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Sharing Point Clouds with Potree

Sharing Point Clouds with Potree#

Potree is a free and open source web-based point cloud viewer. The advantage over Sketchfab is that Potree has a built-in interface to allow interaction with the point cloud. Potree, however, does not work locally and instead relies on viewing through a web server. A solution is to upload models to GitHub, but point clouds will have to be subsampled to file sizes below 100 mb.

Using Potree Converter to Package a Point Cloud#

First, download the Potree Converter from potree/potree. In the Command Prompt, change the directory to the Potree Converter folder. Run the following command on your point cloud. For sharing on GitHub, generate an .html page called index, which will automatically become the home page for your online point cloud.

PotreeConverter.exe "..\input.las" -o "..\destinationFolder" -generate-page index

This command will create an .html page that will display your point cloud. However, if you open this .html file on your local computer, you will not see anything because Potree must be hosted on a web server. GitHub Pages offers a free and accessible option.

Editing the HTML#

You can directly edit the newly created index.html file to personalize the point cloud. For example, you can add a title. Under the line that reads:

viewer.setPointBudget(2_000_000);
<!-- INCLUDE SETTINGS HERE -->

add the following:

document.title = "Your Title Here";

Under

viewer.loadSettingsFromURL();

add the following:

viewer.SetDescription("Your Description Here");

Potree assumes metric measurements (it does not automatically import your data’s spatial reference). If your data are not in meters, under the line that reads:

viewer.loadSettingsFromURL();

add the following:

viewer.setLengthUnit('ft');

You can adjust other settings, for example:

material.pointSizeType = Potree.PointSizeType.FIXED;
material.shape = Potree.PointShape.CIRCLE;
material.activeAttributeName = "rgba";

Uploading the Point Cloud to GitHub#

In your GitHub profile, create a new repository, . Create a new empty repositoryFolder on your local computer. In the Command Prompt or Bash, run the following command to sync or clone your GitHub repository with your local folder.

cd "..\repositoryFolder"

git clone https://github.com/<my-org>/<my-repository-name>

Next, copy the Potree files from ..\destinationFolder into the new folder created in the ..\repositoryFolder. Change your directory in the Command Prompt to this new folder.

cd "..\repositoryFolder\newfolder"

The following commands will upload the Potree files to your GitHub repository.

git add ./*

git commit -m "adding"

git push

Go to your GitHub repository settings, scroll to “Pages.” Under “Branch,” change “None” to “main” and save. After a few minutes, your GitHub Pages website should be live.

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