Geospatial and Project Map Viewer

Overview

Welcome to the Geospatial Viewer and Project Map Viewer user guide —two powerful tools designed to improve how you visualize and interact with infrastructure project data. These viewers integrate Bentley’s 3D iModel (Design Review) with advanced geospatial technology (Cesium), offering enhanced visualization and streamlined access to project information.

These tools are accessible from:

• Geospatial Viewer: via the Infrastructure Cloud Landing Page
• Project Map Viewer: via the side navigation bar in the Project Landing Page

By centralizing data and reducing time spent searching for information, these viewers aim to reduce missed work and frustration—ultimately boosting productivity and profitability.

 

Geospatial Viewer

This tool is designed for users managing multiple assets or projects, including contractor programme managers, estate/asset managers, and designers on multiple Projects/Assets.

Displays data contained in multiple iTwins including, iModels, PlanSets, Reality Data, Forms, Media indexing, and other types to coming the future. This is a review environment and that does not support new data being created. However, responding to Forms and annotation of existing content is supported.

The scope of projects shown is defined by the selection of “My Favorites,” “My Recent projects” or “Scenes” – Coming soon

 

Project Map Viewer

This tool is designed for users managing assets or projects, including contractor programme managers, Project Managers, and designers on Projects/Assets.

Project Viewer - Can display data contained in a single project (iTwin) including multiple iModels, PlanSets, Forms etc. that are scoped to that single project.

Standard Controls and Widgets

Both the Geospatial and Project Map viewers support the same controls interface. Below are a breakdown of those controls and their operation.

1. Project (iTwin) Browser – This tree allows user to visualize different contain that is geospatially contain within the selected Projects (iTwins). Support Data Types:
   1. iModel – 3D models of project, for example rail, road or building designs.
   2. Reality Data – Supports the OGC 3D tiles and OGC 3D Tiles Point Cloud reality data types.
   3. PlanSets – Drawings (Typically PDFs) that have been aligned and scaled to a geolocated and draped on the terrain base layer.
   4. Global Map Layers:
      1. Cesium World Terrain - A high-resolution, global 3D terrain dataset that provides accurate elevation data for visualizing landscapes and topography in real time.
      2. Cesium OSM Buildings - A worldwide layer of 3D buildings derived from OpenStreetMap, offering lightweight, realistic urban context for geospatial applications.
      3. Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles - A richly detailed 3D layer of cities and landscapes with photorealistic textures, streamed from Google’s geospatial data for immersive visualization.
   5. WMS (Web Map Services) – Coming soon.
   6. Indexed Media – Coming soon while the markers are supported in the 3D world view toggle the markers will be added to the Browser tree.
2. Forms Tab - allows users to view and respond task workflows in a structured data entries like; issues, RFIs, and tasks linked to specific model elements for contextual collaboration and tracking.
   1. Support Dockable widget controls.
   2. Auto filter to the forms currently assigned to the user.
   3. Toggle control for form markers.
   4. Filter, sorting, and search control supported.
   5. Note: The creation of forms is disabled in the Geospatial Viewer where content from multiple Projects/Assets is displayed.
3. The 3D World View in a Cesium.ion + iTwin.js integration enables users to visualize infrastructure design models within a realistic geospatial context by combining engineering data from iTwin with global terrain, buildings, and photorealistic tiles from Cesium.ion.
   1. Pins/Markers – Represents individual points of interest placed on the 3D World View, using a standardised pin design for different marker/pin types. Pins display information when hovered over which includes metadata and thumbnails. Clicking will open specific tools for the object type workflows.
   2. Clusters – Groups multiple nearby pins/markers into a single visual marker to reduce clutter and improve performance, automatically expanding to show individual pins as the user zooms in. Clusters display information when hovered over which includes metadata and thumbnails in a scrollable list view. Click on individual items in the cluster menu to enable that object types of workflows.
4. Info Panel – Displays information of selected object from the Project browser, Forms Widget, or 3D World View pin or iModel element.

