FAQ
How to edit input databases in ArcScene?
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Main steps
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Introduction
There are a set of basic skills necessary to manipulate databases with a geographic system. One of them is to be able to edit databases connected to shapefiles.
This guide introduces an example on how to edit input databases in CEA spatially using ArcGIS.�
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Main Steps
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Open spatial database
The first step is to drag-and-drop the “Zone.shp” shapefile into the canvas of ArcGIS. This layer represents the geometrical data of the analyzed site.
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Open spatial database
In order to see what data this layer contains, right click on the “zone” layer from the “Table of Contents” on the left of the ArcScene interface, and click on “Open Attribute Table”.
Refer to the guide What are the input databases of CEA? for information on the content of the Zone Geometry shapefile.
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Relating the database
This guide will focus on editing the “Age” Database. To start, follow the next steps to relate this database to the spatial database of the analyzed Zone Geometry. For more info on the “Joins and Relates” functions, click on this link:
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Relating the database
4. In order to choose the “Age” database click on this icon , then navigate to find the “age.dbf” file. You can find it in the scenario folder → inputs → building-properties → age.dbf.�5. choose the layer and click “Add”�6. After choosing the “age.dbf” database, keep the third field as it is “Name”. As for the fourth field, it basically allows you to choose a name for this relate. For this specific example, we will keep the name as “Relate 1”
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Relating the database
Go to the Attribute Table, and click on the icon visualized in the image below, then choose “Relate 1: age”.
Notice the “zone” tab below.
Click here
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Relating the database
You might find an empty result, as in the below image. This usually would be the case if you have clicked on the highlighted icon, which basically allows you to only visualize the results of the group of buildings you chose on the canvas. So, if you haven’t chosen any buildings, the table should be empty.
Notice the “age” tab beside the “zone” one.
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Relating the database
Now go and choose a group of buildings. You should be able to do so by choosing the “Select Features” cursor from the Toolbar on the top of the ArcScene interface, then select a group of buildings. In this example, we chose the following 5 buildings:
1) Click here
2) Choose your buildings
3) Go to Attributes
Table
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Start an edition session
Now it’s time to edit the values in the “Age” Attribute Table. To do so, first, we need to activate a toolbar called “3D Editor”. To do so, go to the “Customize” tab on top Menu Bar → Toolbars → Click on “3D Editor” and make sure it’s checked as in this image.
Check
The following Toolbar should appear
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Start an edition session
To Check, make sure the icon in the lower section of the box is colored
Click on the “3D Editor” button. Then choose “Start Editing”
Choose
The following Toolbar should appear
Make sure you choose the correct layer (“age” from the “retrofit_age” scenario folder.
Then check that the
corresponding folder path is the correct one.
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Editing single values
Now you are free to edit the values of the time the buildings were originally built, or the time when one or more of its components were renovated. Simply click on the cell you wish to edit, and change its value. In this example, all the components renovation year was set to 1969.
You can either edit each cell manually, in case the renovation years of the different buildings components are different, as seen in the following images.
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Editing all values
Or you can provide one value for a whole column. To do so, right-click on the column header, and choose “Field Calculator”, then insert the required value in numbers (e.g. 2010). Click “OK” and the values of the chosen column should change accordingly.
Note: In the case you are entering a value that contains letters (e.g. T3), you should enter the value between quotes (i.e. “T3”).
Repeat the process for the “roof”, “windows” and “basement” and you should have a similar result.
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Saving edits
IT IS CRUCIAL THAT after editing the required values, the user should click again on the “3D Editor” Toolbar button, and choose “Stop Editing”. A box will show up asking you if you wish to save the results. Naturally if you wish to keep the edits, click “Yes”.
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Slides by:
Dr. Amr Elesawy
Dr. Jimeno A. Fonseca�
Contact us:
cea@arch.ethz.ch
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