ZAE File Format (.zae)
A ZAE file is a ZIP archive defined by the Khronos Group, holding a manifest.xml that names the entry-point COLLADA document inside the archive alongside that .dae file's own textures and other referenced assets, so an importer can find and load everything without a separate download step.
ZAE at a glance#
| Full name | COLLADA archive |
|---|---|
| File extension | .zae |
| Category | 3D Models |
| Developer | Khronos Group |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip reads this format but does not write it |
What a .zae file can hold#
These are the things a ZAE file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Embedded metadata | Yes |
|---|---|
| Textures and materials | Yes |
| Skeletons and animation | Yes |
Strengths and limitations of ZAE#
What ZAE does well
- Bundles a COLLADA document with every texture it references, so nothing goes missing when the file is moved or shared
- The manifest.xml entry point lets an archive hold more than one COLLADA document without ambiguity about which to load
- Standard ZIP compression, so the archive is smaller than the loose files it packages
Where ZAE falls short
- Fewer applications read .zae directly than read a plain .dae; some expect the archive unzipped first
- Inherits every limitation of the COLLADA document inside it, since ZAE is only a packaging convention around DAE
- Being a ZIP container, its contents aren't inspectable as text without extracting the archive first
Use ZAE when a COLLADA scene and its textures need to travel or be shared as one file instead of a folder of loose assets.
Convert ZAE to glTF or GLB when the scene needs to go to a web viewer, game engine or AR platform that expects a modern delivery format rather than packaged COLLADA.
How to open a .zae file#
A .zae file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts ZAE into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.
| Platform | Programs that open it |
|---|---|
| Web | FileFlip |
ZAE questions people ask#
What is a ZAE file?
A ZAE file is a ZIP archive holding a COLLADA (.dae) document together with the textures and other assets it references, plus a manifest.xml that identifies which document inside the archive is the entry point. It's the Khronos Group's answer to sharing a COLLADA scene as a single file.
How is ZAE different from a DAE file?
A DAE file is just the COLLADA XML document on its own, referencing textures as separate files sitting alongside it. A ZAE file packages that same DAE together with those textures inside one ZIP archive, so the scene doesn't come apart if only the DAE gets copied or shared.
What opens ZAE files?
Support for .zae specifically is narrower than for plain .dae; Assimp-based tools read the manifest and load the archive's COLLADA document directly, but some COLLADA-capable software still expects the archive extracted to a loose .dae first.
Converting ZAE files#
Convert ZAE to another format
FileFlip does not write .zae files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.
Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.