Chapter 7: Exporting the model for archiving

If you want to archive your model and progress, you need to consider something. Of course, you have your 3D model within Metashape and can look at it any time. Unfortunately, Metashape stops there. We cannot use this model for other purposes, like putting it into a 3D scene. Also, it might be, that you loose your Metashape license or the company Agisoft simply ceases to exist. In this case, you don't have access anymore to your model. It is therefore recommended, that you export your model in an open access file format. This way, you ensure, that future generations have access to your work.

The German Archaeological Institute has a whole page about good and bad 3D file formats. They recommend the file formats X3D, Collada, OBJ and PLY as the best formats to securely save 3D data. I personally recommend the OBJ file format, as this is the most used and therefore compatible file format across platforms and 3D software.

Export the model

To export your model into OBJ, you have to select the File-menu and within the Export-submenu. There you select Export Model.... Create a new folder where you want to put the files in and give the export a name. You can leave the settings on default, just make sure that Export texture is checked and JPG is selected. When archiving for archaeological projects though, I recommend saving in TIFF-format.

When the export is done, have a look inside that folder. You should find three files: The texture (JPG), the model (OBJ) and a material settings file (MTL). These files are an exact copy of your model although the model is still not scaled. If you were using Metashape Pro (which we didn't), you could scale the model within Metashape. This option is not available with the Standard Edition. We therefore need to use a 3D software to do so.