Initial Wizard

The Pixels to Points Wizard is a tool to help guide users to the appropriate Pixels to Points settings based on their desired outputs. Use this wizard to import and set your image settings, your desired output types, and the wizard will do the rest.

Use the Skip Wizard button to bypass the wizard and skip ahead to the main Pixels to Points dialog. To disable the wizard so the original Pixels to Points dialog always opens without the Wizard, go to the Configuration Menu > General > Advanced > and check the option to Bypass P2P Wizard dialog.

Initial Setup

The first page of the wizard will appear when Pixels to Points is opened. Before proceeding to the next menu, you must import the images to be processed and choose your desired Product Folder.

Input settings

Input Image Files - There are two ways to bring images into the wizard:

  • Use the Open File menu in the top left corner of the wizard to bring in images that are already loaded in the Global Mapper workspace.

  • Drag and drop images into the wizard directly from your computer.

To remove images, right click on the image(s) and choose Remove Selected.

Image Datum - The projection the images were collected with. Typically this information is automatically populated from the image's exif/metadata.

Positions from File - If applicable, use this option to select a text file that contains metadata/EXIF information for the imported images. The image file names must be included in the text file for the data to be matched with the proper image file.

Camera Model - Make and model of the camera used to collect the images. Typically this information is automatically populated from the image's exif/metadata, but it can also be selected manually with the Manage Cameras button.

Output Settings

After processing, the finished output files will generate automatically as a layer(s) in the active workspace. Set the Project Name and Project Folder to name and determine the location of these outputs.

Output ProjectionBy default, the current display projection in the workspace will be used as the final projection for the output files, if the projection is planar. Use the Select/Add projection button to select the projection for the output file. If the projection is not set manually, the outputs will be generated in the appropriate UTM zone. If the chosen projection proves to be incompatible during processing, Pixels to Points will choose a different projection.

  • The point cloud will use the vertical datum of the camera metadata (typically ellipsoidal height) or the ground control points if they are used. For vertical datum transformation options, see GeoCalc Mode: Projections and Datums.

Project Name - Set the name of the completed project.

Project Folder - Select where on your computer the finished .gmp and other related files should be saved. This is also referred to as setting the Project Directory.

 

Once your settings have been chosen, use the Next button to progress to choosing your desired output type.

 

Select Project Type

Use the dropdown menu to select the type of output you would like to generate. Choosing one of these options will help populate the desired options and settings for running Pixels to Points. Once you’ve chosen an output type, click Next to move to the main Pixels to Points dialogue where you can optionally add other outputs, and click run.

Choose this option if your primary goal is to create a continuous orthoimage of the scene and /or to orthorectify each individual input image. An orthoimage is a seamless, 2D image generated from the input imagery. Additional options can be selected to generate a point cloud, terrain model, etc. can be chosen later from the main Pixels to Points dialogue. This method takes more time than the Quick othroimage option, but it generates a higher resolution output.

Note: An orthoimage output can also be created later from the generated point cloud after the tool has run, using the Create Elevation Grid tool, and selecting a Grid Type of Color(RGB).

The standard orthoimage output is calculated using a binning method of gridding, which selects the color of the highest elevation point for each output pixel. (See the main dialog for an option to generate the orthoimage from the mesh instead).

 

Choose this option if your primary goal is to create a 3D point cloud. The generated point cloud is treated as a lidar point cloud in Global Mapper and may be further processed with additional Automated Lidar Analysis Tools. The point cloud will contain the RGB colors from the images and an intensity value that represents the grayscale color value (note this is not a true intensity value since there was no active remote sensing performed).

This option works well with images taken from a top-down nadir perspective (left image below). To increase point density in areas that aren't visible from the nadir perspective, you can optionally include images taken from an oblique perspective. Pixels to points can only construct what it can see.

This option does not create an orthoimage, but that option can be chosen later from the main Pixels to Points dialogue.

Choose this option if your primary goal is to create simplified and textured 3D mesh output. A 3D Model, sometimes referred to as a mesh, is a solid surface layers created to mimic the terrain and surface collected in the imagery. It’s made of polygons, typically triangles or quadrangles, where each vertex of the polygon has XYZ information. This export requires additional processing time. An orthoimage will also be created by default.

Collection Type: Orbital Flight recommended for building/object reconstruction, Grid-Pattern Flight for landscape/scene model

Because 3D Models will be viewed in the software from an oblique perspective, it’s advised that oblique images should also be included in processing. For example, nadir (top down) images won’t capture under the eves or porches of buildings. Structure from Motion can only process what it can see in the images, so without this information there will be holes in the data under the eves and in the porch. Oblique images, taken at an angle, would capture these areas.

Choose this option to quickly generate a low quality orthoimage. This method downsamples the imagery to a lower resolution, and chooses optimal settings for speed. A low quality orthoimage can be used when high (cm) resolution is not necessary, such as a base map or broad land cover mapping.