Documentation

Overview

Survey Points Importer is a professional Blender add-on for importing survey point coordinate data from TXT and CSV files into Blender.

It is designed for surveyors, civil engineers, GIS professionals, and technical users who need to work with real-world coordinate data accurately and predictably inside Blender.

The add-on focuses on robust parsing, correct coordinate handling, and repeatable workflows, not artistic point clouds.

Key Features

• Import survey points from TXT / CSV

• Automatic detection of delimiters, decimal separators, and encoding

• Flexible column assignment via import dialog

• Three import modes:

  • Single mesh

  • Grouped meshes

  • Empty objects

• Coordinate system transformation:

  • Reference point offset

  • Z rotation

  • Axis orientation mapping

• Settings save/load for repeatable workflows

• Compatible with Survey Points Exporter for roundtrip workflows

Installation

1. Download the add-on .zip

2. Open Blender

3. Go to Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions → Install from Disk

4. Select the ZIP file and install

5. Open the 3D Viewport, press N, and find the Survey tab

Getting Started

1. Open your Blender project

2. Open the Survey Points Importer panel

3. Select a TXT or CSV file

4. Click Import Points

5. An import dialog appears where you:

   • Assign columns (X, Y, Z, Point Name)

   • Review import settings

6. Confirm the dialog to import the points

Supported File Format

• .txt, .csv

• Header row optional

• Delimiters auto-detected:

  • Semicolon, tab, comma, space

• Decimal separators:

  • Dot (.) or comma (,)

Minimum requirement:
At least two coordinate axes (X, Y, or Z) must be present.

Missing coordinates default to 0.0.

Import Modes

Single Mesh (Recommended)

• All points imported as vertices in one mesh

• Fastest and most memory-efficient

• Ideal for large datasets and modeling workflows

Grouped Meshes

• Creates separate mesh objects based on alphabetic prefixes in Point Name

• Useful for organizing points by type (e.g. P, B, C)

Empty Objects

• Creates one empty object per point

• Best for reference points, parents, and small datasets

• Point names are used for object naming when available

Coordinate System Settings

Survey coordinate systems often differ from Blender’s.

Transformations are applied in this order:

1. Reference Point Offset

2. Z Rotation

3. Axis Orientation Mapping

Reference Point

Offsets large real-world coordinates (e.g. UTM) to values suitable for Blender’s precision.

Calculate at Origin

Automatically calculates a reference point so imported data is centered at Blender’s origin.

Z Rotation

Rotates imported points around the Z axis.
Use only when necessary — rotating reference images is often safer.

Axis Orientation

Maps survey axis directions (North, South, East, West) to Blender’s coordinate system.

Settings Management

• Save Settings to File
  Stores reference point and axis orientation inside the .blend file

• Load Settings from File
  Restores previously saved settings

• Load Settings from Survey Points Exporter
  Enables consistent roundtrip import/export workflows

Intended Use

This add-on is intended for technical and professional workflows, including:

• Survey data visualization

• Construction and civil engineering projects

• GIS data preview

• Technical reference for modeling

• Coordinate-accurate scene setup

Requirements

• Blender 5.0.0 or newer

• Survey data in TXT or CSV format

License & Support

• GPL-3.0-or-later

• Commercial use allowed

• Full source code included