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TerraScan Users Guide
19.01.2010
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Trademarks
MicroStation, MDL and MicroStation stylized "M" are registered trademarks of Bentley
Systems, Incorporated. MicroStation PowerDraft and MicroStation GeoOutlook are trademarks
of Bentley Systems, Incorporated.
TerraBore, TerraGas, TerraLink, TerraMatch, TerraModeler, TerraPark, TerraPhoto, TerraPipe,TerraScan, TerraSlave, TerraStreet, and TerraSurvey are trademarks of Terrasolid Limited.
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Acrobat Reader is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
OSTN02 is a trademark of Ordnance Survey, the national mapping agency of Great Britain.
Intergraph Raster File Formats - Copyright - 1994 Intergraph Corporation. Used with permission.
Copyright
1998-2010 Arttu Soininen, Terrasolid. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Getting Started
1 Documentation.............................................................................................. 10About the documentation .............................................................................. 10
Accessing documentation on-line ................................................................. 10
Document conventions.................................................................................. 10
MicroStation documentation......................................................................... 10
2 Introduction to TerraScan .......................................................................... 11
Introduction ................................................................................................... 11
Terra application family................................................................................ 12
3 Installation .................................................................................................... 13
Hardware and software requirements ........................................................... 13Installation media.......................................................................................... 13
Installation from zip file................................................................................ 14
Installation from CD ..................................................................................... 15
4 Starting TerraScan....................................................................................... 16
Starting TerraScan ........................................................................................ 16
Unloading TerraScan .................................................................................... 17
Tool Reference
5 Coordinate transformations ........................................................................ 19
Projection system transformations ................................................................ 19
Built-in projection systems................................................................. 20
User projection systems...................................................................... 21
US State Planes................................................................................... 23
User defined transformations ........................................................................ 24
6 General tools ................................................................................................. 28
General tool box............................................................................................ 28
Settings ............................................................................................... 29
Define Coordinate Setup .................................................................... 41Define Classes .................................................................................... 42
Define Project ..................................................................................... 44
Manage Trajectories ........................................................................... 45
Load Airborne Points.......................................................................... 52
Load Ground Points ............................................................................ 53
About TerraScan................................................................................. 53
Help on TerraScan .............................................................................. 53
View Laser tool box...................................................................................... 54
Draw Section ...................................................................................... 55
Move Section...................................................................................... 56
Rotate Section..................................................................................... 57Cut Section ......................................................................................... 58
Travel Path.......................................................................................... 59
Synchronize Views ............................................................................. 62
Measure Point Density........................................................................ 63
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Update Distance Coloring .................................................................. 64
7 Drawing Tools............................................................................................... 65
Draw tool box ............................................................................................... 65
Mouse Point Adjustment .................................................................... 66
Fit Linear Element .............................................................................. 67
Drape Linear Element......................................................................... 69
Find Breakline Along Element ........................................................... 71
Set Polygon Elevation ........................................................................ 72
Construct Planar Building .................................................................. 73
Place Collection Shape ....................................................................... 75
8 Modeling and validating ground................................................................. 76
Model tool box.............................................................................................. 76
Create Editable Model ........................................................................ 77
Assign Point Class .............................................................................. 78
Classify Using Brush .......................................................................... 79
Classify Fence..................................................................................... 80Classify Above Line ........................................................................... 81
Classify Below Line ........................................................................... 82
Classify Close To Line ....................................................................... 83
Add Synthetic Point............................................................................ 84
Remove Vegetation ............................................................................ 85
Fix elevation ....................................................................................... 86
Rebuild Model .................................................................................... 87
9 Menu commands for loaded points ............................................................ 88
Memory usage .................................................................................... 88
File pulldown menu ...................................................................................... 89File / Open block................................................................................ 90
File / Open inside fence ...................................................................... 91
File / Read points ................................................................................ 92
File / Save points ................................................................................ 95
File / Save points As ........................................................................... 96
File / Close points ............................................................................... 97
Output pulldown menu ................................................................................. 98
Output / Output alignment report ....................................................... 99
Output / Create surface model .......................................................... 100
Output / Export lattice model ........................................................... 101
Output / Export raster image ............................................................ 103
Output / Write to design file ............................................................. 106
Point pulldown menu .................................................................................. 107
Point / Undo classification................................................................ 108
Point / From list ................................................................................ 108
Point / Edit selected .......................................................................... 109
Point / Select by class ....................................................................... 110
Point / Find ....................................................................................... 110
Point / Delete .................................................................................... 111
View pulldown menu.................................................................................. 113
View / Fields..................................................................................... 114
View / Header records ...................................................................... 114
View / Fit view ................................................................................. 114View / Display mode ........................................................................ 115
Classify pulldown menu ............................................................................. 122
Classify / Routine ............................................................................. 123
Classify / Inside fence....................................................................... 123
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Classify / 3D fence ........................................................................... 123
Classify / Detect plane ...................................................................... 124
Classify / Detect trees ....................................................................... 125
Classify / Assign............................................................................... 127
Classify / Add point to ground ......................................................... 127
Tools pulldown menu ................................................................................. 128
Tools / Show statistics ...................................................................... 129Tools / Macro.................................................................................... 129
Tools / Addon ................................................................................... 129
Tools / Draw bounding box .............................................................. 129
Tools / Draw into profile .................................................................. 130
Tools / Draw into sections ................................................................ 131
Tools / Draw polygons ..................................................................... 132
Tools / Smoothen points ................................................................... 133
Tools / Thin points............................................................................ 134
Tools / Adjust to geoid ..................................................................... 136
Tools / Convert geoid model ............................................................ 136
Tools / Transform loaded points....................................................... 137Tools / Transform known points ...................................................... 138
Tools / Output control report ............................................................ 139
Tools / Extract color from images .................................................... 140
Tools / Assign color to points ........................................................... 142
Tools / Compare with reference ....................................................... 143
Tools / Sort ....................................................................................... 145
Tools / Read building models ........................................................... 145
Flightline pulldown menu ........................................................................... 146
Flightline / Deduce using time.......................................................... 147
Flightline / Deduce from order ......................................................... 147
Flightline / Start new at selection ..................................................... 148
Flightline / Modify numbering ......................................................... 148Flightline / Draw from points ........................................................... 149
Flightline / Draw from file................................................................ 150
Flightline / Adjust laser angles ......................................................... 151
Flightline / Cut overlap..................................................................... 152
10 Working with projects ............................................................................. 155
File pulldown menu .................................................................................... 157
File / New project ............................................................................. 158
File / Open project ............................................................................ 160
File / Save project ............................................................................. 160