Screenshot above shows an example of a PDF PlanSet Geolocated on the terrain

Differences in Operation between Geospatial and Project Map Viewer

While the User Experience is identical in most cases, the entry point to the views is different which also controls the scope of the viewable data.

 

Point of entry

Geospatial Viewer is accessible by the Map icon in the Infrastructure Cloud landing page and will load the projects that are being displayed on the landing page, either 'My projects' or 'Favorites'.

Screenshot above shows the entry point the Multiple Project Geospatial Viewer

The Project Map Viewer is accessed from within the project landing page using the side navigation bar. This view will only display information you have access to from that project.

Screenshot above shows the entry point the Single Project Map Viewer

Navigation Controls

The Geospatial and Project Map Viewers leverage Cesium.ion to deliver a high-performance, photorealistic 3D environment for infrastructure visualization. Understanding the navigation controls will help users explore models and geospatial data more effectively.

Basic Navigation

• Pan (Move View Horizontally/Vertically):
  • Click and drag with the left mouse button.
• Rotate (Orbit Around a Point):
  • Click and drag with the centre (scroll wheel) mouse button.
  • Hold Ctrl + left mouse button to rotate around a selected object.
• Zoom In/Out:
  • Scroll the mouse wheel up/down.
  • Click and drag with the right mouse button.
• Reset View:
  • Click the 'Fit all iTwins in View' icon to return to the default view which is the extents of the all loaded project(s).

Righthand Info Panel

The layout of both the Geospatial and Project Map viewers uses the concept of displaying object or element properties on the righthand side popout information panels. The info panels look similar but display different information depending on the object selected.

Info Panel Types and functions

• Project panel contains two tabs; Overview and Media and generic controls related to the Project 
  • Generic controls - allow the user to zoom to the project boundary of the project set in Infrastructure Cloud and Open the project landing page as a new browser tab. It also displays the current weather if the project boundary is still.
  • Overview Tab - allows the user to toggle on or off the project boundary displayed as solid orange line and display basic metadata about the project.
  • Media Tab – allows the user to zoom to the pin/cluster of the selected photo and toggle on or off the cluster and pins for Indexed media.

Above are examples of the Project info panel and how the data is displayed in the different tabs

[Note: if the project boundary is not set an error message will be displayed (as shown below) with a link to the setting page for the project to set the project boundary. It will also disable the "Zoom to project" control and be unable to display the current weather until the boundary is set.]

• iModel panel contains basic information about the iModel and allows the user to zoom to the iModel or switch to the single iModel Viewer (Design Review) with additional features.
  • Note: When moving between the Geospatial or Project Map and the standard iModel view the camera position is maintained but the element viewing defaults to the saved view setting.

• Element Properties (PropertyGrid) contain element information of the selected element in the 3D world view and will only display when an element has been selected.

• Forms Panel is the same at the forms righthand panel displayed elsewhere in the Infrastructure Cloud. Containing information about the form and allowing the user to engage with the form’s workflow. The panel supports the following features :
  • Editing – allow the user to enter, change, and progress the form instance workflow.
  • Apply View – will zoom the user to the camera position from which the form was created.
  • Comments – add a text-based comment and tag other project users.
  • Markups – View existing markups.
  • Attachments – Add file attached from the local device to the form.
  • Audit Trail – see the history of the form instance.
• [Note: The creation of Forms and markups in this interface has been disabled and currently under review.]

Geospatial and Project Map Viewer – FAQ

1. What entitlement do I need to access this information?

Currently supported on all Infrastructure Cloud entitlements.

2. What Roles Access (RBAC) to I need to set?

No additional settings, both viewers respect the current access to information of the project and will not display to the user information is they do not have the correct access permissions.

3. What is the difference between the Geospatial Viewer and Project Map Viewer in terms of data scope?

• Geospatial Viewer displays data from multiple Project (iTwins data).
• Project Map Viewer is scoped to a single project (iTwin), showing only data relevant to that specific project.

4. Can I create or edit data in these viewers?

No, both the Geospatial Viewer and Project Map Viewer are designed strictly for reviewing and interacting with existing data. You cannot create new content such as Forms or Markups within these tools. However, you can respond to existing Forms and add annotations to current data, allowing for collaborative feedback and review without altering the original dataset.

