Interactive cross-section in Cloud Compare

After loading LiDAR point clouds in Cloud Compare, it helps sometimes to cut a cross section or profile to get a feel for the land. There is a couple of Segment commands but the one I use for this purpose is the Cross Section Tool with the graphic interactors.

The following steps show how to use the Cross Section Tool.

1. Load a point cloud file, e.g. Serpent Mound Model LAS Data.las, into Cloud Compare.
   
2. Select the cloud in the DB Tree pane.
   
   
   
3. Select Tools | Segmentation | Cross Section.
   
   
   
   The graphic interactors (the large 3D arrows pointing to the X, Y, Z axes) and Cross Section box appear
   
4. Drag a cone of an interactor to thin the cross section box.
   
   
5. Drag the torus of an interactor to rotate the cross section box.
   
   
6. Adjust the interactors and camera view until the desired orientation is achieved.
   
   Note: if you wish to segment out the cross section into another cloud, click the Tick icon on the Cross Section tool box. Otherwise, click the X icon to exit the command when done.