Agisoft Knowledge Base (Freshdesk) — article index

The Agisoft Knowledge Base is Agisoft's official support library: tutorials, troubleshooting notes, licensing/activation guides, and feature explanations. This manual is a community expert overlay on top of it — where the Knowledge Base already explains a topic well, our articles link here rather than duplicating it.

This index lists all 183 articles across 32 folders, captured on 2026-06-05. The date shown is each article's Modified on date; each summary describes what the article covers.

The Knowledge Base is the property of Agisoft LLC. Only titles, dates, summaries, and links are reproduced here, for navigation.

Aerial data processing

• Aerial data processing (with GCPs) - Orthomosaic&DEM generation — modified 2026-02-19
  The comprehensive aerial-with-GCPs workflow. It walks through adding photos and configuring interior/exterior orientation (auto or precalibrated camera calibration, importing calibration in many formats, importing camera positions with accuracies), the GNSS/INS offset and bias settings, Align Photos, importing and measuring ground-control markers, Optimize Cameras, then Build Point Cloud, DEM and Orthomosaic, plus contour generation.
• Aerial data processing (without GCPs) — modified 2026-02-19
  The aerial workflow without GCPs using a Wingtra PPK dataset. It covers adding photos and loading reference coordinates/accuracies (from EXIF or CSV), Align Photos, Optimize Cameras (with Fit additional corrections recommended for RTK/PPK data), then Build Point Cloud, DEM and Orthomosaic, including the orthomosaic export format limits (4 GB TIFF, JPEG side limit, Split in blocks, BigTIFF).
• Aerial data processing(SenseFly eBee) — modified 2026-02-19
  The aerial workflow without GCPs using a SenseFly eBee dataset (opened from an eMotion-saved PSX). It covers alignment, loading position accuracy from XMP/CSV, optimization, building the point cloud, a DEM/DSM and a DTM (via ground-point classification), and the orthomosaic — and lists the supported export formats for points, orthomosaic and DEM.
• Block Model — modified 2026-02-19
  Covers building and editing a block model (Metashape Professional 2.1+) for large-scale projects, split into tiles by a set block size. It explains the Build Model 'Split in blocks' parameters (coordinate system, block size, grid origin, skip blocks outside a boundary), texturing and exporting the block model (as Cesium 3D Tiles, SLPK, 3MX, etc.), exporting or editing individual blocks in third-party software and importing them back, and rebuilding texture for a single block via Skip textured blocks.
• Colorization of the external point cloud based on images — modified 2026-02-19
  How to apply photo-realistic colours from images to an uncoloured point cloud from another source (such as LiDAR) sharing the same coordinate system. After the photos are added and aligned and the external point cloud imported, Tools > Point Cloud > Colorize Point Cloud is run (sampling from Images, or faster from an Orthomosaic) and the coloured result exported.
• Combined processing of aerial and terrestrial images — modified 2024-05-17
  How to process projects that combine drone (nadir and oblique) imagery with handheld terrestrial photos to avoid blind spots. It gives capture recommendations (move along the object, keep overlap, shoot at noon or in cloudy weather), advises processing all sub-sets together in camera groups, aligning with Generic preselection (Reference preselection disabled), resolving alignment Components with markers/Merge Components, then building the model and texture.
• Control and Check points for aerial surveys — modified 2026-02-19
  Focuses on control and check points for aerial accuracy. It covers importing GCPs from CSV, setting per-axis (XY/Z) accuracy, the distinction between control points (checkbox enabled, used to georeference) and check points (checkbox disabled, used to validate), placing and refining marker projections across images (with the green/blue/white flag meanings), and running Optimize Cameras on the marker data.
• DEM editing tools — modified 2024-05-17
  Documents the DEM editing tools (Metashape Professional 2.0.0+), which modify the surface to fix roof edges or fill holes over water/forest. Drawing a polygon or polyline gives access to Fill DEM (Constant, Best-fit plane, IDW, and Natural Neighbour interpolation methods, with an Exclude nested polygons option) and Create Breakline for roof edges, with changes applied via Update DEM (irreversible once the DEM is rebuilt).
• DJI with RTK coordinates data processing — modified 2026-02-19
  How to process DJI RTK drone imagery, where accurate camera coordinates improve results even without GCPs. It stresses enabling 'Load camera location accuracy from XMP' (otherwise the default 10 m accuracy negates the RTK value), then alignment, optional GNSS-bias adjustment, Optimize Cameras (the recommended parameter set, e.g. excluding b1/b2 with GCPs and k4 for the M4E), and building the point cloud, DEM and orthomosaic — recommending check points for validation.
• Orthomosaic Pansharpening — modified 2024-12-23
  Explains pansharpening (Metashape Professional 2.2.0+), which fuses a higher-resolution panchromatic orthomosaic with lower-resolution multispectral bands to produce a sharper orthomosaic. With two orthomosaics in the project (e.g. panchromatic and multispectral from satellite data), Tools > Orthomosaic > Sharpen Orthomosaic produces a new Sharpened asset — and it warns against pansharpening if vegetation indices like NDVI are needed, since pixel values are altered.
• Orthomosaic seamline editing (patching) — modified 2026-04-08
  How to manually edit orthomosaic seamlines (patching) to remove artifacts like cars on a road. A polygon is drawn and Edit Orthomosaic > Assign Images chooses (or excludes) the source image, or the Draw Patch tool auto-assigns the best-fit image, then Update Orthomosaic applies it. It also covers the Fill tool for removing objects present in all photos or filling holes where no imagery exists.
• Parameters for ground point classification — modified 2026-04-08
  A deeper guide to the Classify Ground Points parameters — Max angle, Max distance, Max terrain slope, Cell size, Return number and Erosion radius — explaining the two-step algorithm and how to tune each. It shows worked examples for different scenes (rural area with houses, low vegetation/sown fields, and large-scale satellite imagery) and stresses that parameters are project-specific and often need several iterations.
• Point Cloud Classification — modified 2025-10-16
  A tutorial on point-cloud classification and producing a DTM. It covers the three modes — automatic Classify Ground Points (with the Max angle, Max distance, Cell size, Erosion radius and Return-number parameters), automatic multi-class Classify Points (Ground, Vegetation, Building, Road, Car, Man-made), and manual Assign Class — plus colour-based selection, then building and exporting a DEM from the ground class to get a DTM rather than a DSM.
• Possible causes of large altitude errors when working with DJI images in Metashape — modified 2026-02-19
  Explains DJI altitude metadata — AbsoluteAltitude (written to EXIF) versus RelativeAltitude (height above take-off) in the XMP — and what to do when the EXIF altitude is wrong. It points to two scripts (read_altitude_from_DJI_meta.py and add_altitude_to_reference.py) to read the relative altitude and add a known ellipsoidal offset, and documents the tag priority Metashape uses.

Algorithms

• References list — modified 2024-05-15
  A reference page that links each Metashape processing stage to the published algorithm behind it — Structure-from-Motion with bundle adjustment for Align Photos, Axelsson's adaptive-TIN and a deep-learning classifier for point classification, TGV-fusion and PatchMatch surface-normal diffusion for DEM and depth maps, global-TGV mesh reconstruction and multi-view refine, MicaSense's tutorial for multispectral, and Semi-Global Matching for stereo.

Batch processing

• automatic processing, single button processing, one button processing — modified 2022-09-12
  A tutorial on using Batch Process to run the same workflow across many chunks in one project (the example runs Align Photos, Build Mesh and Build Texture over several close-range datasets). It explains adding jobs and choosing whether to apply them to all, unprocessed, or selected chunks, reading the Processed/Failed columns, saving and reloading the job list as XML, and using path templates like {chunklabel} so per-chunk exports don't overwrite each other.
• Batch processing — modified 2025-12-31
  A tutorial on building a 'one-button' batch workflow, using an aerial project as the example. It walks through adding jobs from the Batch Process dialog, the three Job Type groups (General Workflow, Import/Export, Miscellaneous) with a full table of available steps, how the Add Job dialog shows every possible parameter (so some do not apply — e.g. key-point limit only matters with guided matching), reordering and editing jobs, and saving/loading the task list as XML. It warns to re-check parameters after upgrading Metashape.

Camera calibration

• Export undistorted photos — modified 2026-03-03
  Describes exporting geometrically corrected, distortion-free images via File > Export > Convert Images with the Transform to initial calibration option (which removes distortion, centers the principal point and squares pixels). For Metashape 1.8.1 and later it stresses that the Initial-tab focal length and pixel size drive the result, and explains how to recover a correct export when EXIF/calibration data is missing — by copying the focal length from the Adjusted tab (Precalibrated) or entering focal length and pixel size manually.
• Lens calibration (using chessboard pattern) in Metashape — modified 2026-03-02
  A step-by-step procedure for automatic lens calibration against Metashape's on-screen (or a flat printed) chessboard target: capturing at least three pattern photos per focal length, loading them into a chunk, and running Tools > Camera > Calibrate Lens, then checking the detected corners and reprojection errors. It also shows how to save the adjusted calibration and reuse it as fixed initial parameters on a real close-range dataset — noting that aerial work should instead be calibrated on a GCP reference site.
• What does camera calibration results mean in Metashape? — modified 2026-03-02
  Explains the interior-orientation and lens-distortion parameters (f, cx, cy, b1–b2, k1–k4, p1–p2) reported on the Camera Calibration dialog's Adjusted tab, and how to judge whether an estimated calibration is sound — flagging implausibly large cx/cy or b1/b2 values and suggesting a re-align with those parameters fixed. It then walks through the Distortion Plot's Distortion, Profile and Correlation tabs, including how the residuals graph (averaged reprojection errors) differs from the distortion-vector plot and what the parameter correlation/covariance values mean.

