RCP & RCS file interoperability between products

[keshavs]

Greetings,

Question has come up regarding saving/exporting RCP, RCS and RCM files in Photo-on-ReCap360 and opening those files in our other products, e.g. ReCap desktop and Memento desktop (which is available as a tech. preview on Autodesk Labs).

The goal we're working towards is for RCP (Reality Capture Project) to be the only file our users work with, and it works seamlessly across all our products, but we're not there yet. In the meantime, please use the following steps:

• RCP saved can be opened in the "same" product. For example, an RCP saved in Photo on ReCap360, can be opened, edited and worked there in ReCap360 itself. (Note: RCP files saved in ReCap desktop product can be used across multiple products in Autodesk's portfolio -- ReCap, AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, Navisworks, Infraworks, etc.)
• If you open an RCP in ReCap desktop that was saved in Photo-on-ReCap360, you'll get the following error:
• The way to take point cloud data of a Photo-to-3D mesh that was created in Photo-on-ReCap360 into ReCap desktop, at this point in time is to do the following steps:

1. Export an RCS file in Photo-on-ReCap360
2. Fire up ReCap desktop
3. Start a new project
4. Import the saved RCS file into that project

Same steps apply in taking RCM files saved in Photo-on-ReCap36 into Memento desktop product.

As I mentioned above, we're working towards a seamless experience where users just work with a project without worrying about what's inside the project and, hopefully, we'll get there soon.

--Keshav

[Anonymous]

Where can I find the option export to RCS file? 

At the homescreen I can only download obj, at 360 I can find the RCP file.

[ReCap_Ju]

Hello,

You can select your export in the creation or resubmission window:

This option is only available for Ultra quality models so you'll need to subscribe to ReCap360 service first to use this feature.

Regards

[david_baldacchino]

Hi, I tried taking a .rcp and also a .obj produced from ReCap 360 (Photo) into Revit 2015 UR3. It says it needs to index them and says it is finished, but the resulting file is only 2kb and will not open. Is this workflow expected to function or should the file be processed elsewhere before taking it into Revit? Thanks.

Dave B

[vidanom]

Hi David,

You need to use the RCS file format. The same like you are trying with the OBJ, but try this time with the RCS.

Is the point cloud based model from ReCap 360 which is supported in Revit and the other Autodesk applications.

RCP is just the project file for viewing the model on ReCap 360.

Regards,

Mitko

[david_baldacchino]

Got it. So why does the .obj not index properly in Revit since it is an option? If it doesn't work, shouldn't it tell the user?

I did re-submit the job and used 5 cloud credits, and the .rcs worked great. I also noticed it stiched the images a LOT better too than the completely free version. I had to manually stich a lot of photos, but the processed result is very good for what I'm trying to do. Thanks.

[dmedas]

Hello all.

I wish to bring point cloud files created in Recap 360 into Revit.

I have been using Real View on Recap 360, but can upgrade to Photo on Recap 360 if this helps.

I have a licence for Building Design Suite 2015 and an (annual) Subscription, but due to hardware limitations I am running Revit Architecture 2012.

So my question is how do I get from the Recap output- .rcp or .rcs, to something that Revit Architecture 2012 can read (default input format is .pcg, but it can also convert .fls, .fws, .las, .ptg, .pts, .ptx, .xyb, .xyz?

Can I use another product in the Suite, eg AutoCad Architecture or Recap Pro, to convert from rcp/rcs to pcg?

[Pierdi]

Hi,

I would suggest you to use Recap Pro to export your RCS into a PCG file format.

Here's the workflow :

1) From Recap 360, choose to export your project with RCS file format (resubmit in ULTRA & choose RCS)

2) Once done, download the RCS file and open it using Recap Pro

3) From Recap Pro, export the RCS in a PCG file format.

4) Import the PCG file in Revit

Hope it helps,

Pierre

[dmedas]

Hi Pierre

I tried doing this using one of the sample files provided in Recap 360- I believe it is called Sample Project- it is a kitchen in a period building. Steps 1, 2 and 3 work fine, but Revit 2012 tells me "unable to create a Point Cloud instance. The file may be an incompatible format or corrupt".

Not clear if this would be same if I try with a new rcs file which I might create in Photo on Recap 360- is this an issue with backward compatibility?

To clarify a previous point in this string, is it confirmed that work created in Photo on Recap 360 may be exported in .rcs format, opened in Recap desktop and then saved/ exported as .rcp to enable onward working in Revit 2015, for example?

I'd like to be sure that if I go with Photo on Recap 360 I will be able to process work originated from photos, and not laser scans, to then use in Revit- and preferably 2012 because of hardware limitations mentioned previously.

Thanks in advance for clarifying.

[Pierdi]

Hi,

Revit 2012 is not compatible with RCS nor RCP file formats, and there are known issues with the indexation of PCG files.

My suggestion for you is to download and use Revit 2015 since the RCS is natively supported.

Let me clarify the differences between the RCP and RCS files:

Recap 360 is a "photo to 3D" service and offer the possibility to export in RCS file format.

- The RCP file of Recap 360 is the project file and is NOT compatible with Revit 2015.

- The RCS export file of Recap 360 is the exported point cloud of your project and is FULLY compatible with Revit 2015.

Recap pro is a laser scan integration software and a powerful viewer and this is where it's a bit confuse: the project extension is also named  *.RCP.

- The RCP of Recap Pro is the project file and is FULLY compatible with Revit 2015.

- The RCS export file from Recap Pro is one of the possible exported file format and is FULLY compatible with Revit 2015.

Let's sum up: 

1) You can use Recap360 photo service and choose to export in RCS file format

2) Then you can download it and open it directly in Revit 2015 🙂

In the captures below, you can see a project that has been computed in Recap360 with the RCS export option, then imported in Revit 2015 natively - no need to do extra import/export in PCG, PTS or whatever.

 

Hope it help,

Pierre

[dmedas]

Hi Pierre

Thanks for your detailed response- that has answered my question. Guess I need to move fully to the 2015 versions of these products as soon as I can...