.XYZ File Format

Introduction

An XYZ file is the simplest way to store a point cloud: a text file with one point per line, written as its X, Y and Z coordinates. It is not a standard, just a convention, and it is used for scans, survey points, elevation grids and any other list of 3D points that needs to be read by many programs.

The extension .xyz is also used for other text formats, most notably for molecule geometries in chemistry, which list an atom and its position on each line.

Structure

Each line holds the three coordinates, separated by spaces, tabs or commas. Many files add more columns after them, such as a colour as red, green and blue, an intensity or a normal, and some begin with a header line naming the columns. Since nothing in the file says which layout is used, programs that import XYZ files usually ask which column holds what.

512034.21 181220.75 12.40
512034.71 181220.75 12.43
512035.21 181220.75 12.47

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