Close range data processing

• 3D model reconstruction — modified 2026-04-08
  The foundational close-range workflow for building a textured 3D model of an object: adding photos (masking irrelevant background), Align Photos (with recommended key- and tie-point limits), Build Model from depth maps or the point cloud, Build Texture, and exporting or uploading the result. It also notes that vertex colors are not a texture and points to masking and editing for stray artifacts.
• 4D processing — modified 2024-05-17
  How to reconstruct dynamic scenes captured by synchronized static cameras as multi-frame (4D) chunks. It covers the four on-disk data layouts (per-camera or per-frame folders, or multilayer images), adding them with the Dynamic scene (4D) layout, the normal align/model/texture steps, navigating frames with the Timeline pane, and exporting selected frames.
• Connected components in camera alignment procedure — modified 2024-05-17
  How to handle alignment Components (1.7+) — the separately-aligned groups that form when subsets of a dataset lack enough tie points between them (example: the top and bottom of a sports shoe). It explains placing at least three non-collinear markers in each component, using the epipolar-line hints to locate them quickly across images, and then Merge Components to unify the alignment (markers require the Professional edition).
• How to build a complete (360 degree) model of an object — modified 2024-05-17
  Recommends building a complete 360-degree model by processing all images together in a single chunk (organized into calibration groups) rather than chunking and merging, for better accuracy. It covers masking the background/turntable, aligning, building point cloud/mesh/texture — and, as a fallback, the Merge Chunks route with common markers placed across the separately processed chunks.
• How to improve the modeling of thin objects in Metashape — modified 2024-05-17
  How to improve reconstruction of thin objects such as butterfly wings or sails using a tweak introduced in Metashape 1.8 (BuildModel/ooc_surface_blow_up and ooc_surface_blow_off set to 0.95). After aligning and building a point cloud, an Ultra High model is built and smoothed, then residual holes and intersecting-triangle artifacts are repaired with Close Holes (Apply to selection) — and it stresses disabling the tweaks before processing normal objects.
• Manual chunk alignment (Standard edition) — modified 2024-05-17
  A markerless way to position models from different projects in one scene (Standard and Professional). The second project is appended, then the Move, Scale and Rotate Object tools manually align each chunk relative to the others (all three transformations are required), and Merge Chunks combines them.
• Orthomosaic generation (cylindrical projection) — modified 2026-04-14
  How to build an orthomosaic in cylindrical projection for objects like tubes, towers and tunnels, avoiding the distortion of a planar projection. It explains the four ways Metashape can define the cylinder's axis, radius, zero-plane and zero-line — Current Region, Current View, Markers (at least three) and X/Y/Z — and the Interior projection option for projecting onto the inner surface.
• Orthomosaic generation (planar projection) — modified 2025-04-01
  How to generate an orthomosaic in planar projection for vertical surfaces such as building facades. After the usual masks/align/point-cloud/model steps (with Model as the surface), it describes two ways to define the projection plane — Current View, or a set of markers (three, or four to define two vectors) whose first marker sets the orthomosaic origin.
• Processing spherical panoramas in Agisoft Metashape — modified 2026-04-10
  Processing guidance for HDR panorama / spherical-camera imagery (and Insta360 footage saved as spherical panoramas or single fisheye frames). It covers masking the camera's black bar, selecting the Spherical camera type in Camera Calibration, then the standard align (camera positions shown as spheres), point cloud, model and texture steps, with Single-Sided Rendering suggested for inspecting interiors.
• Spherical panoramas generation — modified 2026-04-10
  How to build a panorama from multiple images shot from a single camera position (ideally on a nodal head), in both editions. The photos are grouped into a camera group set to type Station, aligned, and their orientation corrected with Rotate Object/Update Transform, then Build Panorama is run and exported via Export Orthomosaic (or Export Panorama in Standard).
• Turntable capturing scenario and processing workflow — modified 2025-04-15
  A complete turntable workflow (both editions) from capture to Sketchfab. It covers session planning (tripod, remote, controlled diffuse lighting, contrasting background, ISO 100, f/9-10, and shooting an empty-turntable frame), masking the empty background images, aligning with Apply masks to tie points and Exclude stationary tie points, building the model (after disabling the empty images) and texture (hole filling, ghosting filter, anti-aliasing), the Professional-only defocus-masking texture improvement, and uploading the model.

Common problems in Metashape

• Firewall configuration — modified 2025-05-26
  Lists the Internet servers to allow through a firewall for Metashape's optional online features (all core processing is local). It enumerates the endpoints for Agisoft Cloud processing (account.agisoft.com, api.agisoft.com), base-map display (agisoft, tiles.agisoft, AWS S3, OpenStreetMap), and upload to online publishing platforms (Sketchfab, Cesium ion, Mapbox, 4DMapper, Picterra, PointBox, Pointscene).
• GPU error messages - possible solutions — modified 2023-03-21
  Troubleshooting processing failures that surface as GPU-driver errors. After noting which workflow steps use the GPU, it maps specific messages to fixes — for example create_cu_texture_code unknown error (30) by setting the main/gpu_enable_cuda tweak to False, CUDA_ERROR_UNKNOWN (999) and CL_OUT_OF_RESOURCES by a clean driver reinstall, CL_INVALID_OPERATION by switching the CUDA tweak back to True, and 'Can't select tile size' by freeing video memory.
• GPU-related crashes in Metashape — modified 2022-02-25
  How to handle crashes that occur inside the GPU driver, organized by vendor: update (or, failing that, disable) integrated Intel HD graphics; update NVIDIA drivers or switch from CUDA to OpenCL via the main/gpu_enable_cuda tweak; update AMD drivers or launch in DirectX compatibility mode with metashape.exe --opengl angle. It also explains gathering the processing log and Windows Event Viewer entries for support.
• Troubleshooting about usage on Linux — modified 2022-02-25
  A catalogue of common Linux launch and runtime errors with fixes: glibc and OpenGL version requirements, video-import problems (missing GStreamer libav plugins, or an LD_PRELOAD libgmp workaround), and a long list of missing shared libraries (libgomp, libquadmath, libxcb-xinerama, libGLU, libffi) with the apt/yum packages that resolve them — plus the recommendation to use TurboVNC rather than GUI-over-SSH.
• What do some error messages in Metashape interface mean? — modified 2024-04-17
  A reference that decodes Metashape's more cryptic error messages and their likely causes — Empty extent/camera list/surface (a misplaced bounding box or disabled cameras), Empty frame path (project not saved as PSX), Can't decompress depth (unstable RAM), Index Overflow (too-large point cloud for Arbitrary meshing), Null point cloud/model (a missing prerequisite asset), Media resource couldn't be resolved (missing video codecs), Some photos failed to align, and Zero resolution.
• What to do, if Metashape crashes? — modified 2022-02-11
  A self-diagnosis checklist for unexpected crashes, BSODs or freezes before contacting support: submitting the crash report, updating to the latest Metashape, enabling Write Log to File, updating (or disabling unstable integrated Intel) GPU drivers, checking power supply, overheating and RAM (running Memtest86), and collecting Windows Event Viewer entries for metashape.exe.

Coordinate systems

• Conversion between the coordinate systems — modified 2025-06-18
  Explains when Metashape can transform between two coordinate systems (same datum, or both having ToWGS84 parameters) and how to supply those parameters. It describes the Datum Transformation Settings dialog (reachable from Reference-pane settings or Convert Reference) for picking an EPSG transformation or entering custom parameters, and the alternative of loading a PRJ file whose DATUM section contains a TOWGS84 sub-section.
• How to use height above geoid for the coordinate system — modified 2022-02-24
  How to make Reference-pane heights refer to a geoid rather than the ellipsoid by building a compound coordinate system. It covers the case where a compatible geoid GeoTIFF can be downloaded from Agisoft's site (dropped in the geoids folder, then the horizontal CS edited to add the vertical datum), and the case of a custom undulation-grid file, added as a Custom vertical datum from one of the supported grid formats.
• Reference links and description for supported Geoids formats — modified 2022-02-24
  Notes that the installer ships only the EGM96 geoid and that other geoids must be downloaded from Agisoft's site and copied to the geoids folder before the matching coordinate system can be used (geoids are Professional-only). It points to the height-above-geoid article for building compound systems and lists the supported undulation-grid/datum file formats (ASCII Grid, AUSGeoid .dat/.txt, NGS .bin, .byn, Trimble .ggf, .gsf, ISG, French .mnt, Sideris, lat/lon/alt tables, and GeoTIFF).
• What to do if you need to use an existing geoid on another datum — modified 2026-01-15
  A step-by-step recipe for converting a geoid undulation grid (GeoTIFF) from one datum to another — the example moves AUSGeoid09 from GDA94 to GDA2020. It imports the geoid as a DEM, uses Transform DEM (into a geographic system, with the correct ToWGS84 parameters and optional clipping) to create a new DEM instance, exports the transformed GeoTIFF, then builds a compound coordinate system that references the new geoid as a custom vertical datum.

