This tutorial walks a user through all the necessary steps, in order to import a Quick View Image into AutoCAD and BricsCAD drawings.
Step 1. Locating the Quick View
Step 2. Specifying the Extents of Area of Interest
Changing the Imagery Provider of an existing Quick View
Creating a Mosaic through an Existing Quick View image
Temporarily Hide and Reveal your Quick View
Take a preview of your project's area in the quickest way possible through Plex-Earth
What is a Quick View?
In Plex-Earth, a Quick View image is a one-tile dynamic image whose resolution is automatically calculated by the software to instantly cover the whole extent of a specified area with a single tile. It is dynamic in the sense that the imagery details change when certain parameters (such as zoom level, dimensions, etc.) are altered or updated through the software.
Producing Quick View imagery can be very useful in preconstruction and project site planning to have a look at the conditions of an area of interest and its surroundings. As only one tile is imported, the process of importing one is rather swift and results in the best quality possible for the specified area.
For small areas defined through Quick View, the zoom level can be high, resulting in very good clarity. For large areas defined, the image has to be taken from a high elevation, resulting in a lower zoom level which can be enhanced by zooming in more and updating the viewport.
| NOTE: Always make sure that the drawing is georeferenced before importing imagery. |
Importing a Quick View Image
Step 1. Locating the Quick View
From the Imagery panel of the Plex-Earth ribbon, click on the Quick View button. Alternatively, type PXV_QUICKVIEW on the command line and hit Enter.
Step 2. Specifying the Extents of Area of Interest
Plex-Earth will then ask to specify the extents of the area of interest, which can be done in two ways:
By Rectangle (Manual) - This will insert a dynamic image for the rectangle defined by two opposite corners.
By Viewport (Automatic) - This will insert a dynamic image covering the whole extents of the current viewport of the AutoCAD workspace.
A. By Rectangle
Click on the Specify rectangle button on the Quick View window. Two available options will be provided by Plex-Earth - create a rectangle by specifying its two corners or pick a point in our drawing.
1. To specify the area of interest by using a rectangle, pick its first and second corner points using the mouse cursor, as shown below:
Once the rectangle's corner points have been defined, Plex-Earth will automatically provide Quick View imagery by applying the highest zoom level possible depending on the size of the specified area.
2. To specify the area of interest by using a point, pick its position in the drawing using the mouse cursor, as shown in the screenshot below:
Picking a point basically informs Plex-Earth to display imagery that will cover the area specified by the selected point and the current viewport in the workspace. Plex-Earth then automatically provides a Quick View by applying the highest zoom level possible depending on the size of the specified area.
B. By Viewport
This option is used to import imagery that will cover the whole extent of the current viewport of the AutoCAD workspace. The viewport can be altered according to one's needs by zooming in or out on the drawing.
From the Quick View window, click on Get by viewport and Plex-Earth will then automatically provide a Quick View by applying the highest zoom level possible depending on the size of the specified area.
Quick View Palette
After importing Quick View imagery, the Quick View palette will automatically be activated. The Quick View palette contains several buttons and information regarding the Quick View imported and how to customize it further.
| Top Most Section (highlighted in yellow) - Displays the Quick View with the logo of the imagery provider. | |
| Create Mosaic button (highlighted in orange) - This button allows one to create a mosaic from the current imagery provider with the zoom level of the current Quick View image applied. | |
| Draw Order button (highlighted in blue) - This sends the Quick view to the back/front of the drawing. | |
| Quick View details (highlighted in red) - This provides information about the Quick View image imported, which includes the imagery provider, the zoom level, and how many centimeters per pixel the image has. | |
| Update image by viewport button (highlighted in pink) - This is used to update the image to cover the whole extents of the current viewport. It has the same function as this section. | |
| or specify an area in the drawing button (highlighted in green) - This is used to redefine the extents of the area of interest using a point or rectangle. It has the same function as this section. | |
| Imagery providers section (highlighted in purple) - This section will display all the imagery providers available for the area with the highlighted one as the current imagery provider for the Quick View. |
Changing the Imagery Provider of an existing Quick View
After importing a Quick View image, the default imagery provider can be changed by selecting the preferred one through the Quick View palette. Simply click on the preferred imagery provider and wait for the image to fetch.
This is especially helpful if one would like to see a preview of the image from a premium provider before creating a mosaic for his area of interest.
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NOTE: Quick View, by default, imports a dynamic image through Google Maps the first time it is used. After the palette is closed, our servers will remember the last imagery provider used to import the image and will import from that provider the next time another Quick View image is imported again. This, however, only applies if the drawing has not been closed even if it was saved. |
Creating a Mosaic through an Existing Quick View image
If one is satisfied with how the imagery looks through a Quick View, it is also possible to create a mosaic directly through the same palette by utilizing the Create Mosaic button. Simply click on this button, specify the area of interest, and Plex-Earth will automatically adapt the zoom level and imagery provider of the current Quick View when importing the mosaic.
Click here for a more detailed procedure on how to import mosaics.
Temporarily Hide and Reveal your Quick View
If there is a need to temporarily hide the Quick View imagery imported, use the Toggle Visibility command from the Imagery panel.
To reveal the hidden Quick View, simply click on the same button and the image should show up instantly.
Using this command prevents wasting more time on repeating the process of removing the Quick View and reimporting.
| NOTE: Enabling the Toggle Visibility command to hide a Quick View image will also hide any visible mosaics imported in the drawing but clicking on the same button to reveal a hidden Quick View image will not reveal mosaics hidden individually through the imagery manager. |
Conclusion
Plex-Earth offers a new feature to import high-quality, up-to-date imagery from the best providers in the field in the quickest way possible directly into an AutoCAD workspace. Quick View is ideal for a quick search of what is available in a project's area.
We hope that you have found this introduction on how to create Quick View Imagery with Plex-Earth, helpful. Feel free to contact us at support@plexscape.com for any questions you may still have.
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Compatibility includes:
AutoCAD Version: 2024 , 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
Civil 3D® Version: 2024 , 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
AutoCAD Architecture Version: 2024 , 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
BricsCAD Pro: V23 , V22 , V21