Agisoft Metashape Professional edition supports vectorization tools in the Model and Ortho view modes. The following vectorization tools are available in Model view: Draw Polyline, Draw Polygon, Draw Point, in addition to these in in Ortho view there is also Draw Rectangle tool.  


The article includes the following sections:


Shapes added to the particular chunk of the project can be organized into layers. The first layer is generated automatically upon creation of the first shape and is placed into the Shapes folder on the project tree in the Workspace pane. This layer is named Layers [Default], it is meant to serve as a background and originally set as default to store all the shapes that will be drawn afterwards.




Create a new Shape Layer

To create a new layer use Create Shape Layer command from the context menu of the Shape folder on the Workspace pane.



When creating a layer, you can specify the parameters for the layer (Label, Line style, Fill style, Color and Transparency) in the New Shape Layer dialog window:


The layer can be renamed with Rename command, available from the context menu on the Workspace pane.


To finish creating a new layer, click OK button:



A layer can be set as default by using Set as default command from the context menu of the layer name on the Workspace pane. Newly drawn shapes will be automatically assigned to the default layer.



A shape can be re-named and saved to a certain layer using Properties... command from the context menu of the shape in the Model and Ortho view. 


Examples of vectorization in Model and Ortho view are given below.


Vectorization in the Model view

Vectorization can be performed for all available surfaces built in your project: Tie Points, Point Cloud, Mesh, Tiled model, Orthomosaic, DEM.  In the example below Mesh surface is used. 


Select the layer where vectorization is to be performed (or create a new layer). To make the layer active, double-click on the layer name on the Workspace pane and proceed to vectorization:



Draw a shape to vectorize the features of the surface.


To finish drawing a polygon (or polyline), you need to double-click left mouse button.


When creating a shape, a dialog box opens automatically. There the following parameters can be set: Label, Description and Shape layer, that can be selected from the available list to make sure that all shapes are in the correct layer. Also, when drawing is completed for a shape, the polyline style of the assigned layer will be automatically applied (as in the example, the fill and color for the drown polygon were automatically applied):



In the Model view, the thickness of the polyline/polygon is the same regardless the setting used in the shape layer properties. Changing the thickness of the polyline/polygon will be applied only in Ortho view. 

Also please note that it is possible to display the polygon filling in the Model view, but the filling belongs to the polygonal shape itself and does not apply on the model surface. Depending on the angle of view, the filling may be visible or not:


To edit the position of the vertex of the palygon/polyline, you need to switch to the navigation mode (select Navigation tool on the Toolbar) and move the vertex to the desired location.



Vertex editing is only available if you do not have the Attach Markers option enabled (Tools > Markers > disable Attach Markers option).


To add a vertex to the palygon/polyline you need to select a polygon and use Insert Vertex command from the context menu of the shape:



To remove a vertex from the palygon/polyline you need to select the palygon/polyline, move the cursor to the vertex and use Delete Vertex command from the context menu:



Use Model > Show/Hide items > Show Labels to enable or disable polygon/polyline/point labels in Model view.



Vectorization tools in the Model view can also be used to vectorize building facades as in the example below:


Vectorization in the Ortho view

The vectorization steps are similar in Ortho and Model view. The main difference is that the style can be displayed for the polygon. The Ortho view allows to display the thickness of the polyline that was specified in the Properties for the layer: 




The Snapping tool in Metashape helps with vectorization. You can find more information about snapping tool in our article: Snapping options for shape drawing



Example of the vectorization result in the Ortho view:



Select Ortho > Show/Hide items > Show Labels to enable or disable the labels for the polygon/polyline/point in Ortho view.



Export Shape Layer

Shapes created in Metashape can be exported using Export Shapes... command of the Export... submenu available from the File menu (File > Export > Export Shapes...). 


In the Export Shapes dialog window, you can specify the Coordinate System, select the layer(s) that you want to export, and also specify the type of objects that you want to export (Polylines only, Polylines and polygons, Points only, Polygons only). Also, if you want to export the labels and attributes for your shapes, you need to include the corresponding checkboxes (Shape labels, Shape attributes):



The shapes are exported in a separate layer. If you have used orthomosaic for vectorization, then orthomosaic should be exported separately, as it is not combined with shape files.


Shapes can be exported in one of the following formats:

  • Shape Files (*.shp) 
  • DXF Files (*.dxf) 
  • KML files (*.kml)
  • KMZ files (*.kmz)
  • GeoJSON files (*.geojson)
  • GeoPackage files (*.gpkg)
  • Survey Points (*.txt)