Taking Measurements in SiteView

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Taking Measurements in SiteView
  • Capture Viewer
  • BIM Viewer
  • Plan Viewer
  • Take Measurements in the Capture Viewer
    • Distance
    • Radius
    • Angle
    • Flatness Heatmap
  • Take Measurements in the BIM Viewer
    • Distance
    • Angle
    • Calibrate
    • Delete a Measurement
  • Take Measurements in the Plan Viewer
    • Path
    • Area

SiteView provides the option to take measurements from any of the data captured on your project including 360° photos, point clouds, meshes, BIM models, 3D objects, and reference plans.

Measurements can be made in SiteView within these viewers:

• Capture Viewer
• BIM Viewer
• Plan Viewer

Capture Viewer

In the Capture Viewer, you have the following options using Measure Distance :

• Measure Distance - measure from one point to another in a straight line.
• Measure Radius - measure a radius from one point to another.
• Measure Angle - measure an angle between one point and another.

When a date has a reality capture (point cloud or mesh file) enabled, the following option appears:

• Measure Flatness - measure the flatness of a floor or custom plane using a heatmap.

BIM Viewer

In the BIM Viewer, you have the following measurement options using Measure Distance  :

• Distance - measure from point to point on an object, or two objects, in a straight line.
• Angle - measure the angle between two points on an object, or between two objects.
• Calibrate - change the default measurement unit type to another one by selecting two points.

Plan Viewer

In the Plan Viewer, you have the same measurement options as the Capture Viewer (Distance, Radius, Angle), plus two more:

• Measure Path - measure distance by picking any number of points in a path on the reference plan.
• Measure Area - measure surface area by picking any number of points on the reference plan.

Take Measurements in the Capture Viewer

Each point must be selected twice from two different panos. 

• Choose an easily distinguishable point, like the corner of a wall or edge of a doorway. This will be used to triangulate and verify the starting location of the dimension. This will help make the measurement more accurate.
• Choose a point that is visible from multiple pano locations in an area. Those pano locations should be roughly the same distance from the point. This makes it easier to see the point from the viewer.

Distance

To measure with a straight line:

1. Click on Measure Distance  .
2. Pick a starting point in the pano.
3. Now pick that same point, but from a different pano. This establishes the starting point of the distance.
4. Pick the second point of the distance.
5. Now pick that same point, but from a different pano. This establishes the endpoint of the distance.
6. The distance will be shown on the blue line.

Radius

To measure a radius:

1. Click on Measure Radius  .
2. Pick a starting point in the pano.
3. Now pick that same point, but from a different pano. This establishes the starting point of the radius.
4. Pick the second point of the radius.
5. Now pick that same point, but from a different pano. This establishes the endpoint of the radius.
6. The radius will be shown on the blue line.

Angle

To measure an angle:

1. Click on Measure Angle  .
2. Pick a starting point in the pano.
3. Now pick that same point, but from a different pano. This establishes the starting point of the angle.
4. Pick the second point of the angle.
5. Now pick that same point, but from a different pano. This establishes the midpoint of the angle.
6. Pick the third point of the angle.
7. Now pick that same point, but from a different pano. This establishes the endpoint of the angle.
8. The angle will be shown on the blue line.

Flatness Heatmap

To measure flatness (only available when a point cloud is uploaded into the project capture date):

1. Click on Flatness Heatmap  .
2. Choose your options:
   • Set color scale limits for your measurements at any time. The color scale is interpreted as follows:
     • The dark red at the top of the scale equates to a positive elevation change.
     • The yellow in the middle of the scale equates to no elevation change.
     • The dark blue at the bottom of the scale equates to a negative elevation change.
   • Measure the Flatness of a reality capture (point cloud or mesh):
     • Floor - check horizontal measurements.
       1. Click on the Add Hotspot button.
       2. Click on the heatmap to select a specific point to measure.
       3. Optional: 
          • To reset the view so that it is aligned to the plane, click on the align plane icon  .
          • Click on the color scale to change viewable elevations, if needed.
     • Custom Plane - measure a custom plane for a point cloud, mesh, or transported BIM object(s).
       1. Click on the Add Hotspot button.
       2. Click on the heatmap to select a specific point to measure.
       3. Optional:
          • Define your own best-fit plane by clicking on the plane definition icon  . Choose as many points as possible for the best results, then click Enter on your keyboard.
            
          • Point - move the points in the x, y, or z axes.
          • Normal - move the heatmap in the x, y or z axes.
          • To reset the view so that it is aligned to the plane, click on the align plane icon .
          • Click on the color scale to change viewable elevations, if needed.
   • Change the Parameters:
     • Distance to Plane - change the distance from the plane to points assigned to color bands.
     • Hotspot Radius - change the radius from the picked point within which point-to-plane deviations are averaged.
3. After you have taken a measurement, you can clear it by right-clicking on the heatmap and selecting Delete All Measurements.

Take Measurements in the BIM Viewer

There are three options available: 

• Distance - measure from point to point on an object, or two objects, in a straight line.
• Angle - measure the angle between two points on an object, or between two objects.
• Calibrate - change the default measurement unit type to another one by selecting two points.

Distance

To measure with a straight line:

1. Click on Distance  .
2. Pick a point by clicking on the object. This will be the starting point of the dimension.
3. Pick a point by clicking the object. This will be the endpoint of the dimension.
4. The distance will be displayed on the blue line.

Angle

To measure an angle:

1. Click on Angle  .
2. Pick a point by clicking on the object. This will be the starting point of the dimension.
3. Pick another point on the object. This will be the point from which the angle is started.
4. Pick the third point by clicking on the object. This will be the endpoint of the dimension.
5. The angle will be displayed on the blue line.

Calibrate

To calibrate a BIM file so that the measurements are accurate:

1. Click on Calibrate  .
2. Pick a point by clicking on the object. This will be the starting point of the dimension.
3. Pick a point by clicking the object. This will be the endpoint of the dimension.
4. The Calibration box will appear. Here you can Define Size and Unit type.
5. Click on the Set Calibration button to finish.

Delete a Measurement

If you want to delete a measurement you have made in BIM:

1. Right-click on one of the blue dots.
2. Click on Delete Measurement  .

Take Measurements in the Plan Viewer

Distance, radius and angle measurements work the same here as in the Capture Viewer, so only path & area are explained below.

Path

To measure a path in a reference plan:

1. Click on Measure Path  .
2. Pick a starting point in the reference plan.
3. Pick a second point. The distance between the two points shows on the line. 
4. You can stop now or keep picking points to create a measured path in any direction. The measurement will keep increasing as you continue to pick more points in the path.

Area

To measure an area in a reference plan:

1. Click on Measure Area  .
2. Pick a starting point in the reference plan.
3. Pick a second point.
4. Pick the third point. The measurement will be shown inside the area.
5. You can stop now or keep picking points to expand the area measured.

When a project is set up correctly, you can expect up to 1% accuracy for measurements in SiteView. To learn more about measurement and accuracy, read the articles How Photo Measurement Works and Measurement Accuracy.