# writers.ply

The ply writer writes the polygon file format, a common file format for storing three dimensional models. The writer emits points as PLY vertices. The writer can also emit a mesh as a set of faces. filters.greedyprojection and filters.poisson create a mesh suitable for output as faces.

Default Embedded Stage

This stage is enabled by default

## Example

    [
        {
            "type":"readers.pcd",
            "filename":"inputfile.pcd"
        },
        {
            "type":"writers.ply",
            "storage_mode":"little endian",
            "filename":"outputfile.ply"
        }
    ]

## Options

filename

  ply file to write [Required]

storage_mode

  Type of ply file to write. Valid values are ‘ascii’, ‘little endian’, ‘big endian’. [Default: “ascii”]

dims

  List of dimensions (and Types) in the format `<dimension_name>[=<type>] [,...]` to write as output. (e.g., “Y=int32_t, X,Red=char”) [Default: All dimensions with stored types]

faces

  Write a mesh as faces in addition to writing points as vertices. [Default: false]

sized_types

  PLY has variously been written with explicitly sized type strings (‘int8’, ‘float32”, ‘uint32’, etc.) and implied sized type strings (‘char’, ‘float’, ‘int’, etc.). If true, explicitly sized type strings are used. If false, implicitly sized type strings are used. [Default: true]

precision

  If specified, the number of digits to the right of the decimal place using f-style formatting. Only permitted when ‘storage_mode’ is ‘ascii’. See the printf reference for more information. [Default: g-style formatting (variable precision)]

where

  An expression that limits points passed to a writer. Points that don’t pass the expression skip the stage but are available to subsequent stages in a pipeline. [Default: no filtering]

where_merge

  A strategy for merging points skipped by a ‘where’ option when running in standard mode. If `true`, the skipped points are added to the first point view returned by the skipped filter. If `false`, skipped points are placed in their own point view. If `auto`, skipped points are merged into the returned point view provided that only one point view is returned and it has the same point count as it did when the writer was run. [Default: `auto`]