Free Online PTS / PTX / XYZ Viewer (No Signup)
Also opens DWG, DXF, STEP, IGES, IFC, SKP, STL, OBJ, GLB, FBX, 3DM and other 3D/CAD files. Drop any file on the viewer.
Works directly in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge
Also from Innerscene: Circadian Lab, a free lighting calculator for room illuminance, melanopic EML, and glare.
What Is a PTS / PTX / XYZ File?
A text point cloud is the simplest way to store a laser scan: every line of the file is one point, written as numbers separated by spaces, tabs or commas. Because it is plain text, every scanning, survey and GIS program can write it and read it, which is why these files are still the common exchange format between tools that share no binary format.
PTS is the Leica export: a first line with the point count, then X Y Z with an optional intensity (Leica’s -2048 to 2047 range) and optional R G B. A file holding several scans repeats the count line before each. PTX keeps each scan as the scanner saw it: a header with the grid size, the scanner position and a 4×4 registration transform, then the points in scanner coordinates, with 0 0 0 written wherever the laser got no return. XYZ is the generic list: X Y Z with optional intensity, color and normals, sometimes behind a header line naming the columns.
None of these formats store units or a coordinate system, and none are compressed, so a scan of a building easily runs to gigabytes. For the binary LiDAR standard with classification and compression, see the LAS / LAZ viewer; for scans saved as PLY, see the PLY viewer.
Who Uses PTS / PTX / XYZ Files?
Surveyors and scanning technicians exporting from Leica Cyclone and Cyclone REGISTER 360, CloudCompare, Trimble RealWorks and FARO SCENE; photogrammetry and survey tools that write .xyz point lists; and the architects, engineers and contractors who receive those exports and need to look at a scan before bringing it into Revit, AutoCAD or Rhino.
Common Use Cases
- Open a .pts a scanning contractor sent without installing Cyclone or CloudCompare
- Check a multi-gigabyte scan export before importing it into CAD or BIM software
- Toggle the separate setups of a multi-scan PTX or PTS file
- Measure distances and heights directly on the scanned points
- Share a scan with a client as a link they can orbit in a browser
- Convert a text cloud to PLY, GLB or 3DM for another program
Features
Opens .pts, .ptx and .xyz
Leica PTS and PTX scan exports and XYZ point lists, loose or inside a .zip.
Multi-Gigabyte Scans
The file is streamed in 8 MB slices in a background worker, so memory holds the sample and never the whole file.
Even Sampling
Points are kept evenly across the whole file, up to 5 million on a desktop, and the status line shows how many of how many are drawn.
Column Layout Detected
X Y Z, intensity, RGB and normals are told apart from a sample of the file, with or without a header line.
Any Separator
Spaces, tabs, commas or semicolons, including semicolon files that use a decimal comma.
True Color and Intensity
RGB in 0 to 255, 16-bit or 0 to 1 shows as captured; intensity-only clouds get a gray ramp clipped to the values present.
PTX Scans Registered
Each PTX scan is placed by its 4×4 transform, and the 0 0 0 placeholders for missed returns are dropped.
A Layer per Scan
Multi-scan PTX and PTS files get one layer per scan, so setups can be shown and hidden one at a time.
Measure on the Scan
Click two points to measure a distance or a height, in meters.
Convert to PLY, GLB, OBJ or XYZ
Export the colored cloud as PLY, GLB, OBJ, VRML, XYZ or Rhino 3DM, or save the view as PDF, PNG or JPG.
Nothing Is Uploaded
The scan is read entirely in your browser. No account, no upload, no copy on a server.
Share and Embed
Send a link that opens the scan in any browser, or drop the viewer into your own page with one iframe.
Compatibility & Format Notes
The column layout is worked out from a sample of the file: X Y Z, X Y Z I, X Y Z R G B, X Y Z I R G B, and XYZ with normals. Colors are read as 0 to 255, 16-bit or 0 to 1 values; normals are recognized and left aside. Values may be separated by spaces, tabs, commas or semicolons, and a semicolon-separated file with decimal commas (1,5;2,5;3,5) reads correctly. Header lines that name the columns are skipped. Clouds with RGB show their color; clouds with only intensity are shaded on a gray ramp clipped to the 2nd and 98th percentiles, so a few very bright returns do not wash the scan out.
