| Filename extension |
.ply |
|---|---|
| Internet media type |
text/plain |
| Type code | ASCII/Binary file |
| Magic number | ply |
| Developed by | Greg Turk, Stanford University |
| Initial release | 1994[1] |
| Type of format | 3D model format |
PLY is a computer file format known as the Polygon File Format or the Stanford Triangle Format. It was principally designed to store three-dimensional data from 3D scanners. The data storage format supports a relatively simple description of a single object as a list of nominally flat polygons. A variety of properties can be stored, including color and transparency, surface normals, texture coordinates and data confidence values. The format permits one to have different properties for the front and back of a polygon.
There are two versions of the file format, one in ASCII, the other in binary.