(After finishing your upload, also see: Useful tips after your asset upload)

• Upload folders instead of files (More info).
• Nira checks your files before upload to accelerate future uploads and ensure file integrity (More Info). This phase is indicated by the "Checking files" status. To ensure this process goes smoothly, upload from your fastest storage device, such as an NVMe or SSD. Try to avoid uploading from an HDD or network drive.
• Do not move or change any of your files during the upload, or it will fail.
• For important application specific export and upload suggestions, see the How do I export from... section of our documentation. Here are some direct links for some common applications:
  • Agisoft Metashape
  • Reality Capture
  • 3DF Zephyr
  • DJI Terra
  • Bentley ContextCapture
• Nira supports many file types, though we suggest using .obj files for mesh/geometry uploads. If feasible, consider exporting multiple smaller .obj files (each ideally under 1 GB) instead of a single large .obj file.  Instructions for this process can be found in the specific application links provided above.
• 16K or 32K texture file dimensions are suggested rather than 4K or 8K or smaller (More Info).  Note, you can upload an unlimited amount of textures and/or photos.
• We currently recommend keeping your triangle count to 200 million or less per asset for the best performance and load time. You can generally achieve the best visual quality by using more texture resolution than with a higher triangle count. For example, a 50 million triangle asset with 4 x 32K textures will look dramatically better than a 200 million triangle asset with 4 x 8K textures.
• Does Nira support point clouds? Yes!
• If you're uploading a volumetric video asset, see How do I upload a volumetric video asset?
• You can upload an unlimited amount of textures and photos – neither will negatively impact viewing performance or load times. Texture resolutions up to 32K are supported.

(Note: Before you upload, it's great to check out our help article Useful tips before your asset upload if you haven't already)

Simply drag and drop your folder(s) into the browser.

While your folder can accommodate an unlimited number of files, we advise against dragging and dropping the files from your file explorer. It is preferable to upload files in the form of folders for a smoother process.  This is because browsers experience performance issues when dragging and dropping files (as shown below). Therefore, we suggest organizing your assets into folders and uploading the folders instead.

Issues may arise when attempting to upload hundreds or thousands of files if not organized into folders first.

Be sure to include the asset’s texture(s) and other associated files (e.g., *.mtl material file for OBJ if available).  You can optionally include photos and camera position data (e.g., csv or xml). Upload progress will be displayed within the “Upload Jobs” tab. 

For more information about how Nira automatically classifies images as either photos or textures, see this related article: https://help.nira.app/hc/en-us/articles/4418127878811

To learn how to upload additional files to an existing asset, see: How can I upload additional files to an existing asset?

(Also see: Useful tips before your asset upload)

Learn how to navigate the view

If this is your first time using Nira, see our help article or video to familiarize yourself with its view navigation.

Adjust orientation (if needed)

You may need to adjust your asset's coordinate system in Nira if navigating the view feels unnatural or your asset is oriented strangely (e.g. it's upside-down or on its side).  This is a simple fix -- see How do I fix the orientation of my uploaded asset?

Fix incorrect or missing colors (if needed)

If your asset doesn't have the colors you expect, the fix is typically quite simple. See How to identify and fix a missing or unassigned texture file.

Set your preferred starting view and asset thumbnail

When you view an asset for the first time after uploading it, a starting view and asset thumbnail is automatically generated. Others that view the asset will start in the same spot you did. If you prefer a different starting view and thumbnail, first click and navigate the view to the desired spot, then press the button (Top Center).

Consider adjusting the Sharpen setting

The Sharpen setting can affect how detailed your asset looks. The default setting within Nira typically works well for most assets, but some assets may look better with a different value. To adjust Sharpen, click and use the Look > Sharpen slider in the left panel. For more information, see Finding the best sharpen (sharpness) setting.

Share your asset with others!

See How do I share access to my assets?

Questions?

Contact us, we're happy to help.

Tip: Watch this video (3m38s) for a tour of Nira's view navigation.

