Basics¶
Polygonal has a minimal user interface consisting of a Viewer and a Menubar.
The Viewer is the central widget for manipulating meshes.
The Menubar provides access to all commands.
Opening a Mesh¶
In order to load a new mesh use the menu entry and select the file you wish to open. Alternatively, use the Ctrl+O keyboard shortcut. Polygonal supports reading meshes in the following file formats:
STL (.stl)
Wavefront (.obj)
Geomview (.off)
Important
The input has to be a 2-manifold surface mesh. Polygonal does not support non-manifold meshes.
You can also open a file by drag and drop. Simply drag the mesh file you want into the application window and it will open automatically.
Using the Viewer¶
The Viewer is the central UI element for manipulating and inspecting a mesh. It provides a trackball interface for rotating, panning, and zooming in to the mesh. Press down one of the following mouse buttons and move the mouse perform the desired action:
left mouse button: Rotate the mesh around its center
wheel button: Pan the mesh in \(x\) and \(y\) direction
right mouse button: Zoom in/out
Alternatively, you can use the Alt and Shift modifiers to move and zoom:
Hold down Alt and press the left mouse button to move
Hold down Shift and press the left mouse button to zoom
Reset the view to the default view by using the menu item.
Saving Files¶
You can save the current file by using the menu item or by using the Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut.
Important
This will only save the current mesh to the internal browser file system. Use the menu to download the mesh to your local file system.
Exporting Files¶
You can export the mesh by using one of the menu:
Closing Files¶
Close the current mesh using the menu item or the Ctrl+W keyboard shortcut. All unsaved changes will be lost.
Reverting Changes¶
Revert the current mesh to the last saved version using the menu item or the Ctrl+R shortcut.