MeshToSS is the softwere originally developed by the fund "Software Seeds Promotion Project for Supporting Information Technology" by RISE (Research Institution for Software Engineering), with the commission to IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency). This software includes an implementation of the following paper:
Takashi Kanai: "MeshToSS: Converting Subdivision Surfaces from Dense Meshes", Proc. 6th International Workshop on Vision, Modeling and Visualization, pp.325-332, IOS Press, Amsterdam, 2001.
Qt 6 (2026): A cross-platform Qt 6 GUI was newly added in 2026. It lives under qt/ in this repository and is described in the Qt 6 GUI section below (requirements, and build instructions for macOS, Linux, and Windows).
The original command-line tool meshtoss is built with CMake from optmesh/; see Command-line tool (meshtoss).
- Reads polygonal mesh data
- Converts to a Loop subdivision surface
- Outputs a control mesh of a subdivision surface or a subdivided polygonal mesh
The repository includes a Qt 6 front end (qt/) that shares the mesh and OpenGL drawing code with the original application via MESHTOSS_QT_GUI.
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Qt | 6.2 or later (6.x). Used modules: Core, Gui, Widgets, OpenGL, OpenGLWidgets. |
| C++ | C++17 |
| CMake | 3.16 or later |
Point CMake at your Qt 6 installation with CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH: the directory that contains lib/cmake/Qt6 (Linux: often the kit root such as ~/Qt/6.x.x/gcc_64; Windows: e.g. C:\Qt\6.x.x\msvc2022_64). If Qt is installed as system packages, CMake may find Qt 6 without setting this.
Build from the repository root (the directory that contains the top-level CMakeLists.txt).
With Homebrew Qt 6 (qt@6):
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix qt@6)"
cmake --build buildRun: build/qt/mesh_to_ss_qt.app/Contents/MacOS/mesh_to_ss_qt
Install a C++17 compiler, CMake, OpenGL development headers, and Qt 6 (package names vary by distribution).
Debian / Ubuntu (example):
sudo apt install build-essential cmake libgl1-mesa-dev qt6-base-dev
cmake -B build
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)If CMake does not find Qt, set the prefix explicitly (adjust the path if you use the Qt Online Installer):
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$HOME/Qt/6.8.0/gcc_64"
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)Run: build/qt/mesh_to_ss_qt
Fedora (example): sudo dnf install cmake gcc-c++ mesa-libGL-devel qt6-qtbase-devel — then the same cmake -B build / cmake --build steps as above.
- Install Visual Studio (2019 or newer) with the Desktop development with C++ workload.
- Install Qt 6 for MSVC 64-bit (e.g.
msvc2022_64ormsvc2019_64matching your compiler). - From a x64 developer shell (or any shell where
cmakeand the compiler are onPATH), run (replace the Qt path with yours):
cmake -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=C:\Qt\6.8.0\msvc2022_64
cmake --build build --config ReleaseRun: build\qt\Release\mesh_to_ss_qt.exe
With Ninja instead of Visual Studio generators:
cmake -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=C:\Qt\6.8.0\msvc2022_64
cmake --build buildRun: build\qt\mesh_to_ss_qt.exe
The meshtoss executable converts polygonal mesh data in PPD form (see the usage text printed when you run it without the required arguments). It is produced by the same top-level CMake build as the Qt GUI and links the optmesh/ sources only (no Qt and no OpenGL).
From the repository root (after installing a C++17 compiler and CMake 3.16+):
cmake -B build
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)Typical output paths:
| Generator | meshtoss location |
|---|---|
| Unix Makefile or Ninja | build/optmesh/meshtoss |
| Visual Studio (multi-config) | build\optmesh\Release\meshtoss.exe (or Debug) |
To build only meshtoss and skip the Qt GUI (so Qt is not required):
cmake -B build -DMESHTOSS_BUILD_QT_GUI=OFF
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)Windows (Visual Studio generator), building everything including Qt:
cmake -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=C:\Qt\6.8.0\msvc2022_64
cmake --build build --config ReleaseThen run build\optmesh\Release\meshtoss.exe (and build\qt\Release\mesh_to_ss_qt.exe if the Qt GUI was enabled).
The MFC project under MFC/ is set up for Visual Studio 2026. Only the x64 platform is supported (Win32 / 32-bit configurations are not maintained). Open MFC\MeshToSS.sln, pick a configuration such as Release | x64, and Build Solution. When the build succeeds, the executable is typically MFC\x64\Release\MeshToSS.exe (exact path depends on your configuration names and output settings).
This software uses MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class). The MFC build targets Visual Studio 2026 (Windows desktop development with C++ and MFC components installed) and supports x64 only.
For the Qt GUI, install Qt 6.2+ with the modules listed above and a C++17-capable compiler.
For meshtoss, only CMake 3.16+ and a C++17 compiler are required (use -DMESHTOSS_BUILD_QT_GUI=OFF if you do not want to install Qt).
2000-2005 IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency) and Keio University SFC Research Institution
- Takashi Kanai - The University of Tokyo
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details