Create linear line of sight

Available with 3D Analyst license.

The Linear Line Of Sight tool shows the surface that is visible between an observer location and a target location. Use this tool to locate observation posts tasked with monitoring a specific location, or for test siting of radio antennas. The results show the number of visible targets, sight lines, and a traditional line of sight.

Open Linear Line of Sight

To open the Linear Line of Sight tool, complete the following steps:

1. On the ribbon, click the Analysis tab.
2. In the Workflows group, click Visibility Analysis .
3. In the Visibility Analysis pane, click the Linear Line Of Sight tab .

Add surface information

The Linear Line Of Sight tool requires surface information to perform calculations.

1. Click the Input Surface drop-down list and select an elevation surface from the table of contents.

   Note:

   The input surface data must be in a projected coordinate system.

Input observer and target points

You can create linear line of sight information by specifying one or more observer and target locations.

Input points manually

You can create linear line of sight information by manually entering known coordinates or selecting them from the map.

1. Select Enter Manually from the Observer Points drop-down list.
2. In the Observer Points text box, enter a coordinate and press Enter to add it to the list. To add points to the list, click Observer Map Point Tool and click the map.

   Observer points are marked with blue circles.

3. Select Enter Manually from the Target Points drop-down list.
4. In the Target Points text box, enter a coordinate and press Enter to add it to the list. To add points to the list, click Target Map Point Tool and click the map.

   Target points are marked with red squares.

Input points from a list

You can create linear line of sight information by copying and pasting a list of coordinates or importing a .csv file.

Input points by copying and pasting

Use copy and paste functionality to add points to the Linear Line Of Sight tool.

1. Copy a list of observer points in which each point is listed on a separate line.
2. Select Enter Manually from the Observer Points drop-down list.
3. Right-click in the Observer Points list and click Paste.

   Observer points are marked with blue circles.

4. Copy a list of target points in which each point is listed on a separate line.
5. Select Enter Manually from the Target Points drop-down list.
6. Right-click in the Target Points list and click Paste.

   Target points are marked with red squares.

Input points by importing from a .csv file

Import a .csv file to add points to the Linear Line Of Sight tool.

1. Select Enter Manually from the Observer Points drop-down list.
2. Right-click in the Observer Points list and click Import.
3. Browse to the .csv file that stores the observer points and click Open.
4. On the Select Fields dialog box, specify which fields in the .csv file store the coordinates.
5. Click OK.

   Observer points are marked with blue circles.

6. Select Enter Manually from the Target Points drop-down list.
7. Right-click in the Target Points list and click Import.
8. Browse to the .csv file that stores the target points, and click Open.
9. On the Select Fields dialog box, specify which fields in the .csv file store the coordinates.
10. Click OK.

    Target points are marked with red squares.

Input points from a feature class

You can create linear line of sight information by selecting a feature class from the table of contents.

1. Select the observer locations layer from the Observer Points drop-down list.
2. Select the target locations layer from the Target Points drop-down list.

Enter observer and target heights

You can specify observer and target heights for analysis.

1. Expand Observer Options.
2. Change the observer and target information or accept the defaults.
   1. In the Height Above Surface section, enter values in the Observer and Target text boxes.
   2. Click the drop-down list to select the unit of measure.
3. Click OK to calculate line of sight.

   If the target is visible to an observer, it is colored green. If the target is not visible to an observer, it is colored red. Sections of the line between the observer and target that are visible are green. Sections of the line that are not visible are red. Visible targets include a numeric label showing the number of observers that can see them. White sight lines are created between observers and targets that have visibility. Black sight lines are created between observers and targets that do not have visibility.

   Note:

   You can refine your analysis by changing offset heights or adding observers or targets.

   Click Cancel to remove the observer and target coordinates from the tool.