This shape node constructs quadrilaterals out of vertices. The vertices may be specified in the vertexProperty field (from SoVertexShape), or by the current inherited coordinates. For optimal performance, the vertexProperty field is recommended.

SoQuadMesh uses the coordinates, in order, starting with the first one. The number of vertices in the columns and rows of the mesh are specified by the verticesPerColumn and verticesPerRow fields. (Note that these numbers are 1 greater than the number of quadrilaterals per row and per column.)

For example, an SoQuadMesh with verticesPerColumn of 3, and verticesPerRow of 4 would use coordinates 1, 2, 3, and 4 for the first row of vertices, coordinates 5, 6, 7, and 8 for the second row, and coordinates 9, 10, 11, and 12 for the third (last) row. The result is a mesh of 3 quadrilaterals across by 2 down. Note: non-planar quadrilaterals formed by a quad mesh may cause interesting but unpredictable results.

The coordinates of the mesh are transformed by the current cumulative transformation. The mesh is drawn with the current light model and drawing style.

Treatment of the current material and normal binding is as follows: The PER_PART binding specifies a material or normal for each row of the mesh. The PER_FACE binding specifies a material or normal for each quadrilateral. The _INDEXED bindings are equivalent to their non-indexed counterparts. The default material binding is OVERALL. The default normal binding is PER_VERTEX.

If any normals (or materials) are specified, Inventor assumes you provide the correct number of them, as indicated by the binding. You will see unexpected results if you specify fewer normals (or materials) than the shape requires. If no normals are specified, they will be generated automatically.