Importing a Cloud

To import a Cloud from a file right-click the Clouds folder in the Current Project tree and select Import. A list of supported manufacturers and their formats will be shown. The following table outlines common formats and their availability within each engine.
Note: the 3DTK engine does not support .pts or .ptx files.
Quarryman  [.fsc] is a new file type that supports data imported directly from a Carlson Quarryman system.



Selecting one of the manufacturers will open the standard Carlson file selection dialog.  For some file types, users can select multiple clouds to import by either using the CTRL+Click or using the SHIFT key to select multiple files. After the file(s) have been selected, click Open to import them.


Note the options to clean the cloud on import. This allows users to remove excess points from the cloud as to reduce the sizeof the cloud based on a "Re-sample step."

When selecting multiple files, an Import dialog will be displayed.


This allows users to either keep the imported clouds separate or to merge the clouds together. If merging two or more cloud files, provide a name for the merged cloud file. Click OK to import.

If an ASCII format is selected the Import Cloud dialog will be displayed.

In order for the data to imported correctly the user must define what delimiter is used within the ASCII file. If the data is not shown organized in columns (all the data is in one column for example); another delimiter will need to be chosen. Clicking the header of each column will bring up a menu with all the possible values that can be assigned to it, click each column's header to set its proper value. At the top of the dialog is the Presets Panel, which allows users to save the current column assignments to be used in the future. The import column is used to determine whether to import that particular column (often files will have text or header information that isn't actually part of the data set). Save the current configuration by clicking the + button in the panel, presets can also be removed by clicking - button. Presets are saved in the global program settings so they can be used across multiple projects.
Click the Green Tick to begin the import.

After importing a cloud it is advisable to Clean it.

Menu Location: Right click on Clouds entry in Project tree —> Import
Keyboard Command: None
Prerequisite: Supported cloud file available, a project open in the Project Tab