A point cloud is a data file which can include a large number of points on the surface of an object. A point cloud is a set of vertices in a 3D coordinate system and these vertices are defined the by X, Y and Z coordinates. Point clouds are usually created by 3D scanners. These devices measure a large number of points on the surface of an object and output a point cloud as a data file. The point cloud represents the visible surface of the object that has been scanned or digitized. Point clouds are used for many purposes, especially to confirm measurements between the DGN model and the real world.

Point clouds also support cut plane in clip volume. When a clip volume is applied to a point cloud attachment, the points within the tolerance will be displayed with the cut plane. If the Project Points to Cut Plane check box is on, then instead of projecting the points at their real 3D location, they will be projected on the cut plane. Settings for tolerance and projecting points on the cut plane are provided in the Apply Clip Volume tool and the callout tools.

The Point Clouds dialog lets you control the display of one or more image files within a DGN file view. Each view may be used to display image files. The names of all attached image files (for all views) are displayed in the Point Clouds dialog. Information about the image files is stored with the DGN file. The displays information relating to the point cloud. The Point Cloud Styles section of the View Attributes dialog controls the style of the point cloud.