How to load pcd pointcloud into librviz RenderPanel?

edit

It looks like the answer is in http://answers.ros.org/question/19172... - I need to set the PointCloud2 Display to subscribe to a topic, then publish to that topic with the pcd converted into a ros message.

Having the same node publish and subscribe to itself within an rqt plugin, while keeping namespaces distinct from potential other instances of the same node requires a few more details, I chose to use the private node handle:

std::string name = "my_point_cloud";
std::string topic = getPrivateNodeHandle() + "/" + name;
rviz::Display*display = manager->createDisplay("rviz/PointCloud2", QString::fromStdString(name), true);
pub = getPrivateNodeHandle().advertise<pcl::PointCloud<pcl::PointXYZRGBNormal> >(name, 1);
display->subProp("Topic")->setValue(QString::fromStdString(topic));

I was hoping that I could get data directly into the custom rviz window without publishing or subscribing... it would be nice to have access controls and permissions on topics, or mark them hidden.