Hardware, drivers, visualization

• Does Metashape work on Apple M1 architecture? — modified 2022-03-17
  A one-line compatibility note: Metashape natively supports the Apple M1 architecture from version 1.8 onward; earlier versions can only run on M1 through Rosetta translation.
• General information related to GPU processing — modified 2022-02-25
  Covers GPU acceleration support: which stages use the GPU, the factors that drive performance (CUDA-core/shader count and VRAM), and the broad compatibility target (CUDA compute capability 2.0+ or OpenCL 1.1+ with SPIR). It includes a table of tested desktop NVIDIA/AMD cards and how to configure devices in the GPU preferences (enable discrete GPUs, when to use the CPU flag), plus the driver/hardware requirements for Vulkan-based texture blending.
• Hardware recommendations — modified 2024-11-18
  A guide to choosing a computer for Metashape, covering each component: SSD or fast-NAS storage, RAM (32-64 GB, with notes on frequency stability and Memtest86), CPU (6-32 high-frequency cores judged on combined single- and multi-thread Cinebench scores), and GPU (a discrete high-end consumer card chosen on VRAM and single-precision TFLOPS, with multi-GPU and Apple Silicon advice). It also lists minimal and recommended configurations and stresses good cooling.
• How to configure OpenGL for Agisoft Metashape GUI mode on the cloud instances with GPU — modified 2022-02-25
  Points to Agisoft's cloud-scripts GitHub repository, which provides configuration scripts to set up Ubuntu 16.04 on EC2 GPU instances so that Metashape's OpenGL GUI can run remotely through TurboVNC using VirtualGL.
• Memory requirements for processing operations — modified 2024-03-13
  Benchmark tables of processing time and peak memory for each workflow stage at High/Medium/Low quality, measured in Metashape Professional 1.7.2 on a fixed node (32 vCPU, two Tesla M60 GPUs, 240 GB RAM). It reports two reference datasets — a 920-image Wingtra aerial survey and a 772-image DJI Phantom 4 RTK close-range project — to give a sense of expected runtimes and RAM needs.
• NVIDIA graphic card is not recognized on macOS in GPU preferences tab — modified 2022-02-25
  A short hardware note: some older macOS versions need NVIDIA's separate CUDA driver pack installed (and a reboot) before the cards appear in Metashape's GPU preferences, whereas on macOS 10.14 Mojave and later — where CUDA is unsupported — Metashape automatically falls back to OpenCL for GPU processing on NVIDIA cards.
• Photo and Ortho view is not responding, toolbar disappears — modified 2022-02-25
  Troubleshooting for unresponsive navigation or a disappearing toolbar in the Photo and Ortho views, which is typically a GPU-driver compatibility issue. Suggested fixes are updating the GPU driver (NVIDIA 399.07 or later), rolling back to the 382 driver if that fails, or launching Metashape in ANGLE compatibility mode with metashape.exe --opengl angle (optionally via a modified shortcut).

Image capture tips

• Aerial survey tips — modified 2022-12-21
  Aerial-survey capture recommendations broken down by terrain. After general advice (60/80 overlap, plenty of images, avoid all-day flights where shadows shift, use cross-cross routes and GCPs), it gives terrain-specific rules: forests (fly above 300 m, in leaf-on season), urban areas (cross flights and oblique/multi-camera rigs for walls, avoid shiny materials in sun), water bodies (keep a 50/50 land/water ratio, multiple altitudes, avoid bright sun), and mountains (plan with an elevation model, fly above 100 m, use multiple altitudes).
• Close-range objects scanning — modified 2024-04-15
  A Q&A on close-range object scanning: which objects are unsuitable (untextured, reflective, transparent), lens choice (fixed 20-80 mm, tape down zoom rings, fisheye type for wide angles), and exposure (f/8-f/11, low ISO, constant diffuse lighting without flash). It also covers the turntable scenario — applying masks and shooting a blank background frame — using a tripod and remote for macro work, and masking unwanted foreground or moving objects.
• Full body/head scanning capture tips — modified 2022-03-11
  Capture advice for full-body and head scanning. It recommends a rig of synchronized cameras (since a person cannot hold still) or, with a single camera, moving along a spiral/circular path while covering blind spots like hands, ears and nose. It also stresses diffuse lighting, a background that contrasts with the subject, and subject preparation — a textured hat for hair, avoiding black/monotone/reflective clothing, and removing glasses.
• General image capture tips — modified 2022-03-11
  The foundational image-capture guide: recommended camera settings (high resolution, 20-80 mm equivalent focal length, the right camera type so Brown's distortion model fits, low ISO, f/8-f/11 aperture, a fast-enough shutter, RAW converted to TIFF), capture principles (60/80 overlap, filling the frame, diffuse glare-free lighting, minimizing blind zones, at least ten evenly spread GCPs, markers/scale bars for measurement), and the rule never to crop or geometrically transform images. It also explains how EXIF drives the initial focal-length/pixel-size estimate and the fallback 50 mm assumption when EXIF is missing.
• Suggested scenario for photo shooting an interior — modified 2022-06-22
  Recommendations for capturing building interiors: camera settings (a real digital camera rather than a phone, a fixed wide-angle lens, low ISO, maximum resolution, a tripod, no cropping) and a capture scenario of walking along a wall shooting the opposite wall rather than rotating from the room center. It addresses textureless walls, 60-70% overlap, linking adjacent rooms through open doors, stairs and ceilings, and using a polarizing filter for windows and reflective surfaces.
• Terrestrial shooting scenario — modified 2022-10-18
  Terrestrial capture guidance for buildings and isolated objects. General tips include keeping camera inclination under 45 degrees, flying parallel and close to the surface, adding survey markers when the drone lacks precise positioning, and shooting on cloudy days; building-specific advice covers extra overlap at corners, polarizing filters for reflective facades, and adding unique markers where walls look alike; for isolated objects such as statues it recommends masking irrelevant background.
• Underwater survey image capture tips — modified 2022-03-11
  Tips for the difficult conditions of underwater surveys: plan carefully, capture extra images, wait for calm water and bright or artificial light to extend visibility, and follow a snake or spiral route. It also covers setting focal length and sensor pixel size manually when EXIF is absent (for example from video), using the Components concept (1.7+) to analyze how alignment grouped cameras, and trying Sequential-then-Estimated reference preselection for single-line camera tracks.

Import and export problems

• Brightness & contrast for orthomosaic export — modified 2025-12-31
  Explains that the Set Brightness dialog adjusts brightness/contrast only for on-screen display in the Model and Ortho views and is not applied on export. To bake corrections into an exported orthomosaic the Raster Calculator must be used with per-channel transform formulas (it gives the formulas relating percentage brightness/contrast, and the auto-detected Min/Max values, to the calculation), then exported with the Index Color raster-transform option — with worked RGB and thermal (LWIR) examples.
• Exported DEM in TIF format appears to be black&white when opened in external software — modified 2022-02-25
  Explains that DEMs exported from Metashape are floating-point TIFFs that ordinary image viewers cannot read, so they should be opened in GIS applications such as Global Mapper or QGIS. To save instead a viewable false-color RGB representation (as shown in the Ortho view), use the Palette option in the Raster Transform section of the Export DEM dialog.
• Exported model becomes less detailed and ripples — modified 2024-04-17
  Diagnoses the 'blocky'/ripple mesh effect that appears when a georeferenced model is exported in a coordinate system with very large Easting/Northing values, because many third-party viewers store coordinates in 8-significant-digit floats and truncate them. The fixes are to enter SHIFT values in the Export Model dialog (or click Load default) to subtract a fixed offset, or to export in Local Coordinates, which preserves scale and axis orientation.
• Import video issues — modified 2022-02-01
  A fix for Import Video failures, which stem from missing system codecs (Metashape uses the OS codecs to extract frames). On Windows the 'Media resource couldn't be resolved' error is resolved by installing the K-Lite Codec Pack; on Windows Server the Desktop Experience / Windows Media feature must additionally be enabled.
• Model exported to PDF format doesn't open and shows only blank page — modified 2022-02-25
  A short troubleshooting note for 3D PDF export: view the file in a 3D-PDF-capable reader such as the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader, and keep the model within the recommended 50,000-200,000 polygons and a texture atlas no larger than 4096 pixels.
• Orthomosaic export fails — modified 2022-02-25
  Covers image-format limits when exporting large orthomosaics: TIFF cannot exceed 4 GB and JPEG is limited to 65,535 pixels per side. The workarounds are to lower the export resolution, use the Split in blocks option in the Export Orthomosaic dialog, or enable the BigTIFF option for TIFF export.
• When exported model is opened in MeshLab the texture is not applied — modified 2022-02-25
  A fix for a model exporting without its texture (notably in MeshLab): first ensure a texture was built via Build Texture and that Save Texture is enabled in the Export Model dialog, and if it still fails, use a short filename (under eight characters, no Unicode), which MeshLab requires to load the texture.

LiDAR and Laser scans data processing

• Aerial laser scans data processing — modified 2025-01-30
  The workflow for unstructured aerial LiDAR (Metashape Professional 2.0 and later): importing the trajectory before the point cloud, importing the cloud with Use as laser scans, and the parameters governing point normals. It then covers trajectory masking (manual selection and automatic masking by heading-angle, duration and distance thresholds), point-cloud noise smoothing, aerial-LiDAR boresight calibration (enabling Adjust rotation in Lidar Calibration and aligning with Use initial orientation/Reuse local frame), handling several lidars on one trajectory or a single combined cloud, and the Difference View for assessing overlap accuracy.
• Terrestrial laser scanning data processing (for Metashape 1.7 to 1.8) — modified 2024-05-17
  A workflow (for Metashape 1.7–1.8; a separate article covers 2.x) for co-processing terrestrial laser scans with photographs. It explains importing E57/PTX scans, which Metashape converts to TIFF and treats as spherical-panorama cameras for co-registration, adding overlapping handheld and aerial imagery to tie interior and exterior together, running Align Photos to register images and scans in one bundle adjustment, then building the mesh from depth maps — plus a script-based route to apply scan georeferencing when the photos have no coordinates.
• Terrestrial laser scans processing in Metashape 2.3.x — modified 2026-04-16
  The Metashape 2.x workflow for terrestrial laser scans, now imported via Import Point Cloud with the Use as laser scans option. It covers importing a trajectory first, the import parameters (coordinate system, scanner position, normal-estimation neighbors), point-cloud bounding boxes, grouping scans (new/fixed groups and the Lock Transform behavior), aligning scans to each other and jointly with images (in the same or different coordinate systems, georeferenced via image coordinates or markers), and finally building the mesh from Laser Scans or Laser Scans + Depth maps and texturing with the built-in panoramas.