You can switch between Nira's main navigation tools by pressing these buttons on the left toolbar:

Orbit Tool (Default): Dragging in the view rotates around the asset

Pan Tool: Dragging in the view moves up/down/left/right

Dolly / Zoom Tool: Dragging in the view zooms in or out

 Camera Fly Tool (aka "FPS Style Navigation"): See Camera Fly Mode section below

Tip: If you're using a touchscreen device or a mouse/keyboard, instead of pressing the Orbit, Pan, and Dolly/Zoom buttons to switch between navigation modes, you can remain in the default Orbit tool and use the Mouse / Keyboard navigation shortcuts or Mobile / Touch navigation shortcuts below to more quickly navigate the view. 

Mouse / Keyboard navigation shortcuts

On a PC with a multi-button mouse and keyboard, the following navigation shortcuts can always be used regardless of which navigation tool you're in. This is sometimes known as "Maya style navigation":

• Orbit: Alt+LMB drag
• Pan: Alt+MMB drag (MMB drag alone also works)
• Zoom: Alt+RMB drag or Alt+LMB+MMB drag

You can also use the following convention ("Revit style navigation"):

• Orbit: Shift+MMB drag
• Pan: MMB drag
• Zoom: Ctrl+MMB drag

Mobile / Touch navigation shortcuts

For mobile phones, tablets, and touch screens, the following combinations can always be used regardless of which navigation tool you're in:

• Zoom: Pinch in/out
• Pan: Two finger drag

Camera Fly Mode

While in the Camera Fly Mode, the following keyboard and mouse combinations can be used:

• LMB drag: Walk around
• RMB drag: Look around
• MMB drag: Dolly up/down
• A and D keys: Strafe left/right
• W and S keys: Forward/back

Other navigation tips

• Double-clicking or tapping anywhere on the surface of an object will center your camera to that point and orbit the camera from that point.
• The ‘f’ key will frame the camera about the selection or entire scene if nothing is selected
• Move floating windows (e.g., Image or UV View) by using Ctrl+LMB

If your asset is oriented strangely or the camera navigation feels unusual, the coordinate system needs adjusting. Open the asset and click on the Edit Mode button ( - Top Right). Then, within the left panel's View Options > Coordinate System section, press each of the X-up, Y-up, or Z-up buttons until your asset appears upright and the view navigation feels natural.

Once you're happy with the result, click the Save button (Save / Revert - Top Left) to preserve your Coordinate System change for future viewings of the asset.

Finally, click on the Set Starting View button ( - Top Center). This will ensure your asset thumbnail and initial camera view uses your corrected orientation.

Note, in some extremely rare situations, you may need to adjust the Rotate X, Y, and Z sliders instead of using the X-up, Y-up, or Z-up buttons.

There are two different ways to provide color data for a mesh asset -- Textures or Vertex Colors. Read on to learn their differences and how to properly upload them. Note, If you have a choice between providing textures or vertex colors, textures are the better choice, because they provide a greater level of detail.

Important Note:

If you've already uploaded a textured mesh and the textures aren't being displayed, please see the article How to identify and fix a missing or unassigned texture file.

Creating a texture model:

If you are generating a colored model using a photogrammetry tool, we strongly recommend creating textures and avoiding the vertex coloring option if possible.  Some photogrammetry tools may display the model with vertex colors in the 3D viewer, which can give the false impression that the model is textured.  Additional steps might be necessary to create the texture maps.  For detailed instructions on creating texture maps in RealityCapture, please refer to the following help article:

https://help.nira.app/hc/en-us/articles/6942641082011-How-can-I-achieve-the-best-quality-textures-from-RealityCapture

Textures (Recommended):

If you have a mesh with texture files (typically .jpg or .png files), choose the "Photogrammetry" type during upload. Note, choosing "Photogrammetry" will cause any vertex color data in your mesh files to be ignored, but this is not a problem with textured assets, because the color data will be provided by the image files that you upload.

Vertex Colors:

If your mesh files contain vertex color data that you'd like to use rather than textures, choose the "Sculpt" type during upload. As mentioned above, uploading a textured mesh is preferable, if possible.