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3D Landscape Design & Visualization Software published and supported by AlphaPixel

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    Part 1A. Importing Data

    Getting Started with VNS 3: Getting Started
    Getting Started with VNS 3: Getting Started

    Part 1A. Importing Data

    1. Welcome to 3DNature‘s GIS visualization tool, Visual Nature Studio. When you launch VNS the opening splash screen will give way to a Startup Window where you can check Tips, Projects, and Tutorials.

    A software interface shows a tip about terrain morphing using an animated texture. The interface includes buttons labeled Tips, Tutorials, Existing Projects, New Projects, and Users.

    2. Existing Projects provides information about projects in your projects folder.

    A software interface with options for tutorials, existing projects, and new projects. Three project thumbnails are displayed: "Country Club.proj," "NYC.proj," and "LoneTree.proj.

    3. New Projects allows you to generate a new project from basic Components. The Users page is for working with multiple users and Templates. We’ll look at those in Part 6.

    A software interface showcasing various project options with images and text. Tabs include Tutorials, Existing Projects, New Projects, and Users. A cursor points to "New Projects" with diverse image thumbnails.

    4. Tutorials opens a list of Available Tutorials, each with a description and project thumbnail. Double-click the tutorial description or single-click the thumbnail to open it in your internet browser. The Resume button in the lower left corner opens the last project you were working on.

    A software interface displaying a list of available tutorials, including topics like Project Basics and Animation with a detailed description and an image of "Project Basics" shown on the right side.

    5. To create a new project, go to the menu and select File > New.

    A screenshot of Visual Nature Studio 3.0 software with the File menu open, showing options like New, Open, Save, Save As, Import Wizard, and various keyboard shortcuts.

    6. This will open the New Project window. In the New Project field, enter the project name, Island. All the projects demonstrated in these tutorials can be found on your hard drive in the WCSProjects\Tutorials folder. Create & Save to save the new project.

    A "New Project" dialog box with options to name the project, set subdirectory, clone an existing project, or use templates. Cursor hovers over "Create & Save" button.

    7. When the Import Data question box appears, answer Yes.

    A dialog box titled "Import Data" asks, "Your new Project has been created and saved. Would you like to import some data now?" It has two buttons: "Yes" and "No". A mouse cursor points to "Yes".

    8. The terrain data we’re importing is on the VNS 3 DVD in the dem folder. Here you’ll find the island.elev file, which is a WCS/VNS terrain elevation file.

    Screenshot of an "Import Data" dialog box displaying a list of files under "Look in: dem" with a file named "island.elev" selected and cursor pointing to the "Open" button.

    9. Open the file to launch the Import Wizard, which will correctly identify it as a WCS/VNS DEM. A DEM is a Digital Elevation Model. This is a generic term applied to most terrain data files.

    Screenshot of an Import Wizard dialog box indicating island.elev file identified as WCS/VNS DEM with instructions to use an Override button to change file type if needed. Options: Back, Next, Cancel.

    10. To find out what other file types you can import, select File format reference or use the universal F1 Help key to jump to the appropriate section of the Interactive Reference Manual. For data types, scroll down the page to the DEM Formats section.

    A computer screen displaying an Adobe PDF document with information on synchronizing GIS databases and the import wizard, including supported DEM formats such as Arc ASCII Array and Arc Export Grid.

    11. Meanwhile, back in VNS, the Import Wizard is still waiting for us. Proceed the the Next window.

    Screenshot of an Import Wizard dialog box for loading elevation data. Options include DEM, Vector, Control Points, and Image. Checkboxes for Disable NULLed and Render Enabled are also present.

    12. The LOAD AS page allows us to choose the type of VNS object loaded. We’re importing a DEM so we’ll go with the Wizard’s loading suggestion and continue to the Next window.

    Screenshot of an Import Wizard window titled "island.elev." The interface allows selecting an output format and naming the file. Options visible include "VNS DEM" for output format and "island" as the name.

    13. We can change the file format, name and location on the OUTPUT FILE TYPE AND NAME page. The defaults are fine so continue to the Next window.

    Screenshot of a Coordinate System Summary window from the Import Wizard. It displays projection system details, specifying Geographic - WGS 84 with options to set units and parameters.

    14. The Import Wizard selects a Coordinate System based on data read from the imported file. This file is in the Geographic – WGS 84 system.

    A software dialog box titled "Import Wizard: island.elev" shows options to load data immediately or change its settings. The user has clicked the "Import" button.

    15. We don’t need to make any DATA POSITIONING changes, so Import the data and make the new Coordinate System the default for viewing and rendering.

    A dialog box titled "Import Wizard: island.elev" displaying DATA POSITIONING instructions with options to "Load Now" or "Change Settings" and buttons for "Back," "Import," and "Cancel.

    16. As the data is imported, progress updates will flash in the Status window at the right end of the Animation Toolbar. The Import Wizard will close once data import is complete.

    A screen capture showing maximum elevation as 3051.64 and minimum elevation as 1674.41 on the bottom-right status panel of an application.

    17. After the data loaded, some of the categories in the Scene-at-a-Glance changed to a bold font. The Scene-at-a-Glance is divided into an upper and lower pane. It gives you convenient access to all Components, the building blocks of your scene. With each new project, basic default Components are created, represented by bold categories in the Scene-at-a-Glance. We’ll look more at the Scene-at-a-Glance when we work with Task Modes later on.

    A screenshot of a computer program's toolbar featuring an extensive list of icons and categories, including 3D Materials, Atmospheres, Cameras, Environments, Render Jobs, and Coordinate Systems.

    18. So where’s the terrain we just imported? Open the Database Editor Database.giffrom the icon toolbar or with the Alt+d keyboard shortcut. The island DEM is enabled and set to view and render.

    A screenshot of a Database Editor window showing a table with columns for Enabled, View, Render, Color, Class, and Styl. There's one row of data with "island" listed and check marks under Enabled, View, and Render.

    19. The Matrix, the light area taking up most of the screen, is empty until we tell VNS what to put in it. By default, the Matrix is divided into 4 quadrants for Camera views and Component Editors.

    Screenshot of Visual Nature Studio 2.0. The interface features a blank workspace grid, toolbar at the top, and a tree view pane on the left for project elements like Atmospheres, 3D Materials, and more.

    20. To change the Matrix layout, open Preferences Prefs.giffrom the Icon Toolbar.

    A software preferences window displaying various settings including startup operations, rendering memory limits, scene items, and advanced features options.

    21. The Matrix page allows us to choose one of 12 layouts. We’ll stay with the current 4-quad arrangement.

    A preferences window displaying various options for matrix layout configuration, with a selected layout in the second row. The "Matrix Task Modes" checkbox is checked.

    22. While we’re here, let’s look at the Paths page. When you see WCSProjects:, WCSContent:, and WCSFrames: elsewhere in the program, these are path aliases. Master Paths are the actual folder locations. Read more about them in the Interactive Reference Manual; they come in handy when you’re running VNS across a network.

    Preferences window showing path settings for Master Paths and Subordinate Paths, including WCSProjects, WCSContent, WCSFrames, Project File, and Default Dir, each with directory paths specified.

    23. The Units page gives you access to all unit settings so you can change them according to project requirements.

    Preferences window displaying settings for units, paths, DEM directories, and more. Options include time (seconds), distance (meter), height (meter), display Lat/Lon, and positive longitude (west).
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