# PolyDataPointNormals

VTKExamples/Cxx/PolyData/PolyDataPointNormals

### Description

This demo adds a normal to each point in a polydata.

### Code

PolyDataPointNormals.cxx

    #include <vtkCellData.h>
    #include <vtkCellArray.h>
    #include <vtkDoubleArray.h>
    #include <vtkPoints.h>
    #include <vtkPolyData.h>
    #include <vtkPointData.h>
    #include <vtkSmartPointer.h>

    int main(int, char *[])
    {
      ///////// Set Point Normals ///////////
      // Create 3 points
      vtkSmartPointer<vtkPoints> points =
        vtkSmartPointer<vtkPoints>::New();
      points->InsertNextPoint(1.0, 0.0, 0.0);
      points->InsertNextPoint(0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
      points->InsertNextPoint(0.0, 1.0, 0.0);

      // Add the points to a polydata
      vtkSmartPointer<vtkPolyData> polydata =
        vtkSmartPointer<vtkPolyData>::New();
      polydata->SetPoints(points);

      // Set point normals
      vtkSmartPointer<vtkDoubleArray> pointNormalsArray =
        vtkSmartPointer<vtkDoubleArray>::New();
      pointNormalsArray->SetNumberOfComponents(3); //3d normals (ie x,y,z)
      pointNormalsArray->SetNumberOfTuples(polydata->GetNumberOfPoints());

      // Construct the normal vectors
      double pN1[3] = {1.0, 0.0, 0.0};
      double pN2[3] = {0.0, 1.0, 0.0};
      double pN3[3] = {0.0, 0.0, 1.0};

      // Add the data to the normals array
      pointNormalsArray->SetTuple(0, pN1) ;
      pointNormalsArray->SetTuple(1, pN2) ;
      pointNormalsArray->SetTuple(2, pN3) ;

      // Add the normals to the points in the polydata
      polydata->GetPointData()->SetNormals(pointNormalsArray);

      ///////// Get Point Normals ///////////
      vtkSmartPointer<vtkDoubleArray> pointNormalsRetrieved =
        vtkDoubleArray::SafeDownCast(polydata->GetPointData()->GetNormals());
      if(pointNormalsRetrieved)
      {
        std::cout << "There are " << pointNormalsRetrieved->GetNumberOfTuples()
                  << " point normals." << std::endl;

        for(vtkIdType i = 0; i < pointNormalsRetrieved->GetNumberOfTuples(); i++)
        {
          double pN[3];
          pointNormalsRetrieved->GetTuple(i, pN);
          std::cout << "Point normal " << i << ": "
                    << pN[0] << " " << pN[1] << " " << pN[2] << std::endl;
        }

      }//end if(pointNormalsRetrieved)
      else
      {
        std::cout << "No point normals." << std::endl;
      }

      return EXIT_SUCCESS;
    }

### CMakeLists.txt

    cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8)

    PROJECT(PolyDataPointNormals)

    find_package(VTK REQUIRED)
    include(${VTK_USE_FILE})

    add_executable(PolyDataPointNormals MACOSX_BUNDLE PolyDataPointNormals.cxx)

    target_link_libraries(PolyDataPointNormals ${VTK_LIBRARIES})

### Download and Build PolyDataPointNormals

Danger

The generation of tar files has not been ported to the new VTKExamples. Some tarballs may be missing or out-of-date.

Click here to download PolyDataPointNormals and its CMakeLists.txt file. Once the tarball PolyDataPointNormals.tar has been downloaded and extracted,

    cd PolyDataPointNormals/build

If VTK is installed:

    cmake ..

If VTK is not installed but compiled on your system, you will need to specify the path to your VTK build:

    cmake -DVTK_DIR:PATH=/home/me/vtk_build ..

Build the project:

    make

and run it:

    ./PolyDataPointNormals

WINDOWS USERS PLEASE NOTE: Be sure to add the VTK bin directory to your path. This will resolve the VTK dll's at run time.