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To Work With Point Cloud Clipping

Product Documentation
Intermediate

How to clip, or hide, a portion of a selected point cloud.

Create a 2D Rectangular or Polygonal Point Cloud Clipping Boundary

  1. In the drawing area, select the point cloud.
  2. Click Point Cloud tab Clipping panel Create Clip Box (flyout).At the Command prompt, enter POINTCLOUDCLIP n (New boundary).
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Select Rectangular. On the XY plane of the drawing area, specify diagonal corners of the rectangular clipping boundary.
    • Select Polygonal. On the XY plane of the drawing area, specify three or more segments for a closed polygonal boundary. Press Enter to complete the polygon boundary.

    The point cloud points that fall outside the defined clipping boundaries are hidden.

Convert a Polyline to 2D Clipping Boundary

  1. In the drawing area, select the point cloud.
  2. Click Point Cloud tab Clipping panel Create Clip box (flyout) Select Polyline.At the Command prompt, enter POINTCLOUDCLIP and enter n (New boundary) Select polyline.
  3. In the drawing area, select a polyline to define the clipping boundary. The polyline can be open, but must have straight segments.

    The point cloud points that fall outside the defined boundaries are hidden.

Reshape the Rectangular or Polygonal Point Cloud Clipping Boundary (2D)

  1. In the drawing area, select a point cloud.
  2. Select a grip on the clipping box. When it turns red, drag it to change the clipping box shape.

    The point cloud display is updated after the drag operation is complete.

Create Polylines That Coincide With a 2D Point Cloud Clipping Boundary

  1. At the Command prompt, enter POINTCLOUDCLIP.
  2. Enter p (generate Polyline).
  3. In the drawing area, select a point cloud.

    The new polylines inherit the current layer, linetype, and color settings.

Reshape a 3D Point Cloud Clip Box Based on the Bounding Box

  1. Select a point cloud.
  2. Click Point Cloud tab Clipping panel Clip Box.At the Command prompt, enter POINTCLOUDCLIP and enter c (Clipping box).

    A clipping box that is the same size and shape of the point cloud bounding box is displayed.

    NoteIf the point cloud already has a clipping box that has been modified, you can choose whether to restore the default clipping box or retain the modifications.
  3. To adjust the clipping box, drag the grips:
    • Standard grip (square). Resizes the length and width of the clipping box along the XY plane of the point cloud object.
    • Height grip (triangle). Resizes the height of the clipping box along the Z axis of the point cloud object.

Invert the Clipped Area on a Point Cloud

Use this method to switch the point cloud point display to be outside or inside the current clipping limits.

  • Select the clipping box and click an arrow grip.

    The arrow changes directions. Points that were hidden are displayed, and points that were visible are hidden.

Turn On or Turn Off Point Cloud Clipping

Use this procedure to turn on and turn off the clipped view. When the ribbon button is highlighted,

  1. Select a point cloud clipping boundary or clipping box.
  2. Click Point Cloud tab Clipping panel Show/Hide.At the Command prompt, enter POINTCLOUDCLIP. Enter on or off.

Remove a Point Cloud Clipping Boundary or Clipping Box

  1. Select a point cloud.
  2. Click Point Cloud tab Clipping panel Delete Boundary.At the Command prompt, enter POINTCLOUDCLIP. Enter d (Delete).
  3. Select the clipping boundary or clipping box that you want to remove and press Enter.

Toggle the Display of the Point Cloud Clipping Frame

If you turn off the clipping frame, it is only visible when the point cloud is selected.

  1. Select a point cloud.
  2. Click Point Cloud tab Show Clipframe.

    When the clipping frame is turned on, the button is highlighted.

Display or Print the Point Cloud Clipping Frame (Command Line)

  1. At the Command prompt, enter POINTCLOUDCLIPFRAME.
  2. Specify how to display the boundary:
    • Not visible on the screen and not printed: Enter 0 (zero).
    • Visible on the screen and printed: Enter 1.
    • Visible on the screen but not printed: Enter 2.

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