PolyLoupe 0.2.1

GLB files compressed with meshoptimizer now open. Thanks to shinodem for the report and the file
(#2).

Fixed

• meshopt-compressed glTF/GLB (EXT_meshopt_compression), as exported by Tripo and by
  gltfpack, failed with "missing binary portion of binary glTF". They're now decoded with the
  official meshoptimizer library, Explorer thumbnails included.
• Quantized vertex data (KHR_mesh_quantization): positions, normals, UVs and tangents stored
  as 8 or 16-bit integers are read correctly.

Known limitations

• Draco-compressed meshes still open without their geometry.

Install

Download PolyLoupe-Setup-0.2.1.exe below and run it (Windows 10/11, x64). It updates earlier versions in place. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose More info > Run anyway.

SHA-256: bb501d684e4a6bd85e5acdc7326021320b1893aa369fc6830aba8824a4be4d54

What's new in 0.2 (STEP, Render tab, lights and soft shadows, split shading compare, Performance mode): see 0.2.0.

In breve (IT)

• I GLB compressi con meshopt (esportati da Tripo, gltfpack) ora si aprono, anche nelle miniature
  di Esplora file. Supportati anche i vertici quantizzati (KHR_mesh_quantization).

PolyLoupe is free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later.

PolyLoupe 0.2.0

PolyLoupe now views 3D parts as well as 3D art, and makes final renders. This release adds STEP
files, Manufacturing and 3D Art workspaces, Move/Rotate/Scale tools, a Render tab with lights and
soft shadows, better glass and car paint, and a Performance mode for low-end PCs.

What's new

Parts and manufacturing

• STEP / STP files open through OpenCASCADE. The CAD kernel lives in its own DLL
  (polyloupe_step.dll), loaded only when a STEP file is opened, so startup and every other
  format are unaffected. Assembly parts, names and colors are kept. The meshed result is cached
  in %LOCALAPPDATA%\PolyLoupe\cache\step, so the second open is instant. STEP files also get
  Explorer thumbnails.
• Manufacturing and 3D Art workspaces. Manufacturing (STL, 3MF, STEP, PLY) shows millimeters
  and print tools. 3D Art (glTF, FBX, OBJ, DAE) keeps meters, textures, UVs and animation. The
  workspace follows the file type; the switch is at the left of the viewport toolbar.
• Move (W), Rotate (E) and Scale (R), like Blender, with a gizmo that stays steady while you
  drag and Ctrl snapping (15° steps, 0.1 scale, grid moves). Lay on face, Auto orient and Drop to
  bed for print orientation. Export Model saves the result to STL or 3MF.
• Part materials. One color (picker and hex field) or the file's own materials. With one
  color you can pick a material: FDM plastic (PLA, PLA Silk, PETG, ABS) and resin with layer
  lines, nylon SLS, or metal (polished, satin, brushed, blasted).
• Surface wear: Grain and Scratches, from CC0 ambientCG maps, over any material.

Rendering

• Render tab: resolution presets (viewport, 1080p, 1440p, 4K, square, portrait or custom),
  2× and 4× supersampling, transparent background, a framing guide, and the turntable export.
  F12 renders and saves the image.
• Lights: a key light that follows the HDRI or goes where you put it, plus up to 5 more, each
  with color (temperature presets), intensity and direction. Drag their handles in the viewport:
  Overlays > Lights shows them, and adding a light turns them on.
• Soft shadows on the model and on a shadow floor, with a softness slider, and a studio
  backdrop.
• Glass and car paint: transmission, clearcoat and better reflections.
• Compare shading styles on the same model: a split view with A and B in different modes
  (for example Rendered on one side, Wireframe on the other) and a soft gradient across the
  divider. Exported images and turntables keep the comparison exactly as the viewport shows it.
• Two MatCaps from Blender: Clay Warm and Basic Bright, with Blender's diffuse and specular
  layers.

