Opening files and folders

Ways to open a model

Method	Notes
Drag onto the window	Accepts files and folders, and several at once
Open Model in the empty viewport	Same dialog as the menu command
File ▸ Open… (`⌘O`)	Works whether or not a model is already open
The + button in the sidebar, in Models mode	Same dialog
File ▸ Open Recent	The files opened most recently, with Clear Menu at the end
Double-click in the Finder	Requires Solidly to be the default application for that type; see File types
`solidly <file>` in a shell	Direct download only; see The solidly command

Opening several files at once adds all of them to the sidebar of the existing window.

The open dialog accepts folders as well as files, and dropping a folder onto the window has the same effect. Solidly walks the folder and every subfolder inside it and opens every supported model it finds. Hidden files and the contents of macOS packages are skipped.

Composite USD assets

When a folder scan finds USD layers that refer to one another, Solidly nests them in the Models list: the layer that composes the others becomes a parent row, and each layer it brings in becomes a child row that can be selected and viewed on its own. Other referenced assets, MaterialX documents among them, are not listed as children.

The complete file tree of a composed stage, including files a folder scan never sees, is available in the sidebar's Layers mode.

Sibling files

Most 3D formats keep part of the asset outside the file that names it. A .gltf refers to one or more .bin buffers and usually a folder of images, an .obj refers to an .mtl, a USD layer refers to sublayers and texture assets, and an FBX may refer to textures beside it.

Solidly runs inside the macOS App Sandbox and cannot read those files without permission. The first time a model is opened from a location Solidly has not seen, macOS presents an access request covering the standard folder the file sits under, such as Downloads or Documents. Accepting it lets every later model under that folder open without another prompt. Files outside every standard location fall back to a grant covering their own folder.

What happens on launch

Settings ▸ General ▸ Startup controls what Solidly does when it launches with no document to open. The default is to show the empty state. The alternative reopens the file from the previous session, optionally restoring the camera position with it. Opening a document from the Finder or the command line takes precedence over either behaviour.

Files that fail to load

A file that cannot be parsed reports the failure in the viewport, naming the stage of loading that failed. A load that would exceed the import memory limit set in Settings ▸ Advanced ▸ Model Importing is abandoned the same way. See Advanced settings.

Reloading and closing

Command	Shortcut	Effect
File ▸ Reload File	`⇧⌘R`	Re-reads the file from disk, discarding every unsaved edit
File ▸ Close File	`⌘W`	Closes the selected file; the label becomes Close Selected Files for a multiple selection
File ▸ Close All Files	—	Closes every open model
File ▸ Close Window	`⇧⌘W`	Closes the window

Closing a file with unsaved edits asks for confirmation, which can be turned off in Settings ▸ Advanced ▸ Behaviour.