5. What types of data can be visualized in the viewers?

Supported data types include:

• iModels (3D engineering models)
• Reality Data (OGC 3D Tiles, Point Clouds)
• PlanSets (Geolocated PDFs)
• Forms (Issues, RFIs, Tasks)
• Indexed Media (Coming soon)
• Global Map Layers (Cesium World Terrain, OSM Buildings, Google Photorealistic Tiles)

6. How does Cesium enhance the viewer experience?

• Cesium provides photorealistic 3D terrain and urban context, enabling immersive visualization.
• Integration with Cesium ion allows streaming of high-resolution geospatial data.
• Bentley’s acquisition of Cesium enables real-time rendering of infrastructure models within a global context. AEC magazine article

7. What is the iTwin Platform and how does it relate to these viewers?

The iTwin Platform is Bentley’s cloud-based digital twin environment. It powers both viewers by enabling visualization of engineering data alongside geospatial context.

8. Can I switch between viewers and retain my view settings?

Yes. When switching between the Geospatial/Project Map Viewer and the standard iModel Viewer (Design Review), the camera position is maintained, though the element view defaults to saved settings.

9. What happens if the project boundary is not set?

The viewer will display an error and disable:

• Zoom to project boundary.
• Weather display
• A link will be provided to set the boundary in the project setting.

Feedback and Support

We value your input and encourage you to report any issues or suggestions to our support team. Your input is crucial in helping us improve the software for the final release. Please contact us through our support portal or email us at noel.gonzalez-jones@bentley.com or sandra.sodergard@bentley.com.

Glossary of Terms

iTwin (Project)

A digital representation of infrastructure assets or projects that combines engineering data, reality data, and other project information. iTwins are used to visualize, analyze, and manage infrastructure throughout its lifecycle.

iModel

A 3D model format used within Bentley’s ecosystem to represent engineering design data. iModels are typically created from CAD or BIM software and are used for design review and visualization.

Infrastructure Cloud

Bentley’s cloud-based platform that hosts digital twins, project data, and visualization tools like the Geospatial and Project Map Viewer.

Geospatial Viewer

A visualization tool that allows users to view multiple iTwins (Projects) and their associated data in a unified geospatial context. It is accessed from the Infrastructure Cloud landing page.

Project Map Viewer

A visualization tool scoped to a single iTwin (Project), allowing users to view project-specific data. It is accessed from the individual project landing page.

Cesium

An open-source geospatial engine used to render 3D terrain, buildings, and photorealistic environments. Integrated with Bentley’s viewers to enhance spatial visualization.

Cesium World Terrain

A global 3D terrain dataset used to provide elevation and topographic context in the viewers.

Cesium OSM Buildings

A layer of 3D buildings derived from OpenStreetMap, used to provide urban context in geospatial visualizations.

Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles

High-resolution 3D tiles streamed from Google’s geospatial data, offering realistic textures and environments.

Reality Data

Geospatial data such as point clouds or photogrammetry that represents real-world conditions. Often used for context in infrastructure design.

PlanSets

Geolocated and scaled drawings (typically PDFs) that are draped over terrain layers for spatial reference.

Forms

Structured data entries used for project workflows such as issues, RFIs (Requests for Information), and tasks. Forms are linked to specific model elements for contextual collaboration.

Pins/Markers

Visual indicators placed on the 3D map to represent points of interest. Clicking a pin reveals metadata and associated workflows.

Clusters

Groups of nearby pins combined into a single visual marker to reduce clutter. Clusters expand as users zoom in.

Info Panel

A sidebar that displays detailed information about selected objects, such as projects, iModels, forms, or elements.

PropertyGrid

A panel that shows detailed properties of selected elements within the 3D world view.

WMS (Web Map Services)

A standard protocol for serving georeferenced map images over the internet. Support for WMS is planned in future updates.

Indexed Media

Photos and other media files that are geotagged and linked to specific locations or elements in the viewer. Support is planned in future updates.

RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)

A system that restricts access to data and functionality based on the user’s role within a project or organization.