Mesh Properties and Settings

Each mesh that is created or imported appears on a separate line in the top section of the Data Properties and Settings panel. You can control the visibility of a mesh within a scene with the icons available in the top section of the panel, as well as access additional settings in the lower section. A pop-up menu lets you access additional tools for modifying meshes, generating analysis data, as well as exporting meshes (see Mesh Pop-Up Menu).

Mesh properties and settings

Mesh properties and settings

A. List of meshes B. Information C. 2D settings D. 3D settings E. Smooth mesh F. Export mesh to ROI G. Scalar information H. Clip

You should note that the message, "Not enough video memory to show mesh" will appear if you try to show a mesh that exceeds for your system's capabilities in 3D. In such cases, you can either create a down-sampled mesh or choose to decimate the mesh. You should note that the decimation will be computed automatically for the most relevant result, that is, as much decimation as is required. You can also decimate meshes in the Mesh Decimator panel (see Decimating Meshes). If this is not possible, you will have to upgrade your system to view the mesh in 3D.

All meshes that are available for viewing and analysis are listed in the top section of the Data Properties and Settings panel.

  • Click the Meshes icon at the top of the panel to see the available meshes (see Filters for information about filtering the listed items).
  • Click the Eye icon on the left side of the listed item to show or hide the mesh in the current scene. Click the 3D icon on the right side of the listed item to show or hide the mesh in the 3D view of the current scene. See Object List for more information about changing visibility.
  • Click the color box to change the color of a mesh or the LUT applied to a mesh that includes scalar values, such as a thickness mesh or a mesh exported from a multi-ROI.
  • Select a mesh to view basic information about the mesh and access settings to modify its appearance in 2D and 3D views.
  • Right-click a mesh to access additional functions (see Mesh Pop-Up Menu).

The information available for a selected mesh includes the number of vertices, edges, and triangles, as well as its surface and volume.

Mesh information
  Description

Name

Indicates the name of the selected mesh.

Number of vertices

Indicates the total number of vertices within the selected mesh.

Number of edges

Indicates the total number of edges within the selected mesh.

Number of triangles

Indicates the total number of triangles within the selected mesh.

Surface

Indicates the total surface of the selected mesh.

Note Surfaces are not computed by default. Check the Surface option and then click the Refresh button to compute the surface value.

Volume

Indicates the total volume occupied by the selected mesh. If a value of “0” is returned, it indicates that the mesh is open.

Note Volumes are not computed by default. Check the Volume option and then click the Refresh button to compute the volume value.

X size

Indicates the size of the mesh along the X-axis.

Y size

Indicates the size of the mesh along the Y-axis.

Z size

Indicates the size of the mesh along the Z-axis.

Min Feret diameter*

Indicates the shortest distance between any two points along the mesh boundary at an arbitrary angle, also known as minimum caliper diameter.

Mean Feret diameter*

Indicates the mean value of the Feret diameters over a sufficient number of orientations. In Dragonfly, measurements for the mean Feret diameter are taken every 5 degrees.

Max Feret diameter*

Indicates the longest distance between any two points along the mesh boundary at an arbitrary angle, also known as maximum caliper diameter.

Refresh

Click this button to compute surfaces, volumes, and Feret diameters or to update other mesh information whenever you modify a mesh.

* Feret diameters are not computed by default. Check the Feret diameter option and then click the Refresh button to compute the diameters.

The options in the 2D settings box allow you to toggle the visibility of the selected mesh and to adjust its opacity.

2D settings box

2D settings

2D settings
  Description

Show in 2D

Toggles the visibility of the mesh in the 2D views of the current scene.

Opacity

Determines the opacity of the selected mesh in the 2D views of the current scene.

  • Drag the Opacity slider to adjust the opacity of the selected mesh. For scalar meshes, the opacity slider adjusts the In window highlight intensity only (see Evaluating Meshes with the Measurement Inspector).
  • You can also adjust the opacity of all objects in a view in the Opacity Settings dialog (see Opacity Settings for more information about the Opacity Settings dialog).

The options in the 3D settings box let you select a fill mode, as well as adjust opacity and lighting effects.

3D settings box

3D settings

You can also adjust the lighting effects applied to meshes in 3D views (see 3D Scene's View Properties).
3D settings
  Description

Fill mode

Lets you choose the rendering method that will be applied to the mesh in the 3D view of the current scene.

Point… Renders meshes in points only.

Wireframe… Renders meshes in wireframe. In this mode, the thickness of the edges can be adjusted with the Thickness slider.

Solid… Renders meshes as a solid outline.

Outlined… Renders meshes simultaneously as a solid outline and in wireframe.

Opacity

Lets you adjust the opacity of the mesh in the 3D view of the current scene.

  • Drag the Opacity slider to adjust the opacity of the selected mesh. For scalar meshes, the opacity slider adjusts the In window highlight intensity only (see Evaluating Meshes with the Measurement Inspector).
  • You can also adjust the opacity of all objects in a view in the Opacity Settings dialog (see Opacity Settings for more information about the Opacity Settings dialog).

Diffuse

Lets you adjust the strength of diffuse light reflected from the surfaces of the mesh. Increasing this setting with the Diffuse slider will result in surfaces being more defined.

Specular

Lets you adjust the strength of specular reflections originating from the surfaces of the mesh. Increasing this setting with the Specular slider will result in increased reflections.

Thickness

Lets you adjust the thickness of the mesh edges when it is viewed in wireframe.

The options in the Smooth mesh box, shown below, let you smooth meshes by a selected number of iterations (see Smoothing Meshes Automatically).

Smooth mesh box

You can also smooth meshes in the Mesh Smoothing panel (see Smoothing Meshes with the Mesh Tools).

Exports the selected mesh to a region of interest.

Export mesh to ROI box

  • Select an ROI in the drop-down menu and then click the Export button to export the selected mesh.

Available only for meshes with scalar information. For example, thickness meshes include the minimum and maximum values of the local thickness, while the measurements available for meshes created from multi-ROIs include all the parameters originally calculated for the analysis.

Scalar information box

Scalar information

 

   Description

 

Measurement

Indicates the selected measurement. You can choose the measurement you want to view in the drop-down list, as shown below.

Min… Indicates the minimum value of the selected measurement.

Max… Indicates the maximum value of the selected measurement.

Histogram

Lets you plot and analyze selected scalar values on a histogram, as shown below (see Analyzing Histograms of Scalar Values).

Histogram Analysis dialog

Export

Lets you export the scalar values contained in the selected mesh to a CSV file (see Exporting Scalar Values from Meshes).

Import

Lets you import scalar values from a CSV file (see Importing Scalar Values from CSV Files to Meshes).
If required, you can map the scalar values from another object to a mesh (see Mapping Scalar Values to Meshes), copy the measurements of a scalar mesh to a mesh (see Copying Scalar Values to Meshes), and delete unneeded measurements (see Deleting Scalar Values from Meshes).

The Clip tool allows you to clip interactively along orthogonal planes in 3D views of the selected mesh (see Clipping).