04 Viewing data & the layer system

When you open an object in AVAG, you’re taken to the map view, the main workspace where all your data comes to life. Everything is organized through the Layers panel on the left side of the screen.

The Layers panel

The Layers panel lists all datasets associated with the current object, stacked chronologically by capture date: oldest at the bottom, newest at the top. Each dataset is displayed as a layer, identified by its name, capture date, and a unique color indicator that helps you tell layers apart at a glance.

At the top of the panel, you’ll see two counters: ALL shows the total number of layers, and VISIBLE shows how many are currently active on the map. Use the search bar to quickly find a specific layer by name.

What each layer contains

Every drone data layer contains up to four sublayers, each representing a different output from photogrammetric processing. Toggle them on and off independently using the checkboxes:

Orthophoto – A georeferenced top-down aerial image of the site, corrected for distortion. The most familiar view – it looks like a satellite photo but with the accuracy of a survey.

DSM (Digital Surface Model) – An elevation model displayed as a color-coded heatmap, with cooler colors (blue) representing lower elevations and warmer colors (red/orange) representing higher elevations. A color scale legend is shown in the bottom left of the map. Use the DSM for volume calculations, terrain analysis, and elevation comparisons.

Slope – A visualization of terrain gradient derived from the DSM. Useful for identifying steep areas, drainage patterns, and surface irregularities.

Point Cloud – A dense 3D point cloud generated from your photos. The point cloud can be displayed in 2D on the map or explored interactively in 3D view.

Design surface layers (imported via LandXML) appear at the top of the layer list and contain a single DSM sublayer representing the design surface.

Point Cloud Display Options

The point cloud has two additional display settings in the layers panel:

Point shape – Choose how individual points are rendered: adaptive, square, circle, or fixed size.

Color mode – Choose how the point cloud is colored:

RGB – colored using the actual photo texture
Color – a uniform color display
Elevation – color-coded by height, using the same blue-to-red scale as the DSM
Classification – colored by point category (see Classifications below)
Intensity – colored by laser return intensity (relevant for LiDAR data)

Transparency control

Each active sublayer has a transparency control (the grid icon) next to its checkbox. Click it to adjust how transparent that sublayer appears on the map. This is useful for overlaying multiple layers, for example, making a newer orthophoto semi-transparent to compare it with an older one underneath.

Design surfaces as layers

Imported LandXML design files appear in the layer list as Design surface layers. They sit alongside your drone data layers and can be toggled on and off like any other layer. Design surfaces are used for cut/fill analysis and volume calculations between the planned design and actual survey data.

3D Tools – Classifications & Limit boxes

Click 3D Tools in the left sidebar to access advanced point cloud controls.

Classifications – The Classifications panel lets you toggle individual point cloud categories on and off to isolate specific elements of the scene. Available categories include: Created/Never Classified, Unclassified, Ground, Low Vegetation, Medium Vegetation, High Vegetation, Building, Low Point, Water, Rail, Road surface, Wire guard, Wire conductor, Transmission tower, Wire structure connector, Bridge deck, High noise, Overhead structure, Ignored ground, Snow, Temporal exclusion, and Human made object.

Limit boxes – Limit boxes let you define a 3D boundary around a specific area of the point cloud, hiding everything outside it. This is useful for isolating a stockpile, a building, or any other feature you want to inspect or measure in isolation in the 3D view.

View modes

At the bottom of each map window you can switch between view modes:

2D – standard top-down map view
3D – interactive 3D view with orbit, navigation (NAVI), and first-person (FPV) camera modes, with adjustable field of view (FOV)
PANO – 360° panoramic tour view
MESH – 3D mesh view
PHOTO – field photo view

Multi-window feature

AVAG lets you open up to four simultaneous map windows, making it easy to compare datasets, dates, or layer types side by side. Click the window layout icon in the top right corner of the screen to choose from six available layouts:

1 window – single full-screen view
2 windows – side by side
3 windows – three equal columns
3 windows – one large on the left, two stacked on the right
2 windows – stacked top and bottom
4 windows – 2×2 grid

Each window is independent. To populate a window, either select a view mode directly (2D, 3D, PHOTO, MESH, or PANO) or drag and drop any layer from the layers panel directly into it. Each window can be set to a completely different view mode and display different layers, giving you full flexibility to build the comparison that makes sense for your workflow.

Example use cases: Compare the orthophoto from two different dates side by side. View the 2D map in one window and the 3D point cloud in another. Compare the design surface against the latest survey DSM. Open a PANO tour alongside the 2D map to combine ground-level and aerial context.