Importing a Point Cloud Object

A point cloud object comprises a set of 3D data points captured from the surface of the real world using a 3D scanner. The object can be viewed interactively and transformed geometrically (including the zoom, scale, pan, rotate, flyover, and walkthrough functions), clipped into horizontal or vertical sections using the Clip Cube command, snapped to, measured and referenced for data, and placed into viewports. It provides an efficient and effective way to bring existing conditions into the design workflow.

Vectorworks Design Series products import registered point cloud data in the .laz, .las, .pts, .e57, .xyz, and .ply file formats.

Alternatively, click the file to import and drag it into an open Vectorworks file.

Parameter	Description
Number of Points
Total in Source File	Static display of the total number of points in the point cloud object
Percentage to Import	Indicate what percentage of the total points in the source file to import; for percentages less than 100, a random sample of the available points is imported
Number to Import	Static display of the number of points to import, calculated from the Total in Source File and Percentage to Import. The maximum number of points that can be imported for any one point cloud object is 35 million.
Units	Specify the units of the points to be imported

The import process automatically switches to a 3D view, using the default 3D render mode and projection specified in Vectorworks Preferences (see Vectorworks Preferences: 3D Tab). The point cloud object’s Color Scale can be edited from the Object Info palette.

Because the Top/Plan view and render modes other than OpenGL or Wireframe are unlikely to be used in a point cloud workflow, a low-resolution image displays for Top/Plan, and a simple wire box displays for the other render modes.

Command	Path
Import Point Cloud	File > Import