File / Save project as......................................................................... 160File / Edit project information .......................................................... 160
File / Import points into project ........................................................ 161
Block pulldown menu ................................................................................. 164
Block / Add by boundaries ............................................................... 165
Block / Edit definition ...................................................................... 166
Block / Delete definition................................................................... 166
Block / Release lock......................................................................... 166
Block / Draw boundaries .................................................................. 167
Block / Create along centerline ........................................................ 168
Block / Create along tower string ..................................................... 169
Block / Transform boundaries .......................................................... 170View pulldown menu.................................................................................. 171
View / Sort........................................................................................ 171
Tools pulldown menu ................................................................................. 172
Tools / Run macro ............................................................................ 172
Tools / Adjust to geoid ..................................................................... 173
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Tools / Adjust xyz............................................................................. 173
Tools / Output control report ............................................................ 174
Tools / Show statistics ...................................................................... 175
Tools / Check coverage .................................................................... 176
Tools / Copy from reference............................................................. 178
Tools / Extract color from images .................................................... 180
Tools / Export lattice models............................................................ 181Tools / Export raster images ............................................................. 182
Tools / Output collections................................................................. 184
11 Powerline processing................................................................................ 186
Vectorize Wires tool box ............................................................................ 187
Place Tower String ........................................................................... 188
Activate Powerline ........................................................................... 189
Detect Wires ..................................................................................... 190
Place Catenary String ....................................................................... 192
Check Catenary Attachments ........................................................... 194
Assign Wire Attributes ..................................................................... 199Vectorize Towers tool box.......................................................................... 200
Place Tower ...................................................................................... 201
Edit Tower Information .................................................................... 203
Move Tower ..................................................................................... 204
Rotate Tower .................................................................................... 204
Add Cross Arm ................................................................................. 205
Set Cross Arm Elevation .................................................................. 206
Extend Cross Arm ............................................................................ 206
Rotate Cross Arm ............................................................................. 206
Modify Cross Arm............................................................................ 207
Delete Cross Arm ............................................................................. 207
Create Attachments........................................................................... 208
Add Attachment................................................................................ 209
Move Attachment ............................................................................. 209
Delete Attachment ............................................................................ 210
View Powerline........................................................................................... 211
View Tower Spans............................................................................ 212
Label Towers .................................................................................... 216
Label Catenary Height...................................................................... 217
Find Danger Objects ......................................................................... 218
Create Span Tiles.............................................................................. 220
Output Catenary................................................................................ 221
Export Powerline .............................................................................. 222
12 Railroad processing.................................................................................. 223
Railroad tool box......................................................................................... 224
Place Railroad String ........................................................................ 225
Fit Railroad String ............................................................................ 226
13 Building vectorization.............................................................................. 227
Vectorize Buildings .......................................................................... 228
Vectorize buildings for TerraScan projects ...................................... 229
14 Elevation adjustment and accuracy ....................................................... 230
Adjusting elevation values .......................................................................... 230
Elevation adjustment model ............................................................. 231
Running elevation adjustment .......................................................... 232
Comparing ground against control points................................................... 233
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Control point report .......................................................................... 234
15 Key-in commands..................................................................................... 236
Classification Reference
16 Classification routines.............................................................................. 241
By class............................................................................................. 241
Low points ........................................................................................ 242
Isolated points................................................................................... 243
Air points .......................................................................................... 244
Ground .............................................................................................. 245
Below surface ................................................................................... 248
By height from ground ..................................................................... 249
By absolute elevation........................................................................ 250
By echo ............................................................................................. 251
By echo difference............................................................................ 252By intensity....................................................................................... 253
By color ............................................................................................ 254
By centerline..................................................................................... 255
By tunnel section .............................................................................. 256
By time stamp................................................................................... 258
By angle ............................................................................................ 259
By scan direction .............................................................................. 260
By range............................................................................................ 261
By scanner ........................................................................................ 262
Non-ground....................................................................................... 263
Railroad ............................................................................................ 264
Buildings........................................................................................... 265
Inside shapes..................................................................................... 266
Model keypoints ............................................................................... 267
Contour keypoints............................................................................. 268
Wire danger points............................................................................ 269
17 Using macros............................................................................................. 270
Creating a macro............................................................................... 270
Macro actions ................................................................................... 272
Run a macro on loaded points .......................................................... 275
Run a macro on selected files ........................................................... 276
Run a macro on a project .................................................................. 278
Run macros in TerraSlave ................................................................ 280
TerraSlave quick guide ..................................................................... 282
Programming Interface
18 DLL Interface ........................................................................................... 284
19 MDL Public Functions............................................................................. 285
Laser point memory structure........................................................... 285
Calling Method ................................................................................. 286Function Prototypes .......................................................................... 287
20 Binary file formats ................................................................................... 301
TerraScan binary files ................................................................................. 301
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Trajectory binary files ................................................................................. 303
21 Input file formats...................................................................................... 304
Laser point file formats ............................................................................... 304
Trajectory file formats ................................................................................ 304
Additional Information
22 Installation Directories ............................................................................ 306
23 Configuration Variables .......................................................................... 307
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Getting Started
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1 Documentation
1 Documentation
About the documentation
This document serves as a user's guide for two versions of TerraScan. The full version, TerraScan
for MicroStation, is meant for a user who processes laser scanning data. The lighter version,
TerraScan Viewer, provides capabilities for viewing laser points which have already been
classified. Tools which are not available in TerraScan Viewer are marked as 'Not Viewer' in the
documentation.
This User's Guide is divided into four parts:
Getting Started - contains general information about TerraScan and instructions on how to
install and run the application.
Tool Reference - contains detailed descriptions of all the tools in TerraScan.
Classification Reference - contains detailed descriptions of classification routines and their
parameters. Programming Interface - contains information about the addition of user defined tools, a list
of public functions of TerraScan as well as a description of file formats.
Accessing documentation on-line
The documentation is accessible as an Acrobat Reader document which serves the role of on-line
help. Accessing the electronic format of the documentation has the following unique advantages:
You can conduct automated searches for keywords in topic names or body text.
You can click hypertext to "jump" to related topics.
Document conventions
The following conventions and symbols appear in this guide:
Keyboard keys are enclosed with angle brackets - for example, .
Alternate procedures are separated by "OR".
Alternate steps in a procedure are separated by "or".
"Key-in" means to type a character string and then press (or in dialogs).
The following icons are used to specify special information:
When no distinction between different supported MicroStation versions is necessary, this
document refers to the CAD environment simply as "MicroStation".
MicroStation documentation
This document has been written assuming that the reader knows how to use basic MicroStationfeatures. You should refer to MicroStation printed documentation or on-line help whenever you
need information on using the CAD environment.
