日本語版

1. Opening a point cloud

On start-up PlotScope asks which cloud to open. Recent clouds are listed — pick one to carry on, or press "Open another point cloud…" for a different file.

To switch later, use File → Open point cloud or File → Recent point clouds. Double-clicking a .las or .laz file in Explorer works too (if you already have other point cloud software, pick PlotScope from the list of choices).

When you are asked for a coordinate system

If the file header carries no coordinate reference system, you are asked once. There are two options, and choosing the wrong one puts the cloud somewhere else on the map.

As you type, the dialog shows where the centre of the cloud would land. Check it against the site you know before continuing. If the coordinates sit within a few kilometres of the origin, a caution appears suggesting the local-ENU option instead.

Large LAS / LAZ files

COPC files open without building an index, even the first time (about a minute for a billion points). COPC is a kind of LAZ — the extension is still .laz — with the points reordered so that only the area you need has to be read.

Other LAS and LAZ files store points in the order they were captured, so reading a small area means expanding the whole file. PlotScope therefore builds an index on the first open; progress is shown and you can cancel at any time (partial files are removed). After that, reopening takes under a second.

For very large files PlotScope offers to build a spatial index. It uses disk space but makes each measurement several times faster.

2. Picking an area

Background maps come from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (aerial imagery, pale, standard, hillshade). For clouds outside Japan the background switches off automatically and explains why.

The Point cloud box at the top right shows the point count, the extent and the average point density. A caution appears below 100 points/m². If a result looks wrong, look here first.

Choose a 10 m or 20 m square. The frame follows the cursor; left-click to fix it. Once fixed, you see the centre in latitude/longitude and plane rectangular coordinates, the four corners, and the density of ground points at that spot.

3. Measuring

Timings depend on your PC and on the point cloud; they are not guaranteed.

Press Measure trees. Results appear in a few tens of seconds, even on billion-point clouds.

These figures are estimates derived from the point cloud, not direct measurements. If you rely on them professionally, validate them in the field.

Reliability — good / fair / poor

Height is canopy height minus ground height. Where the scanner did not reach the ground, the ground is estimated and accuracy drops. PlotScope tells you how much.

Tick Shade areas of low reliability to see the weak spots across the whole cloud — useful for choosing a trustworthy plot before you measure.

Fine control

Ground method

• Auto — use the cloud's ground classification if present, otherwise estimate with SMRF (default)
• Always SMRF — ignore the classification and always estimate
• Prefer classification — use the cloud's classification; unavailable when the cloud has none

Detection sensitivity

How much a crown must rise above the saddle with its neighbour to count as a separate tree. Changing it after a measurement re-counts immediately, without re-reading the cloud.

• High (split finely) — 0.75 m
• Standard — 1.0 m (default)
• Low (merge) — 1.5 m

4. Reviewing in 3D

View in 3D opens the selected area as a point cloud you can turn and inspect — tree by tree, before you rely on the numbers.

Preset views are Oblique, Side, Top and Opposite. Cross-section shows only a thin layer of a chosen thickness, which helps read stem form in dense stands. Raising the Min height hides ground vegetation and shrubs.

Colour defaults to height above ground; elevation, intensity, classification, classification + height and the cloud's own RGB are also available. The colour range can follow the plot or be fixed (0–20 m, and so on).

Your reviewed result can be written out with Export the reviewed result as CSV, which distinguishes automatic detections from manual measurements. Undo the manual measurements undoes them.

5. Exporting

CSV

The tree list is written with the measurement conditions on top (centre, side length, count, max/mean/min height, reliability), followed by one row per tree.

Encoded as UTF-8 with BOM, so it opens directly in Excel. In feet, the column names change to height_ft and so on.

Save point cloud

Cuts out just the selected area as a LAZ file — for attaching to a report, or for a closer look in another tool.

6. Settings

Replacing the wording (advanced)

The text shown on screen comes from JSON files in a lang folder. Create a lang folder inside the folder opened by Help → Open settings folder and place a file in the same format as the bundled en.json; it overrides the built-in wording. Use it to match your organisation's terminology, or to add another language.

The file name is the language name (en.json is English). Add a new name and that language appears in the Language menu.

Adding your own base map

Place basemaps.json in the folder opened by Help → Open settings folder to add your own XYZ tile source. A worked example ships as basemaps.example.json; URLs with access keys are fine.

Reviewing the tile provider's terms, and safeguarding any key in the URL, is your responsibility.

FAQ

About point clouds

Which formats can I use?

LAS, LAZ and COPC (.las, .laz). Convert other formats such as E57, PLY or PTS to LAS or LAZ first. Only XYZ coordinates are required; ground classification is optional.

What point density do I need?

At least 100 points/m² is recommended. Thinning our own clouds step by step, results held steady down to 100 points/m². Below roughly 50 points/m², smaller trees are increasingly missed and the mean height comes out lower than it should. The density of the cloud you opened is shown at the top right.

