--- title: "More Detailed Point Cloud Options" slug: "detailed-point-cloud-options" description: "Enhance your viewing experience with the Hide Walls and Ceilings feature, allowing unobstructed views of interiors by concealing unseen surfaces." tags: ["Automatic Activation", "Ceiling Visibility", "Hide Walls", "Orthographic appearance", "Perspective appearance", "Point Cloud Settings", "Point Cloud Visualization", "Quality Settings"] updated: 2026-08-18T15:41:52Z published: 2026-08-18T15:41:52Z canonical: "knowledge.navvis.com/detailed-point-cloud-options" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledge.navvis.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # More Detailed Point Cloud Options These are the individual settings behind the point cloud presets. In the view controls, click the arrow next to **3D**, select the **Point clouds** tab, and expand **More settings** under **Quality** or **Appearance**. For the presets themselves, see [Point cloud pre-set options](https://knowledge.navvis.com/docs/setting-point-cloud-options). ## Hide walls & ceilings This toggle hides surfaces when you view them from the side that wasn't captured during scanning. For example, a wall scanned from only one side isn't shown from the other; a top-floor ceiling scanned from below disappears when you look at the site from above, giving a clear view of the interior. Toggle it to conceal or reveal walls and ceilings. ## Automatic activation - **On:** all datasets in a site display automatically as point clouds. - **Off:** display point clouds manually by opening the 3D dropdown and selecting the **Point clouds** tab. ![Settings menu displaying point clouds and appearance options for 3D visualization.](https://cdn.document360.io/bf174766-fa1a-4fe1-a4d7-b1db1e7cb996/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-08-03 at 11.02.41.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-15T07%3A29%3A19Z&se=2026-10-15T08%3A29%3A19Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=zlqhkewX%2BEeCmMK9y4azrd7%2B4FCSfVw%2B%2FNPl2yH1NIQ%3D) ## Quality settings Under **Quality**, expand **More settings**: - **Range (m):** the maximum distance from the camera at which points still display. - **Level of detail:** the size and resolution at which points render. The minimum resolution is 5 mm. - **Point count target (M):** how many points render, in millions. Beyond this number, no more points are drawn. This strongly affects performance. - **Minimum node size (px):** shows points only if they belong to a node larger than this size on screen (for example, 10 × 10). A node is a group of points, so a higher value ignores points in smaller nodes. ![Settings panel for adjusting point cloud quality and parameters in a software interface.](https://cdn.document360.io/bf174766-fa1a-4fe1-a4d7-b1db1e7cb996/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-08-03 at 11.04.30.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-15T07%3A29%3A19Z&se=2026-10-15T08%3A29%3A19Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=zlqhkewX%2BEeCmMK9y4azrd7%2B4FCSfVw%2B%2FNPl2yH1NIQ%3D) For the quality presets, see [Point cloud pre-set options (Quality)](https://knowledge.navvis.com/docs/setting-point-cloud-options#quality-preset-options). ## Appearance settings Under **Appearance**, expand **More settings**: - **Opacity:** render points transparently (low) or opaque (high). - **Brightness:** how much light points give off. Only available when Opacity is not 1. - **Color style:** how the point cloud is coloured: - **Single color**: the dataset colour set in Alignment mode; colours the whole point cloud one colour to show depth and edges clearly. - **Full color**: colours from the images captured during post-processing. - **Elevation**: assorted colours by height: blue at the Min height (m), red at the Max height (m). - **Normals**: coloured by the direction of each point's normal. - **Intensity**: based on the intensity of the reflected laser. - **Intensity gradient**: a blue-to-red gradient based on reflected-laser intensity. - **Point size mode:** how point size is determined: - **Fixed**: all points the same size (set by Point size). - **Attenuated**: accounts for a point's distance from the camera. - **Adaptive**: accounts for distance from the camera and the point cloud resolution. - **Point size:** the point diameter. - **Point shape:** render points as squares or circles. - **Enhance edges:** adds a black border to points. ![Settings panel for adjusting point cloud appearance, including opacity and brightness options.](https://cdn.document360.io/bf174766-fa1a-4fe1-a4d7-b1db1e7cb996/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-08-03 at 11.05.16.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-15T07%3A29%3A19Z&se=2026-10-15T08%3A29%3A19Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=zlqhkewX%2BEeCmMK9y4azrd7%2B4FCSfVw%2B%2FNPl2yH1NIQ%3D) For the appearance presets, see [Point cloud pre-set options (Appearance)](https://knowledge.navvis.com/docs/setting-point-cloud-options#perspective-preset-options). ## Orthographic appearance settings These settings are available only in Dataset alignment, Site model, and Point cloud cleaning modes. - **Opacity:** render points transparently (low) or opaque (high). - **Color style:** the same options as Appearance (Single color, Full color, Elevation, Normals, Intensity, Intensity gradient). - **Point size:** the point diameter. - **Point shape:** render points as squares or circles. - **Normals filtering:** selects or removes points based on the orientation of their surface normals, keeping only surfaces with the geometry you want (for example, floors or walls). --- ### FAQ #### What does Hide walls & ceilings do? It hides surfaces you view from the side that wasn't scanned, giving a clearer view of the interior. #### What happens to ceilings with Hide walls & ceilings on? Ceilings scanned from below aren't shown when you look at the site from above. #### What does disabling Automatic activation do? You then display point clouds manually by opening the 3D dropdown and selecting the Point clouds tab. #### Can point size adjust with distance? Yes. Use the Attenuated or Adaptive point size modes, which account for distance from the camera.