| Extension | DAE |
| Full Name | COLLADA - Collaborative Design Activity |
| Type | 3D Model |
| Mime Type | text/xml |
| Format | Text |
| Opens With | Blender, MeshLab |
A DAE file, also known as a Collada file, was developed by the Khronos Group as an open standard format for representing 3D models and their associated data in a manner that is both extensible and compatible with other 3D modeling applications.
The extensibility of the DAE format comes from the fact that content is stored within an XML structure, allowing the 3D model geometry to be stored along with texture and material information, as well as animations. As it is an extensible format, new features can be added relatively easily without impacting compatibility.
As mentioned, the DAE format was designed to be an open format, standardized to allow any 3D modeling application to easily implement support for DAE files. Popular 3D modeling apps such as Blender offer support for the DAE format out of the box.
DAE Converter Capabilities
When converting 3D model or mesh files using our DAE converter, we will attempt to convert color materials into a suitable format for use in the converted file.
The OBJ file format is a 3D graphics file format used to define complex 3D models, including geometry, materials, and textures. OBJ files are text files, making them human-readable and easy to modify by hand. The downside to this ease of readability is that the files can become rather large when dealing with large or complex 3D models.
As mentioned, the OBJ format stores not only 3D model geometry but also materials and textures. These materials are usually defined in a separate file with the MTL file extension and specify geometry rendering details such as diffuse and specular color, transparency, and much more.
The OBJ material file can also reference external texture files. These are usually JPEG or PNG files; however, these can be older formats, such as TGA. Where materials are used, the OBJ file will also contain material names preceding the geometry faces they should be applied to. If textures are referenced, the geometry will also contain texture coordinates (UV) for each vertex.
OBJ Converter Capabilities
When converting your DAE to OBJ, our tool will attempt to accurately convert any color or material information.
