Thinking outside the "Limit Box"

Many times, you need to isolate just the right view of your point cloud or model. The example below shows that a limit box is an ideal way to do this. The Limit Box tool in Trimble RealWorks however, is more than just a box as it has many great features. Read on to find out more about this great tool.

The Limit Box is opened in Trimble RealWorks from the vertical display toolbar or from the View Tab. You can also open the Limit Box by pressing the F4 key.

Once the Limit Box toolbar is displayed you will need to select a location for the center of the box. 

Once the position of the limit box is set you can then use the colored grips (arrows or red spheres) to change the size and shape.

The red sphere grips in the corners allow you to quickly expand or reduce the size of all sides of the limit box. 

A great time saving feature is the ability to quickly toggle through the options of panning, rotating, and changing the shape of the limit box by simply clicking on the box manipulator rather than clicking on the icon in the toolbar.

Often you may want a clearer view of the data without the borders of the limit box. This could be to make your work easier to see or to get a clean screen shot or video. In this case you can hide the limit box. This is done by clicking the Show limit box command.

Similarly, it may be useful to show all the point cloud, not just what is inside the limit box. This helps when orienting the position of the box. This can be done with the Show/Hide clouds and geometries outside the limit box command.

Many times, you may want to reopen a limit box of the exact same location later. This is easy to do by simply saving and naming your limit boxes. This can be done with the Store the current Limit Box command.

Stored Limit boxes can be accessed via the Limit Box Window.

A useful collaboration feature of the limit box tool is the ability to Import and Export saved limit boxes. This can be done with licensed versions of Trimble RealWorks and also shared with the free Trimble RealWorks Viewer. The limit box files are small and can be easily shared.

Try out the limit box to improve your workflow in Trimble RealWorks today!