Masking

• Aligning photos with background suppression from single mask — modified 2022-11-07
  Clarifies the difference between Apply masks to Key points and to Tie points during alignment. Key-point masking excludes masked areas from feature detection on each photo independently, while tie-point masking drops any tie point that is masked on even one image (removing the matched key points on all others) — which makes it possible to suppress a static background in turntable-style captures with just one or two masks, as demonstrated on an 80-photo dataset.
• Automatic background masking using custom script — modified 2026-01-19
  Documents Agisoft's automatic_masking.py script (Metashape Professional 1.7.4 and later, on GitHub) for automatic background masking in turntable-style captures. It gives the Windows and Linux installation steps (pip-installing rembg/torch into Metashape's bundled Python, the Visual C++ build-tools workaround, and adding the script to auto-launch), then running it from Custom Menu > Automatic background masking — noting that the neural-network model downloads on first run.
• Automatic masking from the model — modified 2026-01-19
  How to generate masks from a rough 3D model when the object is static and the camera moves around it (example: a car wheel shot from two sides in separate chunks). A quick low-quality model is built and cropped precisely (the crop defines the mask edges), Generate Masks is run with the From Model method, then the chunks are merged and re-aligned from scratch with Apply masks to Key points before building the final model.
• Masks from background photos — modified 2022-02-11
  The workflow for generating masks from background images, suitable when the camera is fixed and the background static while the object rotates (or a multi-camera rig fires simultaneously), which requires an empty-background photo for each camera position. It explains importing masks with the From Background method and filename templates ({filename}.JPG for a multi-camera rig versus a single named file for a turntable), the Tolerance parameter, and choosing Apply masks to Key points (when all images are masked) versus Tie points — with a before/after comparison of alignment noise.
• Volumetric masking for depth maps based mesh model generation — modified 2026-01-19
  Explains strict volumetric masking, available when building the mesh directly from depth maps. Instead of masking the background on every image, the mesh can be reconstructed first and leftover textureless noise (the classic blob between fingers) suppressed with a single mask — each masked pixel tells the algorithm the ray through it must pass only through empty space, so it must be used carefully to avoid removing real geometry.
• Working with masks — modified 2025-02-07
  The main masking reference: masks mark the image areas Metashape should ignore, so the background is masked rather than the object. It covers manual creation in Photo View with the selection tools (Intelligent Scissors, Magic Wand) and Add/Subtract/Invert selection, the three automatic methods (From Model, From Background, Automatic AI) and their parameters, exporting masks (single-channel or alpha-channel) and importing them (from alpha or file, with filename templates and union/intersection/difference operations), and where masks take effect — optional at Align Photos, always at Build Model and Build Texture.

Measurements

• Coded targets and Scale bars — modified 2026-03-25
  A step-by-step guide to circular coded targets and scale bars: printing the target sheet (Tools > Markers > Print Markers), placing and sizing them in the scene (flat, with the central dot roughly 4-30 px), the four pattern types (12, 14, 16 and 20-bit), detecting them automatically with Detect Markers, and then creating scale bars between detected targets and entering their known distances on the Reference pane to scale the model.
• Creating scale bars in the project without coded targets — modified 2026-03-25
  How to scale a model with manually created scale bars when no coded targets or georeferencing are available. Two markers are placed at the bar's endpoints (each refined on at least three images), Create Scale Bar is used, the measured distance and its accuracy are entered on the Reference pane, and Update applied — recommending at least three bars, and explaining control versus check scale bars and how to verify the applied scale with the Ruler.
• DEM based measurements — modified 2026-03-27
  How to measure on a DEM/DTM in Metashape Professional via a shape's Measure command: reading a shape's coordinates (with Update Altitude to bring 2D shapes onto the surface), polyline/polygon perimeter and area (the 2D, 3D and fitted-2D distinctions), profiles along a polyline, and polygon volumes against a best-fit, mean-level or custom base plane — with results exportable to PDF/HTML reports and vector/raster formats.
• DEM difference calculation — modified 2026-03-27
  How to detect change between two DEMs of the same area by subtracting one from the other. It covers importing a DEM (GeoTIFF) or keeping several DEM instances per chunk, then using Tools > Transform DEM with the 'Calculate difference' option (selecting which DEM is subtracted) to produce a new difference-DEM layer — useful for tracking year-to-year or feature-level changes.
• Measurement tools in Model view — modified 2026-03-27
  A tour of the Model-view measurement tools in Metashape Professional: the Ruler (active only on a scaled/georeferenced project, measuring along a multi-segment polyline with results echoed to the Console), the Measure Profile tool (2.0.1 and later, comparing point-cloud and DEM/basemap profiles with width and offset controls), shape-based Coordinates/Profile/Volume measurements on polygons, polylines and points, and Measure Elevation for marker altitude error.
• Mesh model based volume measure — modified 2026-03-27
  How to measure the volume of a closed 3D mesh in Metashape Professional. The model must first be scaled or georeferenced and then made watertight with Tools > Model > Close Holes (volume returns 0 if holes remain); Measure Area and Volume then reports the volume in cubic meters and surface area in square meters.

Metashape integration with third party products

• Export cameras in PAT-B format — modified 2026-02-20
  How to transfer Metashape results to the Photomod photogrammetry suite using PAT-B format. In Metashape, cameras are exported in PAT-B (X-right, Y-up, with invalid matches and Transform-to-initial-calibration disabled and item labels enabled) and the calibration saved in x-cam format; the export produces the PATB .pro/.im/.con/.ori/.at files, which Photomod then imports as exterior orientation plus the x-cam calibration.
• How to process an Image Group captured with Leica BLK3D — modified 2026-02-20
  How to process image groups from the Leica BLK3D Imager — a calibrated stereo camera with a tilt sensor that yields automatically scaled and oriented results. Using a car-accident dataset, it shows adding the folder with the Multi-camera system layout (so Metashape loads the stereo offsets), keeping the precalibrated values, aligning (watching for the [S]/[R] scaled/georeferenced marks), building the point cloud and mesh, and taking measurements with the Ruler.
• Improving GPS accuracy using MakeItAccurate service — modified 2026-02-20
  A tutorial on combining the MakeItAccurate GNSS post-processing service with Metashape to reach roughly 2-3 cm accuracy from DJI RTK drone data without a base station (using PPP corrections). It covers recording the required raw satellite files in flight, processing the PPK job (choosing a coordinate system, optionally adding base-station data), importing the resulting ellipsoidal-height coordinates into the Reference pane with Accuracy on and Rotation off, and aligning with Reference preselection plus an extra Fit k4 optimization for the Phantom 4 RTK lens.
• Using BINGO for quality assessment — modified 2026-02-20
  How to use Metashape together with the external BINGO bundle-adjustment package. After aligning images and adding control points in Metashape, the tie points are thinned (limit around 1000 per image), a BINGO project is exported via Export Cameras (.dat, X-axis along flight), SAMBA thinning and iterative Bingo/Skip adjustments are run in BINGO Manager, then the resulting itera.dat is imported back into Metashape to continue the workflow.

