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Military Map in 3D

Check common operational picture (COP) or simple military map in 3D on any device worldwide.

Overview

Visualizing military plans in 3D brings many benefits. This documentation page lists the common 3D navigation tasks as panning to an area on earth, zooming to a specific military units or task, or interactively exploring your military mission:

Start 3D View

Press onto the 3D button in the bottom right-hand corner of the military map generator.

The map view will be started in 3D. By default you will fly-in to have an optimal view on the loaded operational picture (military map overlays). Check the chapter 3D Map Navigation to learn about the supported options to change and edit the camera position in the 3D view.

Military Map Layer in 3D

Identical to the ‘2D Map View’ the view settings of the individual loaded Military Map Overlays (MilX-Layers) can be adjusted within the MilX Layers Menu:

Military Map Overlay (MilX-Layer) settings in 3D Map View

‘MilX Layers’ Menu supports the following set of functions in the 3D Map View:

Icon	Function	Description
	Show/Hide	Hide military map overlay (MilX-Layer) from display on 3D map
	Zoom Layer	Zoom extent of military map overlay (MilX-Layer) in 3D map view
	Transparency	Set transparency of military map overlay (MilX-Layer) in 3D map view

Navigate with touch

The web application has been optimized to navigate the 3D Map on a mobile device using a touch screen:

Function	Instruction
Pan (move map)	Place one finger on screen and drag in direction to move map.
Zoom-in	Place two fingers on screen and spread (pinch-to-zoom)
Zoom-out	Place two fingers on screen and pinch (pinch-to-zoom)
Tilt / Change Pitch	Place two fingers on screen and drag down or up
Rotate	Touch and drag (place two fingers on screen and rotate them against each other)

Hint: Check the chapter ‘3D Navigation Panel’ if your mobile device does not support multi-touch events.

Navigate with mouse

Use the following functions to navigate the 3D Map on a desktop using a mouse:

Function	Instruction
Pan (move map)	Press and hold left mouse button and drag in direction to move map.
Zoom-in / Zoom-out	Option 1: Use wheel button - Scroll to zoom in and out Option 2: Press and hold right mouse button and drag cursor up or down.
Tilt / Change Pitch	Press and hold ‘Ctrl’ key + left mouse button. Drag cursor to change pitch
Rotate	Press and hold ‘Shift’ key + left mouse button. Drag cursor to rotate around own axis.

Hint: Use the ‘3D Navigation Panel’ and ‘Compass’ if one of the key combinations is not supported on your device.

The on-screen navigator provides camera navigation commands in a single control in the lower left corner of the web application. The explicit camera controls are useful for navigating complex content. By default, the panel is hidden and can be open with a click on the ‘3D Navigation Panel’ button:

3D Navigation Panel of Military Map Generator [map.army]

The panel provides the following functions:

Button(s)	Function
	Move the camera in the direction of the buttons (up, down, left and right)
	Change altitude (move camera in the same position higher or lower)
	Zoom in and out
	Change pitch of camera to look more down or up
	Rotate camera to left or right

3D Navigate Shortkeys (Keyboard Shortcuts)

The following shortkeys (keyboard shortcuts) support an even faster navigation within the 3D Map:

Shortkey	Function
ArrowLeft	Move the camera to the left
ArrowRight	Move the camera to the right
ArrowUp	Move the camera forward
ArrowDown	Move the camera backward
‘+’ or ‘Z’	Zoom-in
‘-’ or ‘X’	Zoom-out
Shift + ArrowUp	Increase height/altitude of camera
Shift + ArrowDown	Decrease height/altitude of camera
Ctrl + ArrowLeft	Rotate the camera counter-clockwise (changes the heading)
Ctrl + ArrowRight	Rotate the camera clockwise (changes the heading)
Ctrl + ArrowUp	Look up (Tilt/Pitch up)
Ctrl + ArrowDown	Look down (Tilt/Pitch down)
‘N’	If you have rotated your view, reset the orientation to face north.

Compass

Click the Compass button to reorient your scene with north straight up in your view. The compass icon is located in the bottom left corner of the web application map.army .