Buildings, obstructions and the 3D view
Buildings, walls and fences change what a camera can see. Draw them once and SightLine cuts every camera's view where it is blocked, and builds a 3D model of the site.
Draw a site element
- Click Element on the map toolbar (or press E).
- Pick a type: Building / equipment room, Electrical / utility room, Lane / parking / queue or Coverage area (no height). The list shows each type's height and whether it blocks views.
- Click each corner on the map.
- Double-click, or press Enter, to finish. Esc cancels.
Click an element to change its name, Type, Height and Color, or to untick Blocks camera views on the map. Drag the white dots to reshape it, drag the small dots to add corners, and double-click a corner to remove it.
Draw walls, fences and other obstructions
- Click Obstruction (or press W).
- Click along the wall or fence line.
- Double-click, or press Enter, to finish.
In its panel, set the Kind (wall, fence or obstruction) and the Height. For a see-through fence such as chain-link, tick Does not block views (chain-link).
How blocking works
On the map, blocking is all or nothing: anything set to block hides the area behind it from every camera, whatever its height. Heights are used in the 3D view, so check there when a camera looks over a low wall or roof.
Default heights
New elements use the heights in Settings → Advanced → Element heights. To reuse the heights from the map you are on, choose More ▾ → Save element heights as defaults.
Build 3D from map
SightLine can add the real buildings around a site from OpenStreetMap, a free public map.
- The first time you open a map that has no elements yet, SightLine looks them up in the background.
- You can run it yourself at any time with More ▾ → Build 3D from map (buildings from OpenStreetMap).
Heights come from OpenStreetMap when they are mapped, otherwise a typical height is used. Check them, and fix or delete any building in the Layers tab. If nothing is mapped near your site, draw the buildings with Element.
The 3D view
Click 3D view in the top bar. If a camera is selected, the view starts on it.
- Drag to orbit, right-drag to pan, scroll to zoom.
- Tick or untick View cones, Satellite ground, Traffic and Night / IR.
- The live view list shows what the selected camera sees, all cameras at once as a video wall, or nothing.
- In the side panel, Place in 3D adds a camera: click a wall, column, canopy underside or the ground (for a pole), then click where it should look.
- For the selected camera: Move, Aim at a point, Delete, sliders for mount height, aim, tilt and field of view, and Watch this camera.
Press Esc to close the 3D view. Changes you make there are kept on the map. To jump straight into one camera's view, click View from camera (3D) in its panel.
Other drawing tools
- Fixture (F): light poles, bollards, gates, signs, card readers and ESD buttons. Keep clicking to place several.
- Label (T): text on the map.
- Measure (M): click points to measure a distance.
- Route (R): a vehicle path for the moving traffic in the 3D view. More ▾ → Suggest vehicle route (from the street) drafts one for you.