This issue is among the most reported problems but is mostly user error-related. This means the user is unaware of the data or settings used. It may happen that the data has been corrupted, which might be why the user cannot see it in one of the views. PCS usually won't load the data or drop an error message if the data is corrupted. We tried to collect the most common cases for this type of issue.
- Turned off classification - This is the most common issue among users using different data sources, as some might be classified and others not. If the user turns on or off some classes on dataset A, but dataset B is differently classified - or not classified at all -, the user might not see the point cloud partly or entirely in 2D and 3D view. For example, a well-classified point cloud usually has no point in Class 0 or 1, or only noise or a small number of unclassified points. If the user uses the ground class and turns off Class 0 and 1, the software will remember this setting when closed. If the user opens the software the next day and loads a different dataset, which is unclassified, all of the points will most probably be located in Class 0 or 1. In that way, nothing will appear when the user opens the cloud. Depending on the classification settings, this can be applied to only 2D, 3D, or both. When the point cloud is not visible, check the Classification settings first and turn on all classes in both views.
- The point cloud is loaded but not visible - Wrong colouring - If the user uses classification colouring and the classes are located in the upper region of the class interval (12 or higher class numbers), the software might assign a black colour by default for these classes. If the user loads the cloud, it might be displayed in Intensity or Elevation colouring but not in classification colouring. This does not mean the points have disappeared; they are black in the background. In this case, use the information button in the Measure toolbar, info the point cloud to identify the classes, change the colour for the class inside the Class Filter Window, and press apply.
- The point cloud is loaded but not visible - Wrong camera angle due to noise - If the user has a point cloud with a higher amount of noise - this depends on the sensor and environment - some points might be up in the sky or below the ground. When the user loads the point cloud to 3D using the clip frame, the point cloud may be there in 2D, but when the loading is done, the user cannot see the point cloud in 3D. When the user loads a point cloud to 3D view, the software will calculate the viewpoint based on all points (including loaded vector vertexes), which means if the user has a low or high point, it is extremely low/high (for example, the ALS cloud has a reflection from a bird, or due to rainy weather some points are mirrored underground) the camera will focus to a "blank" area. The user cannot see anything even if the view is rotated (the centre of the rotation will be in the "nothing" due to the camera angle). To fix this, use the pre-defined views from the 3D Window Main Toolbar, such as the front or top view. When the user selects one, the camera will be fixed to one of the preset views, and the user will most probably find the cloud in 3D view and be able to move around correctly. If vectors are also loaded, returning to a usual viewpoint using the view presets might be impossible due to the higher elevation range. In these cases, the vectors should be removed, their elevation adjusted to the average cloud elevation, or the vectors removed for the project to check if vectors at 0 elevation caused the error.
- WGS84 projection in use - It is also widespread that users do not consider that the software can handle only point clouds, which are not ECEF projections, have a proper elevation value, and have a metric coordinate system. The WGS84 projection uses latitude and longitude as angles. PCS will try to understand these coordinates as metrics. This will result in the point clouds being loaded to an optically single point. Users might not spot this issue, and the clouds might not be visible. The same applies to vectors. It is recommended to check the coordinate display in the Info toolbar at the 2D window. If tiny coordinates can be seen, which might be latitude and longitude angles, the projection is probably wrong. PCS cannot fix this issue, so the user must re-project the data using another software.
- The point cloud is visible in the 2D window but looks odd and does not load to the 3D view - This is most commonly an optimisation issue. If the user is using un-optimised clouds, this might affect the display. The user may experience a weird display in the 2D window and nothing in the 3D window. In these cases, we recommend using the External Optimalization tool and force-reoptimising the point clouds. If re-optimising the cloud does not fix the issue, please check if the clouds from the same source are working correctly. If so, a new export might fix the problem. If not, and this is the first time the users have used this data source, the data post-processing might be faulty, or the LAS header was not appropriately exported (some post-processing environments still have issues with this, most commonly SLAM scanners). In these cases, export the point cloud in a different format and convert it to LAS with an external tool. Use the Convert 'text' to LAS tool from the Tools menu if it's text-based.
- The point cloud works in other software but not in PCS - If this happens, and PCS can load the cloud without warnings (which is not likely), it can be an optimisation or LAS header error. Try using the External Optimisation tool with the force-reoptimise option, re-exporting the cloud from the source software, or exporting it in a different format. The LasTools las2las tool can also be used to rewrite the header correctly. The las2las tool is free to use.
- The point cloud is fragmented in 2D view but works fine in 3D view - This may also occur if the user uses LAZ files. LAZ files can be optimised as LAS files, but PCS handles un-optimised LAZ files better than un-optimised LAS files. The main difference is that the 2D view will be fragmented when using un-optimised LAZ files. If the user zooms in, it will look better, but still not the best. This can be avoided by using the External Optimizer tool to optimise the LAZ files.
- Everything seems ok, but the cloud is not visible - Inside PCS, the point cloud display can be turned off in 3 different places. Turning off the point cloud display in the 2D view using the Navigation toolbar - Show Cloud option and in the 3D view using the Main toolbar - Show Cloud tools is possible. These tools turn off the cloud locally, and this setting does not reset when the software restarts. Please ensure the LAS icons are all green (turned on) for both views and the global switch in the Main Window's Standard toolbar.
Remember to check classification, camera, and optimisation, as these are the most commonly issued areas. If an error is encountered and it is not nominated here, please contact us!