Icon: Appears next to:
Notes
Hints and shortcuts
Procedures
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2 Introduction to TerraScan
2 Introduction to TerraScan
Introduction
TerraScan is a dedicated software solution for processing laser scanning points. It can easily
handle millions of points as all routines are tweaked for optimum performance.
Its versatile tools prove useful whether you are surveying transmission lines, flood plains,
proposed highways, stock piles, forest areas or for city models.
The application reads points from XYZ text files or binary files. It lets you:
view the points three dimensionally
define your own point classes such as ground, vegetation, buildings or wires
classify the points
classify points using automatic routines
classify 3D objects such as towers interactively delete unnecessary or erroneous points in a fenced area
remove unnecessary points by thinning
digitize features by snapping onto laser points
detect powerline wires or building roofs
vectorize buildings, powerline wires and towers
export color raster images
project points into profiles
output classified points into text files
TerraScan is fully integrated with MicroStation. This CAD environment provides a huge number
of useful tools and capabilities in the areas of view manipulation, visualization, vector placement,
labeling and plotting. A basic understanding of MicroStation usage is required in order to beproductive with TerraScan. The more familiar you are with MicroStation, the more benefit you
can get from its huge feature set.
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2 Introduction to TerraScan
Terra application family
TerraScan is just one in a full family of civil engineering applications. All of Terra applications
are tightly integrated with MicroStation presenting an easy-to-use graphical interface to the user.
TerraBore is a solution for reading in, editing, storing and displaying bore hole data. You can
triangulate soil layers with the help of TerraModeler.TerraMatch fixes mismatches between laser points from different flightlines automatically. It
can be used for calibration of an airborne laser scanner or for fixing project data.
TerraModeler creates terrain surface models by triangulation. You can create models of ground,
soil layers or design surfaces. Models can be created based on survey data, graphical elements or
XYZ text files.
TerraPhoto rectifies digital photographs taken during laser scanning survey flights and produces
rectified ortho images.
TerraPipe is used for designing underground pipes. It gives you powerful tools for designing
networks of drainage, sewer, potable water or irrigation pipes.
TerraScan processes laser scanning data. It reads in laser points from text files and lets you view
the points three dimensionally, classify the points and create vectors based on the points.
TerraSlave is a stand-alone application that processes TerraScan macros. It enables distributed
processing and scheduling tasks to gain optimal time and working performance.
TerraStreet is an application for street design. It includes all the terrain modeling capabilities of
TerraModeler. Street design process starts with the creation of horizontal and vertical geometries
for street alignments.
TerraSurvey reads in survey data and creates a three dimensional survey drawing. The
application recognizes a number of survey data formats automatically.
All of these applications are available for MicroStation V8 under Windows 2000, Windows XPor Windows Vista.
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3 Installation
3 Installation
Hardware and software requirements
TerraScan is built on top of MicroStation. You must have a computer system capable of running
this CAD environment.
To run TerraScan, you must have the following:
Pentium or higher processor
Windows 2000, XP, Vista or Windows 7
mouse
1024*768 resolution display or better
512 MB RAM (2048 MB recommended for production work)
MicroStation V8 or V8i installed
Installation of TerraScan requires about 2 MB of free hard disk space.
Installation media
TerraScan software may be delivered on a CD or as a zip file.
The zip package is big enough only to contain the actual software it does not include the
example data set or the on-line Acrobat manual.
Terra Installation CD includes the software, example data and the on-line documentation. When
you install from the CD, the software and the documentation will be copied to you hard disk. If
you want to use the example data, you should access it directly from the CD or copy it to the hard
disk yourself.Terra Installation CD may include versions for multiple environments. You should locate the
directory which corresponds to your operating system:
Directory on CD For operating system For MicroStation
\setup\eng Windows for Intel / AMD V8 or V8i
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3 Installation
Installation from zip file
To install TerraScan from a zip file:
1. Open the TSCAN.ZIP file in WinZIP.
2. Click on Install icon in the WinZIP tool bar.
This opens the Install dialog confirming the execution of SETUP.EXE
3. Click OK.
The installation program will need to know where MicroStation has been installed. It will
automatically search all local hard disks to find the MicroStation directory.
The installation dialog box opens:
4. The installation program prompts you to enter the directory where to install TerraScan. The
default path is C:\TERRA. You can set this to another location if you prefer. The specified
directory will be automatically created, if it does not exist.
5. At this stage you should check the directory where MicroStation was found. Replace the
path if the correct location was not found.6. Press to continue.
When the installation is finished, a message is displayed and you are prompted to press any
key to continue.
See chapters Installation Directories on page 306 and Configuration Variables on page 307 for
more information.
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3 Installation
Installation from CD
To install TerraScan from CD:
1. Insert Terra Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Locate the correct directory which corresponds to your computer configuration.
3. Start SETUP.EXE from that directory.
The installation program will try to determine where MicroStation has been installed and will
then open the Terra Setup dialog box:
4. The installation program prompts you to enter the directory where to install the
applications. The default path is C:\TERRA. You can set this to another location if you
prefer. The specified directory will be automatically created, if it does not exist.
5. Check the directory where MicroStation was found. Replace the path if the correct location
was not found.
Alternatively, you can use the Scan button to automatically search the hard disk for
MicroStation installation or you can use the Browse button to locate the MicroStation
executable yourself.
6. Check the MicroStation version information in the Version field. Select the correct version
if it was not detected correctly.
The installation program will want to know what applications you want to install. The Terra
Setup dialog opens:
7. Check TerraScan for MicroStation item or TerraScan Viewer item in the dialog. You
may select other applications as well for which you have a valid license.
8. Click OK.
A message is display when the installation is finished.
See chapters Installation Directories on page 306 and Configuration Variables on page
307 for more information.
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4 Starting TerraScan
4 Starting TerraScan
Starting TerraScan
TerraScan is an MDL application that runs within MicroStation.
To start TerraScan:
1. From the Utilities menu, choose MDL Applications.
The MDL settings box opens:
2. In the Available Applications list box, select TSCAN.3. Click the Load button.
OR
1. Key in MDL LOAD TSCAN.
User settings determine what menus and tool boxes the application will open during start-up. In
addition to opening its Main tool box, TerraScan may add an Applications menu to
MicroStations menu bar.
Available Applications list box shows all the MDL applications that MicroStation is able to
locate. MicroStation searches for MDL applications in the directories listed in MS_MDLAPPS
configuration variable. If MicroStation can not find TSCAN.MA, you should check the value
assigned to this configuration variable. Make sure the directory path of TSCAN.MA file is
included in this variable. To view configuration variables, choose Configuration command from
the Workspace menu. See Installation Directories on page 306 and Configuration Variables
on page 307 for more information.
