DAE Viewer
Open a Collada (.dae) file in your browser and see the model with its textures and animations. Drop the .dae together with its texture images, pick the whole folder, or drop a ZIP: textures are found by the paths the file gives, and any that are missing are named so you know what to add. The unit (centimetres, inches, metres …) and the up axis written in the file’s asset header are applied, so the size in millimetres and inches is right and a Z-up model stands upright. The Collada contents panel shows what made the file, its unit and up axis, how many geometries, materials, images and animations it holds, and the scene tree of nodes. Play animations, hide parts, switch to wireframe or flat shading, and save the view as a PNG. Nothing is uploaded, and web addresses inside the file are never fetched.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; your model files are never uploaded.
File details
Collada contents: asset header, libraries, scene tree
Files the model refers to (textures)
Parts (show or hide)
Textures and images
Checks
3MF contents
PLY header
Extensions and cameras
File size breakdown
glTF JSON (tree)
View
Model
Screenshot
Animation
Morph targets
Runs in your browser: your .dae file, its textures and any ZIP are read on your device and never uploaded, and web addresses inside the file are not fetched. The 3D engine (three.js) loads from the jsDelivr CDN. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed. The rights in your own models stay as they were.
How to view a DAE file
- Drop a .dae file with its textures, pick a folder, or drop a ZIP. Or click Try a sample.
- Orbit with a drag, zoom with the wheel or a pinch, pan with a right-drag.
- Read the Collada contents and the textures list; add any file named as missing.
- Play the animation, hide parts if you need to, then save the view as a PNG.
What you can use it for
- Check a Collada model from a 3D warehouse or an old project
- See whether all the textures of a .dae are there
- Find the real size of a Collada model in millimetres
- Play a Collada animation without 3D software
- Look at the scene tree and the parts of a model
- Make a PNG preview of a .dae
What the viewer reads from a Collada file
| In the .dae file | What you see |
|---|---|
| Meshes (triangles, polylists, polygons) | Drawn, with each node’s position, rotation and scale applied |
| Asset header: unit and up axis | Applied, so the size is right and Z-up models stand upright |
| Materials (diffuse colours) and image textures | Drawn; textures are found in the files, folder or ZIP you add |
| Texture references that are missing or are web addresses | Named in the list; grey is drawn in their place and nothing is fetched |
| Node animations | Listed and played, with speed and a position slider |
| Scene tree (nodes, nested nodes, reused geometry) | Listed with what each node holds; parts can be hidden |
| Authoring tool, author, created and modified dates | Listed under Collada contents |
Other formats open here too (STL, OBJ with MTL, GLB, glTF, PLY and 3MF), so you can compare a .dae with a model converted from it.
Units and up axis: what the test files give
| Test file | Unit in the file | Up axis | Meshes | Triangles | Size (width × depth × height) | Animations | Textures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Try a sample (desk, box) | centimetres (0.01 m) | Z_UP | 6 | 72 | 1,200 × 600 × 950 mm | 1 | 1 |
| Textured crate, centimetres, Z_UP | centimetres (0.01 m) | Z_UP | 1 | 12 | 200 × 200 × 400 mm | 0 | 1 |
| Two blocks, metres, Y_UP, with an animation | metres (1 m) | Y_UP | 2 | 24 | 2,000 × 1,000 × 1,500 mm | 1 | 0 |
| Table of 5 parts, inches, Z_UP (one leg used 4 times) | inches (0.0254 m) | Z_UP | 5 | 60 | 1,016 × 609.6 × 736.6 mm | 0 | 0 |
Computed by the viewer’s own Collada reader from its sample and test files. The table is 40 × 24 × 29 inches in the file; with the inch unit applied it measures 1,016 × 609.6 × 736.6 mm. The crate is 20 × 20 × 40 in centimetres, so 200 × 200 × 400 mm.
What the sample DAE contains
| Node | Holds |
|---|---|
| Desk | – |
| Desk top | 1 mesh |
| Leg 1 | 1 mesh |
| Leg 2 | 1 mesh |
| Leg 3 | 1 mesh |
| Leg 4 | 1 mesh |
| Box | – |
| Box mesh | 1 mesh |
The sample is a Collada 1.4.1 file the page writes itself, in centimetres with Z up, with one leg geometry used four times, a checker texture made in the page and a box that turns. Nothing is fetched for it.
Textures: folder, ZIP or missing
| How you add the files | What happens |
|---|---|
| The .dae and its images dropped together | Images matched by the path in the file, or by file name |
| Open a folder | Every file in the folder is matched by its path, including sub-folders such as textures/ |
| A ZIP (or a KMZ renamed to .zip) | Unzipped in the browser; the .dae inside is opened with its images |
| An image the file names is not there | Listed as missing; grey is drawn instead |
| The file names a web address | Not fetched; listed as a web address |
Nothing leaves your device: images are read from the files you add, never from the internet.
DAE viewer or DAE to OBJ?
| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Look at the model, its textures and animations | This DAE viewer |
| Read the unit, up axis, scene tree and what made the file | This DAE viewer |
| Get an OBJ with MTL and textures for another program | DAE to OBJ |
| Get an STL for 3D printing | DAE to STL |
The viewer writes nothing except a PNG of the view.
Next steps
Printing the model? Check an STL in the STL viewer, or convert other formats with GLB to STL and OBJ to STL. For CAD parts, the STEP viewer opens STEP and IGES files.
Sources
Sources: Khronos Group: COLLADA, 3D Asset Exchange Schema; Khronos Group: COLLADA 1.4 Specification (asset unit and up_axis, libraries, visual scenes); three.js 0.186.1 Collada reader source (Z-up files turned to Y-up, the file’s unit applied).
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Frequently asked questions
Is this DAE viewer free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you open. The file is read in your browser, so it never leaves your device.
What is a DAE file?
A .dae file is Collada (COLLADA), an XML format for exchanging 3D scenes, maintained by the Khronos Group. It holds meshes, materials, texture references, a scene tree of nodes and sometimes animations and skins, plus an asset header with the unit and the up axis.
How do I open a DAE with its textures?
Drop the .dae and its image files together, use Open a folder to pick the folder they are in, or drop a ZIP of that folder. The Files the model refers to panel lists each texture as found or missing.
Why is my model grey or partly grey?
A texture the file points to was not added, or the file points to a web address. Missing textures are shown grey and named in the panel; web addresses are not fetched, to keep your file private.
Does it play animations?
Yes. Node animations in the file are listed under Animation; play them, change the speed or move through the clip with the slider.
Why is my model the right size here and huge elsewhere?
Collada files say their unit in the asset header (for example centimetres or inches). This viewer applies it, so the size line in millimetres is the real size; programs that ignore the unit show the raw numbers.
How is this different from DAE to OBJ?
DAE to OBJ converts a Collada file into OBJ for other programs. This page is for looking: textures, animations, the scene tree and the asset header, with nothing written out except a PNG of the view.
Can it open KMZ files?
A KMZ is a ZIP that holds a .dae and its textures. Rename it to .zip and drop it here, and the .dae inside is opened with its textures.
Is my DAE file uploaded?
No. The .dae, its textures and any ZIP are read by JavaScript in your browser, so they never leave your device.