The measurement tools for 3D content allow you to measure length and area from high resolution, up-to-date 3D textured mesh.


Watch the video: MapBrowser - 3D Viewer & 3D Export


This article describes:


Note: 3D content is not available in Classic MapBrowser.

Measurement Accuracy

The greatest source of error when measuring distances less than approximately three km is your ability to select the start and end points correctly.

The 3D scene has the following spatial accuracy specifications: Horizontal - 11" or 28cm RMSEr, Vertical - 16" or 40cm RMSEz

Assuming an object is well-constructed as described above and the correct start and endpoint for a desired measurement can be chosen, measurement should be within 40cm.


Accessing 3D content

Go to the location you want, then switch to 3D using the base layer picker.



Measuring lines in 3D

  1. Once you are in 3D view, click the Line tool.

    When you access the Line tool you will see a disk that aligns to the surface it is on. This can help you decide where to start and end the line you are measuring.

  2. Zoom into the property you want to measure, you might want to rotate your view to get the angle you need for a clear measurement.

  3. Draw a line along the slope you want to measure by clicking the start and double-clicking the destination point.


The measurements include:

  • Line length - the distance between the both ends of the line in meters, kilometres, feet, yards, miles, or nautical miles.
  • Pitch - the angle of the line relative to the horizon in degrees or rise/run ratio.
  • Relative height - the difference in height between both ends of the line in meters, kilometres, feet, yards, miles, or nautical miles.



Measuring areas in 3D


Use the Polygon tool to measure the area, perimeter and pitch of a surface on Nearmap’s 3D content.

  1. Once you are in 3D view, click the Polygon  tool.

  2. Draw out a polygon by single-clicking on each desired vertex.
    When you access the area tool you will see a disk that snaps to the surface nearest to your cursor. Maintain the angle of this disc to ensure you draw the polygon on the one plane.

  3. To close the polygon, hover over the start of your polygon until you see a small circle, then double-click.

You can see the area, perimeter and pitch of the polygon.



Tips for measuring 3D area


Check the area you have drawn is on the one plane

The area may look fine from your original viewpoint, but because the area tool snaps to the nearest surface, it may accidentally pick up an object, such as a tree or another structure.

  1. Rotate the imagery to ensure the polygon is tracing the surface you want

  2. Drag and drop a vertex to adjust, if needed.

Drawing multiple faces

For best results draw one plane at a time. Drawing several planes at once may give you unpredictable results.


Drawing both faces of pitched structure
Note the irregular surface produced

Drawing each face separately
Each face is clean and one its own plane.



Ensure the area you draw makes sense


If you draw self-intersecting sides, you will get an error.



Other ways to edit and manage measurements

Unlike measurements on our vertical content, you can only change the values of line length from Inspector Panel.


measurementcan change?
3D Line
line length(tick)
line pitch(error)
3D Polygon
Area(error)
Pitch(error)
Perimeter(error)


However, there is a lot you can do on the map, from Inspector Panel and from Layer Manager to edit and manage your measurements.

Refer to the article Common Measurement Actions.


Want to drop a location marker on you 3D map?

Learn about the 3D location marker here: 3D Marker Tool



FAQs