Multispectral and thermal data processing

• DJI Phantom 4 Multispectral data processing — modified 2026-04-06
  The processing workflow for DJI P4 Multispectral data: adding only the TIFF bands as a multi-camera system (not the RGB JPGs, which are processed separately), loading orientation/accuracy from XMP, Calibrate Reflectance (Sun sensor when no panel is available), then alignment with Optimize Cameras (Fit additional corrections helps RTK projects without GCPs), point cloud, DEM and orthomosaic, and computing NDVI or other indices via the Raster Calculator for export.
• How to add MicaSense RedEdge MX Dual data properly — modified 2026-04-06
  A short how-to for adding 10-band MicaSense RedEdge-MX Dual data: all ten bands must be added together as a multi-camera system (never separately), including the reflectance-calibration images, after which the primary channel can be set and the standard workflow followed — remembering to run Calibrate Reflectance before building the orthomosaic.
• How to process data from Sentera 6X in Metashape? — modified 2026-04-06
  Processing guidance for the Sentera 6X multispectral sensor: adding the bands as a multi-camera system (each band folder must hold the same number of images), and camera-calibration advice — change the master band from NIR to Green (NIR oversaturates without a sun sensor) and set the per-band layer index/order. It then follows the usual alignment (Reference preselection Source when accurate coordinates exist), DEM and orthomosaic steps, with index calculation via the Raster Calculator.
• MicaSense Altum processing workflow (including Reflectance Calibration) in Agisoft Metashape Professional — modified 2026-04-06
  The end-to-end MicaSense Altum/RedEdge multispectral workflow following MicaSense's calibration guidelines. It walks through adding images as a multi-camera system, locating reflectance panels and entering per-band albedo values, running Calibrate Reflectance (panel and/or sun sensor), then alignment, optimization, point cloud, DEM and orthomosaic, and computing vegetation indices with the Raster Calculator before export. Appendices cover manual panel masking, the reflectance-panel database, the Normalize band sensitivity control, and Metashape's vignetting model.
• MicaSense RedEdge MX processing workflow (including Reflectance Calibration) in Agisoft Metashape Professional — modified 2026-04-06
  A multispectral processing tutorial nearly identical in structure to the Altum workflow, here for a senseFly eBee X with a MicaSense RedEdge-MX sensor (Metashape 1.7.x and later). It covers adding the bands as a multi-camera system, locating panels and entering reflectance values, Calibrate Reflectance, the standard align/optimize/point-cloud/DEM/orthomosaic chain and index calculation/export, plus the same appendices on manual masking, the panel database, Normalize band sensitivity, and vignetting.
• Prescription maps generation in Agisoft Metashape — modified 2024-05-17
  How to generate a variable-rate prescription map from an NDVI (or other index) orthomosaic. After the index is computed with the Raster Calculator, Generate Prescription Map divides the area (optionally bounded by a polygon layer) into zones using either Jenks natural breaks or Equal intervals clustering, with editable per-zone area/rate and total amount, and exports the resulting zoned polygons as a shapefile.
• Processing R-JPEG data in Metashape — modified 2026-04-07
  The workflow for FLIR R-JPEG thermal data: loading the images as a multi-camera system (yielding separate RGB and Thermal cameras) and verifying via the Camera Calibration Bands tab that they are genuine thermal data rather than 8-bit false-color RGB (which must instead be re-saved as floating-point TIFF). After the standard align/DEM/orthomosaic steps, a Raster Calculator formula converts raw values to absolute temperature — which requires a radiometric camera.
• Thermal imagery processing — modified 2026-04-07
  How to process thermal imagery for temperature extraction. It notes the natively supported formats (AscTec ARA, WIRIS TIFF, FLIR R-JPEG) and that other thermal data must be pre-converted to single-band floating-point TIFFs, recommends 80-90% overlap and setting the sensor calibration, then runs the standard align/DEM/orthomosaic chain and uses the Raster Calculator with a device-specific formula to convert raw values to temperature (and a palette for false-color display).

Network processing

• How many licenses are required for network processing — modified 2025-03-31
  Sets out how many licenses a network-processing cluster needs: every worker node must be activated with its own Professional license, while the controlling server needs none. A 1-server/10-worker setup therefore needs 10 licenses (node-locked, a floating license of count 10, or a mix); the client that launches processing also needs a license, though a machine used as both worker and client needs only one.
• How to configure the network processing — modified 2025-02-03
  A worked example of setting up distributed network processing, defining the client, worker, server and shared-storage roles. It gives the commands to launch metashape-server and worker nodes (including the 2.2.0+ --resume-workers, --root and headless -platform offscreen options), how to connect the Agisoft Network Monitor, and how to configure the client's Network preferences (server host, port 5840, shared root, Fine Level Task Distribution) before submitting a batch over the network — with per-OS command variants for Linux, Windows and macOS.
• Is network processing supported in Standard and/or Professional edition — modified 2022-02-24
  Clarifies that distributed network processing is a Metashape Professional-only feature: a Standard Edition instance cannot act as the network server or a processing node, and cannot even submit a job to the network server.

Processing data from special sources

• Processing scanned images with fiducial marks — modified 2026-02-20
  How to process scanned analog aerial photographs, where calibration is driven by fiducial marks. It covers loading scans into calibration groups, enabling 'Film camera with fiducial marks', the Detect Fiducials tool (Generic, Right angle, 45-degree cut and Frame types) and manual fiducial placement against the camera certificate's millimeter coordinates (or Calibrate Fiducials when no certificate exists), choosing the Conformal/Affine/Projective transformation type (2.0+), and masking the scanned margins to stabilize processing.
• Satellite imagery processing — modified 2026-02-20
  The workflow for processing stereo and tri-stereo satellite imagery (e.g. Pléiades, WorldView, Ikonos) that ships with rational polynomial coefficients. It covers enabling 'Load satellite RPC data from auxiliary TXT files' (RPCs come from rpc.txt/.rpb/DIMAP .xml or the TIFF RPC tag), combining tiled DIMAP images with GDAL beforehand, adding the images and confirming the camera type is set to RPC, then aligning, building a DEM, and generating a model and tiled model from it.
• Smart cameras with depth sensor data processing — modified 2026-02-20
  How to bring RGB-D imagery from depth-sensor cameras (Apple TrueDepth front cameras, Google Camera portrait mode) into a project — noting that most consumer depth data is uncalibrated and unsuitable, and that valid depth must be in real units in the XMP metadata. It distinguishes the two storage cases: depth embedded as an image attribute (File > Import > Import Depth Images) versus depth saved as a separate file (a Python importDepthImages/importLaserScans script), then building the mesh with Source data set to Depth maps.

Python scripting

• Automatic detection of objects on orthomosaic — modified 2024-02-05
  A tutorial for automatic object detection on an orthomosaic using the detect_objects.py script (built on DeepForest's pre-trained network, retrainable for cars, sea lions, etc.). It covers Linux/Windows installation (PyTorch with CUDA, GDAL/rasterio/Fiona, common errors), then annotating Train-zone and Train-data shape layers and running the detector — noting it needs a CUDA GPU and an orthomosaic of at least 10 cm/pix, and that results require operator verification.
• How to calculate estimated Exterior Orientation parameters for the cameras using Python — modified 2022-10-03
  Points to the save_estimated_reference.py example on GitHub, which computes the exterior-orientation parameters (position and orientation angles) of aligned cameras — accounting for GPS/INS antenna offsets and meridian convergence in georeferenced chunks.
• How to download script from GitHub? — modified 2024-02-14
  A short walkthrough of downloading a script from Agisoft's GitHub repository: open the .py file, click Download raw file, and save it locally as a .py file.
• How to install external Python module to Metashape Professional package — modified 2023-01-11
  How to install an external Python module into the Python interpreter bundled with Metashape Professional, giving the per-OS pip command (the path to Metashape's own python executable) and a libssl 0.9.8 workaround for a Linux ImportError.
• How to install Metashape stand-alone Python module — modified 2025-12-08
  How to install and activate the standalone Metashape Python module, which exposes Metashape's functionality to custom scripts without the full application. It gives the per-OS pip install command for the .whl (Python 3.5-3.11), online activation via Metashape.license.activate() with a license key, and the full offline activation request/response flow.
• How to make Python interpreter to use Metashape module — modified 2023-10-02
  How to set up the standalone Metashape wheel inside PyCharm using a virtualenv (Windows and Linux), so that scripts get code completion for the Metashape module. It covers creating and activating the environment, installing the wheel (including the From Disk route and a troubleshooting fix), and pointing PyCharm's interpreter at it.
• How to run Python script automatically on Metashape Professional start — modified 2022-02-10
  Explains where to drop a Python script so Metashape Professional runs it automatically at startup — the per-user scripts folder on Windows, Linux and macOS, or the installation folder's scripts directory for all users. Such autorun scripts are typically used to add custom menu commands rather than invoking Run Script each time.
• How to run the script in headless mode from the command-line — modified 2022-02-10
  How to run a Python script from the command line without opening the GUI, using the -r argument (with per-OS examples and optional script arguments), and adding -platform offscreen when running on a headless system.
• How to select fixed percent of the points (Gradual Selection) using Python — modified 2025-03-19
  A Python example that reproduces the GUI's Gradual Selection by reprojection error: it computes the threshold that keeps a target percentage of valid tie points and then selects and removes the rest. Both the Metashape 1.x (point_cloud / PointCloud.Filter) and 2.x (tie_points / TiePoints.Filter) versions of the code are given.
• Script with general processing workflow — modified 2024-05-15
  Lists the main steps of the aerial processing chain (Add Photos through Build Texture and export) and points to Agisoft's general_workflow script on GitHub that automates this end-to-end workflow.
• Where to find general Python scripts for Metashape (PhotoScan) Professional — modified 2022-10-03
  A pointer to Agisoft's official metashape-scripts GitHub repository, which hosts Python example scripts for Metashape Professional 1.5+ (and PhotoScan 1.3/1.4), with a link to the companion article on downloading a script from GitHub.

Stereoscopic measurements and vectorization

• 3D Spacemouse controller — modified 2026-03-31
  How to set up a 3D Spacemouse (HID-compliant) navigation controller on the Navigation tab of Metashape Preferences: enabling the HID-compliant controller, clicking Update to list connected devices, assigning functions to the controller buttons, and applying the changes.
• Setting up a Stealth3DMouse controller — modified 2026-03-31
  A short setup note for the Stealth3DMouse navigation controller: installing a virtual COM port, switching its number to COM3 in the Windows Device Manager advanced port settings, restarting, and then selecting COM3 for the device in Metashape's Navigation preferences (with a link to the manufacturer's driver).
• Snapping options — modified 2026-03-31
  Describes the snapping aids for shape drawing and vectorization in Metashape Professional — Axis, Vertex and Edge snap — selected from the drawing tool's dropdown and engaged by holding Shift while drawing, with advice to assign hotkeys via Tools > Preferences > Customize for quick switching between modes.
• Stereo pair selection, measurements and navigation — modified 2026-04-06
  An overview of Metashape's stereoscopic viewing and on-screen measurement. It covers the supported display modes (Anaglyph, Hardware quad-buffered, Vertical/Horizontal split) and their Preferences setup, enabling Stereo Mode in the Model view after alignment, selecting and locking a stereo pair (Look Through, Professional only), the Object versus Terrain navigation modes, and measuring or vectorizing with the Ruler and the Draw Point/Polyline/Polygon tools.
• Vectorization tools — modified 2026-03-31
  A guide to Metashape Professional's vectorization tools in the Model and Ortho views — Draw Polyline, Polygon and Point, plus Draw Rectangle in Ortho. It covers organizing shapes into layers (creating, renaming, setting a default), drawing over any surface, editing vertices (Insert/Delete Vertex, with Attach Markers disabled), the display differences between Model and Ortho (line thickness and fill), and exporting shapes to SHP, DXF, KML/KMZ, GeoJSON, GeoPackage or TXT.

