importTerrain command

Description This command is used to import a terrain model from a GeoTIFF or ARC/INFO ASCII GRID file.

Usage When called without arguments, it will open the same tab as the menu option to continue the process.

The command can also be called with command line arguments. In this case, it will need to be called the following way:

importTerrain -p "path to file" centerX centerY centerZ verticalExaggeration pointSkip

These parameters are the same shown in the Import Terrain panel when accessing this function from the menu:

  • Center Specifies the location at which the terrain will be centered in the geometry panel.
  • Point skip In some cases, terrain models will have too many points. This may cause the graphical user interface to lag due to the excessive computational resources needed to render the terrain model. This field indicates how many columns/rows of the terrain model are skipped between two successively rendered columns/rows. For instance, a value of 0 indicates that all points will be rendered, while a value of 2 indicates that the GUI will render one column/row of points, ignore the following two columns/row, render the next one and so on.
  • Vertical exaggeration Sometimes, the area of the terrain model is much greater than the variations of height of the same terrain model, making those variations of height unappreciable. This field allows the user to specify how many times the vertical features of the terrain model are amplified, so visually it's easier to identify the relief of the terrain model.

In case the file is Ascii Grid (.asc), 3 extra parameters are necessary. The command must be called as shown:

importTerrain -p "path to file" projectionType angularFactor (latitude | linearfactor) centerX centerY centerZ verticalExaggeration pointSkip

  • ProjectionType Type of representation of the terrain. It can be projected on a plane (p) or represented on the earth's surface (g).
  • AngularFactor conversion factor of the angular units. It must be specified in degrees.
  • Latitude In case it is a geological representation Medium latitude of the location of the terrain.
  • LinearFactor In case it is a projection conversion factor of the linear units. It must be specified in meters.