Supported file formats

Swyvl supports all common spatial and media formats used in surveying and drone operations. Files are classified automatically on upload — no configuration needed.

Point clouds

Format	Extension	Notes
LAS	.las	Industry-standard lidar format, all versions
Compressed LAS	.laz	Lossless compressed LAS — recommended for large scans
E57	.e57	Common scan format (FARO, Leica, Z+F)
PLY	.ply	Polygon file format — meshes and point clouds
PTX	.ptx	Leica/FARO scanner exchange format
PTS	.pts	ASCII point cloud format
XYZ	.xyz	Simple text-based point cloud (X Y Z per line)

Open in the point cloud viewer with orbit, pan, zoom, and measurement tools. Billions of points are supported — detail streams in as you move around.

Tip

Use LAZ instead of LAS when possible — lossless compression reduces file sizes by 5–10x with no quality loss. Convert using CloudCompare or PDAL.

3D models

Format	Extension	Notes
GLB	.glb	Binary glTF — preferred for web delivery (textures embedded)
glTF	.gltf	Text-based glTF with separate texture files
OBJ	.obj	Wavefront OBJ — upload directly, no conversion required
FBX	.fbx	Autodesk FBX — upload directly, no conversion required
STEP	.stp, .step	ISO 10303 CAD exchange — automatically converted to GLB for viewing
IGES	.igs, .iges	Initial Graphics Exchange — automatically converted to GLB for viewing

Open in the 3D model viewer with full orbit, pan, and zoom. STEP and IGES files are converted to GLB on upload so they’re viewable in the browser.

Tip

GLB is preferred for sharing with clients — it embeds textures in a single file. glTF packages with separate texture files can be uploaded as a ZIP and Swyvl will extract them automatically. See glTF model packages for archive limits.

BIM models

Format	Extension	Notes
IFC	.ifc	Industry Foundation Classes — BIM models from Revit, ArchiCAD, etc.

Open in the BIM viewer with model tree, section planes, and measurement tools.

CAD drawings

Format	Extension	Notes
DXF	.dxf	AutoCAD exchange format — as-built surveys, site plans, cadastral drawings

Open in the CAD viewer — renders lines, arcs, polylines, circles, and text with layer support.

Note

DWG (Autodesk’s proprietary binary format) is automatically converted to DXF on upload for browser viewing.

Geospatial vector

Format	Extension	Notes
GeoJSON	.geojson	Standard web GIS format — any geometry type
Shapefile	.shp	ESRI vector format — upload as a ZIP containing .shp, .dbf, .prj, .shx
GPX	.gpx	GPS track logs — drone flights, traverse surveys, control points
GPS Sidecar (SRT)	.srt	DJI GPS subtitle — pairs with video by filename; hidden after linking
Flight Log (CSV)	.csv	DJI/Litchi GPS telemetry — geolocates photos in the same collection
CZML	.czml	Cesium animation format — time-dynamic 3D data
CSV	.csv	Tabular data with coordinate columns — auto-detected and converted to GeoJSON
GeoPackage	.gpkg	OGC standard for vector/raster GIS data — converted to GeoJSON for viewing
MBTiles	.mbtiles	Tiled map data — converted to PMTiles for cloud-native serving

GeoJSON, SHP, and GPX open in the 2D map viewer. CZML opens in the 3D globe. CSV point data opens in the large point dataset viewer for performance.

Tip

Shapefiles should be in WGS84 (EPSG:4326) for the map to display them in the correct location. Files in projected coordinate systems (GDA2020 MGA, UTM, etc.) will need converting to WGS84 first. Upload the shapefile as a ZIP containing all component files (.shp, .dbf, .prj, .shx). See Shapefiles for archive limits.

Tip

GPS companion files — GPX and CSV flight logs geolocate photos in the same collection using timestamp interpolation. Upload them alongside your photos in the same batch or collection; no filename matching is required. See Uploading files for details.

Geospatial 3D

Format	Extension	Notes
KMZ	.kmz	Keyhole Markup (zipped) — common from DJI, survey software
KML	.kml	Keyhole Markup — vectors, paths, overlays
GeoTIFF	.tif, .tiff	Georeferenced raster — orthomosaics, elevation models

KMZ and KML open on a 3D globe. GeoTIFF opens on a 2D map as an overlaid layer — large orthomosaics stream tile-by-tile.

A GeoTIFF can also be designated as a site base map — it then draws beneath the file markers on the site map, in client share links, and in viewer minimaps. See Site map & base maps.

