Welcome to Datasight's DTM Help Page!
This page has everything you need to successfully build your breaklines!
If you still need a little help, let us know at [email protected]
← Create your job
- Give your project a name that means something to you (and your accounting department). If you track your projects by numbers, you should include that in the job name. This is the reference that will be on your invoice.
The Default/Urban switch changes the way we process your data by increasing the sample resolution from 12 inches (Default) to 6 inches (Urban). Use this in areas where you have a lot of curbs & gutters or other features requiring a finer level of detail. But be careful— It also produces more breaklines than the Default setting. Using it on larger projects may create too much detail, making your surface models difficult to work with.
Pro-tip: Clip out areas where you need finer detail and run them with Urban, then run the rest with Default. Then load them into the same surface.
Upload Files →
- Click the orange box to [Select Files], or drag-n-drop files from your Explore window onto the gray box.
- We accept LAS and LAZ file formats only at this time. They do not require coordinate system or projection information.
- There must be a “ground” classification layer within the file. All other classification layers will be ignored by our system.
- You must include an Area of Interest boundary file (AOI). We can accept shape files (SHP) or drawing interchange files (DXF).
- SHP files must include all of the companion files. DXF files are unpredictable, but work best if you save a solid hatch as your AOI.
← Add & Remove Files
- Files do not have to be picked in a single selection. You can select your point cloud from one folder, then select your SHP files or DXF from another folder. If you accidentally select a file you didn’t mean to, just click the minus (-) sign on the file’s icon.
- When you have the files ready, click the [Upload Files] button
Wait For The Upload (Be Patient!) →
- Once you begin the upload, please do not navigate away until the upload is complete. Your upload will cancel if you do!
- Once your files are uploaded, you will automatically be navigated to the Pending Jobs page.
← Preview - Execute or Cancel
- Last chance to turn back! When you are directed to this page from your upload, you’ll see a message that your preview is being processed. The preview shows how your AOI overlays with your point cloud. When your preview is ready, this message will go away and your project will be listed with a preview button. You can still cancel the operation at this point if your preview doesn’t look right. If you think something is wrong with your file selection, hit the cancel button. Your files will be deleted from our system and your project will be terminated.
- If your files are in order and you’re ready to begin, press the [Run Job] button. Our system will begin the process of extracting breaklines from your point cloud!
- After pressing Run Job, you’ll automatically be navigated to the Current Jobs page.
Check Status & Download →
- Your job’s status will show “In Progress” until it has been completely processed.
- If there was an error during processing, your status will show Error. If you click on the project name, you will get a status page with a more detailed error message. Possible reasons for process failure are listed at the bottom of this page.
- If your project is successfully processed, the status will change co complete and the [Download Breaklines] button will be activated. You’ll also notice the [Day’s Left] column shows that you have 7 days to download your data, so don’t wait too long!
- If your [Download Breaklines] button is activated, click it and you’ll see a small download button appear at the top of your screen. Click that to start downloading the ZIP file for your data!
Possible Error or message
Cause of Error
What to do
Projection Mismatch
This happens when your point cloud file and your shape files have different coordinate systems
Verify that the point cloud and the AOI match up geographically before uploading
Misalignment
The AOI boundary must encompass at least a portion of the point cloud or there will be no data to process
Ensure that your AOI is outlining the area within the point cloud that you wish to process
DXF Inconsistency
The AOI boundary must be a single closed polygon. Not all entities within the DXF standard convert to closed polygons.
We’ve found that the most consistent entity type in DXF is a solid HATCH object. Create a solid hatch of your AOI and save or WBLOCK it to a DXF object.
“Input files not found”
One or more of the input files was not uploaded
Especially when using SHP files, make sure you attach and upload all of the shapefile companion files (ie: cpg, dbf, mshp, prj, shp, shx)
“Unclassified Point Cloud”
The LAZ or LAS file that was uploaded does not contain any points classified as code (2) which represents ground
Our process only works with classified point data. All classes other than (2-Ground) are ignored. If you need help classifying your LAZ files, contact our team. We can help!
“Unable to read AOI File”
The uploaded SHP or DXF file does not contain the proper data for defining the area to be processed
The AOI file should contain a single closed polygon suitable for use as a clipping boundary for the data. Also see DXF Inconsistency above.
“Error code – XX”
Please report this error code to [email protected]
Our support team will use the provided code to help determine what may have gone wrong at this point. Send us an email and we’ll get right on it.
Point elevations at -99999
The AOI is not completely within the point cloud (plus buffer)
When we examine the data within the AOI, areas that don’t contain point data are automatically loaded with -99999 to indicate invalid data. Make sure the AOI falls completely within the bounds of the point cloud plus a buffer of about 10 to 20 feet.
Possible Error or message
Projection Mismatch
Misalignment
DXF Inconsistency
“Input files not found”
“Unclassified Point Cloud”
“Unable to read AOI File”
“Error code – XX”
Point elevations at -99999
Cause of Error
This happens when your point cloud file and your shape files have different coordinate systems
The AOI boundary must encompass at least a portion of the point cloud or there will be no data to process
The AOI boundary must be a single closed polygon. Not all entities within the DXF standard convert to closed polygons.
One or more of the input files was not uploaded
The LAZ or LAS file that was uploaded does not contain any points classified as code (2) which represents ground
The uploaded SHP or DXF file does not contain the proper data for defining the area to be processed
The AOI is not completely within the point cloud (plus buffer)
Cause of Error
Verify that the point cloud and the AOI match up geographically before uploading
Ensure that your AOI is outlining the area within the point cloud that you wish to process
We’ve found that the most consistent entity type in DXF is a solid HATCH object. Create a solid hatch of your AOI and save or WBLOCK it to a DXF object.
Especially when using SHP files, make sure you attach and upload all of the shapefile companion files (ie: cpg, dbf, mshp, prj, shp, shx)
Our process only works with classified point data. All classes other than (2-Ground) are ignored. If you need help classifying your LAZ files, contact our team. We can help!
The AOI file should contain a single closed polygon suitable for use as a clipping boundary for the data. Also see DXF Inconsistency above.
Our support team will use the provided code to help determine what may have gone wrong at this point. Send us an email and we’ll get right on it.
When we examine the data within the AOI, areas that don’t contain point data are automatically loaded with -99999 to indicate invalid data. Make sure the AOI falls completely within the bounds of the point cloud plus a buffer of about 10 to 20 feet.
