Need to send a STEP file to a client or subcontractor who has no SolidWorks? Here's how to make it viewable in a browser, from any device.
STEP (ISO 10303) is the universal neutral standard for exchanging CAD models across the industry — which is exactly why you were sent one. The catch: opening a STEP still assumes CAD software — SolidWorks, CATIA, Fusion 360 or a dedicated viewer. Your client, or a subcontractor, has none of these. This guide covers the SolidWorks-specific case: you (or they) work in SolidWorks, the other side doesn't, and the part still has to be seen and approved.
When you email a raw STEP to someone without CAD, they get a file their computer can't open. They have to find a viewer, download it, install it, then learn to navigate a 3D scene. In practice the review stalls — or they ask you for a PDF or a screenshot, and a flat 2D image loses the geometry that mattered. The usual failure modes:
If your recipient will install software, Dassault's free eDrawings viewer opens SolidWorks files and, since the 2018 release, STEP files too. It runs on Windows and macOS. The cost is friction: it's a download-and-install .exe, not a link, so a one-off external reviewer often won't bother — and it does nothing for someone on a phone or a locked-down corporate laptop. If eDrawings is your baseline, compare it in the best eDrawings alternatives.
OmniView 3D turns your STEP file into an interactive viewer behind a link. Your recipient clicks it and rotates the model in their browser, on desktop or mobile — no install, no account, no training. If you work in SolidWorks, export the STEP first (File → Save As → STEP AP242 or AP214), then:
| eDrawings viewer | OmniView 3D link | |
|---|---|---|
| Install needed | Yes (.exe, Windows/macOS) | No — opens in any browser |
| Works on mobile | No | Yes (iOS, Android) |
| Opens STEP | Yes (2018+) | Yes |
| Share method | Send the file, opened locally | Send one revocable link |
| Annotations by recipient | Local only | On the model, no account |
| Hosting | On their machine | EU (AWS eu-west-1) |
Your recipient can rotate the model, zoom and leave annotations directly on the part, with no account. If the link comes from a Pro account, they can also measure the distance between two points. All in a browser tab — no plugins, no downloads. OmniView isn't limited to STEP: it also reads IGES, GLB, GLTF, FBX, OBJ, STL and more than ten other CAD and 3D formats.
CAD parts are often confidential, and imperfect interoperability has a real price — NIST put imperfect interoperability at over $1 billion a year in the US automotive supply chain alone. OmniView 3D hosts your models in Europe (AWS eu-west-1, Ireland), models are private by default, you control who gets each link, and you can revoke or delete a model at any time. You share the geometry, not your editable native part. For the general (non-SolidWorks) version of this workflow, see share a STEP file without any CAD software and the free STEP file viewer guide.
In SolidWorks, open the part or assembly and choose File → Save As, then pick STEP (.step/.stp) as the file type — AP242 keeps the most data, AP214 is the most widely compatible. That neutral file can then be opened by anyone, with or without SolidWorks.
Not as a raw file — a STEP needs a viewer. The lightest route is to turn it into a browser link (for example with OmniView 3D), so the recipient views and rotates the model in a browser tab with no install. The alternative is a free desktop viewer such as eDrawings, which requires a download.
No. Whether you send a browser link or they install a free viewer like eDrawings, no SolidWorks license is needed on their side. A browser link also works on phones and tablets, where eDrawings does not.
With OmniView 3D the model is private by default, hosted in the EU (AWS eu-west-1), and the link is revocable — you can delete the model at any time. You share the geometry, not your editable native part.
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