Quick summary
- Point cloud file formats decide which software opens a scan, what information survives the transfer, and whether the next person can use it without converting it first.
- E57 is the open, vendor-neutral exchange format (ASTM E2807). It is the safest archive copy and the one most non-Autodesk software reads, including Archicad.
- RCP and RCS are Autodesk ReCap files. Revit, AutoCAD and Navisworks link these, not raw E57 or LAS files.
- LAS, and its compressed form LAZ, is the ASPRS standard built for airborne lidar and mapping. It suits GIS and civil work better than building models.
- The format is only half of the handoff. Agree where the origin sits, which way the building is turned and where the floor is before the cloud is exported.
For how we capture, register and deliver a scan, see our 3D laser scanning services.
Why the file format matters
A laser scanner does not produce one tidy file. Every scan position is its own set of measurements, stored in the scanner maker’s native format. Registration joins those scans into one cloud, and the cloud is then exported into whatever format the next person needs.
That export is where handoffs go wrong: a format the client’s software cannot open, a project file sent without the scans it points to, or a cloud that lands kilometres away from the drawing origin. Three questions settle almost every format decision:
- What software will open the cloud, and which version?
- Does anyone need the individual scan positions and photos, or only the merged points?
- Is this a working file for drafting and modelling, or the long-term archive copy?
The main point cloud file formats
E57: the open exchange format
E57 takes its name from the ASTM committee on 3D imaging systems that wrote it, and it is published as ASTM E2807, Standard Specification for 3D Imaging Data Exchange. It was created so scan data could move between hardware and software from different makers. An E57 file can hold the point clouds, the images taken by the scanner and core metadata, as the paper introducing the format describes, so a structured E57 can keep each scan position separate instead of flattening everything into one cloud.
Because it belongs to no single vendor, E57 is the format the widest range of software can read, and it is the sensible archive copy for any project. Autodesk ReCap Pro imports E57 and can also export point clouds to E57.
RCP and RCS: Autodesk ReCap files
Autodesk describes an RCS file as point cloud data from one scanner location, or a unified cloud from several sources, and an RCP file as a ReCap project that usually collects several RCS files (Autodesk support). The RCP is the file you open; the RCS files hold the points. The Navisworks help puts it plainly: the RCP is a project file that points to the individual scan files.
That matters when files change hands. An RCP sent without its folder of RCS files arrives as a project with nothing in it. Always transfer the project file and its scan folder together, and keep the folder structure as it was.
RCP and RCS files are indexed, which is what lets Autodesk software move around millions of points smoothly. Autodesk’s own guidance is that its programs only link to indexed RCP and RCS point clouds.
LAS and LAZ: the mapping standard
LAS is a public binary format maintained by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). According to the Library of Congress format description, it was designed mainly for airborne lidar, and each point can carry intensity, return information, a classification code such as ground or vegetation, GPS time and colour. LAZ is a lossless compressed version of LAS.
That makes LAS the natural choice for terrain, corridors and GIS work. For buildings it is less useful: it has no place for individual scan positions or the scanner’s photos, and ReCap Pro does not export to it. If a civil or GIS team on your project needs LAS, say so at the start so the conversion is planned rather than improvised.
Other formats you may come across
Each scanner maker has a native format that its own software, and a handful of converters, open properly. Older plain-text formats such as PTS, PTX and XYZ list points as rows of numbers. Almost any program can read them, but the files are very large and most of the structure is lost, so they are best kept for small extracts and one-off imports.
What opens where
This is where the common design and drafting tools stand, based on each vendor’s documentation. Sources: Autodesk on AutoCAD and Graphisoft on Archicad.
