Adding LAS Layers

The Add Files dialog, which allows you to select one or more files that will be used to create a layer or add to an already existing layer.

The files you select will then be displayed in the file list of the Add Files dialog. You can see detailed information in this list for each file listed.

An "undefined" Project Coordinate Reference System (CRS) will be automatically set by the Add Files dialog when only LAS, Raster or Feature layer is added.

If all three types are added at the same time, the priority used to set the Project CRS is:

1. LAS
2. Raster
3. Feature

Learn more about the LAS Layer

How to Add LAS Layers

1. Select Add Files on the Import section of the Project tab to open the dialog.

Figure 1 - Add Files Dialog

2. Select the files to add by doing one of the following:
   1. Select the Add Files button to select one or more files.
   2. If you have one or more folders from which you want to add all files contained within them, select Recursively Add from Folder  .  
   3. To Remove a selected file from the Files List
   4. or select Remove all Files to clear the Files List.

Note: The Recursively Add from Folder   command allows you to add all the files of one folder or of multiple folders. You can use the Ctrl and Shift keys to select more than one folder at a time. All files in all the folders selected will be added as one layer.

3. Look at the file list in the Add Files dialog box. You will see the header information for each file selected.
   • Each column represents a field in each file, so with the file list, you can see much information about the file: the file size, the date of acquisition, the layer that the file is displayed in, the coordinate system used, etc.
     • For more information and details about fields contained in the files, see the Add LAS Files File List.
4. In the Open Setting area, select whether you want the LAS files open to Read-Only or open Read-Write access after the files are loaded into the map layer.
   • Select Open Read-Only if you want to prevent any changes from being applied to the LAS files being opened.
   • Select Open Read-Write if you would like to be able to save any modifications made to the files.
5. In the Load Setting area, select either Load Files or Load Footprints Only.
   • Load Files if you want to read and display all point data from the LAS files.
   • Load Footprints Only to display only the footprint of the LAS file(s) (i.e. Minimum Bounding Rectangles) in the map. This means that the LAS files are added to the LIDAR Layer in an unloaded state.

Note - You may later load LAS files that were added in an unloaded state. Just select the file in the LAS Files tab at the bottom of the TOC, right-click the LAS Layer, then click Load File.

6. In the Options area, select any of the following options for the display of the files.
   • Enable Append to Compatible Layers to recompute the map layer and add the selected files to an existing map layer if one exists.
     • Leaving this item unselected will create a new layer even if the files' criteria match an existing layer. If you do not want to append the selected files to an existing layer, the new layer will be opened in the table of contents (TOC) as a NEW layer. You can rename the layer in the TOC after it is created.
   • Enable Ignore Incompatible CRS if you want to ignore the LAS file Coordinate System when computing compatible Map Layers.

   • Attempt to Load Corrupt Files - When this option is enabled, LP360 will attempt to read and load LAS files that would otherwise be rejected due to detected errors. This can be useful when working with legacy data, third‑party deliverables, or files that contain non‑standard but recoverable formatting issues.

     If the option is disabled, LP360 will skip files identified as invalid or corrupt during the add‑files process, and those files will not be added to the project.

     Important Notes

     • Enabling this option does not repair or modify the LAS file on disk; it only affects how LP360 attempts to read the file during loading.
     • Files that load successfully using this option should still be reviewed using tools such as LAS File Analyst to verify header integrity and data validity before downstream processing.
     • Severely corrupted or unsupported LAS files may still fail to load even when this option is enabled.

     This setting is intended as a best‑effort compatibility aid and should be used with caution in production workflows.

7. In the Pyramid Settings area, select the desired pyramid settings for importing the LAS Layer.
   • Review the difference between QVR and LPLAS. LPLAS is the default LAS pyramiding scheme. See Pyramiding Files for more information on pyramiding LAS files or if you would like to pyramid the files at a later time.
     • For LAS files pyramided using the QVR file format is based on the specified Thinning factor. The higher the thinning factor, the fewer levels there will be in the pyramid file. A thinning factor of 16 is recommended. The lowest possible thinning factor is 2, but such a small thinning factor creates pyramid data approximately equal in size to the actual LAS files, effectively doubling the amount of data on disk.
8. Select OK to complete the adding files process.