How to share a CAD model with a client (who has no CAD software)
The ways to show a client your CAD model, from sending the file to a link they open in the browser, and which to use when they need to look, comment or approve.
The easiest way to share a CAD model with a client who has no CAD software is to send a link, not a file. Export the model as STEP, upload it to MeshMarkup, and send the review link: your client opens the model in their browser, turns it round, measures it, and clicks the exact spot they want to talk about. They don't need an account, a CAD licence or anything to install, and every note comes back pinned to the part it's about.
The ways to share a CAD model
| Way | What the client needs | Can they point at a spot? | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send the native file (.sldprt, .ipt, .f3d) | The same CAD program | Only in their own words | Another engineer using the same software |
| Send a STEP file | A CAD program or a viewer | Only in their own words | A manufacturer or engineer who will build or edit it |
| Screenshots or a PDF | Nothing | On the views you picked | A quick look at one angle |
| Your CAD program's share link | A browser | Depends on the program | Showing the model to someone once |
| A review link (MeshMarkup) | A browser | Yes, pinned on the model | Getting feedback and approval |
Most clients, buyers and managers don't have CAD. A native file or a bare STEP often ends with "I can't open this", and screenshots mean the client comments on the angles you happened to choose. When the client has to tell you something about the model, a link they open in the browser works best.
Your CAD program's own share link
Some CAD programs can share a model as a link:
- Fusion can make a public link from the Data Panel (Share Link). It opens in Autodesk's web viewer, and you can require a password and choose whether the recipient can download the design.
- Onshape link sharing gives view-only access to one document, and the person opening it doesn't need to sign in. Exporting from the link is off unless you allow it.
These are good for showing a model. They come from Autodesk's and Onshape's help pages as of October 2026, so check the current details there. They're built around viewing: in their help pages we didn't find a way for someone opening the link to pin a note on the model, reply to you, or approve a version. If you work in SolidWorks, Inventor or Rhino, or your client works with several studios, a viewer that doesn't depend on your CAD program is simpler. For a comparison with the free viewers, see Autodesk Viewer and eDrawings.
Share a CAD model as a review link
Export STEP from your CAD program
STEP works from almost every CAD program and keeps part names and colours. Use the menu for your program in the table below.
Upload it to MeshMarkup
Drop the file on your Models page. It opens at its real size, with the assembly's parts.
Set the view your client should start from (optional)
Pin your own questions on the model ("Is this clearance enough?"), set the lighting, or cut it open or explode it. Your client opens the model the way you left it.
Click Share and choose a link
Leave feedback for a normal review, Look only when you only want to show progress. Pick an expiry if you want one. See review links and permissions.
Send it
Paste the link into your email or chat, or click Email to send it from MeshMarkup.
Which file to export from your CAD program
MeshMarkup opens STEP, IGES and Rhino 3DM files, and mesh formats such as GLB, FBX, OBJ, STL and 3MF. Native files from SolidWorks, Inventor, Fusion and CATIA need exporting first:
| Program | Export |
|---|---|
| SolidWorks (.sldprt, .sldasm) | (an assembly stays an assembly) |
| Inventor (.ipt, .iam) | |
| Fusion (.f3d) | |
| CATIA (.CATPart, .CATProduct) | |
| Rhino (.3dm) | Upload the .3dm as it is |
| SketchUp (.skp) |
Step-by-step guides: SolidWorks, Fusion and Onshape, Inventor, Onshape and FreeCAD, Rhino, SketchUp.
What the client can do with the link
- Turn, zoom and measure the model, at its real size.
- Hide and isolate parts, cut it open, or pull an assembly apart.
- Click the model to leave a note on a Leave feedback link. The note keeps the angle they were looking from, so you see what they saw.
- Read your replies and see which notes you've marked resolved.
What they don't get is your CAD file. There's no download button on a review link, and the model they see is a display version without your features, sketches or history. See share a CAD model without sending the file.
When to send the file itself
A link is for looking and commenting. Send the STEP or native file when the other person will make or change the part: a machine shop quoting it, a manufacturer tooling it, or an engineer editing it in their own CAD. Often the right answer is both: the link while the design is being agreed, and the file once it's approved. See STEP vs STL vs IGES for which format a machine shop or print service expects.
Try it first
Drop your STEP on the free STEP viewer to see the model the way your client will, with no account. To see the client's side of a review, open the sample review.
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Get feedback on the model, not on a screenshot
Upload a model, send one link, and your client clicks the exact spot. Free to start — no card.