| Software | Opens directly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Revit | RCP, RCS | Linked, not imported. Bring E57 and other formats through ReCap first. |
| AutoCAD, and AutoCAD-based products such as Civil 3D | RCP, RCS | Attached with POINTCLOUDATTACH. The cloud is a reference, not editable geometry. |
| Navisworks | RCP, RCS | Read through its ReCap file reader. |
| ReCap Pro | RCP, RCS, plus imported E57 and other scan formats | Indexes raw scans into RCS and RCP. Exports E57; does not export LAS or LAZ. |
| Archicad | E57, XYZ | Point cloud import as documented for Archicad 27. |
| GIS and civil mapping software | LAS, LAZ | The usual formats for airborne and mobile mapping data. |
How a cloud gets from the scanner to your model
Our own handoff runs in a fixed order. Scans are registered and aligned in the scanner maker’s registration software first. Only when the cloud is registered, levelled and oriented do we bring it into ReCap to create the RCP and RCS files that AutoCAD and Revit link. Every delivery also includes an E57 copy, so the cloud stays readable outside Autodesk software and there is a vendor-neutral archive of the project.
We do not align downstream in ReCap. On one job, an attempt to align a cloud in ReCap after registration came out badly off, and the alignment had to be done again at the registration stage. Fixing orientation at the source means every export, whether RCP, E57 or anything else, carries the same coordinates.
Origin, rotation and floor level
Most of our clients who draft in AutoCAD want the same three things: the origin at 0,0, the building square to the X and Y axes, and the floor level. They drag the point cloud into AutoCAD and start drawing, so a cloud that arrives tilted, rotated or far from the origin costs them time before they draw a single line.
Where the origin goes is the client’s call. On a recent job the client asked for it at an outside corner of the building, with the cloud turned 180 degrees so it matched the orientation of their existing floor plan. Before export we check the result with a clipping box and orthographic section views: the floor should read flat, the walls should run parallel to the axes, and the chosen corner should sit at 0,0.
If the project needs survey coordinates instead of a local origin, settle that before the scan, not after. We explain why in 3D laser scanning survey: what you actually receive.
Panoramas are for looking, not measuring
Many deliveries include 360-degree panoramas from each scan position. They help you see what an object is or which way you are facing, but they are not 1:1 measurements. When you model from a scan, take every dimension from the point cloud and use the panoramas only as a visual reference.
Point clouds in Revit
In Revit the cloud is linked, not imported: the RCP or RCS stays a separate file and the model references it. That is how our scan to BIM work runs, with the RCP linked into the Revit model and walls, floors, structure and equipment modelled against the points.
Two practical points. Keep the RCP and its scan folder in a stable location, because a moved or renamed folder breaks the link. And agree the origin and orientation before linking, because moving a cloud inside a live model is slower and riskier than delivering it in the right place.
What to ask for when you order a scan
- The software each person will open the cloud in, and its version.
- RCP with its RCS scan folder if the team works in Revit, AutoCAD or Navisworks.
- An E57 copy as the vendor-neutral archive, and for anyone working outside Autodesk software.
- LAS or LAZ only if a GIS or civil team needs it, planned from the start.
- The origin, rotation and floor level, or the survey coordinate system if one is required.
- Whether panoramas are included, on the understanding that they are for reference only.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best file format for a point cloud?
There is no single best format. RCP and RCS suit teams working in Revit, AutoCAD and Navisworks, E57 is the open format for exchange and archiving, and LAS or LAZ suits mapping and GIS. Many projects need two of them.
Can Revit open an E57 file?
Not directly. Revit links indexed RCP and RCS files, so an E57 is first brought into Autodesk ReCap, which creates the RCS and RCP files that Revit links.
What is the difference between RCP and RCS?
An RCS file holds the points from one scan position, or a unified cloud. An RCP file is a ReCap project that references one or more RCS files. Send them together, or the project opens empty.
Is LAS a good format for building scans?
It works, but it was designed for airborne lidar and mapping. It keeps points and their attributes but has no place for individual scan positions or scanner photos, so E57 is usually the better exchange format for buildings.
Why does my point cloud open far away from my drawing?
The cloud carries the coordinates it was given at registration. If it was tied to survey coordinates, or never moved to a local origin, it can land far from 0,0 in your drawing. Ask for the origin, rotation and floor level to be set before export, or for the coordinate system to be stated.
Pick the format by who opens it
Format questions sound technical, but the answer comes from the people on the project: what software they use, what they need to keep, and where they expect the building to sit. Settle that before the cloud is exported, and it opens in the right place the first time.
