You can use Scene Viewer in desktop web browsers that support WebGL, a web technology standard for rendering 3D graphics. For best results in Scene Viewer, verify that your browser and computer hardware meet the Scene Viewer requirements. It is also recommended that you use the latest version of Chrome or Firefox. Currently, Scene Viewer is not supported on mobile devices for ArcGIS Enterprise.
Browser requirements
Scene Viewer requires a desktop web browser that supports WebGL. The latest versions of the most common desktop browsers have built-in WebGL. To test whether your browser has WebGL enabled, open get.webgl.org. To troubleshoot WebGL-related issues, visit WebGL troubleshooting. Make sure you keep your browser up to date as WebGL is an evolving technology and each browser version brings improvements that Scene Viewer uses for optimal performance. To use Scene Viewer, your browser should have hardware acceleration enabled.
Tip:
- For best performance, it is recommended that you use 64-bit browsers.
- Adjust the performance-quality settings in your browser to optimize performance or quality in your scene.
Scene Viewer supports the following web browsers:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge*
- Safari 11 and later*
*This browser doesn't have WebGL implementation optimized for memory-intensive applications and may not work reliably when opening certain scenes.
Caution:
Use of Internet Explorer (IE) 11 is deprecated at this release. Esri highly encourages you to move to one of the other browsers listed above. While Internet Explorer 11 is still supported with the current release, use of Internet Explorer 11 is generally discouraged, and support will be discontinued at a future release.
IE 11 is known to have the following issues:
- The WebGL implementation is not optimized for memory-intensive applications, and it may not work reliably when opening certain scenes or when rendering large datasets.
- IE 11 only supports Scene Viewer with WebGL 0.94. Earlier WebGL versions are outdated and do not work with Scene Viewer. You can check your WebGL version by visiting www.webglreport.com.
- There is a known memory issue with Scene Viewer. If you experience performance issues, close your browser and reopen it. Reloading the page or opening a new tab does not clear the memory. You must close and reopen your browser.
- IE 11 does not support WebAssembly, so the client-side projection engine does not work. This also impacts all client-side auto-reprojection when a spatial reference other than WGS84 or Web Mercator is specified.
- IE 11 does not support SVG, and it doesn't display SVG paths.
Microsoft recommends using Microsoft Edge.
Additional WebGL requirements
In addition to basic WebGL support, Scene Viewer has the following requirements for WebGL:
- High precision fragment shaders
- Vertex shader samplers
- Uint vertex indices (OES_element_index_uint extension)
You can verify your browser meets these requirements at www.webglreport.com.
Hardware requirements
For best performance, it is recommended that your browser have a minimum of 8 GB system memory and modern graphics hardware for 3D.
Minimum requirements are a high-performance graphics card with at least 512 MB of video memory. For the best performance, it is recommended that you have a graphics card with at least 1 GB of video memory, especially for working with larger or more memory-intensive 3D scenes. High-performance, stand-alone graphics cards typically have better performance than integrated graphics cards.
Mobile requirements
Scene Viewer offers mobile support for the following:
- iOS Safari on iPhone 8, iPhone XS, iPhone 11, iPad Pro
- Android Chrome on Samsung S8, Samsung S9, Samsung S10, Samsung Tab S3, Samsung Tab S4
If you're using a mobile device other than those listed above, your device should have a minimum of 2 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended), a powerful multi-core processor and GPU, and the latest Android or iOS version installed.
Web styles installation
Esri provides a growing set of 3D models to symbolize points in your scenes. Consequently, a limited set of 3D models (Basic Shapes) is installed by default in the symbol gallery. For ArcGIS Enterprise 10.7.1 and later, to get the complete set of 3D symbology in your symbol gallery, such as Vegetation, install the Web Styles setup. Web Styles is available for download from My Esri.
When installing ArcGIS Enterprise through ArcGIS Enterprise Builder, the web styles are automatically installed. Otherwise, install Web Styles after all other ArcGIS Enterprise components have been installed.
Troubleshoot rendering problems
Scene Viewer requires optimal browser functionality to perform properly. You will see a message that states there is a problem loading Scene Viewer when Scene Viewer detects that rendering in your browser is compromised. The error message gives additional details as to the nature of the problem:
- Your browser isn't using hardware acceleration for rendering
- Your browser doesn't seem to support WebGL
Additionally, Scene Viewer may open without an error message but the rendering quality is still compromised.
Your browser isn't using hardware acceleration for rendering
When Scene Viewer doesn't detect hardware acceleration in your browser, this message appears. Common reasons the hardware acceleration isn't enabled can be that your browser settings aren't configured properly or the browser has blacklisted your graphics card.
Configure hardware acceleration in your browser settings
Each browser has its own configuration options, and the hardware acceleration may be disabled. To enable hardware acceleration for rendering in your browser, see below.
For Chrome, do the following:
- Go to Settings > Advanced > System.
- Click the Use hardware acceleration when available toggle key to turn on the graphics card rendering.
- Restart your browser.
For Firefox, do the following:
- Go to Tool Options > Advanced > Browsing.
- Check the Use hardware acceleration when available option.
- Restart your browser.
For IE 11, do the following:
- Click Advanced settings.
- Uncheck the Use software rendering instead of GPU option. If it is checked and unavailable, your graphics card or video driver needs updating.
- Restart your computer.
Your browser has blacklisted your graphics card
Some browsers determine that a specific graphics card doesn't meet the requirements of the browser and block the graphics card. In this case, you still have the option to bypass the browser's decision to block your graphics card. Although this is not always recommended, it may resolve the issue in Scene Viewer.
For Chrome, do the following:
- Type chrome://flags in the address bar.
- Click Enable under Override software rendering list.
- Restart your browser.
For Firefox do the following:
- Type about:config in the address bar.
- Type webgl.force-enabled in the search bar.
- Set the value to true.
- Restart your browser.
Your browser doesn't seem to support WebGL
This message appears when Scene Viewer doesn't detect WebGL in your browser. A good way to confirm this is to go to get.webgl.org. You should see a spinning cube to confirm WebGL is available in your browser. Otherwise, the website indicates your browser doesn't support WebGL. If you don't see a spinning cube, you can try the following:
- Ensure WebGL is enabled through your browser settings.
- Ensure that your browser and hardware meet the Scene Viewer requirements.
Scene Viewer opens but the rendering quality is compromised
Sometimes Scene Viewer opens without an error message, but you still may experience a problem. Some examples are the following:
- All icons and labels are missing, but they display in another browser or device.
- Rendering artifacts (for example, atmosphere and shadows rendering in black, geometry rendering with dots).
- Major color problems exist in the scene (for example, all colors are inversed, all colors render green or black).
If you are experiencing any of the above issues, confirm the following:
- Your browser has hardware acceleration enabled.
- Your browser has WebGL enabled.
- Your browser and computer meet all the Scene Viewer requirements.
If you're still seeing an issue in Scene Viewer, try switching to another browser. Another option is to update your video driver. It is recommended that you go to the vendor's website to download the latest driver. Finally, if all the above suggestions haven't fixed the problem, report your problem in the GeoNet forums or contact EsriTechnical Support for additional help.