--- title: "Setting Up NavVis Positioning" slug: "setting-up-navvis-positioning" description: "Set up NavVis Positioning for accurate 6D indoor mapping with Visual Index generation in NavVis IVION Professional and Enterprise instances." updated: 2026-04-27T11:21:05Z published: 2026-04-27T11:21:05Z --- > ## 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. # Setting Up NavVis Positioning > [!NOTE] > **Note**: This is only available for NavVis IVION Professional and NavVis IVION Enterprise instances. Positioning services are available for indoor sites or building complexes mapped with NavVis technology. NavVis Positioning provides visual 6D positioning in NavVis IVION by matching one or more query images against the mapped environment. Based on this visual comparison, the system estimates the 3D position and orientation of the camera relative to the existing site data. The following documentation describes how to set up NavVis Positioning for your NavVis IVION Site(s). To use NavVis Positioning you need: - A NavVis IVION Professional or NavVis IVION Enterprise instance - A Visual Index (image database) generated from your mapped data. ## Generating a Visual index After uploading 360-degree panoramic images, it is necessary to create a visual index once for the dataset to enable NavVis positioning functionality. However, you do not need to recreate the visual index multiple times when updating datasets with additional 360° images. > [!NOTE] > **Note:**For a NavVis IVION Instance migrated from 2.x, visual indices must be reprocessed. 1. In your NavVis IVION site, go to **Site Setup** >**Dataset Management**. 2. Click **Advanced** next to the bundle for which you want to generate a Visual Index. 3. Select **Create visual index** from the drop-down menu. 4. Click **Publish**when you have finished. ![Dataset management interface showing options to create visual index and manage bundles.](https://cdn.document360.io/bf174766-fa1a-4fe1-a4d7-b1db1e7cb996/Images/Documentation/creat index.png) After you have generated a Visual Index you can view its status below the bundle name: - *Positioning is available for this bundle.* - *Please update the Visual Index in order to use NavVis Positioning*: Follow the steps above. - *Nothing*: There is no Visual Index for this bundle. If you want to enable NavVis Positioning, follow the steps above. ## Uploading a Visual index You need a continuous internet connection to enable communication between your server machine and the cloud-based NavVis Image Description Service. > [!NOTE] > **Note:**Communication between your data processing machine and the NavVis Image Description Service enables a Visual Index to be generated during processing. For security reasons and data protection, all communication with the NavVis Image Description Service is SSL-encrypted. If you have generated a Visual Index locally, you can upload it to the existing bundle in your NavVis IVION site. ### Procedure 1. Go to **Site Setup** > **Dataset Management**. 2. Click **Advanced** next to the bundle for which you want to upload a Visual Index. 3. Select **Upload visual index** from the drop-down menu. ![Dataset management interface showing options for visual index and alignment bundles.](https://cdn.document360.io/bf174766-fa1a-4fe1-a4d7-b1db1e7cb996/Images/Documentation/upload index.png) 4. Select the .nvi file you want to upload. 5. Click **Upload**. > [!NOTE] > **Note:** If there is an outdated Visual Index available, it will be automatically overwritten. 6. Repeat these steps for each bundle. 7. Click **Publish**when you have finished. ## Deleting a Visual index ### Procedure 1. Go to **Site Setup** > **Dataset Management**. 2. Click **Advanced** next to the bundle for which you want to delete a Visual Index. 3. Select **Delete Visual Index** from the drop-down menu. 4. Click **Publish**when you have finished. --- ### FAQ #### What instances are required to use NavVis Positioning? You need a NavVis IVION Professional or NavVis IVION Enterprise instance. #### What is NavVis Positioning? NavVis Positioning enables visual 6D positioning in NavVis IVION, reconstructing the full 3D location and orientation of the client device using query images. #### How do I generate a Visual Index for positioning? To generate a Visual Index, go to Site Setup > Dataset Management, click Advanced next to the desired bundle, select 'Create visual index' from the drop-down menu, and click Publish. #### Is it necessary to reprocess visual indices for migrated NavVis IVION instances? Yes, visual indices must be reprocessed for NavVis IVION instances migrated from version 2.x. #### Can I upload a Visual Index that I generated locally? Yes, you can upload a locally generated Visual Index to the existing bundle in your NavVis IVION site. #### What happens if I upload an outdated Visual Index? If there is an outdated Visual Index available, it will be automatically overwritten when you upload a new one. #### How can I delete a Visual Index? To delete a Visual Index, go to Site Setup > Dataset Management, click Advanced next to the desired bundle, select 'Delete Visual Index' from the drop-down menu, and click Publish. #### Do I need an internet connection to use NavVis Positioning? Yes, a continuous internet connection is required for communication between your server machine and the cloud-based NavVis Image Description Service. Site refers to a complex of one or more buildings displayed in a NavVis IVION instance. For example, the Munich Airport would be one site. An instance can contain multiple sites. Each site consists of one or more datasets. The visual index is data consumed by the Indoor Location Server in order to relate pictures to locations in the scanned area. The goal is to be able to take a photo inside of a scanned environment and be able to get the position where this photo was taken. The Indoor Location Server is what does this, and the visual index is how it does that. The visual index needs to be generated through the usage of a tool called visual-index-generator. A NavVis IVION instance is a copy of the NavVis IVION software running on a hosting server. An instance has a database which contains the associated datasets, users, and more. That data is accessible via the instance URL. A dataset is a piece of a site, the result of a continuous recording with a NavVis mapping device or the result of an imported point cloud. Datasets can contain panoramic images and point clouds.