This page lists the files that the MeshInspector 2.5.9 desktop app opens and saves, grouped by the object type a file becomes in the scene. In the tables:
- Open means that Home › Open Files (Ctrl+O, Cmd+O on macOS) or drag-and-drop reads the file. Steps are in Importing Data.
- Export means that Home › Export writes the selected object to this format. See Exporting Objects.
- Scene formats are written by Save Scene, Save Scene As and Save Selected. See Saving Scenes.
How MeshInspector picks the object type
MeshInspector chooses the object type by the file extension and by what is inside the file:
- A .ply or .ctm file that has points but no triangles opens as a point cloud. A .ply file with points and edges but no triangles opens as a polyline.
- A .pts file opens as a polyline when it holds polyline blocks (
BEGIN_Polyline…END_Polyline), and as a point cloud otherwise. - A .txt file always opens as G-code. If it holds a list of X Y Z coordinates, rename it to .xyz to open it as a point cloud.
- A .dcm file opens as a voxel volume when it is DICOM, and as a mesh when it is a 3Shape dental scan.
- A .raw file opens as a voxel volume. A .tif or .tiff file opened with Open Files becomes a distance map; a stack of TIFF images becomes a volume only through CT › Open Voxels From TIFF.
Mesh Formats
| Format | Extension | Open | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| STL | .stl | Yes | Yes, binary STL |
| OBJ | .obj | Yes | Yes |
| PLY | .ply | Yes | Yes |
| OFF | .off | Yes | Yes |
| 3MF | .3mf, .model | Yes | Yes |
| CTM (OpenCTM) | .ctm | Yes | Yes |
| MRMESH | .mrmesh | Yes | Yes |
| glTF | .gltf, .glb | Yes, as a group of meshes | Only with Save Scene As or Save Selected |
| STEP | .step, .stp | Yes, converted to meshes | No |
| DXF | .dxf | Yes (3D faces) | No |
| 3Shape DCM | .dcm | Yes | No |
- STL files open in both binary and ASCII form; Export always writes binary STL.
- .mrmesh is the MeshInspector mesh format. Export offers it first until you pick another format; MeshInspector then remembers your choice.
- STEP files are converted to triangle meshes when they open, so the CAD surfaces are not kept and the result cannot be saved back to STEP. The desktop app converts STEP on your computer.
- A glTF file opens as a group with the meshes inside. To export one of them, expand the group in the Scene tree and select the mesh.
Point Cloud Formats
| Format | Extension | Open | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLY | .ply | Yes | Yes |
| XYZ | .xyz | Yes | Yes |
| XYZN (XYZ with normals) | .xyzn | Yes | Yes |
| ASC | .asc | Yes | Yes |
| CTM | .ctm | Yes | Yes |
| CSV | .csv | Yes | No |
| PTS (laser scanner) | .pts | Yes | No |
| E57 | .e57 | Yes | No |
| LAS, LAZ | .las, .laz | Yes | No |
Export to .ply keeps the colors and the normals of the points; .xyzn and .asc keep the normals. A point cloud without normals opens with the notification "Point cloud … has no normals."
Volume Formats
Voxel volumes come from CT and other scanners. Most of them open from the CT tab; see Open DICOMs, Open RAW Voxels and Open Voxels From TIFF.
| Format | Extension | How to open | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| DICOM series | folder of .dcm files | CT › Open DICOMs or Home › Open Directory | Yes, one .dcm file |
| OpenVDB | .vdb | Home › Open Files | Yes |
| Micro CT | .gav | Home › Open Files | Yes |
| RAW | .raw | CT › Open RAW Voxels | Yes |
| TIFF stack | folder of .tif, .tiff images | CT › Open Voxels From TIFF | No |
- A single DICOM slice opened with Open Files shows "Please use Open Directory for loading multi-file DICOM volumes."
