to Scene Viewer to visualize buildings, projects, and designs in real-world context.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To explore the built environment, you can: <\/strong><\/p>\n Some insights only become visible when you look beyond a single moment. With time-enabled data, you can explore change, identify trends, and better understand how events unfold across space and time. These temporal insights also support operational workflows, helping organizations monitor evolving conditions as they change over time.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_9q31a5qj","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Visualize construction progress and other time-enabled data with interactive time sliders.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To work with time, try: <\/strong><\/p>\n The value of a web scene doesn’t stop when you finish creating it. Easily publish interactive 3D web scenes that colleagues, stakeholders, and the public can explore in a browser or on a mobile device.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_8bcmaaub","time":false,"start":0},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Use Presentation Mode to highlight key locations, guide viewers through a web scene, and share projects with others.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" If you’re interested in sharing your work:<\/strong><\/p>\n Scene Viewer continues to evolve to support greater visualization, exploration, analysis, and operational digital twin workflows. Whether you\u2019re just getting started or pushing the limits of your current web scenes, your feedback helps guide what comes next.<\/p>\n Take the survey<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Scene Viewer brings 3D GIS into the browser, making it easier to visualize, explore, analyze, and share the places and systems that matter to your work. As 3D becomes part of more workflows, from planning and design to operations and digital twins, Scene Viewer gives teams a familiar place to bring data together, add context, and move decisions forward.<\/p>\n Try it today:<\/strong> Open the Scene Viewer Welcome screen<\/a> to explore featured scenes right away, even without signing in.<\/p>\n Additional resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n Thanks to the Scene Viewer team\u2014especially Janett Olivar and Jasmine Du\u2014for their support in developing this post, and to Fabio Fornallaz, Dario Martini, and everyone else who contributed to the web scenes featured throughout this article.<\/em><\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\nSet the scene<\/h1>\n
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Stylize data in 3D<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Simulate real-world conditions<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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See from any viewpoint<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Uncover insights<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Explore the built environment<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Visualize change over time<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Share what you\u2019ve built<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Shape what\u2019s next<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Keep exploring<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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