Globe Manager Hierarchy Tab

In the Globe Manager window, you can use the Hierarchy tab to add central bodies, image items, terrain items, and terrain tile sets to a scenario. You can also organize image and terrain items into sets and change or delete the base images of globes in the scenario.

Click any of the following links to learn about the Hierarchy tab.

• Use the Hierarchy Toolbar to add or delete terrain and imagery data and sets, add or delete textures, toggle extents, add central bodies, and import or export globes.

• Adjust characteristics of a central body, including textures, colors, terrain, imagery, globes, clouds, and Sun display settings.

• Change characteristics and views of terrain, imagery, and tileset data.

• Add items to and adjust properties of terrain and imagery sets.

• Work with textures.

• Change the properties of clouds on the globe.

• Use logistical capabilities to move and manage contents in the Hierarchy tab.

Hierarchy toolbar

Hierarchy Toolbar
Icon	Description
	Clicking the Properties icon displays the Item Properties window for the selected item. See Item properties for more details.
	Click the Add Terrain/Imagery icon to access a menu for adding terrain and imagery (), terrain and imagery sets (), 3D tilesets (), nightlight textures (), and specular textures () to the globe.
	Clicking the Zoom To icon zooms to the selected central body, image, or terrain in the 3D Graphics window.
	If you select an item and click this Toggle Extents icon or right-click an item and select Toggle Extents from the shortcut menu, the item will become highlighted in the 3D Graphics window, enabling you to observe the extent of the item. Click Toggle Extents again to deselect the highlighted item. When you close Globe Manager, it automatically disables any highlighted extents. When Globe Manager shows multiple extents, the extent of the item selected in Globe Manager is highlighted in translucent green. All other extents are highlighted in translucent white. AGI recommends that you zoom to the item before viewing extents.
	Click the Import Globe icon to import an STK globe file (.glb) into Globe Manager, replacing the current globe. In the Import Globe File dialog box that appears, browse to a GLB file and click Open. Importing a globe will remove any sets and items in the current globe and cannot be undone. By default, all sets in an imported globe have their visibility set to disabled when initially loaded. Select the check box next to a set name to display it in the 3D Graphics window.
	Clicking the Export Globe icon saves an STK GLB file. The Save As dialog box will appear and enable you to save a GLB file. Other STK users can then import this GLB file. GLB files are text files that record what files are used in the globe and where they are located in relation to the local system. Imagery and terrain files are not saved as part of the GLB file. When sharing GLB files, the receiving user must have access to the imagery and terrain files either on their system in the same directory structure as the original user or on the same network resources as the original user.
	Click this icon to add a central body to the scenario. Choose from a menu list of available central bodies to add.
	Click this to cut the selection.
	Click this to copy the selection.
	Click this to paste the selection.
	Click this to delete the selection.

Item properties

To display the properties of terrain, 3D tileset, and imagery items, select the item and click Properties () in the Hierarchy toolbar or right-click the item and select Properties from the shortcut menu. The Item Properties window displays the name, location, and extents of the selected item. The Lineage section displays the sets in which to include the item.

The properties for a 3D tileset also includes a Quality section. This contains a slider bar which enables you to adjust the image quality of your tileset from Low to High, with higher image quality demanding greater processing time. Choose the setting that best suits your needs. Click Reset to bring the setting back to its default value, not your last setting.

When displaying the properties of a JPEG 2000 image item (.jp2), the Visual Attributes section contains a Use Transparency Color check box. Select the check box and enter the values for Red, Green, and Blue color within the image that you want to be transparent.

Translucency settings are available when displaying the properties of JP2 and PDTTX images. One option is to select Translucency and enter the percentage of translucency. A second option is to select Interpolate Translucency over Altitude to have translucency change based on altitude. Set the minimum and maximum altitudes and their associated translucency percentages.

The Lineage and Visual attributes are not available for base, nightlight, or specular images.

Central body

Click the toggle below to read descriptions of the commands on the menu.

Primary central body hierarchy default

When you create a scenario, Globe Manager will automatically include in the hierarchy those central bodies associated with the selected primary central body. For example, if you select Europa as the primary central body, STK will also populate the Globe Manager Hierarchy tab with the Sun, Jupiter, Io, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Terrain and imagery data

When you right-click a terrain or image item, a menu appears. Click the toggle below to read descriptions of the commands on the menu.

