Practical Geo Scan guidance on Point Cloud File Formats E57 for architects, developers and project teams.
A registered point cloud is valuable because it can be reused for measurements, drawings, modelling, coordination and future design questions. That value is reduced if the receiving team cannot open the data or if important information is lost during conversion.
A point-cloud file can contain more than XYZ coordinates. Depending on the capture system and format, it may also carry RGB colour, intensity, timestamps, classifications, scanner poses and other metadata.
The first question should therefore be what information needs to survive the handover? The second is which software needs to use it now and in the future.
For the geometric quality of the dataset itself, see Point Cloud Accuracy & Registration.
E57 is a vendor-neutral format designed for exchanging three-dimensional imaging data. It is widely used to move laser scan and point-cloud information between different software ecosystems without tying the handover to one scanner manufacturer.
For terrestrial laser scanning, E57 is particularly useful because it can represent structured scan data as well as point coordinates and attributes such as colour and intensity where those exist in the source dataset and export.
That makes E57 a strong candidate for a reusable survey handover or archive master when interoperability matters.
E57 should still be tested against the intended receiving software. "Supports E57" does not necessarily mean every application interprets every possible element of an E57 dataset in exactly the same way.
One important distinction is whether scan-position structure has been preserved.
A structured point cloud retains the organisation associated with individual scanner positions. That can be useful in software that makes use of scanner origins, panoramic views or the original angular organisation of terrestrial scans.
An unstructured point cloud contains the points but may no longer retain the same scanner-position organisation.
Both can be valid deliverables. The important point is that exporting millions of XYZ points is not necessarily equivalent to preserving the richer structure of the registered survey.
If a downstream workflow relies on scan locations, panoramas or structured data, this should be confirmed before export rather than assumed afterwards.
RCP and RCS are associated with Autodesk's point-cloud workflow.
An RCP project can reference one or more indexed RCS point-cloud files and provides a convenient way of managing datasets for Autodesk applications. For teams working primarily in AutoCAD or Revit, an Autodesk-indexed deliverable can reduce friction because the point cloud is prepared for that environment.
The trade-off is portability. RCP/RCS is an ecosystem-specific working format rather than the neutral exchange role normally associated with E57.
For that reason, a project may sensibly retain an E57 master while also creating RCP/RCS as a practical derivative for Scan to CAD or Scan to BIM production.
LAS is a well-established format for storing point-cloud data and associated attributes. It is particularly common in geospatial and aerial LiDAR workflows and can support classifications and other per-point information.
LAZ is a compressed representation of LAS data. It can substantially reduce storage and transfer requirements while retaining the underlying point information supported by the format.
LAS/LAZ can also be used outside aerial surveying, but the fact that a format can store XYZ points does not mean it preserves every characteristic of a terrestrial laser-scanning project. Where scanner positions, panoramas or other structured TLS information matter, the proposed conversion should be checked carefully.
For large terrain, UAV or classified geospatial datasets, LAS/LAZ may be the natural working choice. For a terrestrial building survey being exchanged between reality-capture applications, E57 may often be more useful.
The formats solve overlapping but different problems.
| Format | Typical strength | Useful for | Key consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| E57 | Vendor-neutral 3D imaging exchange | TLS handover, interoperability, archive master | Confirm whether required scan structure and attributes are preserved |
| RCP/RCS | Autodesk-ready indexed workflow | AutoCAD, Revit and Autodesk production | Convenient working format but less vendor-neutral |
| LAS | Established point-data format | Geospatial, aerial and classified point clouds | May not preserve all TLS-specific structure |
| LAZ | Compressed LAS | Efficient storage and transfer of LAS-type data | Same workflow considerations as LAS |
This is not a quality ranking. A correctly produced RCP can be the most convenient deliverable for one design team while an E57 is more appropriate for another project's exchange and archive requirements.
It is also common to supply more than one format when there is a clear reason to do so.
E57 can store colour and intensity information, but whether those attributes are present in a delivered file depends on the source capture and the export.
A scanner may capture intensity for measured points and, where imagery is acquired and processed, RGB colour can be associated with the cloud. An export can then include supported attributes.
This is why a specification should not simply say "provide E57" if colour is important. State explicitly that a colourised point cloud is required.
The same principle applies to other attributes. File extension alone does not describe the complete content of the dataset.
For Autodesk production, an indexed point cloud is commonly used so that the dataset can be attached and navigated efficiently in the design application.
The original survey does not need to exist only in that working format. A robust workflow can separate the survey master from the production derivative.
For example:
This avoids making the long-term value of the survey dependent on one immediate software requirement.
File format is only part of a successful handover. The recipient also needs to understand the coordinate framework.
A point cloud might use a local project grid, site control or a national coordinate reference. Units must also be clear. A technically valid file opened without the correct coordinate and unit assumptions can appear displaced, incorrectly scaled or difficult to work with.
Very large coordinate values can also be awkward in some CAD and modelling workflows even when the survey itself is correctly georeferenced. Project teams may therefore use agreed local working coordinates while retaining a documented relationship to the wider survey grid.
The handover should make this explicit rather than relying on someone to infer it from the numbers.
Conversion is not always a one-to-one translation.
Depending on the source and destination formats, a conversion may change or remove:
This does not make conversion undesirable. Workflow-specific conversions are often necessary. It means the conversion should be treated as a deliberate processing step rather than assuming that every point-cloud format contains the same information.
Keeping an appropriate master dataset protects against future requirements that were not known when the first deliverables were produced.
A useful specification can be concise. Confirm:
If the client does not know which format to specify, tell the surveyor what software and downstream task will use the data. The format can then be selected around the workflow rather than chosen by file extension alone.
Geo Scan treats the point cloud as a reusable survey asset rather than merely an intermediate file used to draw plans.
The appropriate handover depends on the project. E57 can provide a useful interoperable exchange dataset; RCP/RCS can support Autodesk production; and other formats can be supplied where the receiving workflow requires them.
Where practical, we distinguish between the registered survey master and derivatives created for a particular application. Coordinate basis, colour requirements and other important assumptions should be agreed before final export.
For the survey service itself, see Point Cloud Surveys.
Choose the format around the information you need to preserve and the work the data needs to do — not simply the software used to capture it.