Load and view
Open files, add layers and convert formats
Open a scan, a model or a splat capture, bring a second dataset into the same scene as a layer, and turn splats or a mesh into a real point cloud the rest of the pipeline can work on.
Opening, adding layers and converting are free. Save Project As and exporting the converted cloud with computed columns are Pro.
Part of Point cloud processing software, Gaussian splatting software, Free point cloud software.
When to use it
At the start of every job. Use Add Layer when you need two things in one frame: a second survey to compare against, a BIM model to check deviation against, a labelled subsample to carry a column from, or a drawing (GeoJSON, Shapefile, DXF) to lay over the scan. Use Convert to point cloud when the data arrived as splats or as a mesh but the job needs points: segmentation, classification, voxels and export all work on points.
Step by step
- File › Open… (or drop the file on the window). The filter lists every kind N3D reads:
las laz ply spz npy e57 pcd xyz pts asc txt csv obj stl gltf glb ifc step stp usd usda usdc usdz, and saved.n3dprojprojects. - Watch the status bar: it shows the load phase, the percentage and the time left. A large file is indexed once into a local cache; every later open memory-maps the index back in about a second.
- Opening replaces the scene. If there is unsaved analysis, N3D asks first: Discard and open, or cancel and use File › Save Project (Ctrl+S) to keep it.
- To bring in a second dataset without replacing the first, use File › Add Layer…. Clouds, meshes, IFC and USD models join as layers; GeoJSON, Shapefile, DXF, SVG and CityGML join as drawings in the scan’s own frame.
- In the Scene pane each layer has an eye, an identity colour and a name. The reposition glyph moves, turns or rescales a layer by hand without touching the file; the remove glyph takes it out of the scene.
- For splats or a mesh, open Process › Convert to point cloud…, choose the number of points (0.2 to 50 million, 5 million by default), keep Remove floaters & noise on, and press Convert. The converted cloud replaces the loaded geometry.
- Save the analysis with File › Save Project (Ctrl+S). The
.n3dprojis written beside the data and holds the labels, camera, measurements and layers, not a copy of the points.
What it was measured at
A 43.5 million point LAS opens in about 1.2 s; LAZ decompresses at about 40 million points a second; a 127.8 million point, 7.9 GB E57 opens in about 22 s; a 16.2 million point COPC in 2.4 s. The index is built with bounded memory, so a file larger than RAM still opens.
Projects and data
A project is the analysis, never the data. It records where the source file is and what was done to it: labels, the camera, kept measurements, layers and their placement. That is why a project reopens with File › Open Project… (Ctrl+O) only while the source file is still where it was, and why a project saved from a cloud that was analysed at reduced density warns you: its labels cannot be re-bound to the full file. Re-run with Full detail (tiled) to save labels that survive.
Trying it without data
File › Demo scenes generates six scenes on the spot, and two pairs under Two clouds at once: two surveys of one site for change detection, and a full scan with a labelled subsample for column transfer. See sample datasets.
From the command line
# open any supported file headlessly and render a frame (confirms it reads)
n3d-render-cli render --input scan.e57 --out check.png
# add a second dataset to the same frame
n3d-render-cli render --input survey_2026.laz --add survey_2024.laz --out both.pngEvery subcommand loads through the same cache-first path as the app, so the first headless open builds the index the app will reuse.
Limits, stated
- DWG and DGN are refused, with the reason and the way round: save as DXF from the program that made it, or run the ODA File Converter.
- OBJ is read-only; meshes are written as glTF / GLB.
- A truncated file is reported as truncated rather than half-loaded.
- Converting replaces what is loaded. Save the project first if you will want the splats or the mesh back.
Related questions
Which file formats can N3D open?
Point clouds: LAS (PDRF 0 to 10), LAZ, COPC, E57 (multi-scan, with panoramas), PLY, PCD, NPY and ASCII .xyz .pts .asc .txt .csv, whose column layout is detected from the values. Splats: PLY and SPZ. Models: IFC (2x3 and 4), STEP (AP203, AP214), USD (.usd .usda .usdc .usdz), glTF / GLB, OBJ and STL. Drawings: GeoJSON, Shapefile, DXF, SVG and CityGML. The format matrix gives what each one carries and how fast it opens.
What happens if a file is incomplete?
N3D says so. A half-finished download keeps a plausible header, so most readers do not notice; N3D checks the LAS 1.4 record offsets against the file size before decompressing anything. A damaged USD stage is refused before anything is allocated from a count inside it.
How do I save my work?
File > Save Project (Ctrl+S) writes an .n3dproj beside your data: the labels, the camera, the measurements and the layers, not a copy of the points. File > Open Project… (Ctrl+O) brings the analysis back with its source data. Saving to a new location with Save Project As is a Pro feature, because a project carries the labels.
Does it keep the coordinate system?
Yes. It is read from LAS GeoTIFF keys, the OGC WKT record and LAS 1.4 extended records, carried into reports, and stamped on a LAS export as long as the geometry is still the source’s. A cloud that was moved by hand is written without it, because the stamp would no longer be true. Vector layers are checked against it and a clash is reported.
More in the FAQ.