Object Editor Toolbar | Position a Vehicle | Position an Area Target | Position a Facility | Constrain the Direction | Remove a Control Point | Save Changes

3D Object Editor

Use the 3D Object Editor to define and modify the position of an area target, facility, place, aircraft, ground vehicle, ship, or target in the 3D Graphics window.

To access the editor, select Toolbars--->3D Object Editing from the View menu. The 3D Object Editor toolbar is displayed.

The 3D Object Editor requires that the Selection option on the 3D Graphics Annotation property page be enabled.

Object Editor Toolbar

The Object Editor toolbar contains:

  • Object Selection window. Use to select the object to be edited. Once an object is selected, the Start Editing button is enabled.
  • Start Editing/Save button (). Use to start the object editor and then, after making changes, save your changes.
  • Cancel Editing button (). Use to cancel any unsaved changes and turn off the object editor.
  • Drop lines button (). Use to display/ hide drop lines from the selected object. Drop lines help you see the cartographic location of an object that is positioned at an altitude above the surface.

Start the Object Editor

To start the object editor:

  1. Select a 3D Graphics window as the active window. The Object Selection window becomes available.
  2. Select an object from the drop-down list. (You can only edit one object at a time.)
  3. Click Start Editing/Save on the toolbar to start the object editor. The object being edited is highlighted in the 3D window if there is any data associated with the object.

3D editing will cause models to disappear during the editing process.

Add or Modify the Position of a Vehicle

You cannot use the 3D Object Editor with a vehicle that has its propagator set to RealTime.

  1. To add a new waypoint, hold down the shift key and click the desired location. The new waypoint becomes the active, editable point, displaying the CBF coordinate axis at the position of the waypoint.
  2. Continue to use the shift-click combination to add additional waypoints.
  3. To move a waypoint, select the waypoint and drag it to its new location.

It is not recommended that you use the Route Properties page while using the 3D Object Editor to add or modify waypoints.

Add or Modify the Position of an Area Target

  1. To add an area target, hold down the Shift key and click the desired locations. You must select a minimum of three points.
  2. To add additional points, shift-click an existing area target line to insert a new point.
  3. To move a boundary point, select it and drag the point to a new location.

Add or Modify the Position of a Facility, Place, or Target

  1. Click the Facility/Place/Target point to activate it. The axis, in CBF coordinate frame, for the point is displayed.
  2. Click and drag the point to a new location or shift-click the new location. The shift-click combination is useful if you need to first rotate the globe to view the desired location for the object.

Constrain the Direction

The CBF axis for the selected point can be used to constrain the direction of editing an object. The position of the waypoints can only be changed in the direction of the selected axis.

To change the selected axis, click the desired constraining axis. By default, both the X and Y axes are used as the constraining axes.

Remove a Control Point

Shift-click an existing control point to remove it.

Save Your Changes

  1. Select one of the following:
    • To save your editing changes, click Start Editing/Save on the toolbar. The object displays in its new location.
    • To cancel your editing changes, click the red button.
  2. To continue editing the same object, click Start Editing/Save or select a new object to edit.