Can I use photogrammetry (SfM) clouds?

They can be opened, but they are not suited to height measurement. The canopy usually hides the ground, so ground height becomes an estimate. They fall outside the scope of our warranty and support.

Does PlotScope modify my point cloud file?

No. It writes helper files (.idx.npz, .rel.npz, .proj.json) alongside it to make reopening fast; remove them from File → Delete prepared files for this cloud.

Position and coordinate systems

The cloud is not where I expect it on the map

Almost always the coordinate system. In particular, opening a local-ENU cloud (coordinates close to zero) as plane rectangular coordinates places it near that zone's origin. Use File → Set the coordinate system again; it takes seconds.

How accurate is the position?

PlotScope uses your cloud's coordinates as they are, so accuracy is whatever your survey achieved — centimetres with a base station and PPK, metres with single-point positioning. Note that converting ITRF-based coordinates (PPP and similar) to a national grid may require a separate epoch correction for official survey work. Tree height is a difference, so it does not change even if the absolute position is off.

Which coordinate systems are supported?

A projected coordinate system is recommended — all 19 Japan Plane Rectangular CS zones (JGD2011) and worldwide UTM zones, or any other system by EPSG code. If the header carries a coordinate system, the cloud opens without asking anything.

Clouds in local coordinates can be analysed too, but you have to enter the origin (latitude/longitude/ellipsoidal height, or ECEF). Just once; after that the saved copy is used. See When you are asked for a coordinate system.

About the results

Heights come out lower than reality

Common where the scanner did not reach the ground. Ground height becomes an estimate and heights shorten accordingly. Check whether reliability reads fair or poor, and use Shade areas of low reliability. Flying again in leaf-off conditions often helps a great deal.

The count does not match the field

Try detection sensitivity first — it re-counts immediately, even after a measurement. Use "high" where crowns overlap and "low" where single trees are large. You can also remove false detections one by one in View in 3D.

Measuring the same spot sometimes differs by one or two trees

That is inherent to the method. Trees whose crown saddle sits near the threshold may be split or merged depending on which points were captured. Treat ±1–2 trees as the method's repeatability. The maximum height barely moves.

It says "no trees 5 m or taller"

No tree above 5 m was found in that area — normal on clear-cuts, grassland and very young stands. Pick another area.

Speed

The first open is slow

LAS and LAZ files whose points are in capture order need an index the first time. After that, reopening takes under a second. To be fast every time, convert your clouds to COPC — a kind of LAZ, still named .laz, reordered so only the area you need is read (a billion points open in about a minute).

How do I make measurements faster?

If PlotScope offers to build a spatial index when opening, accept it. It uses disk space but makes each measurement several times faster. COPC files do not need it, and you will not be asked.

Display

The background map is blank

Three possibilities: the cloud is outside Japan (the provider covers Japan only; the background switches off and explains why), no internet connection (all analysis still works), or tiles are still loading.

Can I use a commercial map service we subscribe to?

Yes. Place basemaps.json in the folder opened by Help → Open settings folder and give it your XYZ tile URL.

Your data

Is my point cloud or my result ever sent anywhere?

No. The only outbound traffic is fetching background map tiles, and setting the background map to "none" stops even that. See our Privacy Policy.

What is removed when I uninstall?

Settings, the map tile cache, and any base maps or wording files you added (see 6. Settings for how to add them).

Helper files written in the same folder as your point cloud remain — we do not delete anything sitting among your own data. Remove them yourself from File → Delete prepared files for this cloud whenever you like.

Other

What are the requirements?

64-bit Windows 11 (both the Store and direct editions). 8 GB RAM or more recommended, and about 400 MB free space plus room for point cloud indexes.

We have not tested Windows 10. The Microsoft Store may still let it install there, but it is outside our support.

.las / .laz now open in PlotScope. Can I change that back?

Yes. PlotScope registers itself as a handler for .las and .laz because that is what it reads. You were not asked during installation because Microsoft Store apps (MSIX) have no mechanism for asking.

If you already had other point cloud software, its setting is left alone and PlotScope simply joins the list of choices. If nothing else handled these files, PlotScope becomes the only handler. Either of these changes it:

From Settings — Settings > Apps > Default apps > "Choose defaults by file type", find .las or .laz, and pick the program you prefer.

From Explorer — right-click the file > Open with > Choose another app. Leave "Always use this app" unchecked to open it just once.

Uninstalling PlotScope removes the registration with it. PlotScope never rewrites or deletes an association another program already holds.

Something is not working

Please get in touch, including what Help → About shows, your Windows version, and what you were doing.

Please write to whoever you bought it from — the two editions have different contacts.

Microsoft Store edition — Pamo Works, info@soccerdrone.fun

ZIP edition (direct) — 有限会社森山環境科学研究所, makoto_moriyama@morewell.co.jp