Ungrouped Tutorials

• Advanced Selection tools for Point Cloud and Model — modified 2026-03-05
  Solves the problem of selection tools cutting through to the far side of a point cloud or mesh. It covers the Visible Selection tool (1.8.1 and later, which limits selection to what is visible), the Invert/Grow/Shrink/Reset selection options, and the Filter-by-Selection workflow to isolate and edit a region of the point cloud or model — warning that edits to the point cloud are ignored if the mesh is later built from depth maps rather than the cloud.
• Camera track creation and fly through video rendering — modified 2026-03-05
  How to create camera tracks and render fly-through videos (Professional and Standard). It covers the automatic Horizontal and Vertical track presets (driven by the bounding box and a keyframe count), building a track manually by appending viewpoints, importing an FBX or .path track, reordering and dragging waypoints, recording the video (resolution, compression, frame rate via Capture), and saving the track to .path, CSV or KML.
• Configure custom basemap — modified 2026-03-05
  How to add custom basemaps (Metashape Professional 2.0.2 and later, and Agisoft Viewer) for the Model and Ortho views. From the Basemap dropdown's Customize dialog, an XYZ tile service is added by Title and URL template ({x}/{y}/{z} and subdomain tokens, max zoom, optional HTTP headers), Web Mercator or Geodetic projection is chosen, and (from 2.2) an Earth/Moon/Mars terrain is selected for non-earth projects; basemap lists can be saved and imported as XML.
• Mission planning for complex structures — modified 2026-03-05
  The Plan Mission workflow for capturing objects with complex geometry. After a quick overhead flight and a rough model, a take-off point is set, allowed/restricted no-fly zones are drawn, Detect Powerlines is optionally run, then Plan Mission (specifying camera, GSD or capture distance, overlap, safety distance and gimbal pitch limits) generates an optimized waypoint track exported as KML or CSV for drone apps like DJI Pilot or Litchi before the detailed mission is flown.
• Point cloud editing with confidence filter tool — modified 2026-03-05
  Explains point-cloud confidence: when Calculate point confidence is enabled in Build Point Cloud, each point stores how many depth maps contributed to it. Points can be colorized by confidence and filtered via Tools > Point Cloud > Filter by Confidence to a min/max range — noting that the filter only hides points (for navigation and editing); removing low-confidence points requires a manual delete, after which Reset Filter restores the view.
• Powerlines detection — modified 2026-03-03
  How to use the Professional-only Detect Powerlines tool. It gives capture recommendations (three overlapping flight lines, wires about two pixels wide), then the workflow of aligning images and running Detect Powerlines with its parameters (use the mesh for visibility checks, Min altitude from DEM to reject roads and fences, tolerance and max vertices per line). Results are saved as three progressively filtered shape layers of 3D polylines that can be manually cleaned and exported.

Working with textures

• Agisoft Texture De-Lighter - general workflow — modified 2024-05-17
  Documents Agisoft De-Lighter, a free standalone tool that removes cast shadows and ambient occlusion from a model's texture using rough lit/shadow brush strokes (no extra maps needed, optimized for 8-bit JPEG textures). It covers importing a textured model, marking up illumination, Preview versus Process, artifact-suppression parameters, region exclusion and shadow-scale maps, the separate Remove Shading/AO mode, and exporting (including the .dlz project format and Sketchfab upload).
• How to analyse Model UV Statistics? — modified 2026-04-03
  Explains the View Texture Mapping (UV) dialog for judging texture-atlas quality. Each View option visualizes a property — Color, Diffuse map, Scaling, Overlap and Resolution — alongside Statistics, with guidance such as a Fill ratio above 70% indicating a well-packed atlas and an ideal Overlap of 0; each page can be saved out for inspection.
• Normal map generation — modified 2026-04-03
  How to use a normal map so a decimated low-poly model looks like the high-poly original (for example, for fast Sketchfab uploads). The detailed model is built, a decimated copy is made (Decimate Model), then Build Texture is run on the low-poly model with the high-poly model as the source to bake the normal map, and the diffuse texture transferred using the Keep UV mapping mode.
• Remove lighting from texture in Agisoft Metashape Professional — modified 2026-04-03
  Covers the built-in Remove Lighting tool (Tools > Mesh > Remove Lighting), which smooths the light and dark sides of a model captured under soft lighting and can optionally compensate ambient occlusion using a supplied AO map. It explains the Single- versus Multi-color modes, the Aggressive preset for rocks, and the recommendation to duplicate the model first — noting that delighting strong cast shadows is not supported (use the standalone De-Lighter for those).
• Style transfer for 3D model — modified 2026-04-03
  Introduces a neural style-transfer script (Metashape Professional 1.6 only, on GitHub) that restyles a 3D model's texture using a reference style image via TensorFlow. It lists prerequisites (a capable NVIDIA GPU with ample VRAM, CUDA/cuDNN), Windows and Ubuntu installation steps, and how to run it from the Custom menu — noting it is VRAM-hungry, freezes the UI while running, and needs a restart afterward.
• Texture map types — modified 2026-04-03
  Describes the four texture types Metashape can build in the Build Texture dialog: the Diffuse map (surface color, from images or another mesh), the Occlusion/ambient-occlusion map (a grayscale exposure-to-ambient-light map computed from geometry), the Normal map (encodes surface normals from detailed geometry to fake fine detail), and the Displacement map (a grayscale height field).
• Texture quality improvement with the defocus masking feature — modified 2026-04-02
  Describes the defocus-masking feature, which automatically masks out-of-focus image areas before texture blending to improve texture sharpness. It requires a mesh and correct camera calibration (focal length and pixel size), then uses Tools > Generate Masks with the 'Mask defocus areas' option and a Blur threshold (typically 2-3 px); a more detailed model yields better masks.

Agisoft Metashape 2.1 release

• Major changes in Agisoft Metashape 2.1 — modified 2026-01-16
  Release notes for Metashape 2.1, centred on terrestrial laser-scan alignment (the Align Laser Scans dialog with its accuracy, key-point-limit and vertical-axis options) and block-model building for large projects. It also adds Build Texture parameters (pixel size, skip textured blocks), new Measure Profile tools, the Matching Graph view of tie-point connectivity between cameras, and a Max terrain slope parameter for ground-point classification.

Agisoft Metashape 2.2.x release

• New features in Agisoft Metashape 2.2.x — modified 2025-12-12
  Detailed release notes for the Metashape 2.2.x series (2.2.0 through 2.2.2). Highlights include aerial-LiDAR boresight calibration and accuracy comparison, AprilTag coded targets, pansharpening, AI background masking, multiple mask layers, embedding geoids in the project, restart-after-power-failure, separate GNSS/INS offset adjustment, grouping images by flight line with new tie-point filters, the renamed Clean Tie Points (formerly Gradual Selection) tool, orthomosaic fill/merge editing, and network-processing changes (the new metashape-server and removal of the failover server).

Agisoft Metashape 2.3.x release

• New features in Agisoft Metashape 2.3.x — modified 2026-04-28
  Release notes for the Metashape 2.3.x series. The headline is a new Natural texture-blending algorithm (with a per-image texture editing tool and automatic color enhancement), plus Equidistant/Equisolid fisheye camera models and configurable camera axes, several LiDAR additions (GNSS bias support, aligning images to a LiDAR cloud via Match depth maps, swath-separation reporting, selecting and colorizing points by height above ground), and parallel multi-asset/multi-chunk network processing. It notes that Agisoft Cloud still ran 2.2.3 at the time of writing.
• Texture editing tool (Assign image) — modified 2026-02-25
  A how-to for the texture editing tool that accompanies Metashape 2.3's Natural texturing: selecting a model area and using Assign image from the context menu to swap in a specific photo, useful for fixing small artifacts such as foliage occluding a building. It covers previewing the change (Build preview texture), rebuilding with the edits applied (Use assigned images), and inspecting results by coloring the model by assigned image or opening the assigned image for an area.

