Tutorials CadCraft help Reference
Point cloud formats: what attaches, and what to export
Which laser scan files attach under the drawing, which are a scanner maker's own format, and what to export from the scanner's software so the scan attaches here.
Written for CadCraft 0.6.1. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
What attaches here
Attach these with POINTCLOUDATTACH, Open or by dropping them on the page (see the topic on tracing as-built lines over a point cloud):
| Format | Extension | What is read |
|---|---|---|
| LAS, LAZ | .las, .laz | LAS 1.0–1.4: points, colors, intensity, LiDAR classes, the coordinate system and its units. LAZ up to 1 GB. |
| E57 | .e57 | Every scan in the file, each placed by its pose; colors, or intensity when the file has no colors; meters. Pictures in the file are left out (said). Up to 6 million points and 512 MB for now: export bigger scans as LAS or LAZ. |
| PLY | .ply | Text and binary (both byte orders): the vertices' x y z, colors and intensity. Faces are left out (said). |
| PCD | .pcd | Text and binary: x y z, packed or separate colors, intensity. Compressed PCD files are not read yet: save them as binary or text. |
| PTX | .ptx | One or more scans, each placed by its own transform; points the scanner did not measure are left out. Meters. |
| PTS, XYZ | .pts, .xyz | Text: x y z, with intensity and colors when the columns are there. |
Files that only the scanner's software reads
Some scan files are a scanner maker's own format, with no published description and no open reader. CadCraft can't read them: attaching one prints what it is and what to do on the command line. Export the scan from the maker's software as E57 or LAS (or PTX, PTS), then attach the exported file.
| File | Extension | Export it from |
|---|---|---|
| ReCap project | .rcp | ReCap: open the project and export it. The project only points to its scans, so copying the .rcp alone gives no points. |
| ReCap scan | .rcs | ReCap: open the project the scan belongs to and export it. |
| FARO scan | .fls | FARO SCENE. |
| Leica scan | .lgs | Leica Cyclone REGISTER 360. |
| Trimble scan | .tzf | Trimble RealWorks or Trimble Business Center. |
| Z+F scan | .zfs | Z+F LaserControl. |
Why these files are not read
Those formats are not published, and the only way to read them is each maker's own software library, under its own terms. CadCraft only reads formats it can read with its own code on your computer, so a scan never has to be sent anywhere to attach.