84 Semantic Zoom. 84 of 95.
84/CAMERA BEHAVIOR/84 of 95
Semantic Zoom
Zoom can change detail, not only scale.
Best experienced with a pointer.
The problem
Zooming only enlarges the same pixels, so distant views stay noisy and close views stay sparse.
The solution
Independent LOD thresholds reveal labels and detail text separately as zoom crosses each gate.
Experiment
Play with the values
1
1.2
1.6
How it works
- The current zoom level is tracked separately from which labels happen to be visible.
- A label threshold decides when names appear, independent of other detail.
- A second threshold decides when finer detail text appears.
- Each layer shows or hides on its own gate, so zoom changes meaning and not only size.
- Spatial anchors stay fixed so objects do not jump when a layer appears.
Seen in
Maps
Streets and POI labels appear only once the camera is close enough to read them.
File browsers
Icon, list, and detail modes swap as the zoom continuum crosses semantic thresholds.
Architecture plans
Floor plans hide furniture detail at overview and reveal room labels when zoomed in.
Timelines
Decade, year, and day granularity replace each other as the zoom level changes.