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4 Starting TerraScan
Unloading TerraScan
TerraScan will unload automatically when you exit MicroStation. Sometimes you may want to
unload TerraScan while continuing to work with MicroStation. This will free up memory reserved
by TerraScan.
To unload TerraScan:
1. From the Utilities menu, choose MDL Applications.
The MDL settings box opens:
2. In the Loaded Applications list box, select TSCAN.
3. Click the Unload button.
OR1. Key in MDL UNLOAD TSCAN.
This will unload the application and free the memory allocated for it.
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Tool Reference
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5 Coordinate transformations
5 Coordinate transformations
TerraScan can apply coordinate transformations at different steps of the processing chain. You can
perform coordinate transformations when loading points, working with the points in RAM, or
writing points to output files.TerraScan sees coordinate transformations as falling into three categories:
Projection system transformations - mainly used to transform coordinates from WGS84 to
projection system eastings and northings. This is normally done when importing data into
TerraScan.
User defined transformations - coordinate transformations which can be defined by a
handful or parameters and equations.
Geoid correction - transforms elevation values from one height model to another. Typically
used to transform from WGS84 ellipsoidal to orthometric elevation values. See chapter
Elevation adjustment and accuracy on page 230 for more information.
Projection system transformations
TerraScan can apply coordinate transformations from WGS84 to a projection system. The source
coordinates can be either of:
longitude, latitude, ellipsoidal elevation
geocentric xyz
The application will automatically recognize the above cases from input values.
In order to apply a projection system transformation, you have to enable it in the user settings.
Most of the projection systems have only local use and are therefore not of interest to majority of
the users.
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5 Coordinate transformations
Built-in projection systems
Built-in projection systems category in Coordinate transformations folder in TerraScan
Settings defines what transformations are visible from WGS84 longitudes and latitudes to planar
coordinate systems. Currently supported target systems are listed in the following table:
Setting: Effect:Belgium LB72/
BEREF2003
If on, conversion to LB72/BEREF2003 can be applied.
Deutsche Bahn GK If on, conversion to Deutsche Bahn GK can be applied.
Finnish KKJ If on, conversion to KKJ using selected equation can be applied.
Finnish ETRS-
TM35FIN and ETRS-
GK
If on, conversion to ETRS-TM35FIN and ETRS-GK can be
applied.
Northern Ireland If on, conversion to Northern Ireland can be applied.
Republic of Ireland If on, conversion to Republic of Ireland can be applied.
Japan If on, conversion to Japanese zones 1 - 19 can be applied.Netherland RD/NAP If on, conversion to RD/NAP system can be applied.
South Africa If on, conversion to South African LO system can be applied.
Swedish RT90 If on, conversion to RT90 can be applied.
UK National Grid If on, conversion to UK National Grid can be applied.
UTM WGS North If on, conversion for selected zones on northern hemisphere can be
applied.
UTM WGS South If on, conversion for selected zones on southern hemisphere can be
applied.
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5 Coordinate transformations
User projection systems
Settings tool lets you define your projection system based on Transverse Mercator / Gauss-
Krueger, Lambert conic conformal or Hotine oblique mercator projection.
Projection system definition can be divided into three distinct parts:
Ellipsoid - defined by Semi-major axis and Inverse flattening. Datum - defined by seven parameter Bursa/Wolfe transformation.
Projection - defined by the projection type, true origin, false origin, scale factor at central
meridian and distance unit.
The list of user projection system displays a toggle box on each row. The toggle box indicates
whether that projection system is active or not. Only active projection systems can be selected
when applying a transformation. To activate or deactivate a projection system, click the mouse
inside its toggle box in the list.
To define an own projections system, click the Add button in Settings window. This opens the
Projection system dialog:
Setting: Effect:
Name Descriptive name for the projection system.
Semi-major axis Semi-major axis of target ellipsoid.
Inverse flattening Inverse flattening of target ellipsoid.
Shift X Datum x shift from WGS84 to target (m).
Shift Y Datum y shift from WGS84 to target (m).
Shift Z Datum z shift from WGS84 to target (m).
Rotation X Datum rotation around x axis (arc seconds).
Rotation Y Datum rotation around y axis (arc seconds).
Rotation Z Datum rotation around z axis (arc seconds).
Scale correction Datum scale correction as parts per million. Actual scale factor iscomputed as 1.0 + (0.000001 * ScaleFactor).
Projection type Type of projection system: Transverse Mercator/Gauss-
Kruger, Lambert conic conformal, or Hotine oblique
mercator.
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5 Coordinate transformations
You can copy user projection systems from one Terra application to another. Select the desiredrow and clickCopy to copy the definition to the clipboard. ClickPaste in another Terra
application to paste the definition.
Origin longitude Longitude of true origin (decimal degrees).
Origin latitude Latitude of true origin (decimal degrees).
False easting Map coordinate easting of true origin.
False northing Map coordinate northing of true origin.
Scale factor Scale factor on central meridian.Unit Distance unit: Meter, International foot, US Survey Foot or
International yard.
Setting: Effect:
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5 Coordinate transformations
US State Planes
Settings tool includes a list of US State Plane projection systems using NAD83 datum. You should
check the toggle box of those state plane systems you want to enable.
You can copy a built-in US State Plane definition into User Projection Systems in case you need
to change the unit or the datum used.
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5 Coordinate transformations
User defined transformations
Transformations category in Coordinate transformations folder in TerraScan Settings contains
a list of coordinate transformations which are used to convert survey file coordinates into design
file coordinates. Transformations can be used when loading points or outputting points.
TerraScan supports seven types of coordinate transformations: Linear - you can assign a coefficient and a constant offset for each coordinate axis. Computes
a design file coordinate by multiplying the survey file coordinate with the given coefficient
and by adding a given constant value.
Equation - you can enter mathematical equations for calculating the coordinates.
Known points - you can specify the coordinates of two known points in the survey
coordinate system and their respective coordinates in the design file. This transformation
perform translation, rotation and scaling.
Xy multiply - often used as 2D Helmert type of transformation.
3D translate & rotate - applies three dimensional translation and rotation. This is often used
with terrestrial scanner data where the original point cloud is geometrically correct but needs
to be moved and rotated to the right position. 3D affine - applies separate translation, rotation and scaling for each coordinate axis.
Projection change - transformation from one projection system to another.
Linear transformation
Linear transformation scales and/or translates coordinate values.
Setting: Effect:
Multiply by - X Coefficient for multiplying easting.
Multiply by - Y Coefficient for multiplying northing.
Multiply by - Z Coefficient for multiplying elevation.
Add constant - X Value to add to easting.Add constant - Y Value to add to northing.
Add constant - Z Value to add to elevation.
