View 3DS files in your browser
The format of 3D Studio, the DOS app that became 3ds Max, still in old model libraries and games. Open one right here, with nothing to install. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your model opens in 3D, lit and framed, with what's in it beside it and what you pick on the other side.
- Turn, zoom and move it • Double click to center on a point
- Every object in a list • Hide one or see it alone
- Its own colors, clay, wireframe or X-ray
- Export • PNG, GLB, USDZ, STL and OBJ
About 3DS
3D Studio came out for DOS in 1990, and its .3ds files were how models were sold and shared through the 1990s. 3ds Max took its place in 1996 with a format of its own, but model libraries, old games and CAD apps still hold 3DS files.
A 3DS is binary, in nested chunks: meshes of triangles with their texture coordinates, materials with their colors, shininess and texture maps, and where each object stands. Its textures are named in eight letters and an extension, as DOS had them.
Filepeek reads it in your browser with the textures it names when they're opened with it: every object listed, Inspect, Measure and Section. Export saves it as GLB, USDZ, STL or OBJ, or the view as PNG.
3D Studio Mesh
.3ds
Format
- MIME type
- application/x-3ds
- Made by
- Autodesk
- Released
- 1990
Inside the file
- Meshes
- Triangles with texture coordinates
- Materials
- Colors, shininess and texture maps
- Objects
- Named, and placed in the scene
- Textures
- Files beside it, named as DOS had them
Opens in every browser
Browsers download 3DS files, and only 3D apps open them. Filepeek opens them in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, with their textures when they're picked together.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Questions
How do I open a 3DS file without 3ds Max?
Drop it on this page with its textures, or drop its folder, or choose Peek a 3DS. It opens in 3D, with nothing to install.
Is a 3DS the same as a 3ds Max file?
No. 3DS is the format of 3D Studio for DOS, which 3ds Max still exports. 3ds Max's own .max files keep far more, and only 3ds Max opens them.
Can I turn a 3DS into a GLB or an OBJ?
Yes. Choose Export to save it as GLB, with its materials and textures in one file, as OBJ, as USDZ or as STL.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The model opens inside your browser and never leaves your device.