# Different coordinate systems when exporting stl files from 3D Slicer to matlab

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/different-coordinate-systems-when-exporting-stl-files-from-3d-slicer-to-matlab/2491>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [April 2, 2018, 10:46am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/different-coordinate-systems-when-exporting-stl-files-from-3d-slicer-to-matlab/2491 "2018-04-02T10:46:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![pieper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/pieper/32/8_2.png) [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 11:59am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/different-coordinate-systems-when-exporting-stl-files-from-3d-slicer-to-matlab/2491/2 "2018-04-02T11:59:00Z")

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Hi Clara -

This page describes the way Slicer manages coordinate systems:

[https://www.slicer.org/wiki/Coordinate\_systems](https://www.slicer.org/wiki/Coordinate_systems)

With the most recent versions of Slicer (the current nightly) there’s also an export widget that lets you chose the space for the exported models:

> [@Save segmentation directly to STL or OBJ files](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/save-segmentation-directly-to-stl-or-obj-files/2428):
>
> We often received questions about how to export segmentation to STL file for 3D printing. We’ve added a simplified, dedicated tool to make this step easier. 1-minute demo video: [[Export Slicer image segmentation to STL or OBJ file] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfuYPVYA5cA) Main features: Export STL file: each segment as a separate file or all segments merged into a single mesh Export OBJ file: all segments are saved in one file, segment colors and opacities are preserved Export all or visible segments only Coordinate sy…

Hope that helps,  
Steve

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