Abstract: Mesh vertices are usually represented with absolute coordinates. In some applications, this leads to problems for local operations because of global misalignment. We investigate the idea of describing mesh geometry in a differential way. These differential coordinates describe local properties of the geometry rather than the absolute position in space. The main application discussed here is the insertion of shape features from one mesh into another, given the meshes have the same connectivity. We regard this as local control over mesh morphing. Differential coordinates also prove useful for free-form modeling of meshes.