ZIP archives

Swyvl automatically inspects ZIP files on upload and handles them in one of four ways depending on their contents.

3D Tiles

Format	Extension	Notes
3D Tiles	.zip	ZIP archive containing a top-level JSON + tile data

Upload your 3D Tiles directory as a ZIP file. Swyvl extracts it automatically and loads it on the 3D globe.

How to upload 3D Tiles:

1. Locate your 3D Tiles output directory (from Cesium Ion, Pix4D, Metashape, etc.)
2. The directory should contain a top-level tileset.json and tile data files
3. Compress the directory as a .zip — the JSON file should be at the root or one folder deep
4. Upload the ZIP file like any other file

Tip

If your ZIP has a single root folder (e.g. output/tileset.json), Swyvl strips it automatically.

Photogrammetry meshes, instanced models, point cloud tiles, composite tilesets, native glTF, and Gaussian Splat tiles are all supported.

Archive limits: 2 GB compressed, 2 GB extracted, 50,000 files max

glTF model packages

ZIP archives containing a .gltf file and companion textures are automatically extracted and loaded in the 3D model viewer.

Archive limits: 500 MB compressed, 500 files max

Shapefiles

ZIP archives containing a .shp file are automatically extracted. Include the companion files (.dbf, .prj, .shx, .cpg) in the same ZIP.

Archive limits: 500 MB compressed, 100 files max

Tip

Shapefiles should be in WGS84 (EPSG:4326) for the map to display them in the correct location.

Delivery packages (any other ZIP)

Any ZIP containing supported spatial files that isn’t a 3D Tiles, glTF, or shapefile dataset is treated as a delivery package — each file is extracted as an individual resource in the same collection, with its own viewer, thumbnail, and metadata extraction.

Supported file types inside a delivery package:

Category	Extensions
Images	.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp
Video	.mp4, .mov, .avi, .webm
GPS sidecar	.srt
Point cloud	.las, .laz, .e57, .ply, .ptx, .pts, .xyz
GeoTIFF	.tif, .tiff
Gaussian splat	.splat, .ksplat, .spz
PDF	.pdf
CAD / BIM	.dxf, .dwg, .ifc, .stp, .step, .igs, .iges
3D model	.glb, .fbx, .obj
Geospatial vector	.geojson, .gpx, .kml, .kmz, .gpkg, .mbtiles, .csv

Archive limits: 500 files max, 50 GB total extracted size

Tip

If your ZIP contains a drone video (DJI_0042.mp4) and its GPS sidecar (DJI_0042.srt), Swyvl automatically links them — the video opens in the split-screen GPS viewer.

Note

OBJ files extracted from ZIPs may appear without textures if the companion .mtl and texture files are stored separately. For textured OBJ models, upload them as a named ZIP (alongside the .mtl and textures) and Swyvl treats the whole archive as a single 3D model package.

Keeping a ZIP as a file

Uncheck Extract ZIP contents as individual files in the upload modal to keep any ZIP as a single downloadable file, regardless of its contents.

Gaussian splats

Format	Extension	Notes
PLY (Gaussian splat)	.ply	PLY files with Gaussian splat data — auto-detected from header
Splat	.splat	Raw Gaussian splat capture
KSplat	.ksplat	Compressed Gaussian splat (KSplat format)
SPZ	.spz	Niantic SPZ compressed format — opens in the Spark viewer (supports v1, v2, and v3)
SPLZ	.splz	Compressed splat ZIP format

Viewed in the Gaussian splat viewer — photorealistic real-time 3D renders from structure-from-motion captures. Full orbit, pan, and zoom. SPZ files open in the Spark viewer, which decodes every SPZ version (including v3) and adds an Orbit/Walk navigation toggle plus creator display controls for backdrop, brightness, and field of view.

Whatever the format, splats are labelled 3DGS in the file list (so a splat PLY isn’t confused with a point-cloud PLY). Large PLY/SPLAT/KSPLAT scenes also render progressively — a coarse version appears quickly and sharpens as the file streams in.

Tip

Recommended workflow for Gaussian splats:

1. Train your Gaussian splat using your preferred tool (Nerfstudio, COLMAP + gsplat, Polycam, Luma, etc.)
2. Clean up in SuperSplat (free, browser-based) — remove floaters, crop the scene
3. Export as compressed PLY — File → Export → “Compressed PLY” for smaller files (5-10x reduction)
4. Upload to Swyvl — the file is auto-detected as a Gaussian splat and opens in the viewer
5. Set start view — navigate to the best angle, click “Set start view” to save it as the default for clients

Compressed PLY files are recommended over raw .splat for faster loading and lower storage usage.

