Insert Point Cloud

This command starts the converter. Choose a point cloud and convert it to the streamable Qbitec format. The button "Insert" brings the point cloud into your project. You have the same options as in standard Autodesk® Revit®. If unsure use "Center to center".

Set Survey Coordinate System

Select a Qbitec point cloud. The survey coordinate system (shared coordinate system) will be placed as saved in the point cloud. This moves the origin and rotates the true north.

View Pano

This command generates a specialized panoramic view with enhanced navigation controls. To activate the panoramic view for a specific scanner position, simply click on any panorama bubble (an instance of the qbitec360Cam family). Note: This feature is only available if your point cloud includes embedded panoramic images.

RGB

The point clouds in the current view are displayed using their true color values, providing a photorealistic representation.

Normal

The point clouds in the current view are colorized according to the orientation of surfaces in 3D space. This makes it easier to identify planar directions, especially when true color (RGB) data is missing or lacks contrast. It also helps reveal sharp edges within the geometry. Note: The term "Normal" refers to the geometric normal vector perpendicular to a surface at a given point.

X-Ray

The point clouds in the current view are visualized to highlight structural features such as walls and columns within the interior of the dataset. This X-ray-style display (also known as a tomographic view) is particularly useful for reconstructing architectural elements in orthographic projections, either from above or from a side view aligned with the building’s main axes.

Cloud

The point clouds in the current view are colored differently. Within a point cloud, the original RGB color spectrum is mapped to brightnesses.

Display Settings

Adjust the appearance of point clouds using various color modes (RGB, Normal, X-ray, Unique Colors). Fine-tune point size, brightness, contrast, transparency, and X-ray settings to optimize visualization and modeling in Revit. A reset option restores default display values.

Visibility

Manage visibility and coloring of individual point clouds in your Revit model. Toggle point clouds on or off and assign custom colors in "Cloud" color mode to isolate scans, reduce clutter, or highlight areas of interest.

Measure Points

Pick precise 3D points directly from the point cloud in any Revit view. Selecting a point inserts a predefined reference family symbol at that location, enabling accurate placement of real-world data within your model. Symbol size is adjustable via a family type parameter.

Quality Analysis

Quality Analysis visualizes deviations between point cloud data and Revit geometry using color-coded overlays. Applications include flatness/deviation checks, tolerance verification, clash detection, and completeness checks. To use: select Revit geometry, click Quality Analysis, and the plugin calculates distances from each point cloud point to the geometry. Distances are shown via the active color map, which can be adjusted with the Color Map command. Update analysis when geometry changes and toggle visualization on/off anytime. Analysis starts coarse for quick results, then refines for detail, mapping each point to its nearest geometry location for precise deviation visualization.

Color Map (Quality Analysis)

Opens the Color Map editor, allowing you to create, edit, and manage distance-to-color relationships for analysis visualization. You can assign a color map by selecting it from the list, which immediately updates the display. Color maps help interpret distance values by mapping them to intuitive visual gradients.

Update (Quality Analysis)

Recalculates the point cloud-to-geometry distances for the currently selected Revit elements using the active color map. Use this after changing your selection or modifying geometry to immediately update the analysis visualization.

Manage Point Clouds

The Qbitec Manage Point Cloud Locations tool allows users to assign and organize multiple file paths or credentials for project point clouds. The system uses a top-down priority logic, automatically connecting to the first available location found in the list. This functionality is essential for teams working across different local directories or using individual remote login credentials (e.g., NavVis IVION). The dialog features a list of point clouds with status indicators, where a green dot signifies a successful connection. Users can add alternative paths via a setup wizard or remove outdated ones. Notably, the system includes automatic detection, scanning parent directories to batch-update related point clouds simultaneously. Once changes are finalized by clicking "Done," the project must be saved and reloaded to apply the new pathing configurations.

Clip - Window

The “Window” tool allows you to interactively draw a rectangle to selectively include or exclude specific areas of the currently visible point cloud. To keep an area, click two points sequentially to define the corners of the rectangle, and everything inside this frame will be retained. To remove an area, hold down the shift key while placing the first point, which will instead cut away the area within the rectangle. You can safely abort the operation at any time by pressing the escape key. While you are drawing the rectangle, standard view navigation functions such as zooming, panning, or orbiting are temporarily disabled to ensure that the clipping geometry is calculated cleanly and consistently.

Clip - Circle

The ”Circle” tool allows you to interactively define a circular clipping region by selecting two points that represent its diameter. To keep an area, click two points sequentially to define the start and end of the circle diameter, and the area inside the resulting circle will be retained. To remove an area, hold down the shift key when placing the first point to invert the selection, cutting away the area inside the circle instead of keeping it. You can safely abort the operation at any time by pressing the escape key. While you are defining the circle, standard view navigation functions are temporarily disabled to ensure geometric consistency, and the circle is projected from your screen into the 3D scene along your current view direction, creating a cylindrical clipping volume through the visible point cloud.

Clip - Fence

The “Fence” tool allows you to interactively define a polygon to selectively include or exclude specific areas of the currently visible point cloud. To keep an area, click sequentially to place points and draw your polygon using at least three points, then press enter to confirm the shape and retain everything inside it. To remove an area, hold down the shift key while placing the first point to invert the selection, cutting away the area inside the polygon instead of keeping it. You can press backspace to remove the last placed point or safely abort the entire operation at any time by pressing the escape key. While you are drawing the polygon, standard view navigation functions are temporarily disabled, ensuring that the clipping geometry is calculated cleanly and consistently.

Clip - Invert

The Invert Clipping function instantly flips your currently active clipping region, turning included areas into excluded areas and vice versa. When applied, currently included points become excluded, and previously excluded points become visible, with the operation applying directly to your current clipping state. You must have a valid clipping region active, as the command cannot be used if no clipping is active or if the view is set to all points. This tool is especially powerful when dealing with complex geometry, allowing you to quickly isolate a specific, complex region using a combination of other clipping tools from different view directions. Once isolated, you can simply apply the invert command to hide that specific region instead of trying to manually select all the surrounding geometry you want to keep.

Clip - Manage

The Manage tool provides a centralized interface for organizing, toggling, and saving point cloud clipping regions within your Revit project. You can save your current clipping state as a new region, rename it by double-clicking for better organization, or delete regions you no longer need, allowing you to quickly switch between different spatial focus areas. The all points option serves as a default state to instantly remove all active clipping and make the entire point cloud visible again. You can also activate multiple saved clipping regions at the same time, which are combined using an OR relation, meaning points will remain visible if they are located inside any of your selected regions. All clipping regions are saved directly within the Revit project, ensuring your configurations are preserved across future sessions, and active clipping regions apply to all point clouds in the project, affecting all relevant views.