Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/nasaworldwind/worldwindjava/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
WorldWind Java’s view system separates the camera model from rendering. The View interface defines the contract for a camera that can compute a modelview matrix and eye position from geographic state. Two concrete implementations cover the most common use cases: BasicOrbitView for the familiar orbit-around-a-point model, and BasicFlyView for a first-person, fly-through perspective. Both views support smooth animated transitions, configurable limits, and on-screen control widgets.
View Types
| Class | Package | Description |
|---|
BasicOrbitView | gov.nasa.worldwind.view.orbit | Default view. Orbits around a center Position with zoom, heading, and pitch. |
BasicFlyView | gov.nasa.worldwind.view.firstperson | First-person view. The camera is positioned at an eye Position with heading and pitch. |
wwd.setView(View):
ViewControls.java — switching the active view
import gov.nasa.worldwind.view.orbit.BasicOrbitView;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.view.firstperson.BasicFlyView;
// Retrieve the current view (default is BasicOrbitView).
View currentView = wwd.getView();
// Install a first-person fly view instead.
BasicFlyView flyView = new BasicFlyView();
wwd.setView(flyView);
Orbit View
BasicOrbitView is the default WorldWind camera. It orbits around a geographic center position. The key state properties are:
| Property | Method | Description |
|---|
| Center position | getCenterPosition() / setCenterPosition(Position) | The globe position being orbited. |
| Zoom | getZoom() / setZoom(double) | Distance from eye to center in meters. |
| Heading | getHeading() / setHeading(Angle) | Compass bearing of the view (0 = north). |
| Pitch | getPitch() / setPitch(Angle) | Tilt angle from nadir; 0 = looking straight down, 90 = horizontal. |
ViewIteration.java — reading and setting orbit view state
import gov.nasa.worldwind.view.orbit.BasicOrbitView;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.*;
BasicOrbitView view = (BasicOrbitView) wwd.getView();
// Read current state.
Position center = view.getCenterPosition();
double zoom = view.getZoom();
Angle heading = view.getHeading();
Angle pitch = view.getPitch();
System.out.printf("Center: %s Zoom: %.0f m Heading: %.1f° Pitch: %.1f°%n",
center, zoom, heading.degrees, pitch.degrees);
// Move the center to London, zoom to 500 km, look north, tilt 60°.
view.setCenterPosition(Position.fromDegrees(51.5, -0.12, 0));
view.setZoom(500_000);
view.setHeading(Angle.fromDegrees(0));
view.setPitch(Angle.fromDegrees(60));
wwd.redraw();
Always call wwd.redraw() after making programmatic changes to the view state. WorldWind does not automatically repaint when view properties are set — redraw() schedules a new frame so your changes appear immediately.
Flying to a Position
BasicOrbitView supports smooth animated transitions via addEyePositionAnimator() and addHeadingAnimator(). Animations queue on the OrbitViewInputHandler and run over a specified duration in milliseconds.
ViewIteration.java — animated fly-to a position
import gov.nasa.worldwind.view.orbit.BasicOrbitView;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.*;
BasicOrbitView view = (BasicOrbitView) wwd.getView();
// Fly the eye to a new position over 4 seconds (4000 ms).
Position target = Position.fromDegrees(48.8566, 2.3522, 100_000); // Paris
view.addEyePositionAnimator(4000, view.getEyePosition(), target);
// Animate heading from current to 90° east over 4 seconds.
view.addHeadingAnimator(view.getHeading(), Angle.fromDegrees(90));
// Animate pitch separately.
view.addPitchAnimator(view.getPitch(), Angle.fromDegrees(45));
// Animate zoom distance.
view.addZoomAnimator(view.getZoom(), 50_000);
ArrayList<Position> and call addEyePositionAnimator in sequence:
ViewIteration.java — iterating through a list of positions
import java.util.ArrayList;
ArrayList<Position> path = new ArrayList<>();
path.add(Position.fromDegrees(0, 0, 1e5));
path.add(Position.fromDegrees(0, 10, 1e5));
path.add(Position.fromDegrees(0, 20, 1e5));
path.add(Position.fromDegrees(0, 30, 1e5));
// Queue all animations; they execute sequentially.
for (Position p : path) {
view.addEyePositionAnimator(4000, view.getEyePosition(), p);
}
View Limits
BasicOrbitView uses a BasicOrbitViewLimits instance (implementing OrbitViewLimits) to clamp all incoming view property changes. Limits are applied automatically every time setCenterPosition, setHeading, setPitch, or setZoom is called.
