I am trying to view a .laz file in QGIS 3.22. I dragged and dropped the .laz file into QGIS, but got the following error:
LAS and LAZ files cannot be opened by this QGIS install.
This QGIS build does not include the PDAL library dependency required for opening LAS or LAZ point clouds.
(see attached screenshot) I am working on Mac OS 10.15.6. I also tried it on a Mac OS 12.3.1 (most recent version) with the same results. How do I get QGIS to recognize PDAL? All the documentation I found suggests that PDAL should be automatically recognized on Macs.
I hit this problem and unfortunately that only solution I got to was installing the beta 3.24 release of QGIS. It's not ideal, I much prefer to be on the LTR version as it's more stable. For example, I'm having trouble with 3D views in 3.24 that work in 3.22.
Other solution for me has been processing with PDAL and viewing the point cloud in Cesium Ion https://www.cesium.com/platform/cesium-ion/