Add terrain tilesets from a terrain server

To add terrain from the AGI Terrain Server or a custom terrain server:

1. Right-click a central body on the Hierarchy tab and select Configure Terrain Server....
2. From the Terrain Services dialog box , select either AGI Terrain Server or Custom Terrain Server (must specify).
3. Click the Tileset down arrow to select a tileset and click OK .
4. The Preferences dialog box will appear with the selected terrain server highlighted under Services. Click OK again and the selected tileset will appear along with the icon () in the Hierarchy tab; it will be enabled by default.

Click the toggle below to read descriptions of the commands on the menu that appears when you right-click a terrain server item.

Add terrain and imagery data or 3D tilesets

You can add imagery and terrain data or 3D tilesets to any central body by clicking and selecting the appropriate option. The Open Terrain and Imagery Data dialog box or the Add 3D Tilesets dialog box will appear. Follow the steps below.

You can also select a central body in the Hierarchy list and click Add Terrain/Imagery... or Add 3D Tilesets....

1. Select the location (source) of the files:
• Local Files. Select terrain, imagery, 3D tilesets, nightlight textures, and specular textures that reside on your local machine and network.
• Bing Maps. This option appears for terrain, imagery, nightlight textures, and specular textures. Select a Microsoft Bing map (Aerial, Hybrid, Roads, Roads Dark, or Roads Gray). The default server is virtualearth.net.
• Hosted files. This option only appears when you select Add 3D Tilesets. When you click this option, you can then select a server from the Server drop-down menu. This gives you access to 3D tilesets hosted on servers you registered through Data Services, including the following possible servers:
  • Google Maps
  • Geospatial Content Server (GCS)
  • Cesium ion
  For information on adding or managing the connection between STK and the GCS data service, see STK Enterprise Data Services (SEDS) Details.

When browsing for terrain and imagery, you can copy and paste or type the name of the file into the Path field.

STK will automatically use the File Find directory path in the list of places Globe Manager searches for terrain and imagery.

2. Enter or browse to the path where the files are located.

You can select all previously used directories or a specific previously used directory from the Path shortcut menu. You can also click the ellipsis () to open a file selection dialog box and choose the directory containing the files.

3. When you select the Path, the available imagery and terrain items are displayed in the item list showing their Names, Types, Latitudes, and Longitudes. You can select individual items by clicking the box next to the name. Items will become highlighted when selected.

The dialog box contains a Filter tool to display only items that meet specific criteria. When you click the Filter tool, a second dialog box will display. Add a filter parameter by clicking in the box. Select from the available properties and operators and enter or select the filter value. Shortcut menus will only display available properties, operators, and values. Only files of the type selected will be displayed.

To delete a filter parameter, click the blue X.

To filter the available files, click Apply Filter.

4. To customize the type of information shown for the files, click Settings ().
5. Select the files from the table and click Add. The items will appear in the Globe Manager and on the selected central body in the 3D GraphicsWindow.

You can also add terrain and imagery items to the scenario by dragging and dropping the files from the file browser into the 3D Graphics window. The terrain and imagery files automatically populate the Globe Manager.

When you add a terrain file (PDTT or PDTTX) to the Globe Manager, it is automatically added to the scenario's terrain properties page.

For a description of the properties images and tilesets, see Item properties.

Terrain/Imagery sets

Add a set

You can group image and terrain items together in sets as a way to manage them and turn them on and off together. To create a set, click and select Add Terrain/Imagery Set (). The Set Properties dialog box appears. Name the set and, if needed, set the Minimum and Maximum Display Altitudes and the Start and End display times.

You can also add sets by right-clicking any central body in the Hierarchy tab, scrolling down, and selecting Create Terrain/Imagery Set... from the shortcut menu.

Add terrain/imagery to a set

Once a set has been created, you can right-click the set and select Add Terrain/Imagery to Set... from the shortcut menu, or, with the set selected, click in the Hierarchy Toolbar and select Add Terrain/Imagery. This opens the Open Imagery/Terrain Data dialog box where you can choose from the available items.

Moving items in and out of sets

You can move items in and out of sets and between sets by selecting them and dragging them. You can also right-click an item, select Cut, and then right-click a set and select Paste from the shortcut menu to move an item between sets.

Moving items in the Hierarchy tab can affect the render order of the moved items. If render order is important for your scenario, be sure to double-check the Render Order tab to assure the images and terrain will display correctly.

Click the toggle below to read descriptions of the commands on the menu that displays when you right-click a terrain/imagery set item.

