SwMacroFlow
.swp macro
Save Neutral Format: IGES, STL, Parasolid and ACIS
Exports the open part or assembly to Parasolid, IGES, STL, ACIS or 3D XML. Drawings are reported as unsupported.
Download Save Neutral Format.swp Get SwMacroFlow
Put the downloaded file in this folder, then open SwMacroFlow and choose it from the library.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\SwMacroFlow\macrosRuns per file — point the scope at a folder and it exports every part and assembly in turn.
STEP has its own macro: it carries an application-protocol setting that does not apply to any format here.
Inputs
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Format | Parasolid .x_t, Parasolid binary .x_b, IGES .igs, STL .stl, ACIS .sat, or 3D XML .3dxml. |
| OutputFolder | Where the file goes. Blank saves it beside the document. Created if missing. |
| OutputName | File name without an extension. Blank uses the document's own name. {Property} placeholders work, so {PartNumber}_{Revision} is a valid pattern. |
| Overwrite | On by default. Clear it to skip any document whose output file already exists, which is reported as a warning rather than an error. |
The extension always comes from Format
If OutputName already ends in the chosen format's extension it is not doubled, and an extension that belongs to a different format is left as part of the name rather than honoured. Switching the dropdown can never leave a .x_t file holding IGES.
Results
Reports the path it wrote, or decodes the SOLIDWORKS error rather than printing a number:
| Reported as | Cause |
|---|---|
| The target file is read-only | The existing export is read-only or checked in |
| This translator is not available in the current SOLIDWORKS licence | The format needs an add-in or a higher tier |
| The file is locked by another program | Something else has the output open |
| The full path is longer than Windows allows | Long folder plus long property-based name |
Notes
STL of an assembly writes one merged body by default — that is a SOLIDWORKS setting, not something this macro overrides. If you need one STL per component, run Save Neutral Format with an assembly scope over the parts instead.
A document that has never been saved has no folder or name to derive from, so the macro fails that file asking for both OutputFolder and OutputName rather than writing to the drive root.
Chaining
Safe to place anywhere in a chain. It does not save, rebuild or close the document.
To emit several formats in one pass over the files, add this macro to the chain more than once and set a different Format on each row — each row keeps its own inputs, and the files are opened once.