- Export to .raw adds the dimensions and the voxel size of the volume to the beginning of the file name (
W…_H…_S…_V…). Such a file opens again with Open Files. A RAW file from other software has no such name: open it with CT › Open RAW Voxels and enter its parameters.
Polyline Formats
| Format | Extension | Open | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRLINES | .mrlines | Yes | Yes |
| PTS | .pts | Yes | Yes |
| PLY | .ply | Yes | Yes |
| SVG | .svg | Yes | No |
| DXF | .dxf | No | Yes |
.mrlines is the MeshInspector polyline format. DXF export is useful for CAD, laser and CNC software.
Distance Map Formats
| Format | Extension | Open | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRDISTANCEMAP | .mrdistancemap | Yes | Yes |
| GeoTIFF | .tif, .tiff | Yes | Yes, .tiff |
| RAW | .raw | No | Yes |
A .raw file that you open is read as a voxel volume, so keep a distance map that you want to open in MeshInspector again as .mrdistancemap. To make a distance map from a picture (PNG, JPEG or TIFF), use Image to Distance Map on the Distance Maps tab.
G-code Formats
| Format | Extension | Open | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-code | .gcode | Yes | No |
| Numerical Control | .nc | Yes | No |
| Text file | .txt | Yes | No |
MeshInspector does not write G-code files. A G-code object is saved only inside a scene (.mru). See Toolpaths (G-code).
Scene Formats
A scene file holds several objects with their tree, names and positions.
| Format | Extension | Open | Save |
|---|---|---|---|
| MeshInspector scene | .mru | Yes | Save Scene, Save Scene As, Save Selected |
| glTF | .gltf, .glb | Yes | Save Scene As, Save Selected |
| 3MF | .3mf, .model | Yes | Export, one file per mesh |
| ZIP archive | .zip | Yes | No |
| MISON | .mison | Yes | No |
| OBJ | .obj | Yes | Save Selected, when only meshes are selected |
- .mru is the only format that keeps every object type and the display settings. Use it to continue your work in MeshInspector.
- .gltf and .glb store the meshes of the scene with their tree, positions, colors and textures. Point clouds, polylines, volumes and G-code are not written to glTF.
- A .zip archive is unpacked and loaded like a folder with Open Directory.
- A .mison file is a JSON list of files to open, each with an optional name and position.
- Save Selected with .obj writes all selected meshes into one OBJ file.
Image Formats
Pictures are not opened as scene objects. Tools read and write them:
| Format | Extension | Read by | Written by |
|---|---|---|---|
| PNG | .png | Image to Distance Map | Screenshots, Distance Map to Image |
| JPEG | .jpg, .jpeg | Image to Distance Map | Screenshots, Distance Map to Image (.jpg) |
| TIFF | .tif, .tiff | Image to Distance Map | Screenshots, Distance Map to Image |
| BMP | .bmp | No | Screenshots, Distance Map to Image |
Colors, textures and units
- Mesh colors. Export keeps the vertex colors of a mesh in .ply, .obj, .ctm and 3MF (.3mf, .model); .ply and 3MF also keep the colors of triangles. STL, OFF and .mrmesh files get the shape only.
- Textures. In the desktop app, a textured mesh exported to .obj gets a .mtl file and a .png texture next to it; exported to .ply, it gets the texture coordinates and a .jpg texture. Keep these files in one folder. When you open an OBJ, keep its .mtl file and texture images next to it.
- Units. STL, OBJ, PLY and most other formats store plain numbers without units. MeshInspector reads them in the Model Units of Settings › Units (by default the same as the UI units, millimeters). 3MF and .mru files store their units, and MeshInspector converts them to the Model Units when they open. DICOM files store the voxel size in millimeters and are converted in the same way.
In the web app
The web app reads the same mesh, point cloud and G-code files, with these differences:
- STEP files open only after you sign in: the web app sends them to the MeshInspector conversion service.
- A .tif or .tiff file does not open as a distance map.
- Export saves one object at a time and downloads the file. There is no Save Scene.
