STEPFILE.comFree, alpha release

Export Video

Export Video makes an MP4 video of an exploded view's animation, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded: the video is drawn on your computer and saved to your downloads. It is display only, like the exploded view itself. No part moves for real, and your own view of the model is left exactly as it was.

Step by Step

  1. Open the assembly and make an exploded view (see Exploded Views).
  2. Right-click the view in the Exploded Views folder and choose Export Video..., or click Export Video... in the Animation Controller.
  3. Pick a Size: Horizontal 1920 x 1080 for a screen or a web page, Vertical 1080 x 1920 for a phone.
  4. Pick a Frame rate: 30 fps (the usual choice) or 60 fps for smoother motion.
  5. Pick a Quality: Standard or High. High makes a bigger file. Both use half as much again at 60 fps.
  6. Tick or clear Show explode lines.
  7. Check the line under the settings. It reads like Length 12.4 s, 373 frames, about 14 MB.
  8. Click Make Video. First the motion is worked out, then the window counts the frames: Frame 120 of 373.
  9. When it is done the video is saved to your downloads as an MP4 named after the assembly and the view, like Planetary - ExplView1.

Click Cancel, press Esc or click the X to stop a video part way. Nothing is saved.

The End Choice

The window has an End list. As saved (the start choice) uses the end that the view already has. The others make this video with a different end, without changing the saved view:

  • None stops after the explode.
  • Orbit turns the camera around the model. Set the seconds and the degrees.
  • Orbit and reassemble turns the camera while the parts go back together. Use a few seconds for a quick finish, or more to let people watch.
  • Pull back eases the camera out to show the whole model.

Seconds go from 0.1 to 60 and degrees from -3600 to 3600. A number outside that, or text that is not a number, is refused with a message. The line under the settings, with the length and frame count, changes as you pick. When the video is done, cancelled or fails, the view goes back to its own end. If the animation tools on your page do not offer this, the list is not shown.

What Is in the Video

The video plays the whole animation from start to end: any motion, every explode step, the holds and the camera turn you set in the animation settings. The camera in the video follows that camera track. Grids, triads and other helpers are left out.

Plans

  • Making a video needs Pro. Anyone can still play the animation.
  • Videos carry the STEPFILE.com mark (the green cube and the name) in the bottom right corner. The window has an Add the STEPFILE.com mark box, ticked to start. On the $19.99 Pro plan it stays on. Pro Plus and Pro Max can untick it.
  • On a shared assembly, your own plan decides.

Browsers

Videos are made with your browser's own video encoder. Use a current Chrome or Edge, Safari 17 or later, or Firefox 130 or later. An older browser says it cannot make videos, and shows no Make Video button. A browser that can only make the VP9 kind saves a WebM video instead of an MP4.

Common Problems

  • The file would be too big. The limit is 400 MB. Pick Standard, 30 fps or a shorter animation.
  • It says the parts stop at some angle. A mate keeps the turning part from going further. The video plays the motion as far as it goes.
  • It is slow. Every frame is drawn at full size. Close other heavy tabs, or pick 30 fps.

Open the viewer

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