BasicOrbitViewLimits — restricting view properties
import gov.nasa.worldwind.view.orbit.*;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.*;
BasicOrbitView view = (BasicOrbitView) wwd.getView();
BasicOrbitViewLimits limits = (BasicOrbitViewLimits) view.getOrbitViewLimits();
// Restrict zoom to between 1 km and 10,000 km.
limits.setZoomLimits(1_000, 10_000_000);
// Restrict center to a geographic bounding box.
limits.setCenterLocationLimits(
Sector.fromDegrees(24.0, 50.0, -125.0, -65.0)); // Continental US
// Restrict center elevation (useful for flat-earth or clamped-to-ground scenarios).
limits.setCenterElevationLimits(-1000, 8849); // Below sea level to Everest
// setHeadingLimits and setPitchLimits are inherited from BasicViewPropertyLimits.
limits.setHeadingLimits(Angle.fromDegrees(-180), Angle.fromDegrees(180));
limits.setPitchLimits(Angle.fromDegrees(0), Angle.fromDegrees(90));
View Controls Layer
WorldWind’s ViewControlsLayer renders an on-screen HUD with pan, zoom, heading, pitch, and field-of-view controls. The layer works in conjunction with a ViewControlsSelectListener that translates cursor clicks on the controls into view state changes.
ViewControls.java — adding the built-in view controls
import gov.nasa.worldwind.layers.*;
// The ViewControlsLayer is included by default in the model's layer list.
// Locate it:
ViewControlsLayer viewControlsLayer = null;
for (Layer layer : wwd.getModel().getLayers()) {
if (layer instanceof ViewControlsLayer) {
viewControlsLayer = (ViewControlsLayer) layer;
break;
}
}
// Configure which controls are visible.
if (viewControlsLayer != null) {
viewControlsLayer.setShowPanControls(true);
viewControlsLayer.setShowZoomControls(true);
viewControlsLayer.setShowHeadingControls(true);
viewControlsLayer.setShowPitchControls(true);
viewControlsLayer.setShowLookControls(false); // first-person look controls
viewControlsLayer.setShowFovControls(false); // field-of-view controls
// Scale the widget size (1.0 = default).
viewControlsLayer.setScale(1.5);
// Arrange controls horizontally or vertically.
viewControlsLayer.setLayout(AVKey.HORIZONTAL);
}
wwd.redraw();
ViewControlsLayer from scratch (e.g., in a custom model):
ViewControls.java — creating a new ViewControlsLayer
ViewControlsLayer controlsLayer = new ViewControlsLayer();
wwd.getModel().getLayers().add(controlsLayer);
wwd.addSelectListener(new ViewControlsSelectListener(wwd, controlsLayer));
ViewInputHandler. BasicOrbitView uses OrbitViewInputHandler by default; BasicFlyView uses FlyViewInputHandler. The active input handler is accessed via view.getViewInputHandler().
ViewInputAttributes (accessible from the input handler) defines gesture-to-action bindings. You can modify mouse sensitivity, disable specific gestures, or configure keyboard shortcuts:
AWTInputHandler — stopping active animations
import gov.nasa.worldwind.awt.ViewInputHandler;
ViewInputHandler handler = wwd.getView().getViewInputHandler();
// Stop any in-progress animations (fly-to, heading, zoom, etc.).
handler.stopAnimators();
// Check whether any animation is still running.
boolean animating = handler.isAnimating();
Programmatic View Iteration
The ViewIteration example (gov.nasa.worldwindx.examples.ViewIteration) demonstrates sequencing through a waypoint list with heading changes. The pattern chains multiple addEyePositionAnimator calls — each enqueues a segment of the journey:
ViewIteration.java — animating forward and backward through waypoints
import gov.nasa.worldwind.view.orbit.BasicOrbitView;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.*;
// Move forward one step in the path.
BasicOrbitView view = (BasicOrbitView) wwd.getView();
view.setHeading(Angle.fromDegrees(90)); // face east before animating
view.addEyePositionAnimator(4000,
view.getEyePosition(),
path.get(nextIndex));
// Move backward one step.
view.addEyePositionAnimator(4000,
view.getEyePosition(),
path.get(previousIndex));
// Animate only the heading (pan-in-place).
Angle targetHeading = LatLon.greatCircleAzimuth(currentPos, nextPos);
view.addHeadingAnimator(view.getHeading(), targetHeading);
First-Person View
BasicFlyView (in gov.nasa.worldwind.view.firstperson) positions the camera directly at a geographic Position, unlike BasicOrbitView which orbits around a center. This is suitable for street-level viewing, fly-throughs, or terrain-following simulations.
BasicFlyView — configuring the first-person view
import gov.nasa.worldwind.view.firstperson.*;
import gov.nasa.worldwind.geom.*;
BasicFlyView flyView = new BasicFlyView();
// Place the camera 200 m above the Eiffel Tower.
flyView.setEyePosition(Position.fromDegrees(48.8584, 2.2945, 200));
flyView.setHeading(Angle.fromDegrees(0)); // looking north
flyView.setPitch(Angle.fromDegrees(80)); // near-horizontal look
wwd.setView(flyView);
wwd.redraw();
BasicFlyView uses FlyViewInputHandler for navigation and FlyViewLimits for property clamping — both found in the gov.nasa.worldwind.view.firstperson package. FlyToFlyViewAnimator provides smooth animated transitions equivalent to addEyePositionAnimator for orbit views.