Display a web scene

Learn how to create and display a scene from a web scene stored in ArcGIS.

This tutorial shows you how to create and display a scene from a web scene. All web scenes are stored in ArcGIS with a unique item ID. You will access an existing web scene by item ID and display its layers. The web scene contains feature layers for the Santa Monica Mountains in California.

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial:

  1. You need an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account.

  2. Your system meets the system requirements.

  3. The ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt, version 200.5.0 or later is installed.

  4. The Qt 6.5.6 software development framework is installed.

Open the project in Qt Creator

  1. To start this tutorial, complete the Display a scene tutorial or download and unzip the solution.

  2. Open the Display_a_scene project in Qt Creator.

  3. If you downloaded the solution, get an access token and set the API key.

Get the web scene item ID

You can use ArcGIS tools to create and view web scenes. Use the Scene Viewer to identify the web scene item ID. This item ID will be used later in the tutorial.

  1. Go to the LA Trails and Parks web scene in the Scene Viewer in ArcGIS Online. This web scene displays trails, trailheads and parks in the Santa Monica Mountains.
  2. Make a note of the item ID at the end of the browser's URL. The item ID should be 579f97b2f3b94d4a8e48a5f140a6639b.

Remove unneeded code

A web scene can define all of the content created in this code, such as the basemap, elevation layer, and initial viewpoint. Accordingly, the following code needs to be removed or changed.

  1. In Projects, double-click Sources > Display_a_scene.cpp to open the file.

  2. Remove the unnecessary #include statements for: ArcGISTiledElevationSource.h, Camera.h, ElevationSourceListModel.h, MapTypes.h, and Surface.h. Removing these lines of code will keep you from having compiler warnings.

    Display_a_scene.cpp
    Use dark colors for code blocks
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    32
    33
    34
    35
    36
    37
    38
    39
    40
    41
    42
    43
    44
    45
    46
    47
    48
    49
    50
    51
    52
    53
    54
    55
    56
    57
    58
    59
    60
    61
    62
    63
    64
    65
    66
    67
    68
    69
    70
    71
    72
    73
    74
    75
    76
    77
    78
    79
    80
    81
    82
    83
    84
    85
    86
    87
    88
    89
    90
    91
    92
    93
    94
    95
    96
    97
    98
    #include "Display_a_scene.h"
    
    
    #include "ArcGISTiledElevationSource.h"
    
    #include "Camera.h"
    
    #include "ElevationSourceListModel.h"
    #include "MapTypes.h"
    
    #include "Scene.h"
    #include "SceneQuickView.h"
    
    #include "Surface.h"
    
    
    #include <QUrl>
    
  3. Change the constructor to remove the 2nd argument. This means the full syntax for the current multi-line statement will become just QObject(parent).

    Display_a_scene.cpp
    Use dark colors for code blocks
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    32
    33
    34
    35
    36
    37
    38
    39
    40
    41
    42
    43
    44
    45
    46
    47
    48
    49
    50
    51
    52
    53
    54
    55
    56
    57
    58
    59
    60
    61
    62
    63
    64
    65
    66
    67
    68
    69
    70
    71
    72
    73
    74
    75
    76
    77
    78
    79
    80
    81
    82
    83
    84
    85
    86
    87
    88
    89
    90
    91
    92
    93
    94
    95
    96
    97
    98
    Display_a_scene::Display_a_scene(QObject* parent /* = nullptr */):
    
        QObject(parent),
    
        m_scene(new Scene(BasemapStyle::ArcGISImagery, this))
    
  4. Remove the following lines since you will not be using an ArGISTiledElevationSource from a QUrl and applying it to the Scene.

    Display_a_scene.cpp
    Use dark colors for code blocks
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    32
    33
    34
    35
    36
    37
    38
    39
    40
    41
    42
    43
    44
    45
    46
    47
    48
    49
    50
    51
    52
    53
    54
    55
    56
    57
    58
    59
    60
    61
    62
    63
    64
    65
    66
    67
    68
    69
    70
    71
    72
    73
    74
    75
    76
    77
    78
    79
    80
    81
    82
    83
    84
    85
    86
    87
    88
    89
    90
    91
    92
    93
    94
    95
    96
    97
    98
        // create a new elevation source from Terrain3D rest service
        ArcGISTiledElevationSource* elevationSource = new ArcGISTiledElevationSource(
                    QUrl("https://elevation3d.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D/ImageServer"), this);
    
        // add the elevation source to the scene to display elevation
        m_scene->baseSurface()->elevationSources()->append(elevationSource);
    
