Layer Management

The Design Surfaces section of the Layers tab gives you full control over how your uploaded DXF and KML design files appear on the CesiumJS globe. Toggle individual layers on and off, change their colour, adjust opacity, and navigate to their location on the map.

Design Surfaces in the Layers Tab

Design surfaces appear in the Layers tab below the survey layers section. Each uploaded design file (DXF or KML) is shown as a collapsible group, with its individual layers listed beneath it.

The hierarchy looks like this:

• Design Surface (the uploaded file) — collapsible header with file name and actions
  • Layer 1 — visibility toggle, colour, opacity
  • Layer 2 — visibility toggle, colour, opacity
  • Layer 3 — visibility toggle, colour, opacity

For DXF files, layers correspond to the CAD layer names extracted from the file. For KML files, layers correspond to the folder structure in the KML. See Uploading DXF Files and Uploading KML/KMZ Files for details on how layers are created during upload.

Per-Layer Visibility Toggles

Each layer has a toggle switch that controls whether it is visible on the globe:

• On — the layer's geometry is rendered on the CesiumJS globe
• Off — the layer is hidden from the display (data is not deleted)

Toggle layers on and off freely — there is no processing delay. The toggle is instant because the data remains loaded in memory.

💡 Tip

When reviewing a complex design with many layers, start with all layers hidden and then enable them one at a time. This makes it easier to understand what each layer contains and how it relates to the survey data beneath.

You can also toggle the entire design surface on or off using the group-level toggle on the design surface header. This shows or hides all layers within that design at once.

Colour Picker

Each layer has a colour swatch that opens a palette picker when clicked. The palette provides eight predefined colours:

Select a colour from the palette and the layer updates immediately on the globe. The colour applies to all geometry in that layer — lines, polygons, and points.

ℹ️ Did you know?

For DXF files, the initial colour is based on the DXF layer colour defined in the CAD file. For KML files, the initial colour is preserved from the KML styling. The colour picker lets you override these defaults at any time. See Styles & Popups for details on default colour behaviour.

Opacity Slider

Each layer has an opacity slider that controls its transparency:

• 100% opacity — fully opaque, the layer completely obscures whatever is beneath it
• 0% opacity — fully transparent, the layer is invisible

The slider is continuous, so you can set any value between 0% and 100%. This is useful for:

• Blending design linework with survey orthophotos beneath
• Comparing overlapping design surfaces by making the top one semi-transparent
• Reducing visual noise from dense layers while keeping them partially visible

Fly-to Design Bounds

Each design surface has a Fly to button on its group header. Clicking this animates the CesiumJS globe camera to centre on the geographic bounds of the design, zooming to fit the entire design in the viewport.

This is the quickest way to navigate to a design surface's location, especially useful when:

• You have just uploaded a new design and want to see where it landed on the globe
• You are switching between multiple design surfaces at different locations on a large site
• You want to reset the camera view to show the full design extent

Deleting Design Surfaces

To remove a design surface, click the delete button on its group header in the Layers tab. Deletion removes:

• The design surface record
• All extracted layers and their geometry
• Any style overrides you applied

⚠️ Watch out!

Deleting a design surface is permanent. The original file is not preserved — you would need to re-upload the DXF or KML file to restore it. Make sure you still have the source file before deleting.

Managing Multiple Design Surfaces

A site can have multiple design surfaces uploaded — a mix of DXF and KML files. Each appears as a separate collapsible group in the Layers tab. Common scenarios include:

• A DXF design surface for the engineering design and a KML file for site boundaries
• Multiple DXF files representing different design revisions
• Separate KML files for services, planning overlays, and survey control

All design surfaces and their layers are managed independently. You can toggle, colour, and adjust opacity for each one without affecting the others.

Layer Ordering

Design surfaces are listed in the Layers tab in the order they were uploaded (most recent at the top). On the globe, rendering order follows this same sequence:

• Design surfaces render above survey layers (orthophotos, point clouds)
• Within design surfaces, more recently uploaded files render on top
• Survey layers render above the base map
• The base map is always at the bottom

💡 Tip

If a design surface is obscuring survey data you want to see, reduce its opacity using the slider or toggle individual layers off. This lets you maintain the design overlay while still seeing the drone survey beneath.

What's Next?

• Styles & Popups — understand how colours are determined from DXF and KML files and how overrides work
• Uploading DXF Files — upload CAD design files
• Uploading KML/KMZ Files — upload Google Earth reference data
• Survey Layers & Overlays — manage survey layers alongside design surfaces