Loading and Saving Files¶

In order to get the most out of PointKit: Scan (PKS), you'll need to be able to regularly and easily load and save your own data. In this post we'll go through the common ways of doing exactly that.

Example Files¶

PKS comes out-of-the-box with some example data that you can use to familiarize yourself with different tools and features. There are two ways to access these example files.

Firstly, when you initially open PKS you should see the PKS backsplash:

From here, there are two ways to access and load the example files. One, by expanding the dropdown lists of "Basic Examples" and "Workflow Examples" on the backsplash sub-window and clicking your desired choice. Note that you will require an internet connection to access these example files as they are downloaded directly from the Polyga servers.

The second option is to access the files from the main menu bar at the top of PKS.

Regardless of which method you choose - it is then just a matter of selecting the desired example you wish to load. We opted to load the Banana - a Polyga favourite:

Supported File Types¶

PKS supports a wide variety of file types. In fact, you may have noticed an informational list of supported file types on the backsplash:

PKS will be able to load and render valid data stored in these file types.

Loading¶

While the example files provide a useful way of experimenting with PKS' features, eventually you will want to load your own data.

Load with tool bar icon¶

The main PKS toolbar allows for an easy method of loading files. By clicking the Load File button, users will open a file explorer window.

From the File Explorer window, users will be able to navigate their system directory and select the file(s) they wish to load.

The File Explorer also includes a drop-down selection for additional, less common, file types that are supported by PKS:

Load from Menu Bar¶

In addition to the PKS Toolbar, there is also the main Menu Bar. From File, users can choose to open a file using the file explorer with Open, or open a recently loaded file from Open Recent:

Where user's decide to use Open, the interface is the same as using the Load File button. Where user's opt to select from the list of recent files, it is as easy as clicking on the name of the file in the submenu.

Saving¶

Users can save their project, or parts of their project, in two ways - the Save Button in the Main PKS Toolbar, or the Save option in the Main Menu Bar.

Clicking the Save button is functionally equivalent to clicking the Save->All option described below.

All¶

Where users wish to save all aspects of their project, selecting Save->All is the quickest and easiest method for doing so.

This will open a File Explorer that allows the user to navigate their system and choose the name and destination of their project data. It will automatically save the file as a pbn file.

Selected¶

Using Selected operates the same as using All, however it will only save the data that the user has selected while performing the Save actions.

Export¶

The Export option allows users to save data in a file format that is not the default pbn file.

From this submenu, users can choose from a list of supported file types that they can export their project data to:

Once a file type is selected and a choice is made between All and Selection, users will be prompted to select a destination folder for their data. When using the Export option, all of the individual meshes will be saved to their own file (of the type selected by the user) under the name they have in PKS' mesh list.

For example, lets say you have a project with 10 scans named "Scan x", where x increments from 1 to 10, and we opt to export to .stl. We will be prompted to select a directory to save our data into, and PKS will take care of the rest. Each scan will be saved as "Scan 1.stl", "Scan 2.stl", and so on in our chosen directory.

Unlike the Save->All option, the Export option will not preserve or save any type geometry entity, camera view, or other data.

Transforms¶

Transforms are a specific subset of project data. While an indepth discussion on transformation matrices and scan data is outside the scope of this tutorial, this guide would be incomplete without touching on this functionality.

The Transforms option allows users to export a tfn file for each selected mesh (or for every mesh in the project). The transformation matrix stored within the tfn file is the transformation applied to the scan data as part of whatever rotary calibration was performed on it. Exporting this data would allow users to perform the same transformation on other scan data in future projects.

A tfn file can be loaded and applied to a scan by right-clicking on it in the Main left-hand list of scan data, navigating to the Information submenu, and clicking the Load button in the Transform portion of the submenu:

Conclusion¶

This concludes our introductory guide and PKS' saving and loading functionality. For more information on PKS' features and tools, please refer to the other posts under the Getting Started portion of our documentation.