Saving and exporting
Solidly never writes to files unprompted. Every edit is held in memory against the model that is open.
| Command | Shortcut | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Save | ⌘S | Overwrites the original file in place. Disabled until the model has an unsaved change |
| Save As… | ⇧⌘S | Writes a copy, with format options that depend on the source format |
| Save All | ⌥⌘S | Saves every open model that has unsaved changes |
Save and Save As are available for glTF, GLB, FBX, OBJ, STL, and PLY, and are disabled for USD.
Save As by format
The save dialog offers a Format menu with GLB and glTF.
- GLB writes a single self-contained binary file with every buffer and image embedded.
- glTF from a
.glbsource writes a.gltfwith an embedded buffer, so the result is still a single portable file. - glTF from a loose
.gltfsource creates a folder named after the file and copies the model's buffers and images into it beside the new.gltf.
What each format persists
Each writer preserves the edits its format can express. Format support lists which edits each format accepts. Two cases need care:
- An OBJ partition has no native transform, so a transform set on one is baked into that partition's vertex data when the file is written.
- FBX has no metallic, roughness, or occlusion property. Solidly writes metallic and roughness into the reflection and shininess slots, alongside diffuse, normal, emissive, and opacity in their own slots, and writes a material as Phong when it needs a slot its shading model does not define. A combined metallic-roughness texture is split into separate metallic and roughness images.
Compressed glTF files
When a compressed glTF is opened, its geometry and textures are decompressed into memory so they can be drawn and edited. Most saves patch the original file and preserve its compression exactly. An edit that changes the geometry itself, such as combining another model into the scene, routes the save through the full glTF writer, and Solidly re-applies the file's original compression to the result before finishing.
To change a model's compression rather than preserve it, use the compression export described in Compressing glTF.
Errors
A failed save reports the reason as an error notification and leaves the original file alone. The most common causes are a destination folder Solidly has no write access to and a source file that has been moved or deleted since it was opened.