Getting Started With Sphere XG - Create and Edit Projects

What is Sphere XG?

With Sphere XG, you don't have to rely anymore on scans, documents, photos and emails coming from different sources and applications. Instead, Sphere XG helps you organize and manage your reality capture in one cloud-based app. Scans, 360° photos, 3D models and layout plans can be combined to create a detailed project that allows evaluating data from different perspectives. As a result, you can answer questions about a site, verify progress, and resolve issues without having to look for information in numerous places.

This getting started guide will enable you to set up your first project, add data and use it to review site conditions, measure distances, and add annotations where additional information is needed.

If you want more information on a topic described in this getting started guide, you can use the search bar at the top of this article.

Before you start

Before you begin, confirm the following:

You have accepted your workspace invitation.
You can sign in to Sphere XG.
You have permission to create projects.
Your scan and photo files are available locally.

If you need help setting up your account, see Create Sphere XG Account and Log in.

Create a Project in Sphere XG

A project in Sphere XG is the central space where all data is collected, processed and aligned in a way that the different types of data complement each other. Based on a project, you can also decide, how data is shared across the team. In the Sphere XG Viewer, you can open your project to review, measure and annotate the project data.

Let's get started!

1. Open Sphere XG in your browser.

2. Optional: If you have access to more than one workspace, click on the tile of the workspace you want to open.

3. On the Projects page, click the New project button.

4. Enter the project details.

Apart from the project name, you must also select a project manager and assign the project to a group.

NOTE: Groups in Sphere XG are used to organize projects and project access, not users.

5. Click Next to open the second page of the New project dialog.

On this page, you can enter additional, optional project details.

6. Click Create to confirm your entries and create the new project.

Your project is now all set up for reality capture data and you can open it in the Sphere XG Viewer.

Add Data to your Project

Your project is now ready for reality capture data. In this getting started guide, you will learn how you can add Orbis and Blink scans or 360° photos to your project. Note that you can also add different types of data and that you can always add more data later.

For more detailed information on adding data to your project, check out the articles in the Import Data Sets collection.

Add Scans

1. Click Open in Sphere XG.

2. Click the Scans tile.

The file system opens and you must select a folder containing Blink or Orbis scans.

The project draft view is opened.

3. Follow the instructions on this page.

If you select Automatic, the project will be uploaded, processed and published automatically. (You can still make changes later). If you select Manual review, the process stops before publishing and allows you to review the project.

4. Click Let's start on this page to open your Sphere XG project.

Add 360° Photos

1. Click Open in Sphere XG.

2. Click the Sheet tile.
A sheet is a 2D image or document that can be used to get an overview of a capture, for example a building.

3. Follow the instructions on this page to import a sheet.
If you don't have a sheet, you can also use Sphere XG's inbuilt grid.

After you have clicked the Import button, the project will be opened in the Sphere XG Viewer. The landing page is the 2D view, showing the sheet on the right side.

You can now start adding 360° photos to your project.

4. Right-click the position in the sheet where you want to add a 360° photo.

5. Select entry Import 360° photos.

6. Select the photos you want from the file system and confirm.

A so-called waypoint will be created on the sheet. This waypoint is also displayed as in the project structure view (tree view) on the left side.

Make Measurements in Scans and 360° Photos

Measuring lengths, distances and perimeters is essential for planning a project. Sphere XG allows making measurements in point clouds and 360° photos (with or without depth information.

For more detailed information on measurements, check out the articles under Make Measurements in Your Project.

Measure in the 2D, the 3D View and in 360° Photos with Depth Information

1. Click the icon in the toolbar on the right side.

2. Click the point in the view where you want to start the measurement.

3. Drag the mouse to the next measurement point and click.

4. Repeat the above step if you need more than one measurement point.

5. To finish the measurement, double-click the end measurement point or press the ESC key.
To finish a perimeter measurement, click the first measurement point.

To undo the last measurement(s), press the backspace key.

The figure below shows a perimeter measurement in the 2D view.

Clicking the icon allows you to convert the measurement into an annotation.

Measure in 360° Photos without Depth Information

The approach described below works for 360° photos without depth information. If your 360° photos have depth information, you can simply start measuring.

1. Go to the walkmode view of your project and navigate to the location where you want to make a measurement.

2. Click the icon in the toolbar on the right side.

3.Enter the Camera height from the ground to the center point of the camera lens as accurately as possible.

4. Click Next.

5. In the next three steps, pick points at both bottom corners of a wall and then at the top of the wall.

You should select 360° photos which are as vertical as possible.

You can now measure distances on this wall or between this wall and other walls. To add new walls, click Add wall in the panel.

Add Annotations to Points of Interest in Your Project

Annotations are information markers that you can add to a specific point in your project. By adding a due date, and a status as well as an assignee, you can use annotations as tasks in your project. You can also attach files to annotations.

You can create annotations in the 2D view, 3D view, walk mode view and in the 3D model.

1. Go to the view in which you want to create an annotation.

2. Click icon in the toolbar on the right side.

3. For a point annotation, click the point in the view where you want to place the annotation.

4. For an area annotation on a panoramic image without depth information (in the walk mode view), click and drag to place the annotation.

5. Fill in the annotation form.

6. Click Create to create the annotation.

By default, FARO Sphere XG is selected as Annotation type. If your project is enabled for Autodesk or Procore and if you have an account on Autodesk or Procore, you can also create annotations for these platforms.

For more information on integrations, see Connect to Third-party Integrations.

Share a Project

In Sphere XG, there are several ways to share projects. You can either share the entire project or a specific state of a project.

Share the Entire Project - Public or Private

1. Go to the Project page of the project you want to share.

2. Check the Access Level.

Via link: Accessible for viewing for anyone who has the link.
Private: Accessible only for users who were invited to the project and the members of the group to which the project belongs.

3. Click the icon.

This will open a popup with a link to the project.

Copy the link and send it via email or other communication tool to the person(s) you want.

Share a Project Snapshot

A snapshot is a link to the state of a project at a given time. By sharing a project snapshot, you have control over the content you want to share. In addition, because a snapshot only shows the project at a given time, i.e. if you change the original project, the snapshot will not change.

1. Click the three-dots icon in the project structure view header and select Create snapshot.

2. Select the photos that you want to include in the snapshot.

3. Click Create snapshot....

4. Enter a snapshot name.

5. Decide whether you want to share the snapshot with anyone who has access to the link or only with invited users.

If you select the Only invited people option, another field is displayed in which you can enter email addresses of people with whom you want to share the snapshot. Separate the email addresses by commas.
If you select the Anyone with the link option, anyone with access to the link can access the snapshot. Make sure you do not use this access level for projects that contain confidential information.

A snapshot link will be created that you can share via email or another communication tool with the person(s) you want.