Working with GIS files in the Globe Manager

Tips for Optimizing Performance

The ability to sustain a reasonable animation frame rate (20-30 fps) depends on the user's awareness of the available system resources and the amount of data being loaded at one time.

Some factors that affect rendering performance are:

  • Size of data.
  • Number of data sources.
  • Performance of client (see STK System Requirements).
  • Performance of server computers.
  • Network bandwidth and traffic.

STK Tips

  1. Improve redrawing in a dynamic setting by clicking Data Refresh (Do Not Update GIS Data) on the Globe Manager toolbar.

    2. If your 3D Graphics view will not change, it is a good idea to only draw the data visible within that view. To do this turn Data Refresh on and set your View. Turn off Data Refresh when the data is finished loading. Zoom out to see the result.

  2. Toggle Off Layer(s) which are not in use.

    3. In addition to STK's system requirements, a multi-processor computer is recommended. This will directly improve rendering performance.

    If the globe is displayed with a solid color when the Drape On Surface option is enabled, check the configuration of your map document. Make sure that all the layers are configured for a transparent background. Also make sure that the map data frame background is set to "no color."

Tips for authoring map documents in Esri ArcGIS

Consider modifying the GIS files (.lyr, .mxd, .pmf, and .mxt) to achieve better rendering performance. Globe Manager cannot modify them so you will need to follow the steps below in an ArcGIS application.

  • Thin out the data by category attribute or geographic constraints:
    • Spatial query to create spatial subsets (i.e. Return ground stations within 20 miles of my flight path).
    • Attribute query to create subset (i.e. Return all of the primary roads in Pennsylvania).
    • ArcToolbox Clip Tool to crop an area of data based a polygon.
  • Modify the Layer Properties Scale Range so that rendering of data occurs at a higher zoom level.
  • Save your GIS files with relative paths. By default ArcMap will save map documents or layers with absolute paths which is a problem when datasets are moved (a broken data link will occur). See the online ArcGIS Desktop Help for detailed information on relative paths at "Repairing Broken Data Links" and "Referencing Data on the Map".
  • Use ArcToolbox Dissolve to merge 2 or more attributes which use the same name.

Known issues

  • STK only supports horizontal labels (i.e., parallel, perpendicular, or curved labels do not render properly). All line label position options are forced to horizontal on load to make sure they show up.
  • Tracking Analyst Layer types are not supported at this time.
  • A Terrain raster in a map document will display as a shaded relief image; however, this terrain may not be used in STK analysis. 

Open topic with navigation