PTX scans are placed by their registration transforms and the missed returns are dropped. A file with several scans (up to 16, and up to 4 million points shown) gets one layer per scan. Coordinates are read as meters with Z up, the convention of scanners and survey tools, since the files store no unit. Survey coordinates, which run to hundreds of thousands of meters, are recentered on the cloud so no precision is lost on screen.
The file is read in a background worker in 8 MB slices, and points are sampled evenly as it goes, up to 5 million on a desktop, 2.5 million or 1 million on smaller devices. The status line then shows how many of how many points are drawn. Files past a size ceiling set by the device’s memory (256 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB) ask before loading, and Open anyway still reads the whole file. A chemistry .xyz (an atom count, a comment line, then one element and three coordinates per line) opens as text.
Embed on Your Website
Add this viewer to your own site with a single line of HTML. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate an embed code, or use the snippet below with your own file URL.
Your Files Stay on Your Computer
Your PTS / PTX / XYZ files are parsed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or shared unless you explicitly click the Share button. Shared files are hosted for 90 days then deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions
▶How big a .pts or .xyz file can I open?
Multi-gigabyte scans open. The file is streamed in slices and only an evenly spread sample is kept, up to 5 million points on a desktop, so memory holds the sample and never the file. Past a size ceiling (256 MB to 2 GB depending on the device) the viewer asks first, and Open anyway reads the whole file.
▶Why does the status line say “of” a larger number?
The file holds more points than this device’s point budget, so an evenly spread sample is drawn. The status line shows the number drawn and the number in the file. The sample covers the whole scan, so the extent, shape and detail you see represent all of it.
▶Why is my scan gray?
The file carries intensity and no RGB columns, so the points are shaded by return intensity on a gray ramp. A file with neither shows every point in one color. Export with RGB from the scanning software to see the scan in color.
▶What is the difference between PTS and PTX?
PTS is a flat list of points already in one coordinate system. PTX keeps each scan separately in the scanner’s own coordinates, with the transform that registers it and a 0 0 0 placeholder for every missed return. This viewer applies each PTX transform and drops the placeholders, so the scans of a registered PTX line up in one coordinate system, each on its own layer (up to 16 scans).
▶What units does the viewer assume?
Meters. Text point clouds store no unit, and scanners and survey tools write meters. A cloud exported in feet opens at its shape and proportions, and measurements then read in feet under a meter label.
▶My .xyz is a molecule. What happens?
Chemistry .xyz files (an atom count, a comment line, then an element symbol and three coordinates per line) are recognized and open as a text file. Only coordinate lists open as point clouds.
▶Is this PTS / PTX / XYZ viewer really free?
Yes, completely free. No signup, no watermarks, no file size limits on the viewer (the optional share-link feature has a 100 MB upload cap). Built by Innerscene as a tool for architects, engineers, and designers.
▶Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. All parsing, rendering, and conversion runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded, stored, or transmitted by default. The Share button is the only feature that uploads a file, and only when you explicitly click it.
▶Can I convert to another format?
Yes. The Export menu writes the points on screen to OBJ, GLB, PLY, VRML (.wrl), XYZ and Rhino 3DM, with their colors, and saves the view as a snapshot PDF, PNG or JPG. Exported points are in meters. OBJ, PLY and XYZ put them back at their survey coordinates (easting, northing and height, Z up); GLB, VRML and 3DM center them on the cloud. A decimated cloud exports as the sample that is drawn. Point clouds have no surfaces, so STL and the other mesh formats are left out of the menu.
▶Can I embed this viewer on my own site?
Yes. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate a one-line <iframe> snippet you can paste into any HTML page. You can choose whether the embed shows the viewer’s toolbar.