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5 Coordinate transformations
Equation transformation
Equation transformation lets you define a transformation by entering mathematical equations for
computing the new easting, northing and elevation values from the source easting, northing and
elevation. You can also enter equations for up to six intermediate variables which are computed
in order V1, V2, V3, V4, V5 and V6 before evaluating new coordinates X, Y and Z.
Known points transformation
Xy multiply
Xy multiply applies a transformation using equations:
NewX =dx + a * X + b * Y
NewY =dy + c * X + d * Y
NewZ =dz + e * Z
where dx, dy, dz, a, b, c, d and e are constant parameters of the transformation.
Setting: Effect:
V1 Optional equation for calculating intermediate variable V1.
V2 Optional equation for calculating intermediate variable V2.
V3 Optional equation for calculating intermediate variable V3.
V4 Optional equation for calculating intermediate variable V4.
V5 Optional equation for calculating intermediate variable V5.
V6 Optional equation for calculating intermediate variable V6.
X Equation for calculating easting coordinate. The mathematical
equation may contain:
Sx - survey file X coordinate.
Sy - survey file Y coordinate. Sz - survey file Z coordinate.
Intermediate variables V1, V2, V3, V4, V5 and V6.
Mathematical functions such as sin(a), cos(a), tan(a), exp(a),
log(a), log10(a), pow(a,b), sqrt(a), ceil(a), fabs(a) and floor(a)
where a and b are floating point values.
Y Equation for calculating northing coordinate.
Z Equation for calculating Z coordinate.
Setting: Effect:
Survey X, Y, Z First known point in the survey coordinate system.
X, Y, Z Second known point in the survey coordinate system.
Design X, Y, Z First known point in the design file coordinate system.
X, Y, Z Second known point in the design file coordinate system.
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3D translate & rotate
3D translate & rotate applies a three dimensional translation and rotation to coordinates.
3D Affine
3D Affine applies a transformation using equations:
NewX =dx + (1.0 + mx) * X + rz * Y - ry * Z
NewY =dy + (1.0 + my) * Y - rz * X + rx * Z
NewZ =dz + (1.0 + mz) * Z + ry * X - rx * Y
where dx, dy, dz, mx, my, mz, rz, ry and rz are constant parameters of the transformation.
Setting: Effect:
Dx Value to add to x coordinates.
Dy Value to add to y coordinates.
Dz Value to add to z coordinates.
Ox X coordinate of rotation center point.
Oy Y coordinate of rotation center point.
Oz Z coordinate of rotation center point.Rx Rotation angle in radians around x axis.
Ry Rotation angle in radians around y axis.
Rz Rotation angle in radians around z axis.
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Projection change
Projection change transforms coordinates from one projection system to another. The software
will transform the xyz coordinates from the source projection system back into WGS84 geocentric
xyz and then computes the transformation into the destination projection system.
If you have applied a geoid correction, you should run a reverse geoid correction to the data set
before using Projection change transformation. This is essential in cases where the source andthe destination systems use different ellipsoids or datums.
Projection change transformation will apply a geoid correction or a reverse geoid correction
automatically only when using UK National Grid system.
Setting: Effect:
From Source projection system.
To Destination projection system.
Modify Coordinate values to modify:
Xyz - modifies all coordinate axes.
Xy only - makes no change to elevation values.
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6 General tools
General tool box
The tools in the General tool box are used to define user settings, to define point classes, to define
project blocks, to manage trajectories, to load points and to access on-line help.
To: Use:
Change user settings Settings
Define coordinate range and resolution Define Coordinate Setup
Define point classes and drawing symbology Define Classes
Define project or process blocks Define Project
Manage trajectories of scanner flight path Manage Trajectories
Load points from airborne scanner Load Airborne Points
Load points from ground based scanner Load Ground Points
View information about TerraScan About TerraScan
View on-line help Help on TerraScan
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Settings
Settings tool lets you change a number of settings controlling the way TerraScan works. Selecting
this tool opens the TerraScan settings window.
Settings are grouped into logical categories. Selecting a category in the list causes the appropriate
controls to be displayed to the right of the category list.
Building vectorization / Levels category
Levels category in Building vectorization folder sets levels which are used for the creation of
building models. These settings are only used for automatic building detection and the check of
detected building models. Tools for the half-automatic building construction use other settings
defined in the Construct Building tool itself. See chapter Building vectorization on page 227 for
a detailed description of building vectorization options and tools in TerraScan.
Building vectorization / Model category
Model category in Building vectorization folder defines settings for drawing automatically
detected building models into the design file. See chapter Building vectorization on page 227 for
a detailed description of building vectorization options and tools in TerraScan.
Setting: Effect:
Models to check Levels for Roofand Walls if a model is marked for
checking. This is the status after automatic detection.
Active model Levels for Roofand Walls if a model is active. This is the
case if the Check Building Models tool is started and a
model is selected from the list of models to be checked.
Approved models Levels for Roofand Walls if a model has been approved.
This is the status after the check when the final model has
been created.
User edges Level for edges placed by the user.
Setting: Effect:
Walls start Distance between the ground level and the start of walls
below the ground.
Roof thickness Distance between upper and lower level of the roofs.Roof Color for roof polygons.
Roof sides Color for roof side polygons.
Walls Color for wall polygons.
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Coordinate transformations / Built-in projection systems category
Built-in projection systems category in Coordinate transformations folder defines what
transformations are visible from WGS84 longitudes and latitudes to planar coordinate systems.
See Built-in projection systems on page 20 for more information.
Coordinate transformations / Transformations category
Transformations category in Coordinate transformations folder contains a list of coordinate
transformations which are used to convert survey file coordinates into design file coordinates.
Transformations can be used when loading points or outputting points.
See User defined transformations on page 24 for more information.
Coordinate transformations / US State Planes
US State Planes category in Coordinate transformations folder has a list of US State Plane
projection systems using NAD83 datum. You should enable the system which you may be using.
Coordinate transformations / User projection systems category
User projection systems category in Coordinate transformations folder lets you define your
own parameters for transformation from WGS84 to a target coordinate system. See User
projection systems on page 21 for more details.
File formats / Default storage format category
Default storage format category in File formats folder defines what binary format is the default
storage format
File formats / EarthData binary format category
EarthData binary format category in File formats folder defines how class codes from
EarthData binary files are transformed into TerraScan classes. For each class code the
corresponding TerraScan class should be selected.
File formats / File name extensions category
File name extensions category in File formats folder defines default file extensions for various
file formats. These extensions will be used only as default values when you output points from
TerraScan.
Setting: Effect:
Default format Default format: EarthData EEBN, EarthData EBN, LAS
1.0, LAS 1.1, LAS 1.2, Scan binary 16 bit lines, or Scan
binary 8 bit lines.
