Supported / Target Formats
Format support is still evolving. This page separates what works today from what is planned.
Current import formats
| Format | Typical source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
LAS | Drone / aerial LiDAR | Georeferenced; coordinate bridge applied |
LAZ | Drone / aerial LiDAR | Compressed LAS, decoded in-browser (laz-perf WASM) |
E57 | Terrestrial laser scanners | ASTM E2807; coordinates, RGB, intensity, classification, normals; multi-scan files merged |
PLY | iPhone / mobile scans | Point clouds and meshes; RGB supported |
OBJ | Mesh scans, 3D tools | Mesh vertices used as points |
GLB / GLTF | AR tools, mobile scans | Mesh vertices used as points |
XYZ | Survey / generic export | Whitespace-delimited text; optional RGB; chunked decoding over the in-memory file |
CSV | Survey / generic export | Comma-delimited text; optional RGB; chunked decoding over the in-memory file |
PCD | Point Cloud Library | ASCII, binary, and binary-compressed; position, RGB, intensity, normals, labels |
PTX | Terrestrial laser scanners | Multi-scan text; per-scan pose applied; scanner origin recorded |
PTS | Terrestrial laser scanners | Whitespace-delimited text; optional header count; 3/4/6/7-column layouts; chunked reading |
COPC | Cloud-optimised LiDAR | .copc.laz; opened by progressive octree streaming — see streaming.md |
EPT | Entwine Point Tile | ept.json manifest + hierarchy + tiles; binary and laszip tile decode; local and remote — see streaming.md |
Current export targets
PLY, OBJ, XYZ, and CSV, re-exported in real-world (global) coordinates, plus PNG snapshots of the current view (orthographic RGB, height map, intensity, classification, depth, normal, contour with legend customisation). Multi-page PDF technical reports (cover page + dataset summary + embedded image exports + annotations + measurements + technical notes; two built-in templates) ship as of v0.3.3. Working state — camera, render settings, colour mode, annotations, measurements, scan metadata — round-trips through the .olvsession JSON package.
iPhone and mobile scan exports
OpenLiDARViewer opens exports from iPhone LiDAR and mobile scanning apps when they are saved as a supported format. PLY, OBJ, GLB (and self-contained .gltf with embedded buffers), XYZ, and CSV all work today. A .gltf that references an external buffer.bin needs to be exported as GLB or an embedded glTF instead. USDZ exports need conversion to a supported format first. What works depends on the app's export format, the file structure, browser memory, and the current implementation.
Terrestrial laser scanners (E57)
E57 (ASTM E2807) is the standard exchange format for terrestrial laser scanners and is read directly in the browser by a from-scratch TypeScript parser — nothing is uploaded and no conversion step is needed.
The parser decodes Cartesian coordinates, RGB colour, intensity, classification, and per-point surface normals. It applies each scan's recorded pose (rotation and translation), drops points the file flags as invalid, and bridges global coordinates into the viewer's local space with the same coordinate bridge the LAS loader uses. Multi-scan E57 files are merged into a single cloud, and the file's generating software is read from the header and shown in the Scan Report.
E57 exports from Trimble survey scanners have been tested directly. Other standard E57 files — from Leica, FARO, Matterport, and similar systems — follow the same ASTM format and are expected to work; E57 files that use uncommon or non-standard schema features may not.
Drone LiDAR and other professional point clouds
Georeferenced drone LiDAR surveys in LAS and LAZ work today, including large UTM-scale coordinates handled by the coordinate bridge.
PCD — the Point Cloud Library format — is read directly in the browser in its ASCII, binary, and binary-compressed variants, with position, RGB colour, intensity, surface normals, and labels decoded where the file carries them.
PTX and PTS, the terrestrial laser-scanner text formats, are also read in the browser. PTX multi-scan files apply each scan's recorded pose matrix, merge every scan into one cloud, and record the scanner origin (shown in the Scan Report). PTS files read the optional leading point-count line and the standard 3-, 4-, 6-, and 7-column layouts; like XYZ and CSV they are decoded in bounded chunks over the already-loaded file, which avoids a second whole-file copy as strings (the source file itself is read in once; COPC/EPT are the true streaming paths).
Large-scale and web formats
COPC (Cloud Optimized Point Cloud) .copc.laz files stream today — opened progressively through their octree hierarchy with partial range reads, worker-based decoding, and bounded memory. Remote COPC over HTTP range requests ships in v0.3.1 with fail-fast URL validation and classified error messages.
EPT (Entwine Point Tile) joins COPC as a first-class streaming source in v0.3.3 — a ept.json URL opens an EPT dataset progressively. Both binary and laszip tile dataTypes are supported; the laz-perf WASM module is shared with the COPC path so a session that touches both formats pays the WASM cost only once. Remote EPT carries the same URL-validation + error-classification polish as remote COPC. See streaming.md.
3D Tiles / PNTS (tiled, streamable point clouds): an experimental data-layer foundation exists and lays groundwork for future support, but full user-facing streaming support is not yet enabled. Drop a .pnts file or a tileset.json URL today and the viewer will not open it; treat the format as planned, not shipped, until the user-facing path is announced in the release notes.
Mobile Scan Exports
OpenLiDARViewer can open compatible files exported from mobile scanning apps when the exported format is supported by the viewer.
Recommended mobile formats:
- GLTF / GLB — practical for mobile mesh workflows and some free mobile scanning workflows
- PLY — useful for point-cloud workflows when available
- OBJ — common mesh format when available
- XYZ / CSV — useful for raw point-coordinate workflows
- LAS / LAZ — professional LiDAR formats if exported or converted
Mobile scanning apps: Several iPhone LiDAR scanning apps — such as Polycam, Scaniverse, or 3D Scanner App — can export scans in these formats. Available formats and free-tier options differ between apps and can change, so check each app's current help documentation. Some formats may require a paid plan.
Trademark note: OpenLiDARViewer is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple or any third-party scanning app.
Notes
Format support varies with browser memory, GPU capacity, dataset size, preprocessing, and implementation status. Very large files may need downsampling, tiling, or conversion before they load smoothly.