Convert NavVis Datasets to TopoDOT IPRJ Format Easily

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The iprj.exe application is a console-based tool designed to convert datasets from the NavVis datasets into TopoDOT IPRJ format, making the converted data ready for further processing and analysis.

Steps to process point clouds and panoramas using NavVis and TopoDOT software.

NavVis and TopoDOT features for 3D data and infrastructure mapping solutions.

  • NavVis Dataset: A format used for capturing, storing, and processing spatial data, including panoramic images and point cloud data. This format is an input data for the conversion. (The required content of an input dataset is detailed below in the Usage Examples.)

  • TopoDOT IPRJ Format: A project format compatible with TopoDOT, a MicroStation add-on for extracting features from point clouds and images. This format is an output for the conversion.

  • Windows 10 or newer.

  • NavVis IVION Core or Enterprise.

  • NavVis VLX data processed with IVION Processing.

  • Bentley Systems CAD platform (e.g., MicroStation, OpenCities, OpenRoads) — CONNECT Edition recommended​.

  • TopoDOT License.

  1. Ask your NavVis account or customer success manager about the connector.

  2. Sign up to get access at launch.

Option

Description

-h, --help

Displays the help message for the application.

--dataset

Specifies the path to the post-processed dataset.

--output

Defines the directory where the resulting IPRJ project will be saved.

--multiple

Combines multiple datasets into a single IPRJ project.

The following is a video that gives you an overview of the ToppDOT IPRJ converter.

Contact your Customer Success Manager to get access to the tool.

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and navigate to the directory with the installed application:

cd /d \path\to\iprj\converter

You can use the converter with files downloaded directly from IVION—no modifications needed. Simply download the following:

  • *.nvd archive

  • pano.zip

No need to rename, unzip, or manually organize files. If you're using a dataset that has already been post-processed with SiteMaker, it can also be used directly without modification.

Example usage:

iprj.exe --dataset \path\to\folder\with\NVD-and-pano --output \path\to\output

Note: The converter automatically detects and processes .nvd and pano.zip files if found in the input directory.

image-20250425-132912.png

To receive information about available options the following command should be executed:

iprj.exe --help

The example of the resulting IPRJ project folder structure:File structure showing images and calibration files for multiple cameras in a dataset.
For multiple datasets, there will be multiple subfolders with the images.

During execution, the application logs progress, showing a progress bar and descriptive messages for each stage of the conversion process.

Log output showing warnings and successful completion of a project conversion process.

Error messages are marked with the [ERROR] tag. The error fails the further conversion of the current specific dataset. This commonly provides additional information about what has gone wrong so it can be addressed accordingly.

The set of common errors listed above:

  • dataset.json file not found in dataset directory.

  • sensor_frame.xml file not found in dataset directory.

  • info folder not found in dataset directory.

  • pano folder not found in dataset directory.

  • anchors folder not found in dataset directory.

  • No info files in "info" folder.

  • No panorama files in "pano" folder.

  • Error parsing dataset: General error indicating a corrupted dataset or an exception during processing.

Warning messages are marked with the [WARNING] tag. They do not block further conversion but still notify about some important matters that may affect the result or even cause some issues with the output.

  • origin.json file not found in dataset directory. Default origin will be used with position= (0,0,0) and quaternion= (0,0,0,1).

  • Count of info files does not match with capture locations count.

  • Count of panorama files does not match with capture locations count.

The converted IPRJ project can be viewed by importing it into the MicroStation application with TopoDOT plugin installed.

The basic import workflow is the following:

  • Open MicroStation application with TopoDOT installed. Open existing or create a new DNG file.

MicroStation CONNECT Edition interface showing workspace and file selection options.

  • Import one or more point clouds from the original NavVis datasets.

Click Load/Unload => Load Point Cloud from File menu from the Point Cloud section of the Menu bar:

Menu options for loading point cloud data in a software interface.

File selection window showing highlighted file and options to open or cancel.

  • Open the Image Browser menu and click File->Import Images. Import the IPRJ file produced by converted based on the same dataset as point cloud:

Menu options for importing images in TopoDOT software interface are displayed.

File selection window showing an IPRJ file ready to be opened.

  • Select the required image from the Image Browser menu and click the Load Image button. Review the result in the View window:

Image browser interface displaying loaded images and options to load new images.

  • Optionally, improve the quality of the display by hiding points that should not be visible in this specific view by using the Fence tool and Crop outside the fence tool:

3D design interface showing elements for block placement and data analysis tools.

3D design software interface showing point cloud data and cropping options.


The iprj.exe application is a console-based tool designed to convert datasets from NavVis into TopoDOT IPRJ format for further processing and analysis.

The application supports NavVis Dataset as input and TopoDOT IPRJ Format as output.

You need Windows 10 or newer, NavVis IVION Core or Enterprise, processed NavVis VLX data, a Bentley Systems CAD platform, and a TopoDOT License.

You can ask your NavVis account or customer success manager about the connector or sign up to get access at launch.

To convert a single dataset, use the command: iprj.exe --dataset \path\to\BasicDataset --output \desired\location\of\result.

Yes, you can combine multiple datasets into a single IPRJ project using the --multiple option in the command.

Check the error messages marked with [ERROR] for details on what went wrong, such as missing files or folders.

Yes, the converted IPRJ project can be viewed by importing it into the MicroStation application with the TopoDOT plugin installed.

Warning messages may indicate issues like missing origin.json files or mismatched counts of info and panorama files.