Curve to Mesh Converter Property Editor

Inputs

Hide/Unhide	Hides all the inputs for the generated object to simplify the display of your scene in the 3D views, or unhides the inputs when you need to modify them.
Delete	Freezes the generator and deletes the inputs. This simplifies the scene once you are satisfied that you won't need to modify the inputs again.
Update with input transforms	Recalculates the mesh when the input curves are transformed. Leaving this option off prevents potentially long computations when the curves are moved.

Inputs' construction mode

Sets the connection point from which the operator reads to the top of the specified construction region of the input objects. For example, if this is set to Modeling, the operator reads the geometry and other attributes from the top of the inputs' Modeling region and ignores he effect of operators above it. If it is set to Secondary Shape (Result), it reads from the top of the inputs' entire stack, taking all operators into account.

Stats

Displays the number of Points and Polygons in the resulting mesh. These values are displayed at the top of every tab. This is for information only; they cannot be changed directly, but will change as a result of other settings.

General

Step

Contour	The number of edges to generate between each pair of knots on the outer contour curves.
Holes	The number of edges to generate between each pair of knots on the inner hole curves. This option is not available when Curves Can Intersect is on.

For both parameters, higher values produce smoother results that deform well, but increase the geometry.

Options

Create Holes	Uses curves inside an outer contour curve to define holes. If this option is off, inner curves are filled with polygons.
Filter Colinear/Spike Points	Removes points from straight edges to simplify the geometry, as well as eliminates spiky noise in the input curves. Turn this option on to reduce the geometry. Turn it off if you need the number and distribution of vertices in the polygon mesh to reflect the actual vertices in the input curves, or if you need the extra geometry, for example, to allow the polygon mesh to deform smoothly.
Min. Angle Colinear	Specifies which vertices are considered colinear. Any vertex with two edges that meet at an angle greater than this value in degrees is removed when Filter Colinear/Spike Points is on.
Max Angle Spike	Specifies which vertices are considered spikes. Any vertex with two edges that meet at an angle less than this value in degrees is removed when Filter Colinear/Spike Points is on. This applies to both convexities and concavities.
Curves Can Intersect	Allows holes to be created in areas bounded by the intersection of two curves. This option may be necessary to provide the correct tessellation on some imported EPS curves. It treats all input curves as one object, so as a result Create Partition Clusters will not work. In addition when this is on, you cannot set the Step value for Holes, nor can you use Proportionally Smaller for Holes on the Bevel tab. If this option is off and the curves do intersect, you might not get the desired results.
Offset	Offsets the input curves. Positive values enlarge the curves and negative values shrink them. Values are in Softimage units.

Create Polygon Clusters

Per Island/Character

Creates separate polygon clusters for each "island" of polygons (if creating polygon meshes from curve objects) or for each character (if creating polygon meshes from text). This makes it easier, for example, to break up the mesh by selecting clusters and extracting new polygon mesh objects using CreatePoly. MeshExtract Polygons on the Model toolbar.

The clusters are automatically named Face1, Face2, and so on.

If you change the resulting mesh structure by adding, removing, or moving curves or by changing the text after creating partition clusters, the clusters are not updated automatically. You must click this button again to re-create the clusters.

Note that this button does not work if Curves Can Intersect is on.

Per Section Along Depth

Creates five polygon clusters corresponding to the Front, FrontBevel, Extrusion, BackBevel, and Back. These clusters are automatically updated even if you change the mesh structure by changing settings, for example, setting a bevel after clicking this button.

The clusters are created even if they are empty. For example, if you do not apply a bevel then FrontBevel and BackBevel contain no polygons.

The clusters span multiple characters or islands. If you explode the mesh after creating these clusters, each mesh object in the exploded hierarchy will have these five clusters.

Explode Mesh

Creates a hierarchy of polygon mesh objects. There is one object for each "island" of polygons (or each character, if using text), and all objects are parented under a common null.

Add Curve

Adds a new input curve:

Click Add Curve. A picking session starts.
Pick a curve. The curve is added to the Curve to Mesh operator and the resulting polygon mesh is re-tessellated according to the current settings.

Tessellation

Controls how the curves' enclosed areas are filled with polygons.

Method

The algorithm used to tile the curves' enclosed areas.

Delaunay

Generates a mesh composed entirely of triangular polygons. This method gives consistent and predictable results, and in particular it will not give different results if the curves are rotated. This method is more precisely known as constrained Delaunay tessellation.

Minimum Polygon Count

Uses the least number of polygons possible. For a single contour curve with no holes, this results in exactly one polygon. When holes are present, there are multiple polygons and their shapes are not predictable.

In general, Minimum Polygon Count creates irregularly-shaped n-sided polygons. For this reason, it is best used when you need to keep the geometry light on simple objects that will not be deformed.

Medial Axis

Creates concentric contour lines along the medial axes (averages between the input boundary curves), morphing from one boundary shape to the next. This method creates mainly quads with some triangles, so it is well-suited for subdivision surfaces.

Delaunay Options

Various options for refining the tessellation when Method is set to Delaunay.

