General

Content, Settings, navigation and control panels - PIX4Dmatic

PIX4Dmatic allows one to navigate the project area and outputs in 2D and 3D, as well as to work with the original images.

Content Panel

Click layers to open the Content Panel: 

PIX4Dmatic_Content_Panel-1

The content panel is dynamic and contains all the elements of the project according to the current status. All elements can be made visible/invisible by clicking on the visibility. Additionally, some elements have different settings Setting options. 

 

settings Description

Input cameras Input accuracies: Visually represent the accuracy values of each image position listed in the Cameras table. The size factor slider adjusts the visual scale of these accuracies, making small or large differences discernible, without affecting the actual processing values shown in the Cameras table. Changing the accuracy values in the Cameras table will affect the results of the ellipsoids
Dense point cloud 
  • Select all: Selects all point in the dense point cloud 
  • Delete: Deletes the dense point cloud

Mesh

  • Shaded/Textured: Sets the visual option for the Mesh
  • Delete: Deletes the dense point cloud

Digital Surface Model DSM

  • Sets the desired spectrum of the relative confidence map:
    • By adjusting the toggles.
    • By setting the interval values.
  • Opacity: Sets the opacity percentage for the DSM in the 2D view
  • Delete: Deletes the dense point cloud
Orthomosaic 
  • Delete: Deletes the dense point cloud

Region of Interest ROI

  • Delete: Deletes the dense point cloud

2D Basemap

  • Map/Satellite: Sets the basemap in the 2D view

Layers

 

 

addAdd new layer

list Layer template window

more_verticalSorts layer by:

    • Creation date
    • Alphabetical order
    • Geometry count

more_verticalExports layers as: 

    • DXF
    • DXF (For Autodesk
    • ZIP SHP
    • SHP
    • GeoJSON

more_verticalRemove empty layers 

Tip: If a setting or input is modified within a project, an orange dot will appear in the content panel beside any processing steps that are now outdated due to this change. This visual cue helps to quickly identify and update any steps affected by the recent modifications. The Outdated message will also appear in the Quality Report if it's exported after the modifications.

Settings

Click tune.png to open the Settings dialog:

PIX4Dmatic_Settings.png

  Default  Range Description
Point size
 13
 0.5-50 Changes the size of the points in the point cloud.
Objects occlusion* (m) 0.5 0.0-25.0 Transparency level of 3D outputs.
Point cloud min. matches 3 2-6 Changes the minimum number of matches for points displayed in the point cloud.
Color by elevation
Off
min elevation - max. elevation Changes the range of the elevation map in the point cloud.
Color by relative confidence  Off 0 - 1.00 Changes the range of the relative confidence map in the point cloud.
Cameras size 1 0.01-5.00 Changes the size of the camera thumbnails.
Tie points size 1 0.10-1.00 Changes the size of the tie points.
Sky background On On/Off Toggles on/off the sky background.
Normals Off  On/Off Displays the direction of the planes.
Backface culling Off  On/Off Allows backward transparency of 3D mesh.
Snapping window Off  On/Off Indicates the depth of the objects being snapped to.
Clipping box Off  On/Off Enables the clipping box tool.
Marker labels On On/Off Enables the labels for Markers.
Mask labels On On/Off Enables the labels for Masks.
Background color Black Black/Grey/White Changes the background color.
Distortion-aware measurements On On/Off Enables the Distortion-aware measurements feature.
View Perspective Perspective/
Orthographic
Changes the view in the 3D viewer.
Basemap
Map
Map/Satellite
Changes the basemap in the 2D viewer.

*Object occlusion:

Lower value

PIX4Dmatic_object_occlusion_3m.png

Higher value

PIX4Dmatic_object_occlusion_0m.png

Navigate in the 3D view

It is possible to view the sparse point cloud, dense point cloud, images, and tie points in the 3D view.

Access: To access the 3D view:
  • In the menu bar, click View > Switch to 3D, or
  • Click the 3D button on the screen Pix4Dmatic_3D_view_icon.jpg, or
  • Use shortcut 3.

To pan, rotate, and zoom the 3D view:

  • Left-click to pan the 3D view.
  • Hold Shift and left-click to pan the 3D view on the z-axis.
  • Right-click to rotate the 3D view.
  • Use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out in the 3D view.

To access the predefined views, go to View on the Menu bar and click:

  • View all to zoom out the scene to the whole extent.
  • Focus on selection to zoom on the selected object.
  • Top View to view the scene from the top. The scene is zoomed out to display the entire scene.
Tip: It is also possible to use shortcuts to view the scene in predefined views.

Navigate in the 2D view

It is possible to view the Orthomosaic and DSM in the 2D view with or without a basemap.

Access: To access the 2D view:
  • In the menu bar, click View > Switch to 2D, or
  • Click the 2D button on the screen Pix4Dmatic_2D_view_icon.jpg, or
  • Use shortcut 2.

Navigate through the images

Imported images are displayed in 3D and the Image Viewer.

Important: To change the display of an individual image:
  • Left-click and drag to pan on the image.
  • Hold Ctrl and rotate the scroll wheel to zoom in and out of the image.

To change the general display of images:

  • [1] Change the number of displayed columns.
  • [2] Use the zoom slider to change the zoom level of all images, or use Alt+Scroll. Once in the full-screen mode, Ctrl+1 (minimum zoom) and Ctrl+2 (maximum zoom) are enabled.
  • [3] Filter images and display All, Calibrated, or Uncalibrated images.
  • [4] Sort images and display by Distance, Reprojection error or Name.
    • Distance: The default option is to sort images by the distance of the image to the marked point.
    • Reprojection error: After marking a point in two different images, the reprojection error is calculated. Hence, the advantage to mark the highest errors first.
    • Name: Images are sorted based on the name of the image. It helps to detect images with similar content, as the image name typically follows a chronological order and shows neighboring images.
  • [5] Import images to import additional images to the current project.
  • [6] Maximize image viewer to display the image viewer full screen, or use the Ctrl+F shortcut
  • [7] Enlarge the selected image and display it on full screen.
  • [8] Hide all reprojection marks.
    PIX4Dmatic_navigation.png
Tip: After the Calibrate step is completed, images displayed in the Image panel have an additional icon:
  • Pix4Dmatic_green_check.png for calibrated images.
  • Pix4Dmatic_warning_icon.png for uncalibrated images.
 

Find images

If images have been moved, or deleted, or their storage path has changed, a notification will appear in the image viewer to assist in locating them. To reconnect the images:

  • Right-click anywhere in the image viewer
  • Select Find Images
  • Navigate to the folder or location of the images
  • Click OK

This action updates the image paths, restoring their access within the project.

Control panels

 
Control panels can be accessed on the menu bar View > Control panels.

The following panels are available:

  • layers.png Content: gives an overview of available inputs and results.
  • Pix4Dmatic_image_viewer.jpg Image viewer: displays imported images.
  • history.png History: displays a list of performed actions.
  • report_panel.png Quality report: displays an overview of the project and assesses its accuracy and quality.
  • processing_options.png Processing: it allows users to change the processing options.
  • gcp.png Tie points: opens the Tie points table.
  • Pix4Dmatic_status_center_icon.jpg Status center: provides information on the actions and details of processing.