Questions surveyors and clients ask
Answers on sharing LiDAR data, viewing a 3D scan of a house or land in the browser, opening DXF and survey files without CAD, and plans.
Is there a tool for browser-based storage and delivery of survey data?
Yes, with nothing to install.
GISweaver stores and delivers land surveys, drone surveys, LiDAR point clouds, orthophotos and CAD drawings as a versioned, checksummed release. The client opens it from a link or in an organisation of their own, views and measures it in a browser, and downloads the files, with nothing to install on either side.
How do I send survey files without email attachments or shared drives?
An expiring link, or a delivery.
Send an expiring link that opens in the browser with no account, or name the receiving organisation by the code it gives you. Either way you choose how long access lasts, and the platform records when it was opened and downloaded. There is no attachment to resend.
Why shouldn’t we just deliver survey files using Google Drive or a USB drive?
A release is fixed and checksummed.
A release is a numbered, fixed copy of the survey with a checksum. It never changes after publication. It opens in the browser as map layers; point clouds open in 3D in your own project and through a link, and a delivery to an organisation opens as its 2D layers. An expiring link can be ended, and a receipt is stored on both sides when every file’s download completes.
How do I keep every version of a survey deliverable?
Each publish is a new release.
Every publish is a new numbered release with its own checksum, and a published release never changes. A correction is a new release that supersedes the last one, so every earlier version stays on record rather than being overwritten.
What drone survey, 3D scanning and land survey files does GISweaver accept?
All but a few risky types.
Every file a survey firm uses, except programs, scripts, disk images, macro-enabled Office files and web pages, which are refused. GeoJSON, ASCII DXF, KML, KMZ, GeoPackage and zipped Shapefiles become map layers; LAS and LAZ open as a point cloud in 3D. An 8-bit colour orthomosaic GeoTIFF is drawn on the map as imagery, and a single-band elevation GeoTIFF is drawn coloured by height and becomes an elevation model. Every other file, including DWG, binary DXF, PDF, photos and video, is kept with the project and delivered as a file. The Supported formats page lists each one, and which GeoTIFFs are kept.
Can a client view a 3D scan, LiDAR point cloud or drone survey in a browser?
Yes.
Yes. GeoJSON, ASCII DXF, KML, KMZ, GeoPackage and zipped Shapefiles become map layers a client can look at, measure and download in the browser on a computer, tablet or phone. A LAS or LAZ point cloud opens in the 3D view of the surveyor’s own project and, when the surveyor sends a link, in the browser of the person who opens it. A delivery to another organisation opens as its 2D layers, and a point cloud in it is downloaded as a file.
How do I view Total Station, GNSS or CAD drawings without CAD software?
As ASCII DXF or GeoJSON.
A Total Station, GNSS (DGPS or RTK) or CAD survey exported as ASCII DXF or GeoJSON is drawn as an interactive map layer in the browser. Clients can measure point coordinates, distances and parcel areas, and toggle drawing layers on any device without CAD or desktop GIS software.
How do I share or store my LiDAR or drone point cloud data online?
Share processed clouds by link.
GISweaver is where a LiDAR or drone survey is delivered, shared and reviewed online, not an archive for raw captures. LAS and LAZ files are accepted up to your plan’s maximum file size, shown on the Pricing page. A point cloud opens in the 3D view of your own project and, when you send a link, in the browser of the person who opens it; a LAZ is read without converting it to LAS. Keep your raw captures in your own storage and deliver the processed point cloud here.
How does GISweaver handle EPSG coordinate reference systems, UTM grids and WGS84?
Each project has its own.
Every project has a native coordinate reference system, which you pick by its EPSG code when the project is created. GeoJSON with no named system is read as WGS84, ASCII DXF is read in the project’s own coordinate system, and published layers can be viewed on the map. A point cloud declared in a different system from the project’s is drawn reprojected, with a note saying which system it came from; measurements stay in the source system.
How do I check land area in cents, gunthas, grounds or gaj?
Pick a display unit.
Alongside square metres and hectares, you can display areas in acres, square feet, square yards (gaj), cents, gunthas and grounds, and distances in metres or feet. Changing a display unit changes only how figures are shown on your screen and never alters the survey geometry or its EPSG coordinate system.
Can we review a road or canal alignment by chainage and cross-section in the browser?
Yes, in UTM zone 43N.
Yes. Corridor review steps along a road or canal by chainage, with stations and resampled-grid cross-sections where a delivery includes a terrain model. Alignments work today for projects in UTM zone 43N.
Can site photos and PDFs be kept with a survey project?
Yes, with a preview.
A site photo from a phone is kept on the project’s Files, prepared so any colleague can open it, with a preview made so it can be looked through without downloading it. A PDF kept the same way gets the same page-by-page preview.
Can a client review and sign off a survey online?
Review, yes. No signature step.
A client reviews a delivered survey in the browser and may tell the sender they will download or decline, which is optional. There is no approval workflow and no signature step. A firm can invite a client to review the draft, and the client comments on files and on features picked on the map. A transfer receipt is written once every file has been downloaded.
Do clients have to pay to view, measure or download survey deliverables?
No.
No. A client opens a link with no account, or receives a delivery into an organisation of their own, and either way reviews, measures and downloads at no cost, with no per-seat fee and nothing to install.
Can a client keep a copy of a delivered survey in their organisation?
If their plan includes it.
It is a plan capability: where the receiving organisation’s plan includes it, a delivery can be kept as a copy in their own organisation, and the copy counts towards their storage.
How do I view a 3D scan of my house or land in a browser?
Open the surveyor’s link.
Ask your surveyor, drone operator or 3D scanning firm to publish the LAS or LAZ point cloud and survey layers on GISweaver and send you a link. The 3D scan and 2D map layers open in your browser on a computer, tablet or phone with nothing to install and no account needed.
How do I get my land, house or building surveyed or 3D scanned?
Hire a survey firm.
Hire a survey, drone or 3D scanning firm. GISweaver is software for survey firms: it does not survey or scan anything itself, and it has not verified the firms in its public directory, which you can search by service, place or equipment. A firm that delivers on GISweaver can send the finished survey as a link, or to your organisation and to your architect’s or engineer’s. Receiving it costs you nothing.
How is GISweaver priced?
Per organisation, not per seat.
Plans are per organisation and not per seat, and each plan sets how much your organisation can hold: team members, projects, storage and uploads. The Pricing page shows the plans offered in your country. Receiving a delivery or opening a link costs the recipient nothing.
What happens to client deliveries if our subscription lapses or pauses?
A lapse deletes nothing.
A lapse deletes nothing. Payment state decides whether your organisation can publish new releases; it never deletes or changes what is already published. If a lapsed subscription stays unpaid, the organisation may be frozen after notice, and while it is frozen you can still sign in, view and export, but your clients cannot open what you sent until you pay; their access then returns for the time it has left.
Where is survey data stored?
In India, with backups in India.
Survey data is stored and processed in India, with backups in India. Access is controlled by organisation membership and by roles. Roles are enforced on every plan. Creating new roles is a plan capability: where a plan does not include Roles and permissions, the roles and limits the organisation has already set keep applying, and its people can still review and remove access. A second factor is available to every account; account settings show the requirements that apply. The disclosed operational exceptions are stated on the security page.
Can a firm outside India use GISweaver?
Yes, on the free plan for now.
A firm in any country can create an organisation and use the free plan today, with test data only until our International Terms are published. Paid plans outside India are coming soon. Data is stored in India.
Questions about plans or a delivery?
See plans and prices, or ask a person.