(Metashape 1.x) Floating license activation

• (Metashape 1.x) Floating license activation procedure — modified 2026-04-17
  The floating-license activation procedure for Metashape Professional 1.8.x and earlier, which uses an RLM-based Floating License Server. It covers downloading and running the RLM server, activating the FLS key and then the floating license keys through the Reprise web interface (port 5054), and configuring the client side — via automatic broadcast, a single-line .lic file (HOST any ), or the agisoft_LICENSE environment variable — plus the macOS Reprise directory requirement.
• Frequent floating license activation mistakes — modified 2023-03-02
  A troubleshooting list of common floating-license activation errors in Metashape 1.8.x and earlier with their causes and fixes — e.g. Bad RLM_HANDLE (-1042) from a count other than 1 on a non-rehostable VM key, -1036 from leaving the ISV as 'reprise' instead of 'agisoft', -1021 from a key typo, and -1007 'Invalid hostid type' from activating via the wrong button or not using the license=xxxxx hostid.
• How to create offline activation request for the floating license server activation — modified 2022-12-30
  The offline activation procedure for the floating license server (1.8.x and earlier) when it has no internet access: use the separate activate utility to generate request files (--offline --product rlm_server, plus rlm_server_enable_vm for a VM), email them to Agisoft support, then place the returned rlm_server/VM-enable/floating .lic files with the RLM server and start it. It also covers client configuration and offline deactivation (--revoke).
• How to fix "Invalid hostid type 16384" activation error — modified 2022-03-05
  A fix for an error during floating-license-key activation: the license hostid field must be in license=xxxxx format (the prefix is mandatory), with the value taken from the previously activated FLS key's .lic file, and the Count must match the number of seats on the floating key.
• How to run floating license server as a system service — modified 2023-03-02
  How to run the RLM floating license server as a background system service for Metashape 1.8.x and earlier so it starts automatically — giving a Windows rlm.exe -install_service example (service name, log path, license-file path), setting it to Automatic startup, and starting it, per the Reprise administration manual.
• How to run floating license server on VM (virtual machine) — modified 2022-03-05
  Explains the 'Server Down' / 'ISV server running on the wrong host' error when activating the FLS key on a virtual machine: running the license server on a VM needs an extra VM-enable activation key in addition to the FLS key, obtainable from the reseller or sales@agisoft.com by quoting the order number and FLS key.
• How to transfer floating license server to a new machine? — modified 2024-10-23
  How to move the floating license server (1.8.x and earlier) to a new machine: deactivate the FLS from the web interface, activate it on the new machine, copy over all floating .lic files (except the FLS-activation one), update the server hostname in their first line, and reread/restart — no re-activation of the floating license itself is needed.
• Where to find more information regarding floating license management — modified 2023-03-02
  A short pointer to Reprise Software's RLM documentation (notably the RLM License Administration Manual) for managing the floating license server used by Metashape Professional 1.8.x and earlier.
• Which RLM server version can be used for the floating license option — modified 2023-03-02
  Notes that the floating license server for Metashape 1.8 and older requires RLM 12.0+ (2.0+ uses a different system) and can be added to an existing RLM server. It also explains that newer RLM versions hide the Activate button until the edit_options privilege is granted, which requires creating an rlm.pw file defining users, passwords and privileges.

(Metashape 2.x) Floating license activation

• (Metashape 2.x) Floating license activation procedure — modified 2025-10-02
  The floating-license activation procedure for Metashape 2.x: download and run the Agisoft Floating License Server (FLS), open its web interface (default port 5842), create an admin account, and activate either online (entering the activation key and license count) or offline (via .actparam/.actreq/.actresp files). It also links to running the server as a service and linking clients.
• (Metashape 2.x) Floating license deactivation procedure — modified 2023-03-01
  How to deactivate a floating license for Metashape 2.x through the Agisoft License Server web interface, either online or offline (saving a deactivation request for processing on an internet-connected machine) — noting that deactivation removes ALL licenses for the selected product and cannot be undone.
• (Metashape 2.x) How to run license server as a system service — modified 2023-03-21
  How to run the Agisoft Floating License Server as a background system service so it starts with the OS — using --service install/start on Windows, a systemd unit on Linux, and a launchd .plist on macOS — and recommends setting up the service before activating the floating licenses (giving the per-OS license-file storage locations).
• (Metashape 2.x) Linking client machine to the license server — modified 2023-06-23
  How a client machine finds the floating-license server (Metashape 2.0+): normally automatic via UDP broadcast on port 5353, but otherwise the AGISOFT_FLS environment variable (server_ip:port) can be set, or a .lic file created with the server host/port in the client's licensing directory (default port 5842; the .lic approach requires 2.0.1+).
• How to borrow the floating license for the offline work — modified 2023-07-31
  How to borrow a floating license for offline use (e.g. fieldwork): while connected to the license server, use the Activate Product dialog's Borrow License button to reserve it for 1-30 days, after which the machine can disconnect; the license is returned via Return License or automatically at expiry. It warns that a borrowed license cannot be reclaimed by the server admin until the period ends, so excessive borrow durations are risky.

License purchase

• Can my license be transferred / sold if I’m not planning to use it in the future? — modified 2022-02-28
  States that a Metashape license is bound to its Licensee and may not be sold, rented, leased, or otherwise transferred (including the key information) to a third party, pointing to the EULA for the full terms.
• How can I update from PhotoScan to Metashape, is it free? — modified 2024-01-12
  A note that upgrading from the older PhotoScan to Metashape is free for existing PhotoScan license holders, provided the same edition (Standard or Professional) is kept — for Standard, simply downloading the new version suffices.
• How to install Agisoft Metashape — modified 2026-04-28
  Provides the download links for Metashape (Professional and Standard, plus the Python module and Java library) on Windows, macOS and Linux — main and mirror URLs — and the per-OS installation steps and minimum OS versions (including the libxcb-xinerama0 dependency on Debian/Ubuntu).
• How to purchase Metashape license — modified 2024-10-18
  Outlines how to buy a Metashape license: all licenses are delivered electronically, Node-locked licenses can be bought from the online store or a reseller while Floating licenses are only sold through resellers. It notes that online-store prices are Node-locked and tax-exclusive, with FastSpring collecting VAT/GST (waivable with a valid VAT/GST ID).
• How to try full Metashape functionality before buying — modified 2023-07-28
  Explains the two ways to try Metashape: a free fully functional 30-day trial (started from the Activate Product dialog in either edition) or demo mode, in which the software runs but export and save are blocked — demo mode also remains available after the trial expires.
• How to update Metashape Pro to the new version — modified 2023-02-01
  How to update Metashape Professional to a newer release on each OS, reusing the existing .lic license file (or re-entering the key). It flags that Metashape 2.0 introduced a new, incompatible license system, so a 2.0 key must be entered after upgrading from 1.x and will not work with 1.x versions.
• May I continue using my Educational license if I have finished my studies / retired from a university / started my career outside academic environment? — modified 2022-02-28
  Explains the educational license: it is available only to students and staff of accredited educational institutions and may be used solely for non-commercial educational and research purposes; once the holder leaves the institution it may be used only for personal goals, and continued other use requires upgrading to a general license.
• What is FastSpring? — modified 2022-02-28
  Identifies FastSpring (Bright Market, LLC) as Agisoft's official online distributor that delivers licenses worldwide, noting that the Buy Now option redirects to Agisoft's store on the FastSpring platform, which supports instant payment methods as well as wire transfer against an invoice.

Licensing terms

• EULA — modified 2019-08-01
  A pointer to the End User License Agreement (EULA) PDF for the current Metashape Professional edition.
• EULA — modified 2019-08-01
  A pointer to the End User License Agreement (EULA) PDF for the current Metashape Standard edition.
• floating license — modified 2022-01-28
  Compares the two Professional license types (Standard is node-locked only): a Node-locked license activates on one machine at a time and can be moved via online deactivate/activate (with offline procedures by e-mail), while a Floating license is served from a license server on the local network or via public IP and allows as many simultaneous uses as licenses acquired.
• How Educational license differs from a full license — modified 2022-01-27
  Defines the educational license: available exclusively to accredited, non-commercial educational institutions and their staff/students, prohibiting all commercial use; it is technically identical to a full license of the same edition, differing only legally.
• Licensing for the network processing — modified 2024-01-22
  States the network-processing license rule: every processing node needs its own Metashape Professional license while the controlling server needs none, so a 1-server/10-node setup requires 10 licenses (node-locked, a floating count of 10, or a mix).
• What is considered as Automated processing service, that requires Service Provider license of Agisoft Metashape? — modified 2022-01-27
  Notes that regular Node-locked and Floating licenses forbid using Metashape in any automated processing service (where client data is processed without operator intervention), directing such use cases to Agisoft's separate service-provider/SaaS license.

Node-locked license activation

• "Can't Write License" error during activation on macOS — modified 2022-03-01
  A fix for the 'Can't write license file' error on macOS: ensure the MetashapePro bundle has been moved out of the DMG (e.g. to /Applications), and on macOS Sierra disable Gatekeeper's App Translocation with sudo spctl --master-disable — or simply activate from the Terminal using the MetashapePro --activate command.
• (Metashape 2.x) Offline activation of Node-locked license — modified 2023-08-21
  The offline node-locked activation procedure for Metashape Professional 2.x: on an internet-connected machine generate an activation-parameters file (.actparam) at activate.agisoft.com, create an activation request (.actreq) in the offline Metashape, obtain the response (.actresp) online, and install it to complete activation.
• How many times can I deactivate a node-locked license and activate it again? — modified 2022-03-01
  Clarifies that manual node-locked license transfers are not effectively limited in number, but warns that exploiting activation/deactivation in automated, frequent scenarios can get a user blocked in the activation system — recommending a floating license for virtual-machine and high-frequency cases, since it returns to the server automatically when the application stops.
• How to create an offline activation request file — modified 2023-03-01
  The offline node-locked activation procedure for Metashape Professional 1.8 and earlier: generating an activation request (.act) automatically, manually via the --activate-offline command per OS, or via the main/activate_offline tweak, submitting it to Agisoft support, and installing the returned .lic license file (with the per-OS locations to place it).
• How to uninstall Agisoft Metashape — modified 2022-03-01
  Explains that the product should be deactivated (Help > Activate Product > Deactivate, or the --deactivate CLI argument) before uninstalling Metashape, because uninstalling does not reliably deactivate the license (1.6+ attempts it automatically); it also gives the Windows Control Panel uninstall steps.
• Metashape Standard license activation on macOS for multiple users on the same computer — modified 2022-03-01
  How to perform a system-scope activation of Metashape Standard on macOS so a single license is shared by all user accounts on the machine: it requires administrator privileges, using sudo with the Metashape --activate command from the Terminal.
• moving license — modified 2024-01-22
  How to move a node-locked (stand-alone or educational) license between computers via deactivate-then-activate, from the Help > Activate Product dialog or the --activate/--deactivate command line. It notes the same key works across Windows/macOS/Linux and that uninstalling does not reliably deactivate the license (Metashape 1.6+ attempts it automatically, but manual deactivation first is recommended).
• What to do with the license, when planning to update OS or upgrade hardware — modified 2022-03-01
  A short recommendation to deactivate the Metashape license before reinstalling/updating the OS, changing hardware, or ending a virtual-machine session — done via the Activate Product dialog's Deactivate button or the --deactivate command-line argument.

