Clipping Boxes

Use Clipping Boxes to hide or obscure content within the clipping box or from areas surrounding the box. Points are hidden, but not deleted from the point cloud. For example, you can hide the roof of a building so that you can see inside from the roof view, or hide treetops to reveal the street below. You can also hide people or objects. You can create multiple clipping boxes.

Adding a Clipping Box

To add a clipping box to your point cloud scene:

Turn off snaps.
From the Point Cloud ribbon, click Add Box. The Clipping Box tool panel displays.
Click in the point cloud to establish the first corner of the clipping box.
Click again to establish the box length.
Click again to establish the box width.
Click again to establish the box height.
Use the grips to move, resize or rotate the clipping box.
Modify the clipping box in the Clipping Box tool panel.
View and manage all of the clipping boxes in the Clipping Box Manager.

Clipping Box Tool Panel

The Clipping Box tool panel provides precise control of clipping box properties.

Display Options
	Hide Inside	Hide the objects inside the clipping box. Turn the option off to hide everything outside the box.
	Obscure Inside	Pixelate the objects inside the box. Use the slider to adjust pixelation. This is often used to obscure bodies or other private objects that you want to obscure.
	Box Disabled	Enable this option to disable the Hide Inside and ObscureInside controls. Deactivate to resume Hide and Obscure settings.
Clipping box coordinates		Set size, location, and rotational coordinates for the clipping box.
Settings
	Snap Disabled	When this option is enabled, the clipping box does not snap to anything. Disable this option to have the box snap to points in the point cloud, or to objects. Enabling this option is helpful if the cloud is well above the ground plane. Disable it to snap the clipping box to an object or area, such as a tabletop.
	Outline	Show the clipping box's outline, but hide the fill.
	Color	Click to select a clipping box color. Use the slider to adjust the transparency.
Tools
	Select Points	Highlight points to use for point cloud models. This is not required for creating a model, but it visually identifies the points in a potential model.
	Create Model	Create a model from the point cloud that is within the clipping box. For example, you can create models from objects in the point cloud that you want to duplicate in the drawing, or use in other drawings.
	Create Ortho Image	Use a clipping box to create a top down ortho image. These images are created with tiled, high-resolution, scaled images. This is helpful for quick 2D diagramming and dimensioning. You can also print 2D point cloud images along with the diagram. Ortho images are less cumbersome to work with than point clouds and they may be sufficient for your project. When you create the ortho image, you are prompted to name the project (if you have not already done so). The software places the ortho image on the ground plane, inline with the point cloud. To see the image, hide the point cloud, select the image, and then move the image to another area. Select the ortho image to see the tiles. The tiled images are stored in the project folder.
Setup 2D View Point Cloud Display
Density-based Ortho Image		Create an ortho image outline of the point cloud data based on the density of points that are vertically in-line. For example, walls have many points stacked on top of each other. This tool helps you generate a clear outline of a building floorplan or vehicle. For more information, see Creating a Density-Based (Ortho Image) From a Point Cloud.

Clipping Box Manager

Use the Clipping Box Manager to view and edit all of the clipping boxes in the drawing.

Check or uncheck Visible to show or hide the clipping box. Use Show All or Hide All to show or hide all of the clipping boxes.

Click Select to display the tool panel for a clipping box.

Creating a Density-Based (Ortho Image) From a Point Cloud

Create an ortho image outline of the point cloud data based on the density of points that are in-line vertically. For example, walls have many points stacked on top of one another. This tool generates a clear outline of a building floorplan, or vehicle.

1. Draw a clipping box around the section of the point cloud for which you want to generate an ortho image.

From the Clipping Box tool panel, set Display Options to Hide Outside.

From Clipping Box > Tools, click Density-Based Ortho Image. The image opens in a dialog box that includes options for adjusting the image.

You can adjust the following settings:

Presets	Click the left and right arrows to choose presets that will help you get closer to the desired display. After you select a preset, give the program time to regenerate the image. When you find the desired preset , you can make incremental changes with the advanced settings starting with Block Size.
Block Size (ft)	The size of the smallest ‘square’ block top down where points will be grouped/counted together. A smaller size creates finer lines, but it also increases memory use and processing time.
Block Density (min)	Minimum number of points in block needed to be included. Cells with less points than this value will be ignored. Vertical Block Height and Vertical Block Density used together are considered a “fine filter” and affect the image's contrast.
Vertical Block Height (ft)	In each cell Vertical ‘stacks’ on the “top down” blocks (side view).
Vertical Block Density (min)	The minimum number of points to include in a vertical block. Cells with less points than this value are ignored.
Density Image Preview	Preview the results based on the settings.
Apply	Update the Density Image Preview after changes have been made.
Place Image	Save and load the ortho image. If you click Yes to load the image, it is placed directly on the point cloud at the exact location from which it was generated.