Setting: Effect:
East North Z Default extension for plain xyz text files.
Code East North Z Default extension for text files containing point class and
coordinates.
TerraScan binary Default extension for binary files in TerraScan format.
EarthData binary Default extension for binary files in EarthData format.
LAS binary Default extension for binary files in LAS format.
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File formats / Leica formats category
Leica formats category in File formats folder defines rules how to interpret intensity values
coming from specific Leica file formats.
File formats / Optech formats category
Optech formats category in File formats folder defines rules how to interpret data coming from
specific Optech file formats.
File formats / User point formats category
User point formats category in File formats folder lets you define your own text file formats
which can be used for input or output of data. Format definition supports text files where each row
contains the information of one laser point organized into fields. File format definition determineswhat fields are included for each point and what is the order of the fields.
The file format may contain delimiter based fields or fixed length fields. In a delimiter based file,
fields are separated from each other by a reserved character. This delimiter is normally comma,
space, tabulator, or semicolon character.
A file with fixed length fields is defined by the column position of various fields. The same data
always occupies the same columns in a row.
To define a new format, click the Add button in the TerraScan settings window. This opens the
File format dialog, where all settings for the format are defined. To set the content of a field, click
the No field button on top of the fields list and select the desired attribute.
If an example text file exists, this file can be loaded using Load example command from Filepulldown menu of the File format dialog. This reads the text file and shows its content in the field
list.
By default, the dialog allows the definition of 8 fields. The amount of fields can be set to maximal
15 fields using the commands from View pulldown menu.
Once a file format is defined for input, files of this format can be loaded into TerraScan using the
File / Read points command from File pulldown menu in the Main window or theLoad Airborne
Points tool in the General tool box.
Setting: Effect:
Read Reading intensity of Leica LDI files: Raw intensity orNormalized intensity.
Setting: Effect:
Scale intensity Factor for scaling intensity values.
Use as last echo Defines which value is used as last echo: First xyz, Second
xyz, or Lower xyz.Ignore first echoes If on, TerraScan will filter first echoes from Optech
xyzxyzii type files based on the elevation difference of the
first and last echo.
Less than First echoes less than this elevation difference above the
corresponding last echo will be ignored.
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Setting: Effect:
Format name Free name for the new format.
Use for Format can be used for either Input and output, Input
only, or Output only.
Field type Defines the separation between fields: Delimited or Fixed
width.
Delimiter If Field type is set to delimited, a delimiter has to be
defined: Space, Tabulator, Comma, or Semicolon.
Comment char Char that introduces a comment in the text file. Lines
beginning with this char are ignored when points are read
from a file.
Degree format Defines the format of degree values in degrees, minutes, and
seconds. This is only active ifLongitude or Latitude is
selected as attribute.
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There are some text file format already implemented in TerraScan. See Laser point file formatson page 304 for a list of supported file formats.
File formats / User trajectory formats category
User trajectory formats category in File formats folder lets you define your own text file
formats which can be used when reading in trajectory information.
Powerlines / Active line categoryActive line category in Powerlines folder defines settings for the display of an active powerline
string.
Powerlines / Tower functions category
Tower functions category in Powerlines folder let you define different functions for powerline
towers. To add a new function definition, click the Add button and type a new Abbreviation and
Description in the fields of the Tower function dialog.
No field Selection of what attribute is stored in the field:
No field - no field definition.
Ignore - column in the text file is ignored.
Easting, Northing, Elevation - xyz coordinates.
Longitude, Latitude - laser point position in degrees,
minutes, and seconds.
Class - laser point class code.
Echo type - laser point echo type as text string.
Index - unique number for each laser point.
Intensity - laser point intensity value as integer.
Line - flightline number.
Time - time stamp of laser point.
Collection - number of collection shape. Only used with
Output collections command for projects.
Surface dz - difference between laser point and a
TerraModeler surface.
Red, Green, Blue - RGB color values for each laser point. Echo number - laser point echo number as number.
Number of echos - total number of echos at the position
of a laser point.
Mirror angle - scan angle in degrees. Must be in range -
128 to +127.
Scanner - scanner number.
Prepend file Location of a text file from which the content is added at the
beginning of an output file. This is not active ifUse for is set
to Input only.
Append file Location of a text file from which the content is added at the
end of an output file. This is not active ifUse for is set toInput only.
Setting: Effect:
Hilite Defines what parts of the line string are highlighted: No
hilite, Vertices, or Line segments.
Color Highlight color definition.
Weight Highlight line weight.
Style Highlight line style.
Setting: Effect:
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Powerlines / Tower statuses category
Tower statuses category in Powerlines folder let you define different statuses for powerline
towers. To add a new status definition, click the Add button and type a new Abbreviation and
Description in the fields of the Tower status dialog.
Powerlines / Tower types category
Tower types category in Powerlines folder let you define different types for powerline towers.
This includes settings for tower height, as well as amount, position and length of cross arms and
attachments. To add a new type definition, click the Add button to open the Tower type dialog.
It is recommended to enter a text in the Description fields ofTower type, Cross arms andAttachments definitions, because the editing tools for powerline processing refer to this field. See
chapter Powerline processing on page 186 for more information.
Setting: Effect:
Abbreviation Abbreviation for the new tower type.Description Free description of the tower type.
Height Tower height in meters.
Cross arms Cross arm definitions. Use buttons right of the list to Add,
Edit, and Delete cross arms.
Attachments Attachment definitions per cross arm. Select a cross arm and
use buttons right of the list to Add, Edit, and Delete cross
arms.
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Alignment reports category
Alignment reports category contains a list of alignment report formats. These will be used when
outputting a tabular report where each row contains information from a specific chainage position
along selected alignment. The report defines what information columns will be printed for each
row.
Alignment report format definition consists of a descriptive name and a list of report columns:
Each report column will display some information computed at an increasing station position
along alignment. Some data contents allow the definition of an offset from the alignment.
Negative offset is left from alignment, zero offset is at alignment and positive offset is right from
alignment.
The data content of a report column can be one of the following:
Alignment station - Station or chainage value. Increases by given interval from row to row.
Alignment easting - Easting coordinate at row chainage along alignment.
Alignment northing - Northing coordinate at row chainage along alignment.
Alignment elevation - Elevation of the alignment at row chainage.
Interval elevation - Minimum or maximum elevation among laser points of given class
within a given offset from alignment. The application will search a rectangular area. The
center of the area is the alignment point at the chainage of the report row. The height of the
rectangle is twice the offset defined in the Within field. The width of rectangle is determined
by the report interval which will be given at output time.