360° panoramas

Format	Extension	Notes
Equirectangular image	.jpg, .jpeg, .png	360° still from Ricoh Theta, Insta360, GoPro Max, or similar
Equirectangular video	.mp4, .mov	360° video from 360° cameras

Swyvl detects equirectangular files from known 360° cameras automatically and opens them in the 360° viewer — click and drag to look around. If GPS metadata is present, a minimap overlay is shown. Downloaded 4K and 1080p versions of 360° video keep their spherical metadata, so they play as 360° in external players too.

How 360° detection works

Swyvl automatically identifies 360° content using:

• XMP / spherical metadata — photos tagged ProjectionType=equirectangular, and videos carrying spherical (equirectangular) projection metadata, are detected as 360°. This is the authoritative signal that 360° cameras (Ricoh Theta, Insta360, GoPro Max) embed.
• Camera detection — Ricoh Theta (filename pattern / EXIF) and Insta360 cameras (EXIF camera make Insta360 / Arashi Vision, combined with a 2:1 equirectangular frame) are recognised automatically — handy for 360° stills that don’t carry the XMP tag above.
• Filename — files whose name contains “360”, “pano”, “equirectangular”, or “spherical”.

Aspect ratio alone is not used to detect 360° — a flat stitched panorama or an 18:9 video is also 2:1, and opening flat content in the 360° viewer looks distorted. If a genuine 360° file lacks the metadata above, you can switch it to the 360° viewer manually.

Drone video with GPS

Format	Extension	Notes
MP4	.mp4	Drone video — H.264 recommended
MOV	.mov	QuickTime drone video
SRT (sidecar)	.srt	DJI GPS subtitle file — contains GPS coordinates per second
GPX (sidecar)	.gpx	GPS track file — can be paired with any video or photo set

DJI drone video with SRT files

DJI drones record a .srt subtitle file alongside each .mp4 video. The SRT file contains GPS coordinates, altitude, and other flight data logged once per second.

To upload DJI drone video with GPS:

1. Upload both the .mp4 and .srt files together in the same batch (drag and drop both files at once)
2. Swyvl automatically detects the SRT as a GPS sidecar and pairs it with the matching video by filename
3. The video opens in the multi-panel viewer — a split-screen showing the video on one side and a live GPS map on the other
4. As the video plays, the map marker follows the drone’s flight path in real time

Caution

Upload the MP4 and SRT files together in the same batch for automatic pairing. If uploaded separately, Swyvl cannot detect the relationship.

GPS track from photos

You can also pair a .gpx file with a set of geotagged photos:

1. Export a GPX track from your GPS device, drone controller, or flight logging app
2. Upload the GPX file alongside your photos in the same batch
3. Swyvl pairs the GPX with the primary files and extracts the GPS track
4. Swyvl interpolates a position along the track for every photo whose capture time falls within the track’s time window, and shows each on the map. The GPX takes precedence over a photo’s own EXIF GPS — photos the track can’t place (outside its time window, or no timestamp) keep their EXIF location. The photo-to-track time offset — including daylight saving — is worked out automatically from the photo and track, so there’s no timezone to set.

The GPX route is also drawn as a route line on the site map, colour-coded with its collection.

Media

Format	Extension	Notes
JPEG	.jpg, .jpeg	Photos, site images, drone stills
PNG	.png	Screenshots, annotated images
WebP	.webp	Modern compressed images
MP4	.mp4	Drone video — H.264 recommended
MOV	.mov	QuickTime video
AVI	.avi	AVI video
WebM	.webm	Web-native video
PDF	.pdf	Survey reports, plans, specifications

File size limits

Swyvl supports files up to 100 GB. Large uploads keep going even if your connection drops — Swyvl resumes from where it left off when you’re back online. Very large files (orthomosaics, dense point clouds, long 4K video) may take a few extra minutes to process after the upload finishes.

Unsupported formats

Files in unsupported formats can still be uploaded and downloaded — they just won’t have an in-browser viewer. They appear with a generic file icon and a download button.

Raw photo files (.dng, .cr2, .cr3, .nef, .arw, .rw2, .orf, .raf, and similar) are download-only — Swyvl stores and shares them but does not generate a thumbnail or open them in a viewer. For an in-browser preview, export a JPEG alongside the raw file (most cameras and 360° apps can shoot RAW+JPEG, or you can export from Lightroom) and upload both; the JPEG previews and the raw travels with it as a downloadable original.

If you need a format that isn’t supported, contact support — we add new formats regularly.