Point Clouds Adding a Point Cloud: Open a Plan, Elevation, Section, or 3D view Select the Insert tab o In the Link section, select the Point Cloud button In the Link Point Cloud window, locate the desired point cloud file Select the Open button *Note: Now is the best time to adjust the point cloud Vertical Adjustment o In an Elevation you can adjust the point cloud vertically. o Take extra care to note the vertical distance the point cloud was offset for reference throughout the life of the project Rotational Adjustment o It is NOT recommended to rotate the point cloud at any time during the project o For modeling purposes, set a project North to rotate the entire project to the desired location
To insert additional point clouds, select the Insert tab o In the Link section, select the Point Cloud button In the Link Point Cloud window, locate the desired point cloud file Under the Positioning: menu, select Auto Origin to Last Placed. This will align your additional point clouds to the original point cloud added to the project Select the Open button o Repeat process until all point clouds have been added to the project Viewing a Point Cloud: Add multiple levels to create more viewable slices
o To add a level, select the Structure tab Under the Datum section, select the Level button Right click once in an elevation to start the level and right click again to end the level o To get the best results, place levels somewhere between 1-0 4-0 apart o Refine the view range of the plan associated with each newly created level Open the plan for a newly created level In the Properties window, select the Edit button for View Range In the View Range window, set the Primary Range offset for the Top, Cut Plane, Bottom, and set the View Depth offset for the Level
*NOTE: The view will work well if the Top and Cut Plane offsets are equal, and the Bottom and Level offsets are equal For the purpose of viewing the point cloud, setting an offset somewhere between ± 1-0 4-0 will work best Select the OK button Add shallow section views to create more viewable elevation slices To view specific details, it can be helpful to tile different views of the same area. For example; a floor plan and 3D view.
o To create a 3D view of a plan, section, or elevation, select the View tab Under the Create section, select the 3D View button In the upper right hand corner of the window, right click the view cube In the view cube menu, select Orient to View > Floor Plans > and select the desired floor plan Change the view boundaries to see more or less of the surrounding cloud Use the view cube to rotate the view to view details of the point cloud o To tile views, close all windows except the views to be tiled o Select the View tab Under the Windows section, Select the Tile button
Removing a Point Cloud from a View: Removing a point cloud from a view can allow you to see other areas more clearly or can increase the working speed of Revit. *NOTE: DO NOT DELETE A POINT CLOUD. Deleting a point cloud from the project will remove the point cloud permanently. This should only be done if the cloud has never been used and never will be used in the future of the project With a view open, type the command VV In the Visibility/Graphic Overrides window, select the Imported Categories tab o In the Visibility column, expand the Point Clouds Menu o To remove all point clouds from the view, uncheck the box next to Point Clouds o To remove individual point clouds, uncheck the box next to the desired point clouds o Select the OK button Storing Point Clouds: Point clouds are large files and take up a lot of space. Contact helpdesk before placing a point cloud on the H: Drive. Option 1: Storing a Point Cloud on a Desktop Store all files together Be sure all point clouds in the Revit file are being referenced from the desktop location
Note: When storing point clouds on a desktop, that computer is the only one that can reference the point clouds Option 2: Storing point clouds on a CD or Flash Drive Place as many point clouds as possible on one reference. Referencing multiple sources will slow down the file When opening the Revit file from a new location, the point cloud links will need to be redirected In the Project Browser menu, right click Revit Links and Select Manage Links o In the Manage Links window, select the Point Clouds tab o Select the Point Cloud file and select the Reload From button In the Find Linked File window, find the point cloud location and select the Open button o After redirecting the point cloud links, select the OK button
Helpful Tips: Tiling views can be very helpful while working with a point cloud. It allows you to see multiple views while modeling or checking for interferences. The point cloud is viewed most easily for modeling in the New Construction phase. Change the point cloud to the Existing phase for printing drawings. Pin point clouds after inserting them into the project. There are many components in the point cloud that can be selected which makes them opportune to accidentally being moved.