Cropping and Downloading

You can crop and download sections of a Site so that you can edit them and import them into other software programs.

Notes

• You need admin or editor permissions to crop and download point clouds.

• The georegistration of your data is preserved and you will be able to automatically place the cropped point cloud in the right location in the third-party point cloud tool of your choice. You can choose to use a Site Coordinate system, Spatial Reference System or one of your Datasets as a reference (in particular for external .e57 data).

• Depending on the contents of the point cloud some downloads may take a few minutes to complete.

Available Download Options

The following formats are available for download:

Available Coordinate Systems

The following Coordinate systems are available when downloading 3D Point Cloud and Orthophoto sections:

• Select Site coordinate system to download the point cloud in the coordinate system that was previously chosen for the site. When you download a point cloud in site coordinate system, you will get point cloud coordinates with the base point selected for your site representing the origin of the local coordinate system.

• Select Spatial reference system to download the point cloud in another spatial reference system. Search for a spatial reference system and select it from the drop-down menu. The point cloud will be referenced in your EPSG geospatial coordinates. This is the option you want to use if your control points were georeferenced (in EPSG units).

• Select Dataset to download the point cloud in the coordinate system of a specific dataset. Search for the name of a dataset and select it from the drop-down menu. The point cloud will not be edited and the 0,0,0 point will be set to where the mapping was started with the VLX, meaning that all the points will be in the local coordinate system of the selected mapping. Not available in orthophoto download.

Navigating to Crop and Download

Click the Crop & Download icon, or right-click and select Crop & Download.

Cropping Point clouds in 2D Map view

Click 2D at the top right corner and the 2D Map will display. Use the floor changer on the right of the map to change the floor. By default, cropping a point cloud is limited to one floor.

Cropping in 2D Map view

1. Click the center of the square with the orange border, hold down the left mouse button, and drag it to the section of the map that you want to crop.

• To expand or shrink the area you want to crop, click on a point on the border of the square, hold down your mouse button, and adjust the size.

• To rotate use the rotation arrow at the top of the square, hold down the left mouse button, and rotate it left or right.
  

2. If you want to further refine the area you have selected for cropping, click on 3D in the top right corner to view the same area in 3D.

3. If you want to exclude a dataset:

   1. Click on the Site Structure tab

   2. Place the cursor over the dataset you want to hide.

   3. Click the eye icon to hide the dataset.
      

Cropping in 3D Map View

1. Start in the 2D view to first outline the area you want to crop.

   
   

2. Click the 3D icon in the top right corner. A view of your point cloud will display with a box around the area indicating the cropping area.
   

3. Use the blue, red, and green axes to move, extend and rotate the selected area. Red represents the x-axis, green the y-axis, and blue the z-axis. Use the dots to enlarge the area selected for cropping: the straight axes move the selected area and the curved axes rotate the area along the x, y, and z dimensions.
   

Note: The 2D map in the bottom right corner will reflect the changes you make in the 3D view.

3. Click on the View cube on the top right to change the view of the point cloud. The view will snap to Top, Back, Front, Left and Right.
   

4. Click on the Settings icon:

   1. Use the toggle to switch on/off the Orthographic projection view.

   2. Use the toggle to switch on/off the cropping controls view.
      

Downloading Point Clouds and Orthophotos

Downloading Point clouds

1. Click the Download tab.

2. Click the Point cloud button.

3. From the Coordinate system options, select a coordinate system for the download. Refer to Available Coordinate Systems for more information.

4. Click in the Name and format field and enter a name. You can also keep the default name 'pointcloud.tiff'

5. From the Name and format field click the drop-down menu and select the format for the point cloud, refer to Available Download Options.

   
   

   Note: The .las file format does not support Normals.

Downloading .e57 files with panoramas

Export point clouds with embedded panoramas in .e57 format using the Crop & Download tool by clicking on the .e57 with panoramas option in the drop-down menu. This will include all panoramas inside the cropped area.

Notes:

• Only equirectangular panoramas are currently supported.

• The .e57 files contain unstructured point clouds and panorama images in a spherical representation if you enabled the option Include panoramas in .e57 point cloud in the processing settings. The files are compatible with the following third-party software:

  • Leica Cyclone 3DR Viewer

  • Cloud Compare

  • AVEVA

  • Prevu3D

  • PTC

  • Cintoo

Downloading Orthophotos

1. Click the Download tab.

2. Click the Orthophoto button.

3. See the projection plane (light yellow surface). The yellow square indicates the top left of your orthophoto.

4. Click the Sync box to view button and the orthophoto will return it’s default position with the yellow square on the top right looking from above.
   
   
   

5. Click Site coordinates or select from a Spatial reference system in order to write this to the metadata

   1. EPSG: Better suited for precise positioning on the world map. Compliant with GeoTIFF. Supported by specialized GIS systems.

   2. Local/Site coordinates: Better suited for measurements and positioning within specific projects. Wider software support.

6. Click the Image resolution drop-down menu and select a resolution.

7. Click the Visualisation drop-down menu and select from the following options:

   1. Colored: The downloaded orthophoto will display colored.

   2. X-Ray: The downloaded orthophoto will display in the X-ray mode, refer to X-Ray Visualisation for more information.

8. Click in the Name and format field and enter a name. You can also keep the default name 'pointcloud.tiff'

9. Click Download.
   
   

X-Ray Visualisation

Shown here is an example of what the X-ray mode looks like when downloading it as a Orthophoto. The advantages of this view are the following:

• Reveals hidden geometry for a clearer understanding of structures.

• Accurately identifies corners and vertical elements, even in overlapping walls.

• Provides a CAD-friendly drawing planes for surveying and engineering workflows.

• For the support of inspection, maintenance, and change detection over time.