  5. Remove the following lines to remove the Camera object and all of its arguments.

    Display_a_scene.cpp
    Use dark colors for code blocks
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    32
    33
    34
    35
    36
    37
    38
    39
    40
    41
    42
    43
    44
    45
    46
    47
    48
    49
    50
    51
    52
    53
    54
    55
    56
    57
    58
    59
    60
    61
    62
    63
    64
    65
    66
    67
    68
    69
    70
    71
    72
    73
    74
    75
    76
    77
    78
    79
    80
    81
    82
    83
    84
    85
    86
    87
    88
    89
    90
    91
    92
    93
    94
    95
    96
    97
    98
    // Set the view (created in QML)
    void Display_a_scene::setSceneView(SceneQuickView* sceneView)
    {
        if (!sceneView || sceneView == m_sceneView)
        {
            return;
        }
    
        m_sceneView = sceneView;
        m_sceneView->setArcGISScene(m_scene);
    
        constexpr double latitude = 33.909;
        constexpr double longitude = -118.805;
        constexpr double altitude = 5330.0;
        constexpr double heading = 355.0;
        constexpr double pitch = 72.0;
        constexpr double roll = 0.0;
        const Camera sceneCamera(latitude, longitude, altitude, heading, pitch, roll);
        m_sceneView->setViewpointCameraAndWait(sceneCamera);
    
  6. Remove all of the existing code from the setupScene method.

    Display_a_scene.cpp
    Use dark colors for code blocks
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    32
    33
    34
    35
    36
    37
    38
    39
    40
    41
    42
    43
    44
    45
    46
    47
    48
    49
    50
    51
    52
    53
    54
    55
    56
    57
    58
    59
    60
    61
    62
    63
    64
    65
    66
    67
    68
    69
    70
    71
    72
    73
    74
    75
    76
    77
    78
    79
    80
    81
    82
    83
    84
    85
    86
    87
    88
    89
    90
    91
    92
    93
    94
    95
    96
    97
    98
    void Display_a_scene::setupScene()
    {
    
      ArcGISTiledElevationSource* elevationSource = new ArcGISTiledElevationSource(QUrl("https://elevation3d.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D/ImageServer"), this);
    
      Surface* elevationSurface = new Surface(this);
      elevationSurface->elevationSources()->append(elevationSource);
    
      elevationSurface->setElevationExaggeration(2.5);
      m_scene->setBaseSurface(elevationSurface);
    
    }

    Loading a scene from a web scene usually requires less code and makes it easier to update a scene used by several apps. Furthermore, web scenes can provide a more consistent experience for your user.

Display a web scene using its portal item URL

You can display a web scene using the web scene's item ID. Create a scene from the web scene portal item, and display it in your app.

  1. Add code to the setupScene method to create the web scene portal URL. Concatenate the web scene's unique item ID and the URL for ArcGIS Online.

    Display_a_scene.cpp
    Use dark colors for code blocks
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    32
    33
    34
    35
    36
    37
    38
    39
    40
    41
    42
    43
    44
    45
    46
    47
    48
    49
    50
    51
    52
    53
    54
    55
    56
    57
    58
    59
    60
    void Display_a_scene::setupScene()
    {
    
        // Create an item_id to reference an item at a web server
        const QString item_id("579f97b2f3b94d4a8e48a5f140a6639b");
    
        // Create a QUrl from the web scene server URL and the item_id
        const QUrl portal_url(QString("https://arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/" + item_id));
    
    
  2. Create the Scene using the web scene's URL.

    Display_a_scene.cpp
    Expand
    Use dark colors for code blocks
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    32
    33
    34
    35
    36
    37
    38
    39
    40
    41
    42
    43
    44
    45
    46
    47
    48
    49
    50
    51
    52
    53
    54
    55
    56
    57
    58
    59
    60
    void Display_a_scene::setupScene()
    {
    
        // Create an item_id to reference an item at a web server
        const QString item_id("579f97b2f3b94d4a8e48a5f140a6639b");
    
        // Create a QUrl from the web scene server URL and the item_id
        const QUrl portal_url(QString("https://arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/" + item_id));
    
        // Create the scene, referencing the QUrl
        m_scene = new Scene(portal_url, this);
    
    Expand
  3. Press Ctrl + R to run the app.

Your app displays the scene that you viewed earlier in the Scene Viewer.

What's Next?

Learn how to use additional API features, ArcGIS location services, and ArcGIS tools in these tutorials:

Your browser is no longer supported. Please upgrade your browser for the best experience. See our browser deprecation post for more details.