Working with textures

Change base texture

To change the base texture on a central body, right-click any central body or central body base texture in the Globe Manager window and select Change Base... from the shortcut menu. When the Pick Base Texture dialog box appears, proceed as follows:

1. Select the file source on the left (Local, Bing Maps, etc.).
2. Enter the Path or click to browse to and select a file path.
3. Select the check box of the file you want to use. You can only select one check box.

Compressed texture files, such as JPEG 2000 textures, are slower to load than uncompressed texture files.

Click the toggle below to read descriptions of the commands on the menu that displays when you right-click a base item.

Microsoft Bing™ maps

When you create a scenario, STK adds a Bing map to the hierarchy by default and sets it to display in the 3D Graphics window at a maximum altitude of 2500 km. Click the Bing Maps toolbar on the 3D Graphics Window to select from the available maps and to set map visibility. Microsoft Bing Maps is a geospatial mapping platform. STK can use Microsoft Bing Maps imagery as a background globe image. To use Microsoft Bing Maps imagery, right-click Earth in the Hierarchy tab, select Change Base..., and click Microsoft Bing Maps on the left. On the right, select one of the Microsoft Bing Maps image options — Aerial, Hybrid, Roads, Roads Dark, or Roads Gray — to place on the Globe in the 3D Graphics window. The default server is virtualearth.net.

The Microsoft Bing Maps toolbar is also available on the STK toolbar. If you do not see it on the STK toolbar, click View -> Toolbars and select Microsoft Bing Maps.

The Microsoft Bing Maps option uses the proxy information defined in Online Options.

Add nightlights texture

To add a nightlight texture to a central body, right-click any central body in the Hierarchy tab and select Add Nightlights... from the shortcut menu. The Pick Nightlights Texture dialog box appears, proceed as follows:

1. Select the file source on the left (Local, etc.).
2. Enter the Path or click to browse to and select a file path.
3. Select the check box of the file you want to use. You can only select one check box.

To change the nightlight texture on a globe, right-click a nightlight texture or any central body with a nightlight texture and select Change Nightlights... from the shortcut menu.

Add specular texture

To add a specular texture to a central body, right-click any central body in the Hierarchy tab and select Add Specular... from the shortcut menu. The Pick Specular Texture dialog box appears, proceed as follows:

1. Select the file source on the left (Local, etc.).
2. Enter the Path or click to browse to and select a file path.
3. Select the check box of the file you want to use. You can only select one check box.

To change the specular texture on a central body, right-click any specular texture and select Change Specular... from the shortcut menu.

Delete texture

To delete Base, Nightlight, and Specular textures, right-click the texture and select Remove.

Working with clouds

Cloud index files contain a time-ordered list of images that display over the globe. A cloud file comprises a list of one or more image files that together cover the globe or the area specified by the POS file (position file). Cloud image files end in a CLD, PGM or raster image extensions.

To associate a POS file with a cloud file, giving you the ability to create a cloud file for a specific region, place the POS file in the same directory as the cloud file.

Click the toggle below to read descriptions of the commands on the menu that appears when you right-click a cloud item.

Change clouds

To change cloud data, right-click Earth or the current cloud file in the Hierarchy tab and select Change Clouds... from the shortcut menu. Select a cloud file from the Change Cloud Data dialog box.

Use Auto Clouds

Right-click Earth and select Use Auto Clouds to have STK automatically create a CLD index file and download time-tagged cloud image files for the scenario time period from the AGI ftp site (https://ftp.agi.com/pub/DynamicEarthData). The files are downloaded to <STK all users area>\STKData\VO\Clouds.

Whenever the scenario time is updated, STK will update the cloud data using the new scenario time interval.

Cloud properties

Right-click the cloud file in Hierarchy and select Properties to display cloud properties information. The dialog box displays the name and location of the file as well as the settings for altitude and roundness. You can change the altitude of the cloud layer. To adjust roundness, use the slider or enter a value in the text box. STK multiplies this roundness factor value by the tessellation value specified in the cloud file to determine the actual roundness of the clouds. When the value of roundness increases, the cloud layer appears smoother. However, larger values may degrade interactive performance.

Managing content in the Hierarchy tab

You can perform the following management tasks in the Hierarchy tab of the Globe Manager window. This applies to first-level items only.

Display

You can have the 3D Graphics window display or hide sets and items by selecting or clearing the check box next to each set or item in the Hierarchy tab. When selected, the set or item will appear on the globe in the 3D Graphics window. When cleared, the set or item won't appear.

Deleting items and sets

You can right-click an item or set and select Remove from the shortcut menu to delete it from Globe Manager.