Q: The SiteBuilder 3D toolbar is displayed in ArcMap but the menu items are dimmed out (unavailable). Why?
The SiteBuilder 3D toolbar is displayed as soon as SiteBuilder 3D is installed. To make the menu items available, click the Tools menu, click Extensions, then enable the SiteBuilder 3D extension.
Q: When I want to create terrain from elevation data, should I use TINs or GRIDS?
A: You can use either TINs or GRIDs to create terrain; however TINs are sometimes preferred because they can more accurately represent the shape of the ground with fewer polygons. The key to good performance is to minimize the number of polygons. An overly dense grid or TIN renders very slowly.
If you do not have Spatial Analyst or 3D Analyst installed, SiteBuilder 3D will create a base terrain directly from a feature layer with elevation data.
Q: Do I need to create a separate layer for each feature type that I want to convert to 3D?
A: No. You can have multiple 3D models delineated for features within the same layer. (The assumption here is that you have multiple features types in this layer, for example, a point layer with five different types of trees.)
Click Edit 3D Legend 
on
the SiteBuilder 3D toolbar to open the Place Selector dialog
box.
Select Point as the Place Method.
Select Single File for Model (flight file).
Press the right arrow button to the right of the text field.
Choose Value Field for Legend Type.
You can now point to any value field in your shapefile that has information about the feature type (for example, "P"=pinetree and "O"=oaktree) and then assign a specific tree model from the Model Librarian to that attribute. If you don't have any data in your layer that delineates the feature type, try a SiteBuilder scheme.
Q: Why are the heading values at the bottom of the 3D window 180 degrees off?
A: SiteBuilder 3D has no concept of compass headings, only degrees. The program uses the "right-hand rule", in which positive values move you clockwise and negative values move you counterclockwise. The norm in SiteBuilder 3D world is to treat the headings as follows:
North = 0.0 (or 360)
West = 270
South = 180
East = 90
Q: Is it wrong for my CPU usage to be at 100% when the 3D Viewer is active?
A: No, this is the correct behavior. The 3D Viewer is based on MultiGen-Paradigm's Vega technology. Vega uses 100% of the CPU to preserve run-time performance.
Q: How can I move a feature once it's placed in the 3D view?
A: During the design of SiteBuilder 3D, it was very important to maintain the geospatial accuracy and not compromise your ArcMap data. Consequently, SiteBuilder 3D builds a 3D view that matches your GIS data. Therefore any changes to the 3D view must first be made in ArcMap. To move features in SiteBuilder 3D, simply edit their location in ArcMap and then use the 3D Legend Editor and reproject the features to their new position.
Q: How can I increase my 3D performance?
A: See Optimizing Performance.
Q: Why are my roads or other linear features "flashing" in the 3D view?
A: This phenomenon is called "Z-fighting". Z-fighting occurs when you have two polygons (in this case a terrain polygon and a linear polygon, such as a road, occupying the same space in your 3D view). The flashing occurs because the computer is not sure which one to draw first.
To solve this problem, provide the 3D Legend Editor with an offset parameter. We recommend starting with a value of 0.2, which is the default value.
Q: Is there a way in the 3D Legend Editor that I can designate textures to use on a feature at a distance and an image file to use close up?
A: In your source files, separate the feature data that is going to be used close up (in a Special Interest Area) and save that feature data in its own shapefile.
Q: I’ve got 3D models of trees all over my terrain, instead of just in the Special Interest Area. How can I project 3D models only where they are needed?
A: Same solution as the last two questions. Make a shapefile for the Special Interest Area and another for the “fly-over” terrain.
Q: Why can’t I use negative values in the Height or Offset Height fields of the Place Parameters dialog box for a PolyLine place method?
A: A negative value will not work because the color or texture would be projected below the terrain, and would not be visible from the terrain.
Q: When I use the Flat Top place method, features are projected below the terrain, even though I have entered a positive value in the Height field. Why?
A: The value must be higher than the terrain or it will not be visible.
Q: Why can’t I see the bottom of the terrain when I fly under it?
A: All terrain is visible only from above the terrain; when you view it from below it is transparent, because you are looking at the back face of the polygons that make up the terrain. These backfacing polygons are not rendered, to improve performance.
Q: When I try to view my terrain all I see is a yellow and blue checkerboard. Why don’t I see the terrain texture?
A: Your image file may too large for your computer to project immediately. Try setting your Frame Rate to 1 (one) until the image is visible, then increase the frame rate. Or use the Drape Texture From Display feature instead of the Drape Texture From Image feature to produce a smaller terrain texture.
Q: Why does my 3D Viewer flicker or black out when a dialog box is in front of it?
A: This is an error caused by the way OpenGL redraws the screen when any 2D window is in front of a 3D window. To stop the flickering, move the dialog box to another portion of the screen, such as the ArcMap window.
Q: When I rename a file in the Model Librarian, why isn't the new name is shown in the 3D Legend Editor?
