How to open .3DS files (3D Studio models) on Android, Windows and Linux

Old model libraries, CD-ROM clip art, game mods and archived projects are full of .3ds files, often next to a few images with short capitalised names like BRICK01.JPG. Phones and Windows don’t open them on their own, and the program that made them hasn’t existed in that form for decades.

A .3ds file is an Autodesk 3D Studio model. Folders opens it in its built-in 3D viewer on Android and Windows, for free, together with two other veterans: LightWave .lwo objects and Quake II .md2 models.

What is a .3DS file?

3DS is the file format of 3D Studio, Autodesk’s 3D program for MS-DOS, which later became 3ds Max. It’s a binary format made of nested “chunks” holding meshes, materials, texture names, lights and cameras. Because it was simple and widely supported, it became a common way to swap models between programs, and for older material it still is.

Its age shows in its limits: meshes are made only of triangles, one object can’t have more than 65,535 vertices, and texture file names are usually stored in the old DOS “8.3” style. 3ds Max’s own project files are .max, a different, closed format.

Extension	What it is
.3ds	An Autodesk 3D Studio model: meshes, materials, texture names
.lwo	A LightWave 3D object: one model with its surfaces
.md2	A Quake II character or item, with frame-by-frame animation and a separate skin image

LightWave saves each object as an .lwo file and keeps the scene that arranges them (cameras, lights, motion) in a separate .lws file. MD2 is id Software’s model format from Quake II: it stores each animation as a series of whole poses, and the skin (the texture) was traditionally a separate PCX picture.

How to open a .3DS file with Folders

1. Install Folders from the download page and allow file access.
2. Open the folder that holds the model and its texture images. If they came in a ZIP, use Extract all first.
3. Tap the .3ds, .lwo or .md2 file. The 3D viewer loads it, showing progress for bigger files.

On Android you can also choose Open with → Folders from another app, though a model sent on its own comes without its textures. On Windows, open it from Folders, or right-click it in File Explorer and pick Open with → Folders. On Linux the 3D viewer isn’t there yet: it needs a web view the Linux version doesn’t have, so Folders offers Open with… to pass the file on.

What you can do with it in Folders

• Upright from the start. 3D Studio worked with the Z axis pointing up, and Folders treats .3ds files that way. If any model lands on its side, flip Z axis is up.
• Textures. The viewer loads the images named in the model from its folder, even when the capitals in the names don’t match. Missing images are listed in a Part of the model is missing notice.
• MD2 skins. Folders looks for a picture with the same name as the model (.png, .jpg, .jpeg or .tga) and wraps it on.
• MD2 animations. The frames are grouped by name into clips such as stand, run or attack. Pick one in Animations, or Play all together.
• Details. Meshes, vertices, triangles, materials, textures and animations, plus the size in model units.
• Wireframe is worth a look on these low-polygon models: you can see how few triangles the artists had to work with.
• Auto-rotate and Save screenshot for a quick preview picture.

It’s a viewer only: no editing, measuring or converting.

Other ways to open .3DS files

• Autodesk 3ds Max (paid, Windows) imports 3DS, and LightWave opens LWO.
• Blender (free) can import 3DS and LWO through import add-ons.
• Online 3D Viewer (3dviewer.net) opens 3DS in a web browser.
• Noesis (free, Windows) previews and converts many game model formats, MD2 among them.

Problems opening a .3DS file?

The model is plain grey. Its texture images aren’t beside it. Look for picture files with the names listed in the notice, often in a MAPS or TEXTURES folder in the original download, and copy them next to the model.

An MD2 character is grey. Quake II skins are usually PCX files, which Folders doesn’t use as skins. Convert the skin to PNG in an image editor such as GIMP, give it the model’s name (knight.md2 → knight.png) and put it in the same folder.

An .lwo file won’t open. Objects from LightWave 6 onwards (the LWO2 and LWO3 versions of the format) open. Very old objects from LightWave 5 and earlier may not; re-save them in a newer LightWave or convert them with another tool.

You have a .max file, not a .3ds. Only 3ds Max opens .max files. Ask for an export as 3DS, FBX or OBJ.

The model is split into many pieces. Because a 3DS object can’t hold more than 65,535 vertices, exporters break big models into parts. That’s normal; Details shows how many meshes it was split into.

Questions people ask

Can I open a 3DS file on Android? Yes, with Folders. Keep the textures in the same folder as the model.

3DS vs MAX: what’s the difference? 3DS is the old exchange format from 3D Studio, which many programs read. MAX is 3ds Max’s own project file, which other programs can’t open.

How do I convert 3DS to OBJ or STL? Folders doesn’t convert models. Import the file into Blender and export it as OBJ or STL, or use the export in Online 3D Viewer.

Can I play the animations in an MD2 file? Yes. Folders lists the clips stored in the file under Animations.

Related guides: OBJ, STL and 3MF files and FBX files. See all 382 file types Folders opens.