Portal for ArcGIS

Add layers

After opening a new global or local scene, start adding your 2D and 3D layers from your local area or find layers available to add to your scene from the Esri community located in Esri Featured Content, My Content, Content, or add by entering a URL.

Add layers shared with you

Add layers from My Content, your organization, or the public.

  1. Verify you are signed in to the portal.
  2. Open the scene viewer.
  3. Click the Modify button Modify to open the Contents pane.
  4. Click + Add Layers.
  5. Add layers from the following:
    • Esri featured content Esri featured content
    • My Content My content
    • Content Content

    To narrow the results in Add Layers, type the name of the layer you want to add to your scene in the Search window. Results for your search appear under Esri featured content Esri featured content, My ContentMy content, and ContentContent.

  6. Click the Add button Add next to the layer you want to add to your scene. The new layer appears in Layers.
  7. Alternatively, click the Remove button Remove to delete the layer from your scene.
  8. Add additional layers to your scene or click Done to go back to Contents.

Add layers with a URL

You can also add a layer to your scene by entering the URL of the layer.

  1. Verify you are signed in to the portal.
  2. Open the scene viewer.
  3. Click the Modify button Modify to open the Contents pane.
  4. Click the Enter Layer URL or the Open button Forward to open the Enter Layer URL pane.
  5. Enter the URL of the layer you want to add and give it a name.
  6. Click Add to add the layer to your scene and return to Contents.

Add Esri featured content

You can add Esri featured content to your scene, which includes web scenes from the Living Atlas of the World. With Esri featured content, you can import multiple scenes into your scene, make changes in the scene viewer, save in My Content, and share with others.

  1. Sign in to your account and open a new scene.
  2. Click the Modify button Modify to open Contents.
  3. Click the Import button Import to add the Esri featured content of the location you want.
  4. Click the Remove button Remove to delete the layer from your scene.
  5. You can add additional Esri featured content, your unique layers, or click Done to go back to Contents.

Explore layer options

In the scene viewer, review your layer options by hovering over the layer in Contents and clicking the drop-down arrow Drop-down.

  • Configure Layer opens the Configure Layer panel where you can change layer settings, such as symbology, transparency, and elevation mode.
  • Zoom to shows the layer to its full extent in the Viewport.
  • Move up moves the layer up one level in the Viewport and in Layers.
  • Move down moves the layer down one level in the Viewport and in Layers.
  • Show/Hide in Layers shows or hides the layer only in Layers.
  • Rename highlights the layer so you can type a new name.
  • Remove deletes the layer.

Arrange layers

To change the order of the layers in the Viewport, Contents, and Layers, click the drop-down arrow Drop-down and click Move up or Move down. You can also click and drag the layer to reorder the layers.

Create group layer

Use group layers in your scene to organize layers that are similar in content or location. Once your layers are grouped, you can change the way they appear in Layers and behave in Viewport.

  1. Click Create Group at the bottom of the layers in Contents. A new group box appears.
  2. Name the new group.
  3. Drag layers into the new group box. The added layers appear as sublayers of the group in Layers.
  4. Arrange the layers in the new group.
  5. Choose from the following Group Types to set how the new group layer behaves:
    • Checkbox Checkbox allows individual layers to be turned on and off.
    • Radio Radio converts group layers into radio buttons and allows only one to be turned on at a time in case there are overlapping layers.
    • Merge Merge combines all group layers into one.
    • Hide Hide hides the group and its layers only in Layers. They are visible in the Viewport. To unhide, click one of the other options.
  6. Click the Drop-down arrow Drop-down to review the group layer options:
    • Change Group Type gives you the option to change your Group Type.
    • Zoom to Layer zooms to the combined extent of all the layers in the group.
    • Move up moves the group layer up one level in the viewer and in Layers.
    • Move down moves the group layer down one level in the viewer and in Layers.
    • Show/Hide in Layers shows or hides the group layer in Layers.
    • Rename highlights the group layer so you can type a new name.
    • Remove deletes the group layer.