A new right click menu (RCM) command has been added to find the layer in the Table of Contents (TOC) on which a selected feature resides. With one or more features selected in the Map View, right click the mouse. Select the option “Select TOC Layer from Selected Feature” option (Figure 29). This will cause the layer of the TOC to be selected that contains the selected feature.
The breakline treatment of polygons in LP360 was broken some versions ago. This has now been corrected to be consistent across all cases (this was also fixed in 2018.2 prior to release).
This is a new Feature Edit tool. It creates a polygon that represents the Union of two or more selected polygons. The resultant polygon is written to the currently selected Edit layer. This layer can be the same layer as that containing the source polygons or it can be a different polygon layer.
This is a new pair of Feature Edit tools used to disassemble and reassemble multipart features. These tools were added since we cannot directly edit multipart shapes in LP360.
This is a new Feature Edit tool. It creates a polygon that represents the intersection of two or more selected polygons. The resultant polygon is written to the currently selected Edit layer. This layer can be the same layer as that containing the source polygons or it can be a different polygon layer.
Added tools for import and export of filters in Live View (Figure 23). This allows users to share Live View filters. This was also added to 2018.2 in a Service Pack.
The LAS Point Data Records contain a 1-byte field called “User Data.” This field is available for any purpose. Vendors of multiple beam LIDARs (such as Velodyne and Quanergy) tend to use this field as a channel (beam) indicator. For example, the YellowScan Ultra indicates which of the thirty-two beams this point belongs to by setting this field to the appropriate value (in this example, 1-32, inclusive).
We have added the ability to filter on this value in Live View as well as display by User Data in the display modes. The User Data filter tab functions much like the Point Source ID tab. The table contains rows 0 – 255. You can set the color and size for each row by doubling clicking on the color icon. You can set multiple rows by selecting the rows and pressing the Symbology button to the right of the table. The colors of selected rows can be randomly colorized by pressing the Random button.
We have added a GPS time filter tab to Live View (Figure 21). This filter allows setting of GPS time stamp ranges. There is not a GPS Time display mode so this tab acts as a filter only (e.g. no symbology is associated with GPS Time). Thus this tab functions the same as Scan Angle.
Primarily for work we are doing for USDA (in support of LIDAR Server), we are adding an Octree data organization option to LP360 (standalone only) for rapid access of data in large projects. This organization is called a Nested, Indexed, Priority Octree (NIPO). A NIPO is compatible with the public domain structure, Point Octree (Potree). In this release, a command line executable must be used to construct a NIPO.
The Nashville data set (about 110 GB) requires about 2 minutes, 30 seconds to open when organized as normal LAS files. As a NIPO, it requires about 2 seconds to open.
The LP360 octree (Nested, Indexed, Priority Octree, NIPO) data structure now fully supports point cloud tasks.
The NIPO converter now preserves all information in the original LAS source files.
LP360 can now build and use a Nested, Indexed Point Octree (NIPO) layer. A NIPO layer is built via an LP360 NIPO builder.
LP360 can now load a Nested, Indexed Point Octree (NIPO) layer. A NIPO layer is built via an LP360 NIPO builder.
When loaded, a NIPO looks very much like a LAS Layer in the Table of Contents (TOC) within LP360. Unlike many octree data schemes, our NIPO can be both read and write. Thus the NIPO can be used for projects that are being edited.
Our final (I think!) filter has been added to Live View. This filter is used for the Red-Green-Blue (RGB) color bands of a LAS file. For example, structure from motion point clouds produced by PhotoScan have RGB populated in the LAS files. You will occasionally see LIDAR point clouds that have been colorized from imagery. A LAS layer that has RGB fields populated will have the Render by RGB selector enabled on the main LP360 toolbar.
When prompted to save a Live View filter (on closing the Live View dialog with a “dirty” filter), you now have the option to cancel the exit. This will take you back to editing the filter.
LAS File Analyst has the ability to fix a lot of problems with LAS files such as incorrect point bounding box in the LAS header. However, certain header errors (such as the aforementioned bounding box error) prevented a LAS load. Thus you could not get the files loaded to do the repair! We have added an option to the load dialog that will bypass some checks and allow you to proceed with the load. Note that this cannot bypass all defects and, when you do use this bypass, the files may not display. The typical workflow would be to go directly to LAS File Analyst and effect a repair prior to proceeding.
The Returns tab in Live View now shows the points by return count. Note that you may need to force a full file scan on a legacy project to populate these fields. Press the Scan button while holding down the Shift key to force a full scan.
Live View is now used for all Source Filters such as Point Cloud Tasks (PCT). When you press the Source Points , you will be driven to the Live View dialog.
Live View will be loaded with:
Notes:
The Interactive classification tools now use a drop-down selection box for setting the Source Filter. These selections are Live View saved filters.
The points used as the source in the Point Group Tracing Point Cloud Task (PCT) used to be a drop-down selector, allowing only a single class to be used as the trace source. This has now been replaced with the standard Live View PCT filter source. Thus you can now fully specify the source filter for this task.
You can now export Class names to an xml file as well as import class names from a previously saved file. Loaded class names change the names for all Live View filters.
You can now automatically load a new set of Class names when creating a new LP360 project. This option appears on the Global tab of the Project Settings dialog . To override the default Class names (which are the APSRS standard), check the option in the "Default Class Names" section and point the file selector to a class definition file that you previously saved from the Class tab of Live View. If the option is checked, each new project you create will use the externally, file defined class names rather than the defaults. This option is useful for customers who use either non-standard or extended class definitions.
Class names have been added for Classes 19-22.
| Class | Name |
| 19 | Conveyor |
| 20 | Ignored Ground |
| 21 | Snow |
| 22 | Temporal Exclusion |