Everyday use

• Performance mode (Preferences > Viewport > Graphics) for integrated GPUs and older PCs:
  no anti-aliasing, the view at 100% scale on high-DPI screens, lighter shadows. Exported images
  keep full quality.
• Lighter on the GPU: the 3D view is redrawn only when the image would change, not when you
  hover the interface, and shadows are redrawn only when lights or the model change.
• Starts about 180 ms faster.
• Update check: once a day PolyLoupe asks GitHub whether a newer release exists and shows a
  banner with a Download button. Preferences > Check for updates turns it off. Nothing is
  downloaded or installed by the app.
• The overlays switch (Shift Alt Z) also hides the split view guides.
• Measure: Delete removes only the last measurement. Models whose buffers exceed 256 MB open.

Notes

• STEP loading is dominated by OpenCASCADE building the exact geometry; the meshing runs on all
  cores and the result is cached. Big assemblies can still take several seconds the first time.
• The 0.1.x "filament color" and "model colors" options are replaced by part materials; a color
  chosen in 0.1.x is not carried over.
• The installer is about twice the size of 0.1.x because of OpenCASCADE.
• PolyLoupe is GPL-3.0-or-later; OpenCASCADE is LGPL 2.1 with its exception, and its notice is
  installed with the app. The two Blender MatCaps and the ambientCG maps are CC0.

Install

Download PolyLoupe-Setup-0.2.0.exe below and run it (Windows 10/11, x64). It updates earlier versions in place. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose More info > Run anyway.

SHA-256: b5aa026de357211503ac01c413844a2ed2dc716445b01d6e0a31e2621f702dd6

Known limitations

• Draco and meshopt compressed meshes aren't decoded yet; points and lines aren't drawn.
• MP4 turntables need ffmpeg on PATH (winget install ffmpeg); GIF works without it.
• Windows only for now.

In breve (IT)

• File STEP/STP tramite OpenCASCADE, in una DLL caricata solo quando serve; risultato in
  cache, la seconda apertura è immediata. Miniature in Esplora file anche per STEP.
• Due aree di lavoro: Manifattura (STL, 3MF, STEP, PLY: millimetri e strumenti di stampa) e
  3D Art (glTF, FBX, OBJ, DAE: texture, UV, animazione).
• Sposta (W), Ruota (E), Scala (R) come in Blender, gizmo stabile, snap con Ctrl, Appoggia su
  faccia, Orienta automaticamente, Export STL/3MF.
• Materiali del pezzo: plastiche FDM, resina, nylon, metalli, con usura (grana, graffi).
• Tab Render: risoluzioni, supersampling 2×/4×, sfondo trasparente, turntable; luci
  aggiuntive (fino a 6) da trascinare nella vista, ombre morbide, vetro e vernice auto migliori.
• Confronto tra stili di shading sullo stesso modello, con gradiente; i render includono il
  confronto. Due MatCap da Blender: Clay Warm e Basic Bright.
• Modalità Prestazioni (Preferenze > Vista 3D > Grafica) per PC poco potenti; meno lavoro per
  la GPU anche in modalità normale.

PolyLoupe is free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later.

PolyLoupe 0.1.2

More glTF files open. Following a suggestion on Polycount, all 150 models of the Khronos glTF Sample Assets went through PolyLoupe: 7 didn't open in 0.1.1, and now they all do.

Fixed

• Draco-compressed files failed to open in 0.1.1, despite what its notes said. They now open with a warning, but without the compressed geometry, which PolyLoupe doesn't decode yet.
• Animations that target properties (KHR_animation_pointer) made the whole file fail. Those animation channels are now skipped with a warning, and the model opens.
• WebP textures (EXT_texture_webp) are now supported. Before, files using them didn't open.
• Triangle strips and fans are now shown. Before, only plain triangle lists were.

Install

Download PolyLoupe-Setup-0.1.2.exe below and run it (Windows 10/11, x64). It updates earlier versions in place. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose More info > Run anyway.

