Convert PLY Files on Mac
PLY (Polygon File Format) is a 3D model format using the .ply extension. Consul converts PLY files to 4 other formats, and 10 formats to PLY. Rename a file's extension in Finder and Consul handles the conversion automatically.
What is PLY?
PLY (Polygon File Format), also called the Stanford Triangle Format, was developed at Stanford University in the 1990s to store data captured by 3D scanners. It describes an object as a list of vertices and faces and can carry per-vertex color, normals and other custom properties, in both ASCII and binary variants. It's widely used for 3D-scanned and photogrammetry meshes and point clouds.
PLY files are stored uncompressed. Nothing is lost to encoding, though they can take more disk space than compressed formats.
PLY was developed by Stanford University and is an open standard.
Opening PLY files on a Mac
macOS doesn't preview PLY out of the box. Native 3D Quick Look covers Apple's USDZ/USDC format, and opening a PLY mesh usually needs a third-party 3D viewer.
Consul supports 14 conversions for PLY
Consul is the easiest way to convert PLY files on your Mac, or to turn other files into PLY. Rename file.ply to change its extension, and Consul converts it automatically.