Point elevation - Elevation value from laser points inside a circular area. The center of the
circular area is at the given offset from the alignment point. The elevation value can be
maximum, minimum, average of all points inside circle or elevation of the point closest to
circle center.
Surface elevation - Elevation from a surface model in TerraModeler. This is the only
elevation value which each computed at the exact x and y coordinate of the alignment point.
Interval elevation and Point elevation will search points within a circular or a rectangular
area around alignment point.
Column difference - Displays the difference between two other columns. This could be usedto display the height of vegetation if one column displays ground elevation and another
column display maximum vegetation height.
Alert - Displays an asterisk if the difference between two columns is bigger or smaller than a
given limit.
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Classify fence tool category
Classify fence tool category defines the symbology for how Classify Fence tool will display a
fence.
Collection shapes category
Collection shapes category lets you define collection shape types which can be used to group
laser points together. Typical collection shape types are: Building, Road or Tree.
The actual grouping is carried out by placing a polygon around an object which one wants to treat
as one collection or as one group. You can use the Place Collection Shape tool to place a collection
shape. The collection shape type used determines what kind of an object the polygon encloses. The
collection shape type also determines the level and the symbology used for the polygon.
Collection shapes can be used later on to output laser points in a manner where each collection or
each object is written to its own output file. You can use this to output all laser hits on buildingsand generating one output file for each building. See Tools / Output collections on page 184 for
more information about the output of collection shapes from TerraScan projects.
Default flightline qualities category
Default flightline qualities category defines quality tags for flightlines. These quality ratings are
used by Cut overlap tool in case trajectories have not been imported.
Elevation labels category
Elevation labels category defines the format of elevation values when drawn as text elements.
Setting: Effect:
Color Color of fence.Weight Line weight of fence.
Style Line style of fence.
Setting: Effect:
Bad Flightline number range with Bad quality tag.
Poor Flightline number range with Poor quality tag.Normal Flightline number range with Normal quality tag.
Good Flightline number range with Good quality tag.
Excellent Flightline number range with Excellent quality tag.
Setting: Effect:
Accuracy Number of decimals to display in elevation values.
Display plus If on, positive elevation values will display a plus sign.Display minus If on, negative elevation values will display a plus sign.
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Loaded points category
Loaded points category defines how points will be highlighted when you identify a point.
Operation category
Operation category defines what happens at application start-up and how it is unloaded.
Point display category
Point display category determines how laser points will be displayed regarding order compared
with MicroStation elements or images, drawing method and display mode.
Setting: Effect:
Hilite Color and weight for rectangle drawn around active point.
Setting: Effect:
Create Applications menu If on, TerraScan will create an Applications menu in
MicroStation's command window at start-up. This menu
will contain items for opening TerraScan toolboxes.
Open Main tool box If on, the application will open its Main tool box at start-up.
Main tool box is closed If on, the application will be unloaded when Main tool box
is closed.Maximum Maximum amount of threads used for TerraScan tasks. You
should normally set this to the number of processor cores on
your computer. The default settings is two.
Setting: Effect:
Draw When to draw laser points: Before elements - laser points may be hidden by attached
raster images or design file elements.
After elements - laser points will partially overlay and
hide other types of information.
Method Drawing method:
Blit raster (fast) - draws points using blit raster method.
This is the default and recommended setting.
Draw points (slow) - draws laser data as individual
points.
Weight Default size for display of laser points.
Speed Default speed for point display: Fast - sparse points - amount of points displayed depends
on zoom level, if zoomed out less points are drawn.
Normal - all points - all points are drawn at every zoom
level.
Slow - all points are drawn slowly. Applies only to
display by flightline.
Use depth If on, in 3D views the point is displayed which is closest to
the viewer compared with all other points falling in the same
screen pixel.
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Scanner systems category
Scanner systems category lets you define various scanner configurations where each one has its
own lever arm definitions. This is more relevant for mobile scanners which often have multiple
scanners. The scanner system number is stored into trajectory files.
Click the Add button to open the Scanner systems dialog.
Define a System number and System name and clickAdd to define lever arm corrections per
scanner.
In the Scanner dialog there are correction values for lever arms in X, Y, and Z directions which
corresponds with positive correction values to the right, forward, and up.
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Target objects category
Target objects category lets you define the shape of target objects for semi-automatic object
detection from laser points. Supported shape primitives include ball, cone, and pyramid.
Depending on the object type, different parameters like height, width, radius, depth, and distances
are defined.
Click the Add button to open the Target object dialog.
Tree types category
Tree types category defines tree shapes and parameters for automatic tree detection from laserpoints.
Before adding a new tree type, a tree shape has to be defined in a MicroStation front view based
on a laser point cross section of a tree. Starting from the trees centerline, half of the tree crown
and the stem has to be enclosed by a line string. When a new tree type is created from the line
string, the software mirrors the line string on the centerline of the tree to get the full tree shape.
To create a new tree type, select the line string and click the Add button in the tree type settings
Setting: Effect:
Description Free description of the target object.
Type Type of object:
Ball - target object is represented by a ball-like shape.
Cone - target object is represented by a cone-like object.
Pyramid - target object is represented by a pyramid-like
object.
Radius Radius length of the ball or cone.
Width Width of a pyramid.
Height Height of a pyramid.
Depth Depth of a cone or pyramid.
A distance Distance from object to known point along xy line from
scanner to object.
B distance Distance from object to known point perpendicular to xy
line from scanner to object.
H distance Elevation difference from object to known point.
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window. The Tree type dialog opens.
In the upper part of the dialog, there are settings for tree detection and cell placement. The lower
parts shows the defined tree shape which is derived from the digitized line string.
See Classify / Detect trees on page 125 for more information about tree detection in TerraScan.
Tunnel sections category
Tunnel sections category defines a list of cross section templates for tunnels. These section
definitions can be used for the classification of laser points. See By tunnel section on page 256
for more information.
Undo buffer category
Undo buffer category defines how much memory the application will allocate for an undo buffer.
The recommended range is 16 - 64 MB.
This affects the amount of steps that can be undone with menu commands Point / Undo
classification or Point / From list.
Setting: Effect:
Name Name of the tree type.
Cell Name of a cell that is drawn into the design file when trees
are detected.
RPC cell Name and location of a RPC cell file that is used in rendered
views to replace detected trees.
Min height Minimum height of a tree.
Max height Maximum height of a tree.
Top is Distance between highest hit in laser points and the tree top
of the tree model.
Width variation Width of a tree can vary within this percentage value of the
defined tree shape width.
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Define Coordinate Setup
Define Coordinate Setup tool sets up the coordinate system that TerraScan uses for laser points.