SHA-256: b001964146d6ea1e635775d08c44a1d3fec629c020bdcd1e7ee3015bd23c0a56

Known limitations

• Draco and meshopt compressed meshes aren't decoded yet; points and lines aren't drawn.
• Glass made with the glTF transmission extension (KHR_materials_transmission) shows as a tinted opaque surface.
• Windows only for now.

PolyLoupe is free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later.

PolyLoupe 0.1.1

A fix release, from the first feedback on PolyLoupe 0.1.0. Thanks to everyone who tried it and wrote back.

Fixed

• glTF files that require an extension PolyLoupe doesn't implement (Draco, meshopt and others) failed to open. They now open with a warning, showing whatever can be shown. The README now lists the glTF features that are supported.
• Explorer thumbnails for .gltf files with external .bin buffers and textures (for example most Sketchfab downloads) kept the app icon, and .obj thumbnails ignored their .mtl materials. These two formats now get a second thumbnail handler that can read the files next to the model. Like F3D's, it renders in a separate polyloupe.exe process with a timeout, so a broken file can't take Explorer down.
• Small windows, large UI scale or the inspector open: the viewport toolbar covered the view name and the scene stats. The toolbar now stays at the top, and the stats, gizmo and texture channel list move below it when there isn't room.
• The UV view header no longer runs under its buttons in a narrow pane.
• Warnings for a model opened from Explorer (missing textures and the like) now follow the interface language, instead of always being in English.

Install

Download PolyLoupe-Setup-0.1.1.exe below and run it (Windows 10/11, x64). It updates 0.1.0 in place. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose More info > Run anyway. Existing thumbnails refresh when Windows clears its thumbnail cache (Disk Cleanup > Thumbnails); new files show right away.

SHA-256: 8d48fe57efcce6da870a7d0d4c27d501c31ec9e12e37d3efcb960f953c87964a

Known limitations

• Draco-compressed files still fail to open in this version (an earlier version of these notes said otherwise); fixed in 0.1.2.
• Glass made with the glTF transmission extension (KHR_materials_transmission) shows as a tinted opaque surface.
• Windows only for now.

PolyLoupe is free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later.

PolyLoupe 0.1.0

The first public release of PolyLoupe: a fast, free and open-source 3D model viewer for Windows, with a Blender-style viewport and checks for people who make assets.

Highlights

• Opens glTF/GLB, FBX, OBJ (+MTL), STL, PLY, 3MF and COLLADA, on a background thread.
• Explorer thumbnails for all of them, rendered by a small self-contained handler (no GPU needed, works on every drive).
• Wireframe, Solid and Rendered (PBR, image-based lighting, AgX) shading; texture channel viewer per object.
• Asset checks: mesh check (non-manifold, open edges, overlapping vertices, degenerate faces), measure with vertex snapping, cross-section, A/B compare, UV layout (per object or per texture set), normals and face orientation, texel density, triangle budget, units and pivot.
• Skinned, morph and node animation for glTF and FBX.
• Image and turntable export (GIF, or MP4 with ffmpeg).
• Navigation presets for Blender, Maya, ZBrush, 3ds Max, Unity/Unreal and CAD users; Z-up or Y-up.
• English and Italian.

Install

Download PolyLoupe-Setup-0.1.0.exe below and run it (Windows 10/11, x64). The installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose More info > Run anyway. To make PolyLoupe the default app for 3D files, tick the option on the installer's last page: it opens Windows' Default apps settings on PolyLoupe's entry (Windows doesn't let installers change defaults themselves).

SHA-256: d42772e0cddbda758446457d983b5a3737f16481924ee2b4d5bfabeda029e557

Known limitations

• Thumbnails of .obj files don't show their .mtl materials, and .gltf files with external buffers keep the normal icon: Windows only hands thumbnail handlers the file itself.
• Glass made with the glTF transmission extension (KHR_materials_transmission) shows as a tinted opaque surface.
• Windows only for now.

PolyLoupe is free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later.