Share a 3D Model as a Single HTML File
Export a 3D model, CAD part, building model or 2D drawing as one .html file. The file carries its own viewer, so anyone can open it in a web browser, offline, with no software to install and no account to create.
Free. The export runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
What the HTML file contains
The export writes a single web page with the model data and a small viewer inside it. The page references no other files and loads nothing from the internet.
One file
The viewer script and the model or drawing are both inside the .html file. Attach it to an email, put it on a shared drive or copy it to a USB stick.
Works offline
The page loads nothing from the network, so it opens on a plane, on a job site or on a computer with no internet connection.
No install or account
Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox open it on desktop, tablet and phone. The recipient double-clicks the file and the model appears.
Orbit, pan and zoom
A 3D model or point cloud opens in a three.js viewer: drag to orbit, right-drag to pan, scroll to zoom, with fit to view and a ground grid. Colors and materials are kept; texture images are left out.
Drawings as zoomable SVG
A DWG, DXF, DWF or other 2D drawing is embedded as vector SVG, sharp at any zoom, with a layer list to show and hide its layers.
View only
The page is for looking at the model. It has no measuring or editing tools, and it runs no code from the source file.
How to export a model as HTML
- 1
Open the file in the 3D Viewer
Go to the Innerscene 3D Viewer and drag your file onto it, or click to choose it. It reads models, CAD files, drawings and point clouds, including STEP, SolidWorks, SketchUp, Revit, IFC, DWG and STL.
- 2
Set up what to send
Hide the layers you want to leave out. Hidden layers are left out of the export, which also keeps the file smaller.
- 3
Choose Export, then Self-contained HTML
Open the Export menu in the viewer toolbar and pick Self-contained HTML (.html). Your browser saves the file to your downloads folder.
- 4
Send or publish the file
Email it, share it from a cloud drive or upload it to your website. The recipient opens it in any web browser.
File size limits
The model is stored inside the page as base64 text, which makes it about a third larger than a GLB of the same model. The 3D viewer adds about 650 KB and the drawing viewer a few kilobytes. Before saving, the viewer estimates the page size and checks it against what a browser on your device can open.
| Device | Asks before saving above | Refuses above |
|---|---|---|
| Phone or tablet, or a computer with 2 GB of memory | 25 MB | 120 MB |
| Computer with 4 GB of memory | 60 MB | 250 MB |
| Computer with 8 GB of memory or more | 120 MB | 400 MB |
When a page comes out too large, hide some layers and export again, or send a GLB for a model or an SVG for a drawing.
Privacy: nothing is uploaded
The viewer reads your file and writes the HTML page inside your browser. The file is not sent to Innerscene or to anyone else, and no account is involved.
The page it writes is locked down as well. A Content Security Policy lets it run only its own viewer script and blocks every network request, so opening the page sends nothing anywhere. Names and layer names from your file are escaped, and the viewer uses the model data for display alone.
When to use HTML, GLB or PDF
| Export | Best for | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| HTML | Sending a model to someone with no 3D or CAD software, so they can turn it around in a browser. Client reviews and offline archives. | View only. Texture images are left out. Larger than a GLB of the same model. |
| GLB | Opening the model in another 3D program, a game engine, an AR viewer or your own web page. | The recipient needs an app or a viewer that reads GLB. |
| Printing, markup and formal review, where everyone looks at the same fixed view. | The recipient sees the view you chose and cannot orbit the model. |
Embed a 3D model in a web page
Upload the exported .html file to your website and link to it, or show it inside one of your pages with an iframe. It needs no other files on the server.
To show a model straight from a file URL with the full viewer, see the 3D viewer embedding guide.
HTML converters by format
Each page covers one source format: what the viewer reads from it and what the HTML page keeps.
3D models
CAD and BIM
2D drawings
Point clouds
Spreadsheets and Word documents
Converting a PDF document? The PDF to HTML converter turns its pages into HTML with selectable text.
Frequently asked questions
â–¶How do I share a CAD file with someone who has no CAD software?
Open the file in the Innerscene 3D Viewer and choose Export, then Self-contained HTML. Send the .html file. It opens in any web browser with the model ready to orbit and zoom, and there is nothing to install.
â–¶Does the HTML file work offline?
Yes. The viewer and the model data are inside the file, and the page makes no network requests. It opens from a local folder, an email attachment or a USB stick.
â–¶Is my file uploaded when I export it?
No. Reading the file and writing the HTML page both happen in your browser. Nothing is sent to Innerscene.
â–¶How big can the HTML file be?
On a computer with 8 GB of memory or more, the viewer asks before saving a page above 120 MB and refuses one above 400 MB. Phones, tablets and computers with less memory have lower limits, down to 25 MB and 120 MB.
â–¶Are textures and materials included?
Colors and materials are included. Texture images are left out, so a textured model shows its base colors. Use the GLB export when you need the textures.
â–¶Can the recipient measure or edit the model?
The page is for viewing: orbit, pan and zoom, plus layer toggles for drawings. To measure, open the original file or a GLB in the Innerscene 3D Viewer.
â–¶Which file formats can I export as HTML?
Any 3D model, CAD file, 2D drawing or point cloud the viewer opens, including STEP, IGES, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Parasolid, Rhino, SketchUp, Revit, IFC, Archicad, STL, OBJ, FBX, glTF, DWG, DXF, DWF, SVG, LAS and PTS. Excel, OpenDocument and Numbers spreadsheets, CSV files and Word documents export too, as HTML tables and text. The converter list on this page has a page for each.