Agisoft Cloud

• Agisoft Cloud account management: — modified 2026-04-15
  How to manage an Agisoft Cloud account, plan and billing: signing up, the difference between the Free and Commercial plans, subscribing to and manually renewing the Commercial Plan, upgrading/downgrading storage, buying compute-time packages, unsubscribing, managing saved payment details via FastSpring, accessing invoices, and updating personal information and password (the account email cannot be changed).
• Agisoft Cloud known issues and solutions — modified 2025-08-06
  A troubleshooting catalogue for Agisoft Cloud, grouped into processing, publication and web-viewer issues — covering the new-account 401 error, unstable-GPU restarts, synchronization and locked-project handling, the bounding-box Empty/Null/Zero-resolution errors, the 100 MB model publication limit, and low-quality tiled models (rebuild at tile size 512).
• Agisoft Cloud Measurements & Annotations — modified 2026-03-06
  The web-viewer measurement and annotation guide: the quick Ruler (distance/area), creating and editing vector layers, and drawing points, polylines and polygons with their measured properties (position; polyline length, horizontal length, slope and elevation difference; polygon 2D/3D area and perimeter). It also covers stockpile/trench volume measurement (with the algorithm and the choice of surface and base plane — best-fit, mean/max/min/custom level), building and exporting elevation profiles, and generating measurement reports.
• Agisoft Cloud Plans — modified 2026-04-16
  The Agisoft Cloud plans and billing reference. It contrasts the Free Plan (50 GB and 20 compute hours renewing monthly, for trial/educational use) with the pay-per-use Commercial Plan, gives the storage-subscription and compute-hour pricing tables and compute-node specs, and explains payment methods (SEPA/ACH/wire via FastSpring). It then details what consumes storage and compute time, how compute time is charged per node-minute (the same total whether one or several nodes run), and subscription renewal, upgrade/downgrade, overdue and cancellation rules — closing with per-project cost estimates.
• Agisoft Cloud processing tutorial — modified 2025-11-07
  The end-to-end tutorial for processing in Agisoft Cloud (Professional licenses only): signing up, configuring Metashape's Network/Cloud preferences, sending a processing operation or batch to the cloud, monitoring progress, and synchronizing the finished project back. It adds best practices for large image sets (split into chunks under 50,000, use preselection, skip point colors), handling synchronization errors, and detailed compute-time/storage/cost estimates for 24 MP and 42 MP datasets of 100-1000 images.
• Agisoft Cloud Project Sharing tutorial — modified 2026-02-12
  How to share an Agisoft Cloud project or site, which is private by default. Inside a team, access is granted via catalog roles (see the team-management article); outside the team, 'By link' sharing (anyone with the link can view without signing in) or an embed code for a website can be enabled, with configurable iframe size, autoplay and UI options. It also documents the URL position/orientation parameters that capture the initial view in a shared link.
• Agisoft Cloud projects management — modified 2026-02-13
  A thorough reference for organizing and managing data in Agisoft Cloud. It defines the hierarchy — Folders, Sites, Projects, Groups, Datasets and Documents, plus Metashape Projects — with the create/rename/move/delete/share actions for each, and covers linking datasets between projects, uploading data (with coordinate-system caveats), adding WMS/WMTS/TMS map services, generating measurement reports, and the full Metashape-project lifecycle (upload, publish/unpublish, download results, chunks and published processing results).
• Agisoft Cloud Quickstart — modified 2025-07-14
  The Agisoft Cloud quickstart, covering the three core scenarios end-to-end: signing up for an account; processing a photoset in the cloud from Metashape Professional (configure the Network/Cloud preferences, send processing, monitor, and synchronize results back); working with processed projects online by publishing them; and working with ready-to-use geospatial data by creating an empty project and uploading datasets via the web interface.
• Agisoft Cloud Virtual Tour tutorial — modified 2024-11-14
  How to create, play and share virtual tours using the Presentation tool. A tour layer is created and viewpoints added (each a named reference point with a saved camera point of view, duration and description), reordered, then played with the player widget. Sharing works like any project, with an embed option that hides all UI except the tour-player widget.
• Agisoft Cloud Web Viewer tutorial — modified 2025-12-25
  A guide to the Agisoft Cloud web viewer: getting data online (publish a cloud-processed project, upload a local project, or upload ready geospatial files), navigating the 3D scene with mouse, touch and keyboard first-person controls, switching between Earth and Model view modes, and adjusting the base map, trackball, coordinate and units systems, 3D rendering quality and default point of view. It also covers the Compare tool for slider-based comparison of data within or between projects.
• How to conduct inspection and report — modified 2025-02-21
  How to use the Inspection tool to virtually inspect structures from the project's source images. In inspection mode, clicking a point in the 3D scene filters the images that see it; an inspection layer is created and Issue annotations added (a rectangular zone on an image with name, severity, type and description). Completed inspections can be viewed and exported as a PDF or CSV report. It notes the image filtering uses only camera pose/calibration, ignoring depth maps and occluders.
• How to configure geospatial data visualization — modified 2026-05-21
  How to configure how each data item is displayed in the Agisoft Cloud web viewer via the Properties panel: visibility, transparency (rasters/DEMs/models), point size (point clouds), Colors vs Elevation view mode, elevation-range filtering and a limit box to clip the visible area, plus transforming items defined in a local coordinate system (translate, rotate, scale) — with several settings available only when the project coordinate system is WGS84 (EPSG:4326).
• How to manage your team — modified 2025-10-23
  The team-collaboration reference for Agisoft Cloud. It defines the four team roles (Owner, Administrator, Member, External) and the four catalog roles (Manager, Editor, Analyst, Viewer) with permission summary tables and how catalog roles inherit down the Folder/Site/Project hierarchy. It also covers switching teams, team branding (name, website, logos, header color), security (whitelisted email domains and blocking link/embed access), adding/role-changing/removing team members, and managing per-catalog access.
• Latest releases & bugfixes — modified 2026-05-21
  The reverse-chronological changelog of the Agisoft Cloud platform from 2020 to 2026, listing each release's new features and bugfixes — including milestones such as the official launch (2021), project sharing by link/email, measurement and annotation tools, the Compare and Inspection tools, Sites, virtual tours, WMS/WMTS/TMS map services, team management with roles, .3tz downloads, local-coordinate-system support, and successive Metashape compute-node version upgrades.

Agisoft Viewer

• How to add 2D/3D data to Agisoft Viewer? — modified 2022-02-10
  Lists the input formats Agisoft Viewer can load (3D, raster and vector) and the .vpz/.3dv project formats it saves. It explains visualizing data via Add Layer, the requirement that raster orthomosaics and DEMs be georeferenced to a WGS84-convertible system with Show Base Map enabled, and how layer order on the Layers pane controls what draws on top.
• How to create a playlist for a presentation? — modified 2022-02-10
  How to build animations in Agisoft Viewer using playlists. After a data layer is added, several playlists can be stored per project, a camera track (.path) created in Metashape can be imported, or the Slide Show button gives an automatic rotation around the Z-axis (so the model's exported orientation matters); per-playlist properties such as title, duration, looping and the default view can be set.
• How to install and customize Agisoft Viewer? — modified 2023-03-21
  A guide to installing and configuring the free standalone Agisoft Viewer through its Preferences dialog: the General tab (interface language, dark/light theme, restrict-vertical-axis rotation, stereoscopic display mode, write-log-to-file), the Appearance tab (palette, fonts, margins), and the Navigation tab (3D controller). It also explains the performance options — Enable VBO support for smoother navigation of large clouds and meshes, and mipmap generation for textures.
• Measure and Drawing tools in Agisoft Viewer — modified 2023-07-07
  Covers the measurement and drawing tools in Agisoft Viewer (all measurements in meters): the Ruler, Calculate Profile (saveable to vector and raster formats), and Measure Volume — which reports boundary perimeter and area and the volume above, below and total against a best-fit, mean-level or custom base plane. It also describes the point/polyline/polygon drawing tools, which require a vector layer, and setting shape labels and attributes.

Other languages

• Материалы на русском языке — modified 2026-01-16
  A Russian-language pointer page directing Russian-speaking users to tutorial materials on an Agisoft partner's site, covering capture planning, DEM/DTM and orthophoto creation (including editing), panoramas, satellite and multispectral processing, 3D model building, scaling and texturing, and working with coordinate systems and geoids.