DEM Editor

DEM Editor is a special view in Product Generation perspective for viewing and editing Digital Elevation Models.

The tool allows users to review and edit the DEM to make localized terrain adjustments. Elevation is visualized using a customizable color palette that can be stretched to user-defined minimum and maximum values. Hillshading is available as a display style option to improve the legibility of terrain.

Supported format

DEM Editor supports display and editing of DEM formatted as a HxMap Elevation Source (.hexes). HxMap Elevation Source is automatically created during DEM product generation.

HxMap Elevation Source consists of a header file, footprint index, and elevation data stored in 32-bit float GeoTIFF files
To convert existing 32-bit float GeoTIFF to HxMap Elevation Source you can use command line tools from the HxMap install folder
- Generate minification for each GeoTIFF: >imagetool --minify=overview --min_ext tif.ovr --input Z:/tmp/DEM_test/2020_Munich_0.tif
- Create the elevation source: >multielevationtool --directory Z:/tmp/DEM_test --coordSysDescr "EPSG Coordinate Systems/ETRS89 / UTM zone 32N (25832)|metres|EGM08 - West Europe|metres" --tiff
The necessary coordinate system description string needed for multielevationtool is most easily found by creating a HxMap block with the coordinate system and then copying the string from the resulting .hexbk file’s coordinate system description tag

Enable DEM Editor

To enable the DEM editor view in HxMap Workflow Manager, add the following to the HxMap.ini:

CODE

[ProductGeneration]
dem_editor_enable=true

Edit the DEM

Step	Example
Product Generation perspective File menu → Add Elevation Source
The Elevation Source is added to Data Source view
Right-click on the Elevation Source name → Edit DEM
Configure Elevation Source styling in DEM Editor settings Predefined color palettes can be selected and chosen The color palette is stretched to the user defined minimum and maximum value Hillshading can be enabled to improve legibility of the terrain
Currently a single DEM operator is available, “Flatten Surface”. Select a reference for the Flatten Height option from the drop down (Minimum, Maximum, Average, or User height). User height can be set either by right-clicking on the desired elevation in the DEM, or by manually entering it in the Editor Settings Start editing the elevation source by clicking on edit icon () to draw a polygon Draw the polygon around the area in the DEM to be flattened Click the edit icon again to complete the polygon and see the update in the DEM
Continue editing by drawing additional polygons Completed edits an be undone with () Once needed edits are complete save them to the Elevation Source with () Edits are saved on a separate layer in the Elevation Source, the original GeoTIFF files are not changed