A: This is a known deficiency. The file is still referenced by the old name in the 3D Legend Editor.
Q: When I open the Model Librarian, there are no models or textures in it. Why?
A: If you do not have administrative privileges on your computer, the
first time you open the Model Librarian you must navigate to the folder
where the default model library is contained and select the DefaultSiteBuilderML.mlc file. If you installed to the
default location, this is located in:
C:\Program Files\Multigen-Paradigm\config\sitebuilder3d_forArcGIS\modellibrary.
Q: When I use Drape Texture From Image, why do I have offset tiles in the texture?
A: Close the 3D Viewer and launch it again to correct this problem.
Q: Why does my computer freeze up after it goes into “sleep mode” with SiteBuilder 3D running?
A: It is the nature of how the operating system interacts with your video drivers. Turn off sleep mode if you are going to leave your computer unattended for a long time.
Q: I’m using the Box place method to make forests out of polygon features. Is there a way to make it more realistic?
A: Try using the Sides and Top placement method, especially if you have sides with alpha channel forest textures. Make the sides taller than the tops to get the desired effect.
Q: Why is my tree layer is still displayed in the 3D Viewer even though its menu item is not selected in the Layers menu?
A: You may have generated the layer a second time when the menu item was not selected. Toggle the layer on and off (by selecting the menu item) until the trees are no longer displayed in the 3D Viewer.
Q: When I try to use Drape Texture From Image, nothing happens. What’s wrong?
A: The TIFF image you are using may have been saved in Mac byte order instead of in PC byte order. To fix the image, open it in any image-editing program, such as Photoshop and save it in PC byte order.
Q: Why don’t the textures show up on my OpenFlight models?
A: You may have used an absolute path to your texture files or you may have used spaces in the filenames or the path. Use relative paths for all your texture files and remove any spaces from their filenames and path. Also, make sure the data path points to the appropriate texture folder. Use Add Data Path to set it correctly.
Q: Can I use my SiteBuilder 3D terrain files in Creator, ModelBuilder 3D or Vega?
A: Yes, use the following procedure:
Generate terrain, textures, features in SB3D.
Publish data to OpenFlight.
Open terrain file in Creator.
Remove texture from all polygons, and from texture palette.
Open drape texture (image used in SB3D) in Photoshop.
Resize image to PowerOfTwoTexels x PowerOfTwoTexels and save as *.rgb.
In Creator, apply new RGB image to terrain with 3-point put.
Save terrain file.
Open the OpenFlight database of point layer in Creator.
Convert all externals references (verify textures come through properly mapped).
Save OpenFlight database of the point layer.
Repeat steps 9-11 for all OpenFlight point layers.
Open OpenFlight database of non-point layer in Creator (wall, flat-top, etc.).
Convert texture paths to ABSOLUTE paths.
Save OpenFlight database of non-point layer.
Repeat steps 13-15 for all OpenFlight non-point layers.
Open new database in Creator.
Create new external reference for terrain file.
Create new external reference for all layer files.
Save this database (this is your master database Flight file).
From here, you can load your master database file into Vega.
Q: Can I share a project or a Model Librarian database on a network?
A: No, only a license can be shared.
Q: When I add a new model to the Model Librarian, how do I create a thumbnail image to display instead of the MPI logo?
A: See the Creator or ModelBuilder online help, Using Snapshot, for information about taking a snapshot of the model and creating an .icn file to use as a thumbnail image. Add the .icn file to the same location as the OpenFlight file.
Q: How can I fix text in text boxes that are cropped?
A: Some words might be cropped out of text boxes. In Windows Display Properties, Settings panel, click Advanced and change the font size to Small Fonts.
Q: The Compressor menu for Movie Properties displays the MPEG codec twice. Does it matter which one I choose?
A: No, they are both the same.
Q: When I finish making a movie, why do I have trouble navigating in the 3D view ?
A: When you finish making a movie, the 3D view is in Edit Path Mode, which is similar to Pick Mode. To choose another motion model, select it from the Motion menu or use the keyboard shortcut. For example, choose Motion>Fly or press F to select Fly Mode.
Q: Why are some of my terrain polygons missing in the 3D Viewer?
A: Some terrain polygons may be omitted in the 3D Viewer when vertices are missing. This may result from errors in the Delaunay triangulation process (the process used by Create Terrain From Features).
Q: Why doesn’t the 3D Legend Editor accept Boolean values in a shape file?
A: If a shape file has a Boolean field and one of the values is set to NULL (no value or ““) then it is considered to be FALSE by the 3D Legend Editor when using Value Field to specify projection parameters.
Q: Is there a limit to the number of polygons that SiteBuilder 3D can load into the 3D Viewer?
A: Yes, there is a practical limit to how many polygons can be loaded. The operating system (Windows) may fail if the number of polygons is very high (more than one million) resulting in a blue screen. Even if the operating system could load a scene of this size, it would still be hard to navigate, because SiteBuilder 3D would have to render all of these polygons, resulting in a very low frame rate.