# Off topic a bit- converting a file question

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/off-topic-a-bit-converting-a-file-question/1216>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [July 4, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/off-topic-a-bit-converting-a-file-question/1216 "2017-07-04T15:54:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Devvon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/devvon/32/36586_2.png) [@Devvon](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Devvon)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/off-topic-a-bit-converting-a-file-question/1216/1 "2017-07-04T15:54:32Z")

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Hey guys, this is a bit off topic but figure someone here may be able to help me.

So earlier while working on a project in Shapr3D I found I screwed up a lot of measurements and decided to revert to the oldest known good model I had exported.

Low and behold to my dismay I realized it had only been .stl file I had saved and exported. Obviously not something I could re-import too Shapr3D.

From what I understand you can use freecad trial to convert a .stl File. back into a .step, the issue is I already tried this couple months back and used my trial. Does anyone know a way I could convert this .stl to get my file back to work on Shapr3D?

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**Author:** ![Devvon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/devvon/32/36586_2.png) [@Devvon](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Devvon)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/off-topic-a-bit-converting-a-file-question/1216/2 "2017-07-04T15:55:50Z")

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As for just opening the old file on Shapr3D ,I deleted it prior to realizing I had only exported as .stl hence my dilemma.

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**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:50am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/off-topic-a-bit-converting-a-file-question/1216/4 "2017-07-05T07:50:58Z")

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You won’t be able to create any usable models from STL files unfortunately ☹ You can read more about this here: [http://blog.shapr3d.com/export-import-formats-supported-by-shapr3d/](http://blog.shapr3d.com/export-import-formats-supported-by-shapr3d/)

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**Author:** ![Gabor\_Shapr3D](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/gabor_shapr3d/32/235_2.png) [@Gabor\_Shapr3D](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Gabor_Shapr3D)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 8:03am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/off-topic-a-bit-converting-a-file-question/1216/5 "2017-07-05T08:03:10Z")

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Currently we don’t have an official solution for converting .stl to .step.

But you can try these:

- convert it with another program (like Solidworks) or ask someone who has access to these
- use freecad with another (new) account maybe

Here’s a checklist how to convert from .stl to .step in FreeCAD: [http://blog.othermachine.co/convert-stl-to-step](http://blog.othermachine.co/convert-stl-to-step)

But there is no guarantee that the conversion will be successful. STL is not a great, friendly partner in terms of conversion compatibility.