Preparing 3D files

A well-prepared file processes in a couple of minutes, loads fast on phones and looks right in AR.

Supported formats

• GLB works best. It holds the model, materials and textures in one file and needs no conversion.
• A .gltf or .obj file on its own is not accepted: zip it together with the files it uses.
• The app reads the file type from the file’s contents, not from its name. Renaming a file doesn’t change its format.
• Sizes use 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes.

Zip files

When you upload a zip:

• it must contain exactly one model file (.gltf, .glb, .obj or .fbx);
• every file the model uses must be inside the zip, with relative paths (no web addresses, no paths that go outside the zip);
• at most 500 files and 1 GB once unzipped; no password; no file compressed more than 100 times;
• no two files whose names differ only in upper and lower case.

Use your computer’s standard Compress (Mac) or Send to › Compressed (zipped) folder (Windows). Leave out backups and large source files such as .blend, .max or .psd. See Zip file rejected if a zip is refused.

Scale, units and orientation

AR shows your product at its real size, so the model’s size matters.

After processing, check the size on the model’s AR tab (“Real-world size in AR: … cm”) or in the File and optimization card. If it’s wrong or the model lies on its side:

1. Open the model, then the Presentation tab, and open Size and orientation.
2. Change Size (%) (for example 10% if a model in centimetres came out 10 times too big), or use Rotate around X / Y / Z (°) in steps of 90°.
3. Click Save presentation.

Changing size or orientation processes the model again (a few minutes) and counts as a new model file in your processing allowance. It also removes any USDZ files you uploaded yourself.

Best practice: export from your 3D software in metres, with the product standing upright and its base at the origin.

Materials

• Use standard PBR materials (base color, metallic, roughness, normal, occlusion, emissive). In Blender, that is the Principled BSDF shader.
• Advanced glTF material extensions (sheen, clearcoat, transmission, volume, iridescence and others) show in the website viewer, but Android AR does not support them. A model that uses them has no Android AR. See Android AR: unsupported material extensions.
• Material options (the glTF KHR_materials_variants extension) let one file hold several materials, for example fabric colors. You can then pick a material for each product or variant rule. Up to 20 material options per model, each with a unique name of 1 to 64 characters.
• Animations, skeletons (armatures) and shape keys are not shown: the app shows still models. See Animation removed.

Textures

• Formats: PNG, JPEG or WebP. Other formats (KTX2, TGA, TIFF, BMP, AVIF, PSD) are not accepted.
• Each side can be up to 8,192 px, and all textures together up to 64 million pixels.
• Textures larger than 2,048 px are shrunk to 2,048 px for the website, so there’s no benefit in sending larger ones.
• Use one UV map for all textures. A material that reads a second UV map works on the website but has no Android AR.
• Fewer, combined textures (a texture atlas) load faster than many small ones.

Polygon and size budgets

The app does not reduce your polygon count. If a model is too heavy, reduce it in your 3D software (in Blender, a Decimate modifier) and upload again. See Model is too large or too complex.

What the app does with your file

Every upload goes through these stages (shown on the model page):

1. File received and File checked: the type, size, zip contents and textures are checked; other formats are converted to glTF; the file is validated against the glTF 2.0 standard.
2. Optimizing for the website: duplicate and unused data is removed, objects are merged where possible, textures are shrunk to 2,048 px at most and compressed (WebP), and the geometry is compressed. Your original file is kept.
3. Creating AR files for phones: an Android AR file and iPhone & iPad AR files (USDZ, one for floor and one for wall placement) for each material option, and preview images.
4. Ready to use.

Processing usually takes under 2 minutes. You can leave the page while it runs. Each run counts against your plan’s processing allowance.

What AR needs on each device

The model’s AR tab, under Where shoppers can see it, shows for each material option whether Website 3D viewer, Android AR, iPhone & iPad AR (floor) and iPhone & iPad AR (wall) are available. More in AR (view in your space).

Model settings

Open a model from Models. The page shows the 3D preview, Used on products, File and optimization, and three tabs:

• Presentation
  • Starting view: how shoppers first see the model. Turn the preview, then click Use the current view, or use Turn around and Height of view. Fit the whole model in view sets the distance for you.
  • Lighting: Style (Neutral studio (recommended) or Classic, brighter) and Brightness.
  • Size and orientation: see Scale, units and orientation.
  • Click Save presentation. Shoppers keep the current view until the new one is ready (about a minute). Starting view and lighting changes count as presentation changes in your allowance.
• AR: where the model works, its real-world size, any warnings, and your own USDZ files (details).
• Versions: every version of the model, newest first, with the one Shown now.
  • Replace the model file: upload a new file for the same model. Products keep showing the current version until the new one is ready, then switch to it.
  • Re-optimize: process the same file again with the app’s latest improvements.

From the ⋯ menu (on the model page or on a model tile) you can Rename, Replace file, Re-optimize or Delete a model. The name is only for you. A model that is live on products can’t be deleted: choose another model for those products, or turn off their 3D, first. A model used only in unpublished drafts can be deleted with Delete and remove from drafts.

Exporting from common tools

Blender

1. Select the objects to export, then File › Export › glTF 2.0 (.glb/.gltf).
2. Format: glTF Binary (.glb).
3. Include: turn on Selected Objects.
4. Mesh: turn on Apply Modifiers.
5. Animation: turn it off (and Shape Keys and Skinning unless you need them).
6. Export and upload the .glb.

Blender works in metres by default, which matches what the app expects.

3ds Max and Maya

Export glTF/GLB if your version or a glTF exporter plugin supports it; otherwise export FBX with Embed Media turned on (so the textures are inside the file), or zip the .fbx with its .fbm folder. Check the export units: FBX units are not always read correctly, so check the real-world size after processing and fix it with Size (%) if needed.

SketchUp

Export through a glTF/GLB exporter extension if you have one; otherwise export OBJ and zip it with its .mtl and texture files. Remember the app reads OBJ in millimetres: check the real-world size after processing.

CAD and online converters

CAD files (STEP, IGES) must be converted first. An online converter can produce a GLB, but check the result in a free glTF viewer before uploading, and prefer exporting from the original software when you can. STL files have no colors or textures, so the model shows in a plain material.