/** \page mesh_operations Some basic operations: Flipping and collapsing edges In this section you will learn about some basic operations on a mes that %OpenMesh already provides. Comprising the flipping of edges in a triangle mesh as well as collapsing edges by joining the two adjacent vertices. \li \ref op_flip \li \ref op_collapse \section op_flip Flipping edges in triangle meshes Considering two adjacent faces of a triangle mesh, there exist exactly two different configurations of the inner edge. Calling the function OpenMesh::TriConnectivity::flip(EdgeHandle _eh) will flip the specified edge to its opposite orientation as shown in the illustration below. \image html mesh.flip.png "Flipping edges in a triangle mesh" So, the following snippet of code shows how to use this in your applications: \code TriMesh mesh; // Add some vertices TriMesh::VertexHandle vhandle[4]; vhandle[0] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(0, 0, 0)); vhandle[1] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(0, 1, 0)); vhandle[2] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(1, 1, 0)); vhandle[3] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(1, 0, 0)); // Add two faces std::vector face_vhandles; face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[2]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[1]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[0]); mesh.add_face(face_vhandles); face_vhandles.clear(); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[2]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[0]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[3]); mesh.add_face(face_vhandles); // Now the edge adjacent to the two faces connects // vertex vhandle[0] and vhandle[2]. // Find this edge and then flip it for(TriMesh::EdgeIter it = mesh.edges_begin(); it != mesh.edges_end(); ++it) { if(!mesh.is_boundary(*it)) { // Flip edge mesh.flip(*it); } } // The edge now connects vertex vhandle[1] and vhandle[3]. \endcode \section op_collapse Collapsing edges In this section you will learn how to collapse edges such that the two adjacent vertices join. %OpenMesh provides the function OpenMesh::PolyConnectivity::collapse(HalfedgeHandle _heh) to perform this operation. This will collapse the from-vertex (remeber that halfedges are directed) to the to-vertex of the halfedge as illustrated below. Note that collapsing edges might cause topological inconsistencies to your mesh. You should verify consistency after collapsing edges by calling OpenMesh::PolyConnectivity::is_collapse_ok(). \note You have to request status attributes in order to use the collapse and delete functions! \image html mesh.collapse.png "Collapsing will always be performed in the direction the halfedge points to." A simple code example related to the illustration might look like this: \code PolyMesh mesh; // Add some vertices as in the illustration above PolyMesh::VertexHandle vhandle[7]; vhandle[0] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(-1, 1, 0)); vhandle[1] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(-1, 3, 0)); vhandle[2] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(0, 0, 0)); vhandle[3] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(0, 2, 0)); vhandle[4] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(0, 4, 0)); vhandle[5] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(1, 1, 0)); vhandle[6] = mesh.add_vertex(MyMesh::Point(1, 3, 0)); // Add three quad faces std::vector face_vhandles; face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[1]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[0]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[2]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[3]); mesh.add_face(face_vhandles); face_vhandles.clear(); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[1]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[3]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[5]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[4]); mesh.add_face(face_vhandles); face_vhandles.clear(); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[3]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[2]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[6]); face_vhandles.push_back(vhandle[5]); mesh.add_face(face_vhandles); // Now find the edge between vertex vhandle[2] // and vhandle[3] for(PolyMesh::HalfedgeIter it = mesh.halfedges_begin(); it != mesh.halfedges_end(); ++it) { if(to_vertex_handle(*it) == vhandle[3] && from_vertex_handle(*it) == vhandle[2]) { // Collapse edge mesh.collapse(*it); break; } } // Our mesh now looks like in the illustration above after the collapsing. \endcode */