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3D maps & layers

Terrain, hillshade and the globe; extruded buildings; heatmaps and hexbins; and 3D Tiles city models, photogrammetry and point clouds.

DropMaps is a 2D map first, but any map can go 3D. Raise the terrain, extrude building footprints from a height field, turn points into a heatmap or 3D hexbins, or drop in a city model or point cloud. Everything here is off until you turn it on, and is saved with the map, so a share link opens the same way.

Tilt the map to see 3D. Right-drag (or Ctrl+drag) on a computer, or drag two fingers up or down on a phone. Right-drag sideways rotates.

Save the Overture buildings in view, colour them by floor count, extrude them (× 3 m), then tilt into 3D.

Terrain, hillshade & the globe

Open Map settings ▸ Details ▸ Map & 3D:

  • Globe projection curves the Earth at low zoom instead of the flat Web Mercator map.
  • Hillshade (shaded relief) shades the landscape from elevation data. Its slider sets the strength.
  • 3D terrain raises the landscape so hills and valleys stand up when you tilt the map. Exaggeration (0.5–3×) stretches it vertically.

These settings belong to the map: they’re saved with it, synced, and used by its share links. If the map was shared with you, only its owner can change them.

3D terrain is the most demanding setting in DropMaps. With 3D models on the map, leave it off unless you need the landscape. The models sit on the map without it.

Extrude polygons

Raise building footprints, parcels or any polygons into 3D volumes. In the layer’s Style, under 3D extrusion, turn on Extrude polygons, then set:

  • Height from: Fixed value… (a Height in metres), or a numeric field. With a field, the Height × multiplier converts it to metres, e.g. 3 for a floor count.
  • Base from: Ground (0), or a numeric field to lift the bottom (for overhangs or upper floors).

Categorised and graduated colours carry through to the volumes. The legend shows a Height entry.

Overture Buildings from Open data come with a height (metres) or num_floors field for many buildings, depending on the area. Save them as a layer and extrude for an instant 3D city: use height as it is, or num_floors with Height × 3.

Heatmaps, hexbins & grids

Point layers have a Display choice in their style: Points, Heatmap, Hexbins or Grid. The last three summarise thousands of points on the GPU:

  • Heatmap: hotter where points cluster. Radius (px) sets the spread.
  • Hexbins / Grid: counts per cell. Cell size (m) sets the cell, and 3D height raises the cells into bars; tilt the map to see them. Click a cell to read its count.

Each has a Colours ramp and Opacity, and the legend shows the density ramp. Switch back to Points to click individual features.

Save the Overture restaurants in view, show them as a heatmap, then as 3D hexbins.

3D models, meshes & point clouds

Bring in city models, photogrammetry meshes and point clouds as 3D Tiles or scene layers:

  • Drop a file: a .3tz (3D Tiles archive) or .slpk (Esri scene layer package).
  • Link a tileset: External sources ▸ From URL ▸ 3D Tiles (tileset.json) streams a hosted tileset live.

Raw LAS/LAZ point clouds and single glTF/GLB models can’t be opened directly. Convert them to a .3tz with the free DropMaps Tile Converter first. If you drop one, DropMaps points you to it.

3D layers stream with level of detail, so only the parts you’re looking at load. They’re placed by their own georeference and draw beneath your 2D layers, so points, lines and labels stay on top. Dropped .3tz and .slpk files sync to the cloud and travel with shared maps like other tile files.

Style

A 3D layer’s style has Opacity, plus Point size for point clouds. Use Visible zooms to load a heavy model only when you’re zoomed in. 3D layers have no popups.

Position

Models don’t always line up with the basemap: heights may be relative to a different datum, or the survey may be shifted by a few metres. Under Position:

  • Height: Auto sits the model on the map, or at its real heights when 3D terrain is on. On the ground always drops it to the map. Real heights uses the file’s own elevations; without terrain, that can float it out of view.
  • East, North and Up (m) shift it. Use the − / + buttons with a Nudge step of 0.1, 1 or 10 m, or type a value. The layer reloads after each change.
  • Reset position puts it back.

The position is saved with the layer and synced.

Smooth 3D

  • Keep 3D terrain off; it’s the biggest slowdown.
  • Hide 3D layers you aren’t looking at, and narrow Visible zooms.
  • Big models stream fastest as a .3tz made with the Tile Converter.

DropMaps reminds you when you add a 3D layer while 3D terrain is on.

Measure in 3D

When a 3D layer is visible, the Measure tool offers 3D. Click points on the model for the true 3D (slant) distance and the height change between them. Double-click or press Enter to finish. A single point gives its height. See Drawing & measuring.

Next steps