This coordinate setup determines the coordinate range inside which all laser points must be and
the resolution to which coordinate values are rounded. This coordinate setup is stored into the
active design file and is used by TerraScan, TerraPhoto, TerraModeler and TerraMatch.
TerraScan uses signed 32 bit integer values for storing coordinates of laser points. This has the
advantage of using only 12 bytes of memory for the coordinate information of each point.
You can control how accurately laser point coordinate values are stored by defining how big each
integer step is. One possible choice is to decide that one integer step is one millimeter. This would
result in all coordinate values being rounded to the closest millimeter. At the same time it would
impose a limitation on how far apart laser points can be or how big the coordinate values can be.
Millimeter steps would produce a coordinate cube which has size 232 millimeters or 4294967.296
meters. If the origin of the coordinate system is at [0.0, 0.0, 0.0], this would limit coordinate values
to be between -2147483 and +2147483.
One possibility is to use centimeters for integer steps. This would produce a coordinate range from
-21 million to +21 million which is large enough for most coordinate systems.
To define a coordinate setup:
1. Select theDefine Coordinate Setup tool.
This opens the Define Coordinate Setup dialog:
2. Enter settings values and click OK.
This modifies the coordinate system used by TerraScan, TerraPhoto, TerraModeler and
TerraMatch in the active design file.
MicroStation SE and MicroStation J
Each design file contains a definition of a 32 bit integer coordinate system which MicroStation
uses internally for vector elements. All applications share the same coordinate setup with
MicroStation. When you change the coordinate setup withDefine Coordinate Setup, it changes
the design file coordinate system.
Since Terra Applications version 009 these MicroStation versions are no longer supported.
MicroStation V8
MicroStation V8 uses 64 bit values for storing vector elements. TerraScan uses a coordinate setupwhich is separate from the design file coordinate system. The application uses a default coordinate
setup of 100 integer steps for each master unit. You can useDefine Coordinate Setup tool to
change the coordinate setup which the application stores in the design file but it does not affect
MicroStation itself or the vector elements.
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Define Classes
Define Classes tool opens a window for managing point classes and their drawing rules.
Each laser point can be assigned a point class which defines what the laser has hit - ground,
vegetation, building, wire or some other object.
Each point class is normally assigned one or more drawing rules. This will give each point or eachtype of target object a unique symbology. You might assign ground to be brown, vegetation green
and buildings red. It is recommendable that you will assign a unique color for each point class.
You should create at least one point class list of your own. In the long run, you will probably want
to create several class lists for different purposes. Class lists are stored as text files. Only one class
list can be active at a time.
To view the active class list:
1. Select theDefine Classes tool.
The Point classes window opens:
The list box contains a list of all point classes in the active class list.
To add a new class:
1. Click the Add button.
The Point class dialog box opens:
2. Enter a unique code number and a description for the class.
The class is added to the active class list.
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Draw and Level settings have an effect only when writing points permanently to the design file.When TerraScan is displaying loaded points, they are always drawn as points and only Color and
Weight settings are used.
Class list files
Class lists are stored as text files which have default extension .ptc. The File menu in the Point
classes window has commands for opening existing class list files and for saving the active class
list into a file.
When you start TerraScan, it automatically loads the class list which was used during the previous
work session.
You can use a text editor to edit class list files. This may prove useful if you need to copy classes
and drawing rules from one class list to another.
Setting: Effect:
Code Code number for the class. Each class should have unique number.
Description Descriptive name for the class.
Color Color in which to draw this class.
Weight Line weight for drawing.
Draw Type of element to create when writing points permanently to the
design file.
Level Level on which to create elements when writing points to design.
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Define Project
Define Projecttool opens a window for defining active project information and for processing
project blocks.
A project defines how the complete data set is divided into smaller parts. These geographical
regions are called blocks in TerraScans terminology.
The main benefits from defining a project are:
The project definition divides the data set into smaller, better manageable parts. Each part has
a small enough point count that you can load all of those points into RAM and perform
classification steps.
You can import points and let the application automatically divide points into geographical
regions. This is required as input data is often in flightline order while all the points from a
geographical region are needed when performing classification.
You can run macros that automatically process every geographical region. This helps to
automate classification, coordinate transformation, thinning, and data output tasks.
To view the active project:
1. Select theDefine Projecttool.
The Project window opens:
The window title bar displays the name of the active project if one is loaded, and the list box
displays the blocks defined for that project. Each block has a geographical boundary and one
binary file which stores points inside that block.
See chapter Working with projects on page 155 for detailed information about tools and menucommands related to TerraScan projects.
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Manage Trajectories
Manage Trajectories tool opens a window for managing trajectories of the laser scanner or other
sensors. This window has menu commands for importing trajectory information from binary or
text files, for transforming trajectory coordinates and for splitting trajectories to smaller parts.
Trajectory information is required by the following tools:
Flightline / Cut overlap menu command for identifying points from overlapping flightlines
Flightline / Adjust laser angles menu command for applying known heading, roll, and pitch
corrections to laser data
TerraMatch for fixing mismatches in laser data
TerraPhoto for computing camera positions
TerraPhoto for displaying videos linked to position
To view information about active trajectories:
1. Select theManage Trajectories tool.
This opens the Manage Trajectories window:
The window title bar displays the name of the active trajectory directory if one is defined.
The list box displays the binary trajectory found in the active directory.
The pulldown menu in the Manage Trajectories window includes the following commands:
To: Use:
Set Active trajectory directory File / Set directory
Import trajectories information File / Importing files
Import files under one folder and its sub-folders File / Import directory
Import separate txyz and thrp files File / Merge from GPS and INS
Import a system specific accuracy file File / Import accuracy file
Output trajectory positions to a text file File / Output positions
Modify trajectory information Trajectory / Edit information
Assign number by identifying a laser point Trajectory / Assign number
Delete selected trajectories Trajectory / Delete
View positions of a selected trajectory Trajectory / View positions
Display a small window View / Small
Display a larger window View / Large
Sort trajectories according to specific criteria View / Sort
Select fields to be displayed in the window View / Field
Split trajectories into smaller parts Tools / Split
Split trajectories automatically into flight passes Tools /Cut turnarounds
Split trajectories keeping only polygon contents
and Delete trajectories outside polygons
Tools / Delete outside polygons
Split trajectories at gaps in laser data Tools / Split at laser gaps
Apply new numbers to trajectories Tools / Renumber trajectories
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6 General tools
Active trajectory directory
Manage Trajectories tool both reads trajectories from and writes trajectories to one directory
which is called the active trajectory directory. You should reserve one empty directory in your
project directory structure for storing imported trajectories.
To set the active trajectory directory:
1. Select Set directory command from File pulldown menu.
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