Minimum Angle	Sets the minimum angle for triangles in the tessellation. If a triangle contains an angle that is smaller than this value, it gets replaced by better-shaped ones. Eliminating small-angled triangles gives a more uniform OpenGL shading. However, increasing this value will result in more polygons and heavier geometry.
Maximum Area	Sets the maximum area for triangles in the tessellation, in units of 0.01 of a Softimage unit squared. If a triangle is larger than this value, it gets replaced by smaller ones. This allows the polygon mesh to be deformed more smoothly. However, decreasing this value will result in more polygons and heavier geometry.
Added Vertices	Limits the total number of new vertices that can be added by the Minimum Angle and Maximum Area options. Use this option as a precaution against accidentally setting the other options to values that would create huge amounts of geometry with long processing times. It is not recommended that you rely on this option to control the final number of vertices because it can force the tessellation to stop before the process is completed, thereby giving an unpredictable combination of polygon shapes and sizes. Look at the Stats in the property editor to see whether your object is at or near the limit.
Boundary Split	Controls the tessellation along boundaries: Free: Allows the boundary edges along the outer contour and inner holes to be split further during tessellation. This is particularly useful for text and other shapes that may contain straight edges that need to be deformed smoothly. None on Contour Only: Allows boundary edges along inner holes to be split, but not boundary edges along the outer contour. Note that this may affect the uniformity of the mesh if you are using Minimum Angle or Maximum Area. None (Contour and Holes): Does not allow any boundary to be split. Again, this may affect the uniformity of the mesh if you are using Minimum Angle or Maximum Area.

Medial Axis options

Various options for refining the tessellation when Method is set to Medial Axis.

Nb. of Loops	The number of contour lines drawn per boundary. Higher values result in more polygons and heavier geometry.
Adaptive	If off, Nb. of Loops is the exact number of contour lines drawn per boundary (rounded to the nearest integer). If this option is on, it is the average number of contour lines drawn and the distance between lines is kept fairly constant.
Split Edges to Enhance	Enhances the accuracy of the medial axes. This option adds vertices to allow the contour lines to follow the medial axes more accurately. You should turn this option off if you are not creating holes (that is, if Create Holes is off on the General tab); otherwise, there may be shading artifacts along internal curves.
Edge Tessellation	Controls the shape of polygons: None: Long edges are not split. This result in fewer polygons and lighter geometry, but the resulting long, thin polygons may not deform well. Equal on both sides: This results in squarer polygons that will deform better.
Backtrack Length	Controls the tessellation at extremities. When this value is 0, the medial axis intersects boundaries at each point of concavity, which can often create many small triangles especially in sharp extremities. When this value is positive, the medial axis does not extend completely to the boundary and the remaining area is tessellated with a fan shape. Negative values create sharper embossing effects.
Emboss Height	Creates an embossed effect. Positive values raise the central medial axes in the direction of the normals, and negative values push the medial axes back. A value of 0 corresponds to no emboss. This option is not appropriate for creating embossed or incised text. Instead, use the options on the Bevel tab.
Emboss Type	The profile used for embossing: Linear or Rounded.

Extrude

Controls how the polygon mesh is extruded.

Length	The distance to extrude. A value of 0 gives no extrusion.
Subdivisions	The number of extra vertices along the length of the extrusion.
Direction	The direction in which to perform the extrusion: Forward is in the direction of the normals, and Backward is in the opposite direction.
Parts	The parts of the polygon mesh to generate: the Front faces, the Back faces, and/or the Tube (sides).

Bevel

Controls how the polygon mesh is beveled.

Bevel

Controls the size of the beveling.

Depth	Controls how much the bevel protrudes in front and in back of the base mesh. The bevel profile is automatically scaled so that the width of its bounding box equals this value. This value is in addition to any extrusion set on the Extrude tab.
Height	Scale factor that modifies the profile curve in the outward direction only. Positive values push the sides out, while negative values push the sides in.

Sides

Specifies which ends to bevel: Front and/or Back.

Options

Proportionally Smaller for Holes	Scales the bevel profile applied to holes. This is useful to avoid overlapping geometry when holes are small compared to the bevel size. This option is not available when Curves Can Intersect is on in the General tab.
Interior	Controls the direction of the bevel. When this option is on, the front and back are beveled outward. As a result, the silhouette matches the original curves but polygons may intersect or interpenetrate in narrow areas when the bevel depth is high. When this option is off, the sides of the tube are extruded outward. In some cases, this may distort the object's outline or cause separate islands of polygons (such as characters in text) to collide with each other.
Create Hard Edges	Activates mitering (sharp edges like at the corners of a picture frame). This option also produces hard edges along the contour of the bevel.
Min. Miter Angle	The threshold for mitering corners. Adjacent polygons whose dihedral angle is greater (i.e., that are sharper) than this value are mitered.

Corner Mitering

Rounds sharp corners instead of mitering them, which sometimes produces nicer results with extreme angles.

Convex, Concave	Defines the minimum threshold for mitering convex and concave angles in degrees. Angles that are sharper than these values are rounded instead of mitered. A value of 0 is equivalent to turning rounding off.
Roundness Subdivisions	Control the smoothness of the rounding. Higher values produce smoother arcs with denser geometry. A value of 0 creates a flattened effect like a sawn-off corner.

Profile Curve

Controls the shape of the beveling.

Curve

The shape of the bevel profile curve.

To select a preset profile curve, click the browse ... button.
To use a custom profile curve, right-click on the connection icon, choose Pick and Connect, then pick a curve drawn in the Front viewport. A modeling relation is maintained between the curve and the bevel.

Sampling Step

The number of subdivisions between each pair of knots on the profile curve.