Part-2: Install and Configure VTK 8.1.0 from source with Qt5 on Ubuntu 16.04

Series

• Part-1: Install and Configure Qt5 on Ubuntu 16.04
• Part-2: Install and Configure VTK 8.1.0 from source with Qt5 on Ubuntu 16.04
• Part-3: Install and Configure PCL 1.8.1 with vtk qt support on Ubuntu 16.04 from source
• Part-4: Install and Configure PCL 1.8.1 with vtk qt support on windows 10 from source

Guide

• qt: 5.7.0
• qmake: 3.0
• qtcreator: 3.5.1
• vtk: 8.1.0 (from source)

install qt57

see Part-1: Install and Configure Qt5 on Ubuntu 16.04

install qt57 and qtcreator.

install vtk

download source

Download vtk source

wget https://www.vtk.org/files/release/8.1/VTK-8.1.0.tar.gz
wget https://www.vtk.org/files/release/8.1/VTKData-8.1.0.tar.gz

integrate VTK with Qt for a pretty graphical user interface, we need to turn on some options.

configure vtk with qt

cd VTK-8.1.0
mkdir build
cd build
cmake-gui ..

with options:

VTK_Group_Qt       ON
VTK_QT_VERSION     5 # default
QT5_DIR            /opt/qt/5.7/gcc_64/lib/cmake/Qt5

VTK_RENDERING_BACKEND OpenGL2 # default
BUILD_SHARED_LIBS  ON
CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE   Release
CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX /usr/local

set QT5_Dir to /opt/qt/5.7/gcc_64/lib/cmake/Qt5

download MD5 VTKData

tar VTKData-8.1.0.tar.gz and copy MD5 to VTK-8.1.0/build/ExternalData/Objects/MD5

make and install

make -j8
sudo make -j8 install

install to /usr/local/include/vtk-8.1 and /usr/local/lib/cmake/vtk-8.1

install QVTKWidget plugin

1. copy libQVTKWidgetPlugin.so to
   install path: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/plugins/designer

   cd build/lib
   ls -al libQVTKWidgetPlugin.so 
   
   # copy to qt creator
   sudo cp libQVTKWidgetPlugin.so /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/plugins/designer 
   

2. now list designer plugins

   ls /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/plugins/designer
   libqquickwidget.so  libQVTKWidgetPlugin.so  libqwebview.so
   

3. if we start qtcreator we will see an QVTKWidget at the bottom of VTK container of Design layout.

VTK Example

CylinderRenderingProperties.cpp

#include <vtkCylinderSource.h>
#include <vtkPolyDataMapper.h>
#include <vtkActor.h>
#include <vtkRenderer.h>
#include <vtkRenderWindow.h>
#include <vtkRenderWindowInteractor.h>
#include <vtkProperty.h>
#include <vtkCamera.h>
#include <vtkSmartPointer.h>

int main(int, char *[])
{
  // This creates a polygonal cylinder model with eight circumferential facets
  // (i.e, in practice an octagonal prism).
  vtkSmartPointer<vtkCylinderSource> cylinder =
    vtkSmartPointer<vtkCylinderSource>::New();
  cylinder->SetResolution(8);

  // The mapper is responsible for pushing the geometry into the graphics library.
  // It may also do color mapping, if scalars or other attributes are defined.
  vtkSmartPointer<vtkPolyDataMapper> cylinderMapper =
    vtkSmartPointer<vtkPolyDataMapper>::New();
  cylinderMapper->SetInputConnection(cylinder->GetOutputPort());

  // The actor is a grouping mechanism: besides the geometry (mapper), it
  // also has a property, transformation matrix, and/or texture map.
  // Here we set its color and rotate it around the X and Y axes.
  vtkSmartPointer<vtkActor> cylinderActor =
    vtkSmartPointer<vtkActor>::New();
  cylinderActor->SetMapper(cylinderMapper);
  cylinderActor->GetProperty()->SetColor(1.0000, 0.3882, 0.2784);
  cylinderActor->RotateX(30.0);
  cylinderActor->RotateY(-45.0);

  // The renderer generates the image
  // which is then displayed on the render window.
  // It can be thought of as a scene to which the actor is added
  vtkSmartPointer<vtkRenderer> renderer =
    vtkSmartPointer<vtkRenderer>::New();
  renderer->AddActor(cylinderActor);
  renderer->SetBackground(0.1, 0.2, 0.4);
  // Zoom in a little by accessing the camera and invoking its "Zoom" method.
  renderer->ResetCamera();
  renderer->GetActiveCamera()->Zoom(1.5);

  // The render window is the actual GUI window
  // that appears on the computer screen
  vtkSmartPointer<vtkRenderWindow> renderWindow =
    vtkSmartPointer<vtkRenderWindow>::New();
  renderWindow->SetSize(200, 200);
  renderWindow->AddRenderer(renderer);

  // The render window interactor captures mouse events
  // and will perform appropriate camera or actor manipulation
  // depending on the nature of the events.
  vtkSmartPointer<vtkRenderWindowInteractor> renderWindowInteractor =
    vtkSmartPointer<vtkRenderWindowInteractor>::New();
  renderWindowInteractor->SetRenderWindow(renderWindow);

  // This starts the event loop and as a side effect causes an initial render.
  renderWindowInteractor->Start();

  return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}

CMakeLists.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8)

PROJECT(CylinderRenderingProperties)

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

# /usr/local/lib/cmake/vtk-8.0/UseVTK.cmake
# C:/Program Files/PCL 1.8.1/3rdParty/VTK/lib/cmake/vtk-8.0/UseVTK.cmake

message ([vtk] ${VTK_LIBRARIES})

add_executable(CylinderRenderingProperties MACOSX_BUNDLE CylinderRenderingProperties.cxx )

target_link_libraries(CylinderRenderingProperties ${VTK_LIBRARIES})

compile

mkdir build && cd build && cmake-gui ..
make -j8

Reference

• Configure_and_Build vtk
• vtk qt setup

History

• 20180108: created.